Happy 95th — Dame Patricia Routledge!

One of the few upsides of digging out after another year of semi-living under an ever-present pandemic cloud is the opportunity to send good wishes for a very happy birthday to the brilliant Dame Katherine Patricia Routledge, who turns 95 today. Given Hyacinth would have been appalled at the possibility that I might forget to drop […]

Read more

North Hobart’s ‘Room for a Pony’ restaurant would appeal to both Hyacinth and Onslow!

Even though it’s highly doubful that one of the best restaurants in Australia get its name from Hyacinth Bucket’s description of her sister Violet’s successful lifestyle, it is fun to think that the owners of Room for a Pony in North Hobart are long-time fans of the classic British comedy, Keeping Up Appearances. Unlike Humphry Slocombe Ice Cream out of […]

Read more

Looking back on a special trip to Holmfirth with Frank Thornton as ‘LOTSW’ turns 50!

Last of the Summer Wine, the long-running British situation comedy written by Roy Clarke (Open All Hours, Keeping Up Appearances, Still Open All Hours, Young Hyacinth) lasted for a mere 31 seasons encompassing 295 episodes (1973-2010) and featured the trials and tribulations of three pensioners (Bill Owen as Compo, Peter Sallis as Norman Clegg and Michael Bates […]

Read more

For your viewing pleasure — a Dutch parody of ‘Keeping Up Appearances’ courtesy of De TV-Kantine

If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then satirical parody imitation must be off the charts. From the the Dutch satire TV show De TV-Kantine, comes their own take on the iconic BBC series, Keeping Up Appearances with Carlo Boszhard, Dutch TV personality, singer, impersonator, and host as Hyacinth. While admittedly just a tad bit ‘over the top’, […]

Read more

When in Coventry, head over to Hyacinth and Richard Bucket’s house and a brush with British comedy greatness.

Filmed in locations across the West Midlands, the most iconic location, Hyacinth and Richard Bucket’s home, was a quiet family home in Coventry before television crews knocked on the door of current owner Rosemary Healey to ultimately set up shop for what was to become Hyacinth’s famous house, along with her neighbor, Elizaben Warden’s home […]

Read more

The next meeting of the DMDC is set as ‘The Detectorists’ gets ready for one final dig!

Mackenzie Crook, the writer, director and star behind the brilliant metal-detecting sitcom The Detectorists, confirmed there will be one last sweep of the English countryside coming from his mind palace which will warrant getting the band back together in the not-too-distant future. The series, which finished after three series in 2017, was not only a very cerebral  […]

Read more

Happy 93rd, Dame Patricia Routledge!

One of the few upsides of another year living under a pandemic cloud is the opportunity to send good wishes for a very happy birthday to the brilliant Dame Patricia Routledge, who turns 93 today. Given Hyacinth would have been appalled at the possibility that I might forget to drop a card in the post […]

Read more

Remembering Geoffrey Hughes, a.k.a Onslow, on what would have been his 76th birthday!

The man who most knew as Onslow, the slovenly bane of Hyacinth’s existence (except for one special moment on the QE2) in Keeping Up Appearances, would have been 76 on Sunday. Geoffrey Hughes, one of the true British comedy greats, was also known to many over the years for his supporting role as Twiggy in The Royle Family, conman Vernon Scripps in Heartbeat and binman, Eddie Yeats, in Coronation Street during the 1970’s and 80’s. Probably very few knew that Hughes was also the voice of Paul McCartney in the Beatles 1968 film, Yellow Submarine.

Read more