Drivetime

My drive home from the office is not particularly far, in fact a mere three miles, but unfortunately the direct and sensible route does include the most congested road corridor in the area. 

I try to avoid the traffic jams if at all possible by taking a job in another part of the city as one of my last appointments but when it is unavoidable I resort to my in-car coping strategy. 

This is listening to BBC Four Extra, as they say, the home of drama, comedy and entertainment. 

Today was a bonus day with a recently recorded episode (November 2017), the third in remarkably a 68 series run since its launch in April 1972 of I'm Sorry I haven't a Clue.

 The venue was the Winter Gardens in the south coast resort of Margate in Kent. 

The line up to be hosted by dead-pan comedian Jack Dee was a classic with Barry Cryer, Tim Brooke Taylor, Tony Hawks and Andy Hamilton, all of them major contributors to comedy writing and performance over many decades.

The usual madcap humour was book-ended in the show by two wordplay games where all of the above excel. 

The first was called “Change a letter-ruin a sport”. 

The suggestions were on the subject of well known sports events which might be rather spoiled by the strategic substitution of a single letter as though in a typographical error. 

In no particular order of contribution by the panel; 

Powergoat Racing, 

The Snotput, 

Pong-Pong, 

The Long Dump, 

Garlic Football, 

Dick Boxing, 

Synchronised Slimming, 

Ten-gin bowling , 

Fly fisting, 

undressage, 

show humping, 

mixed marital arts, 

pricket and 

Bugger. 

The closing round asked for ideas for TV programmes likely to have been popular in historical times.

Who wants to be a legionnaire, 

Dads Armada, 

Orange is the new black death, 

CSi Troy, 

Who dost thou think thou art, 

Are you being severed, 

Genghis Khan Cook won’t cook, 

Victorian Derbyshire, 

Georgian Mildred, 

The only way is Wessex, 

Pliny and Perky, 

Three Men in a Boedicea, 

Z-Carts, Loose Women-burn them, 

Top of the Popes, 

Gogglepox, 

Ethelred the Unready, Steady, Go, 

Wheel or no wheel. 

It's all very, very silly but there is no better way to pass the time.