Talking bloody heads



Pete and Dud in action - pity the Heroes of Comedy programme didn't show more of them


Just watched a Heroes of Comedy TV programme about two of my favourite funny men, Peter Cook and Dudley Moore. Really infuriating.

All these so-called comedians I've never even heard of coming out with the most inane tripe. One of them said, "With 'Beyond the Fringe' people began to think, hey, comedy can be funny." What the hell is that supposed to mean?

Then four of these so-called "experts on comedy" were shown all repeating the famous line - "I've got nothing against your right leg" etc - from the One Leg Too Few sketch. Just saying it! The only intelligent person was Neil Innes who said "What do I know? I don't wear corduroy trousers and have a sociology degree."

And all the time you just wanted to see more than two seconds of Pete and Dud in action. Fat chance of that. I switched off in disgust. These talking head programmes really annoy me - cheap television at its most crass. They almost ruined the programme about Victoria Wood's TV career. Almost, but not quite. At least you had people who knew and had worked with her - plus lots of good, funny clips that had me laughing all over again.

Barry-bound on the trail of Gavin and Stacey

Knowing she's a big fan of  'Gavin and Stacey', we took our Australian friend Adrienne and her husband Rog on a trip to Barry to show them the exotic location where the hit TV series is filmed. 

Caroline, Rog and Adrienne get ready to order
breakfast at Big Dave's Cafe in Barry

Arriving at about 11.30am, we decided to dine out in style at Big Dave's Cafe where we opted for Nessa's Big Breakfast. Lovely grub although the fried eggs looked like the novelty variety you can buy in joke shops.


Adrienne in the booth where Nessa dispenses
cash for the slot machines

 We went on to the seafront - which was remarkably busy despite the freezing February cold. After buying a 'Oh! What's occuring?' fridge magnet, Adrienne was ecstatic when she was allowed to sit in the booth where Nessa dishes out the change in the slots arcade.


Adrienne in seventh heaven outside Gavin & Stacey's house

We braved the cold to play the Smuggler's Cove Adventure Golf course - which Adrienne won, much to her surprise. Then, we drove around searching for the house where 'Stacey' lives - 47 Trinity Road. Finding it, we parked up and took a variety of photos outside. As we were about to leave, the front door opened and a the ovner, Glenda Kenyon, invited us in to look around and take photos. Adrienne nearly exploded with delight.

Glenda is a lovely lady who spends hours every day showing fans of the show round her house - which is full of framed cuttings from newspapers about the show and her house.


Glenda Kenyon, owner of the house where Stacey lives in Barry

She is a great tour guide and told us how 'Gavin and Stacey' came to be filmed there and all about the show's stars. It was an amazing experience - and to top it off we drove to Gavin's house in Billericay, Essex - which is actually a couple of miles away in Barry.

Adrienne and Caroline on Stacey's sofa.

It was an unforgettable day, and Adrienne will be going home to Australia with a story and photos that will amaze her friends.