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Re: Nicholas' Hens?

Messages in this topic: 8 View All
Clitheroe KidApr 17, 2008
 

 
Nicholas Parsons's autobiography explains how he came to be in that Glasgow
shipyard, and how he managed to survive the experience.

Bear in mind that he started out as an actor, in Scotish rep, and went on to
become a tv actor as Arthur Haines's straight man, on ITV in the early
Sixties. He was able to use his acting talent to good effect in the
shipyards.

He is certainly no good at improvising humour, as a panellist on Just A
Minute. But his later career as a presenter and chairman on Sale of the
Century and Just A Minute and The Rocky Horror Show tend to lead people to
forget that he was a originally a very good repertory actor.

He gets an unfair press. If you listen to the early editions of Just A
Minute, where other people acted as temporary chairman for the week, you get
a better idea of how good Parsons is in that role. Kenneth Williams and
Clement Freud both had several goes at chairing the show, with Parsons on
the panel that week, and both were very bad. Excruciatingly bad in fact.

Listening to 30 minutes of Kenneth and Clement making a pigs breakfast of
chairing the show makes you desperate for Nicholas to take over! Without him
it would not be the show it is: it would not have lasted 40 years with
Clement Freud or Kenneth as chairman. To each his own!

----- Original Message -----
From: "lapsedcat" <lapsedcat@...>
To: <just-a-minute@...>
Sent: Thursday, April 17, 2008 10:56 AM
Subject: [just-a-minute] Re: Nicholas' Hens?


> I still struggle to imagine how someone like Nicholas Parsons managed
> to emerge emotionally and physically unscathed from a rough
> Glaswegian shipyard.
>
>
> --- In just-a-minute@..., "kjnaughton" <naughtonk@...>
> wrote:
> >
> > --- In just-a-minute@..., "lapsedcat" <lapsedcat@>
> wrote:
> > >
> > > "Hen" is a Scottish term of endearment, generally directed
> towards
> > > the female population. I suppose it is similar to the
> American "hon'"
> > > or the English "luv" or "duck" (the latter very popular in the
> East
> > > Midlands particularly). Nicholas, as you know, is always banging
> on
> > > about his Celtic roots and spares no opportunity to effect a
> > > Glaswegian accent, so naturally he insisted on addressing Godley
> > > as "hen".
> >
> > Nicholas spent some considerable time in Glasgow around the time of
> > WW2, working in a ship's engine manufacturer, then going to Glasgow
> > University and latterly working in rep in Glasgow theatres.
> >
> > He therefore probably has an excuse for using Scottish accents and
> words.
> >
> > HTH
> >
> > kJ
> >
>
>
>
> ------------------------------------
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