Forgive me, reader, for this post which has nothing to do with Sicily - or maybe it has, for Humphrey Lyttelton, whose death has been announced tonight, kept me going through good times and bad, in both countries.
Lyttelton was. first and foremost, a jazz musician and it was this very talent which stood him in good stead when R4 needed an "anchorman" for their new quiz, which would lampoon, in a way that only the British can, all who had an over-grown sense of their own importance. Lyttelton was anything but an "anchorman" for he deconstructed the news, just as a jazz musician "deconstructs" music, then rebuilt it.
He chaired the Radio 4 programme, "I'm Sorry, I Haven't a Clue" and his laconic, self-deprecating style was a lesson to all who take themselves too seriously.
Oh, Humph, I shall miss you!
I'M SORRY, I HAVEN'T A CLUE
13 comments:
Of course I am not familiar with him but I did enjoy the clip.
May Humphrey rest in eternal peace and his music live through the years to come :-)
Such people are irreplaceable of course.
We dont get that show here Welshcakes but it so looks one I would enjoy... He seems a brilliant & gentle man... and God knows we need more of them.. he will live in the memories of good people like you...x
ps..dont apologise for your post being not of Sicily..it is of you and that is what makes it special
He was a great jewel in the Radio 4 crown... that bloke with the glasses isn't Elton John, is it..>>~~? I really can't tell :-?...
I have his autograph somewhere.
He played at Worcester Cathderal when I was a child and my parents went to see him. He was a descendant of one of the gunpowder plotters and his family are connected to the part of North worcestershire I grew up in. My grandmother lived in a road called Lyttelton road, named after one of the family.
Glad you enjoyed it, jmb. I echo that, nunyaa. James, yes, a certain kind of Englishness that is totally irreplaceable. You would have loved him , Abbey. Yes, a gentle gentleman. Your kind words mean a lot, as always.
Hi, Gleds. A jewel he was, indeed.
Wow, Crushed! Dig out that autograph! Lovely to know more about him from you -thank you.
I hadn't heard about his death. They repeat 'I'm sorry I haven't a clue' on BBC Radio 7 a lot. He gets away with the rudest comments! Especially about the lovely Samantha.
That, like Alan Coren's, is another sad loss.
Hi, Liz. Yes, I miss AC, too.
Oh, Humph, I shall miss you!
Indeed, WL, indeed. I rarely give a fig one way or another when a celebrity dies. But Humph's death has left me unusually saddened.
A little bit of joy went out of the world this weekend.
A sad loss welshcakes. I loved I'm sorry I haven't a clue. I think we should play Mornington Crescent as a tribute.
Yes, a sad loss for us.
I totally agree, Ludlingtonian. I can't imagine "I'm Sorry ... " without him. That would be a fitting tribute, jmams. Yes, a sad loss, Ellee.
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