25.05.22.
Laurel and Chaplin show
I was looking on the Edinburgh Fringe website and spotted that there is a show on that might be of interest to Laurel & Hardy fans - it's called 'Laurel and Chaplin: Before They Were Famous', which is put on by Jordan Conway, Matt Knight and Crazy Comedy Company. The short description on the Fringe website says 'They changed Hollywood, but not together. Hilarious and heart-breaking true story of the world's greatest comedians who were best friends before they were famous and never spoke again when they were stars.'
It sounds interesting and runs from August 5-13th for anyone who is interested - tickets can be bought here:
https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/laurel-and-chaplin-before-they-were-famous
Stan Fan
Seaside extravaganza next year
Enquiries to Roger Robinson
Beau Chumps Tent
The Chumps held their May 22 meeting last Weds and a swell time was had by all when we enjoyed We Faw Down, They Go Boom and Swiss Miss. Alan is making a great recovery from his op, and here's a look the wonderful walking stick he had made, along with a couple of other images taken on the evening.
An early reminder that the June meeting will be on the Third Wednesday, not the usual second, when we look forward to welcoming David Crump, author of the amazing Fred Karno - The Legend Behind the Laughter. Dave will be doing a short spot on the culmination of ten years of hard work and will have copies for sale which he will happily sign and dedicate.
Mike Jones
Paul on the air
If you follow the Men o’ war Facebook page you may already have seen this but if not you may be interested in hearing that on 12 May BBC Radio Suffolk called me (at 7.20am!!) to ask if I would have a short chat about Laurel & Hardy on air sometime before 10am when they were talking about fan clubs. The chat lasted about 5 minutes and is still available on their website - if you would like to hear what was said, it can be found at the 3 hour 8 minutes mark.
Paul Harding
Best
The above was in the latest Best of British (June 2022) magazine.
Roger Robinson
In colour
Another colouring by the wonderful Paul Mitchell.
Revelling in Italy
Sons of Oasis 306 met on Saturday in Busseto to inaugurate the new season of entertainment under the banner of Stan & Babe!
After having lunch in the "Giuseppe Verdi" inn with excellent cured meats and excellent Lambrusco, we went to the theater to see brother Tony and his company play in the Comedy "Le Pillole di Ercole".
It was a beautiful evening, and thanks to the good wine, the beautiful Odalisques of our Tent, and Tony's comedy, we had a great time.
Giancarlo Manfredini
…and in the USA
In a nearby town, there was music festival of local bands, to raise money for the people of Ukraine, and one of the side attractions they had was a piano to smash.
I gave $10 to have a whack at it with a big mallet. I swung it like Buster did in "Fatty At Coney Island", and only busted a couple of keys.
Afterward, we stopped by a store, where they were selling ghost's -
I mean goats' milk!
Later I went back there, and they still had the piano pieces in the parking lot! You could call it Mr. Finlayson's piano, or Dr. Theodore Von Schwarzenhoffen's birthday present, or Mr. Hardy's fall on a spring accident.
Eric Schultz
...and finally