Posted By Ken Urquhart
Message for Frank Penny and others who might be interested.
Frank,
The Bricklayer is an old piece dating back to 1958 and was and I believe still is the property of Gerard HOFFNUNG, now his Airs and successors. It has been much recounted around the world in many languages and in many variations on the theme.
However, the original as I said belongs to Gerard Hoffnung and was perhaps most famously presented by him in "An Address to The Oxford Union"
On the same occassion he also delivered a piece on correspondence between a potential customer and a European hotelier, perhaps the forerunner of "The Package Tour"
Fortunately for Posterity this Oxford Union debate was recorded by The BBC and Audio tapes with the original are still available.
I first used this piece as a very young Safety Officer in Edinburgh at a Building Foremans Social evening where we also presented some Safety Information - 1962 to be precise and the purpose was to bring to the attention of our Contract managers and Foreman the existance of The Construction (General Provisions) Regulations 1961, now of course repealed.
(And here I am some 40 years later still promoting The Safety Message in the Construction Industry.)
For those who might be interested see the following.
It was in 1953 that Hoffnung was first invited to speak in a Debate at the Cambridge Union. Alistair Sampson, then President of the Union later wrote of this visit:
'Gerard came and gave one of the most superb comic oratoric performances that the Union can ever have heard. Devoid of cruelty' and vulgarity', it was a superb example of pure humour. He was enchanting, fascinating and tumultuous. One moment he was offering snuff to his undergraduate audience, the next he was touching the microphone and leaping back as though electrocuted ........So it is that others may remember him as musician, conversationalist or cartoonist, but I think of him as a speaker. He had all the graces for which those who analyse good speaking look - sympathy, observation, style and masses of audibility. He felt very deeply about manv aspects of social and political life, but always at the back of his mind was the desire to keep the world sane with laughter.'
The local newspaper said of another visit, "He was funnier than anyone has been at the Union before." Unfortunately none of the visits made to the Cambridge Union was recorded, but in 1958 he spoke in a Debate at the Oxford Union which was, by great good fortune, recorded by the BBC. His speech was subsequently issued on disc in 1960 and continues on sale to this day. In it he relates the famous story of the Bricklayer which remains a classic.
BBC Audio Cassettes: Hoffnung, a Last Encore
"Standing among savage scenery, the hotel offers stupendous revelations. There is a French widow in every bedroom, affording delightful prospects."
On two cassettes, each lasting 1 hour, this contains all the recordings of Hoffnung made by the BBC and preserved in their archives. They include the famous and hilariously funny Bricklayer story. This is a must for all Hoffnung enthusiasts.
For more on Hoffnung and his Cartoons, Speeches, Books and Music etc., see the undernoted web site
http://www.musicweb.uk.net/hoffnung/index.htm Regards.
Ken Urquhart