Look At Daddy With The Camera And Do That Thing Uncle Eddie Taught You

[poliphilo]

When I was seven I was constantly giving the nazi salute. It was 1958 and the nazis were just about the funniest people on (or off) the planet. Put your forefinger under your nose, extend your right arm and shout "Seig Heil"- it got you a laugh every time. (See the collected works of Spike Milligan, Peter Sellers, Mel Brooks and other funny men of that generation.)

Whether the then Duchess of York thought she was having a laugh teaching her seven year old daughter to give the nazi salute in 1933 is less certain. The nazis were definitely not as funny then. Or were they? I suppose it depends on who you were and where you were standing. In this case the two Elizabeths were standing next to the then Prince of Wales, who was- famously- a great admirer of little Dolphie.

Edward Prince of Wales was a miserable twerp. We're allowed to say that because the establishment cast him out and might very well- if he'd have been a person of lesser stature- have had him shot as a traitor. Quite what the Queen Mother was is still shrouded in clouds of gin-perfumed mystery. Who the present Queen is we shan't know until years after her death.

Have we the right to see the footage? Hell, yes. These are the people we reward handsomely for graciously reigning over us and I don't see why we shouldn't know what we're getting for our money.

Comments

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

That episode was about the British obsession with WWII. The hotel has German guests and Fawlty goes round telling the staff not to mention the war but can't help doing it himself. For a Brit brought up on war movies and war comics and war documentaries it rang a lot of bells.

[artkouros.livejournal.com]

I thought it was hilarious.