Another blast from the past Gert found on her shelves, from Willans & Searle of St. Trinian’s fame…
Sooner or later yore parents decide that they ought to give you a chance to have a bash at the piano. So wot happen, eh? They go up to GRIMES, headmaster, who is dealing in his inimitable way, my dere, with a number of problems from other parents e.g. fotherington-thomas’s vests, peasons cough drops, grabber’s gold pen and pore, pore mrs gillibrand thinks that ian (who is so sensitive) is the tiniest bit unhappy about the condukt of sigismund the mad maths master. (Who wouldn’t be? He is utterly bats and more crooked than the angle A.) Finally come the turn of those super, smashing and cultured family hem-hem the molesworths. Mum step forward britely:
Oh, mr GRIMES, she sa, we think it would be so nice for nigel and his wee bro, molesworth 2, to learn the piano this term.
(GRIMES thinks: Another mug. One born every minit.)
They say you have to have read Molesworth, the Curse of St Custard’s, as a child to find him funny. Well, Gert did, every word of him, and she still sa as any fule no and go on o you mite and hello clouds, hello sky at the drop of an old skool cap.
Are there any other Molesworth fans out there?
Back in the jug agane, Geoffrey Willans & Ronald Searle, Max Parrish 1959
Nice illustration! I couldn’t help but smile at that scene.
I always thought St Custard’s was funnier than St Trinian’s.
Never heard of them, Gert. But just love the Anglish and the spellen.
Leslie
There’s a golden-haired little boy called Fotherington-Tomas loathed by Molesworth. He goes skipping about saying, “Hello clouds, hello sky”.
Love him already!
Leslie
Reblogged this on Catch The Moon, Mary and commented:
Saint Trinians was/is pure madcap genius. Even the recent remake with the splendid Rupert Everett shows how timeless and effortless this particular brand of irreverent humour is. For addicts like me it’s simply impossible to get enough Williams and Searle fixes.
Great to meet another W & S fan. I think we might be a dying breed.
True … although the recent remake should seduce a new generation of fans. There’s truly nothing like Saint Trinians and their madcap escapades. One hilarious episode I saw was with the incomparable Joyce Grenfell playing a spy. She passed a table where some “baddies” were speaking French and returned to her sidekick and confidently announced “They’re speaking Italian but fortunately I speak it fluently…they can’t fool me.” Hilarious madness. I love Molesworth, too.
There’s probably more scope for St T’s to be popular because it has GURLS, and I seem to remember the old versions of it had curvaceous blondes. Hard to make Molesworth sexy!