This ukulele kills fascists
In 1946 George and Beryl Formbyย
fancied a bit of sun.ย
Now the fighting was over.
Now the war was done.ย
George Formby thought the war was won.
Thought him and Beryl deserved some fun.ย
So, at the peak of his fame, he booked South Africa gigs.ย
Onto the ship they run.ย
After his first performanceย
George were a little perplexed.ย
He sought out the theatre owner
and said,ย
Eee, I thought that this was Africa, where were the black folk tonight?ย
When George Formby was toldย
that black Africans weren't allowedย
he cancelled all his gigs.ย
Instead George and Beryl toured the townshipsย
with his ukulele and his grin.ย
He played his songs to massive crowdsย
much to the government's chagrin.ย
When Beryl said to Daniel Malanย
(leader of the national party at the time )
"Why don't you piss off, you horrible little man. "
That was enough for him.ย
The South African government deportedย
George and Beryl Formby.ย
Laughing long and loud back to the ship they ran.
In the townships they sang.ย
They sang about cleaning windows.ย
They sang about a wonderful, humble man.
They sang of one of them.ย
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Comments
Hi Nigel
That poem turned out nice again !!
Great work
Aye it did, right enough.
To this day I love his films. They always make me smile. I only found out about this episode yesterday and I had to write something. A working class hero is something to be.
Nigel
Wonderful Story.ย This is the first time I heard the story.ย I love it
Thanks
Greg
Thanks Greg,
In all his films (there were 40+ blockbusters by 1946) he played a working class underdog standing up to idiotic toffs. When he went to south Africa he showed that that is who he really was.ย
Loved him,
Nigel
WOW!! Sir Nigel!!...... what an excellent and most compelling narrative....... and truly informative as well....... your delivery is quite compellingly crafted..... so for me..... this carries powerful weight as poetry goes..... and has inspired me to look into his work!!...... Fantastic write my friend!!.......PINNED!!......high fives dear poet brother!!.....LOVE & ROCKETS!!.......T xo ???โด?โด?
Thank you Tony, I hope you enjoy his films when you check them out. Very English but also very universal humour. Thanks my friend,
Nigel
?? excellent piece!! ?????
Thank you Wayne.
He was what I think of as a quiet socialist, a ragged trousered philanthropist.
Nigel
As a kid the first time I heard of him was when I watched a programme called "goodnight, sweetheart" I loved that show as I liked when it went back in time, there was a certain episode when his character was in it, and I really enjoyed it ?????
Ah, yes, with Nicholas Lyndhurst. I don't remember the episode but as he was a working class hero of his time (the time that Goodnight Sweetheart warped back to) I'm not surprised. Great series.
Nigel
Yeah, that's the one! ?? excellent write my friend! ???
I love this story, Nice work Nigel!
Q.ย
Thanks Q, I tried to say this one in his voice and I'm very proud that most people (I put my stuff out on fb as well) think I've at least got it quite Lancastrian. It's now my most requested piece on spoken word nights. Thanks for reading friend,
Nigel.
Nigel, I loved listening to your spoken word. Thank you so much for asking me to listen to it! It made me smile and for me that is art, its not always what art looks like, but what it does to us and yours made me smile.
Your voice changes as your confidence grows, as does mine I believe.
Its so wonderful to hear poetry spoken, it gives it another layer!
Great work xx
Thank you Caron,
I initially found Cosmofunnel by a recommendation at a spoken word open mic night at a local pub. It was the first time I had ever read my work publically and it was a wonderful experience to literally see people begin to really listen.
That was around about this time in 2016. The next spoken word night was remembrance Sunday 2016 and we were all asked to choose pieces that were respectful to the day. I didn't want to read Owen or Sassoon, which is what most people did, so I wrote two pieces for the night.
One of the pieces "Bread" is still requested so I am going to repost it before armistice day with a spoken word track. Hopefully tonight.
Thank you Caron
Nigel.
Nigel, I have been to Spoken Word events a few times now, however, I have not had the confidence to get up and perform. It's not an easy thing to do, so I think you are amazing and brave to do it! I guess I am a little worried that as my writing is very much grounded in traditional poetry in one way, as I like to use a lot of metaphors and I'm not sure if this style will transverse in to 'modern spoken word' style and be received well?ย Of course, I will get there eventually!
I very much look forward to listening to 'Bread'.
Kindest regards xx
Hi Caron,
The first time you perform is very nerve racking but very liberating. It has been my experience that audiences are very open to all styles and genres and encouraging to all the poets. I heartily recommended giving it a try. The fact that they tend to be in pubs does make the nerves a little easier.
Oh and I published Bread last night but I feel I fluffed the closing section a bit on the spoken word.
Thanks again Caron,
Nigel.