Joyce Grenfell

Ariadne We had to go to a memorial service last week, and that poem was read, very moving. I liked Joyce Grenfell too but don't know much about her life so may now try and find a book.

Sometimes the rythm would give it away shysal it was a bit like anagrams - either it jumped straight out at you or you could watch all night and not get it.

I enjoyed Face the Music too, never got the silent piano tune.

I'd completely forgotten Face The Music and it used to one of our favourite programmes! I used to feel so smug if I got the tune on the silent piano right

We saw Maureen Lipman, and she was brilliant, wasn't she, could do with more of that sort of thing I think, and I love the 'If I should go'. I remember one of the 'Face the Music' programmes, where only one note was played and Joyce got the tune right straight away - everyone thought it was a trick, but it was always strenuously denied by the producers.

Did any of you see Maureen Lipman's show? I think it was called Re-Joyce. She was brilliant and had us in stitches.

Sometimes I hear someone say something which reminds me of her and makes me smile.

Must watch the You Tubes.

Ariadne I love those words, I chose them and read them at my godmother's funeral. She was a great Joyce Grenfell fan and I knew she would thoroughly approve of the sentiment. I did struggle to get to the end...

Curses! Of course it wasn't Nola!

It was Narcissus (Nevin)... My apologies for the error. Ha!

And this:

If I Should Go...

If I should go before the rest of you
Break not a flower nor inscribe a stone
Nor when I'm gone speak in a Sunday voice
But be the usual selves that I have known
Weep if you must
Parting is hell
But life goes on
So sing as well.

Joyce Grenfell

The 'question master' who played on a silent keyboard was Joseph Cooper, and the programme was Face the Music.

The tune that she recorded with Norman Wisdom was 'Nola', by Felix Arndt.

While the Nursery School monologues were very funny, she could be tender and moving as well - the sketch where she is a woman on a plane talking to the passenger next to her, about her son and how he has married an American girl, and she is going to meet her for the first time - a 'coloured' girl - and her anxiety that she should 'do it right' is extremely touching...

So many characters... the country-woman who has won a rabbit she doesn;t want in a raffle, the University don being interviewed for a television programme, the girl telling her friend Shirl about the latest doings of her boyfriend, the one who 'drives a lorry with big ears'. All wonderfully observed and performed. It's a great pity that Review was allowed to die out...

We used to love this show. I think nowadays it would be considered too highbrow. They used to have the dummy keyboard round where the question master would play but there was no sound. Richard Baker was a regular panellist too. Gosh, it takes me back ....

Does anyone remember the music quiz type show in which Joyce Grenfell featured occasionally - I think it was 'name that tune' or something, Joseph Cooper (?) was the chairman, playing the piano, and there was a panel of people who were asked to name the tune he was playing - or pieces of it - sometimes in a different key or rhythm, or even the middle, almost always classical, and Joyce Grenfell was brilliant at it. I think Robin Ray (son of Ted Ray the comedian and violinist) also appeared on occasions.

Thank you, shysal, I've really enjoyed watching some of the Joyce Grenfell sketches again on YouTube and fingers crossed I'll find the vest sketch one day! Like you, I'm also a Victoria Wood fan, but in my opinion there's nobody around at the moment who is nearly as funny as either of them.

A lot of her sketches are on You Tube. I watched a few the other day, but didn't hear that line, joy.

Such a very funny lady! In one sketch Joyce said "The trouble with these see-through blouses is they show all your vest!" It's many years since I watched it and I've no idea what context it was in, or where to begin looking for it, but I would love to see it again, if it's available - if anybody else remembers it and knows where I can find it I'd be really pleased!

That's the one PRINTMISS, it makes me smile just thinking about it.

Yes she did berdie - de dum, de dum hmmmmm.... and so on until they were both rolling in the isle so to speak. Wonderfu, I liked the one where the grandparent was in the plane travelling to America to see her new inlaws and grandchild, so wanting them to like her. I have several of her tapes and did have a lovely book of her verses which seems to have disappeared.

Did she not do a tune with Norman Wisdom, where they both ended up laughing ????.

POGS it wasn't picking his nose I imagined George doing! Anyone else admitting to what I thought he was doing?

A compliment, tiggy. I always thought my dear friend, who ran a large nursery at a primary school, reminded me of Joyce Grenfell.

Wasn't she good? One of my favourites was Stately As A Galleon. It always reminds me of my best friend and me at ballroom dancing classes - always ending up dancing together!

I loved her classroom sketches.

I thought she was brilliant too.

She had the wonderful talent of making you feel you were 'in the room' with her.

Who didn't feel like they were sat in the classroom watching George picking his nose, at least I hope that was what he was doing, it was in my mind.

It's difficult to say who will be remembered out of the current batch as only time will tell. I do hope we never loose our fondness for the likes of Morecombe and Wise, Victoria Wood. Les Dawson, Ronnies Barker and Corbett, Canon and Ball and of course the wonderful Tommy Cooper.

During my very first Ofsted inspection the inspector likened me to Joyce Grenfell.
Was it an insult or a compliment ?