Original Goon [Audiobook] [Hardcover]

 

 

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Being of a certain age, my first and until this cassette, only experience of Michael Bentine was through his 'Children's' series, 'Michael Bentine's Potty Time'.

Whilst doing lots of driving up to Aberdeen and back I bought this recording at a Motorway service station in an attempt to make the long tedious journey that bit more bearable.

Some ten years later, my feelings of reverence and affection for the recording and as it transpires for MB himself, has not diminished one jot nor with it, the realisation the character and his many and manifold experiences run much deeper than the crazy, wacky and almost farcical TV programme, that I, only remembered him for.

The recording takes the form of a one man show, a type of 'audience with...' if you will, recorded in a public theatre where MB's life is presented and reads like a well crafted Ealing comedy. Naturally it is not all laughs and giggles along the way, but even the dark days, and there have been some very dark days indeed, are crafted with a touch of lightness and brilliance that is missing from today's 'entertainment' we are routinely served up. He talks fluidly, with a charm and wit now all but extinct in today's 'progressive' and modern times, that takes us back to life in prewar public Schools, the Old Boys Network and the Stiff Upper Lip.

It is obvious from the off the warmth that MB solicits from the audience; the show starts with the recollection of the young Michael, battling to overcome his seriously debilitating stammer caused by the horrors of a kitchen table tonsillectomy, and the subsequent resultant reliance on fish cakes as a staple food source whilst at School!

We hear of his vocal training, and his rise to prominence as a leading light in the prewar West End theatre scene, his subsequent arrest and imprisonment by the RAF and his then rescue by none other than the Peruvian Embassador, and his eventual acceptance into RAF Intelligence, on account of him being able to 'bowl a China Man - 6 times out of ten!' As Michael then reminds us...'...only in England!'

He jokes about being one of the few Allied pilots to be awarded the Iron Cross by the Germans for his role in the destruction of so many Allied aircraft.....his near death experience and resultant belief in the afterlife, when being accidentally over medicated in a military hospital after a near fatal aircrash near Southampton on the south coast of England; 'due to my injuries being so severe they knew it was a matter of life and death situation, they had to get me to Hospital as soon as possible!....so flew me the 400 miles North to Glasgow!'

Surely one of the greatest comedic true stories I have ever been fortunate enough to hear is recounted here, when MB does his very best during a WW2 exercise to render simulated medical assistance to an elderly and most compliant WW1 Admiral during war games in Folkstone.....that turns out to be much more realistic than ever intended, also touching upon the statue of Sir William Harvey's role in the folly and dangers of an early evening stroll!

We go on to hear of his affection for his fellow Goons, his part in an attack on the Houses of Parliament whilst piloting a Chinese War Junk, and his later role in the study of the paranormal.

On the one hand, the very least this recording does is to reaffirm one's belief in Human nature and remind us of how we miss the characters and eccentrics that appear to have been commonplace during, up to and immediately after the war years; that of the Great English Eccentric (the Pun will be revealed upon listening!)

On the other hand, I subsequently cannot help but feel a tinge of sadness that these characters are going....going....gone with the inevitable passing of time.

Even so, I cannot recommend this recording highly enough - once heard, I can wholly guarantee that it will never be forgotten and will have an everlasting effect; how I wish I could have come across it earlier and perhaps even have seen the great man in person!

Possibly the best compliment I could pay this recording is that if ever I was persuaded to take the Desert Island Discs challenge, then this is the one recording that would be the very first thing I would reach for - on the upside, it is entertaining, hilarious and ultimately uplifting, the down side - at 90 minutes....it is way too short!

In short, you owe it to yourself to own this recording....what are you waiting for?!

10/10.

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