Jottings
“hurt feelings and distress.”
Don’t panic!
Dad’s Army was first broadcast by the
BBC on July 31, 1968, and ended after 80
episodes in 1977. These are regularly
repeated and the series is frequently
lauded as one of the greatest TV comedy
sitcoms ever made. However, there has
been a call for further screenings to be
banned because the programme is not
sufficiently Europhile, while the arrow
opposing the invasion in the opening
titles is too much like the Brexit Party
logo. Who says so? Daisy Goodwin, that’s
who. Who?
Ms Goodwin is the author of a 2016
novel about Queen Victoria, which she
then developed as a drama series for
ITV. Her other TV production and
editing credits also include How clean is
your house, Life laundry, She’s gotta
have it, and Grow your own drugs. How
lovely, as Sgt Wilson would say.
However, her quest for historical
accuracy in the life of our own dear
Queen Vic has been widely questioned
and she now wants re-runs of Dad’s
Army banned with the aim of
maintaining the BBC’s impartiality.
“We’re doomed,” was the gist of her
article in the Radio Times last month as
she accused the BBC of “getting it
wrong” in the Brexit debate. She went on
to suggest that the comedy is more
influential in shaping attitudes than
political programmes such as Newsnight,
because it attracts larger audiences.
(What doesn’t, since Paxman left?) The
UK, she adds, “need to be reminded that
we are not living in Walmington-on-
Sea.” She continues, “Our current
difficulties will not be resolved with a
comic flourish and a jaunty burst of Bud
Flanagan.” Who do you think you are
kidding, Daisy Goodwin?
Meanwhile, three episodes of Dad’s
Army, which were lost after the BBC
wiped the video tapes they were
recorded on, are being remade by the
Gold television channel. However,
producers have had a hard time
controlling the studio audience. Every
time Corporal Jones (played by Kevin
Eldon) uttered the famous phrase, “They
don’t like it up ‘em!” the audience stood
to its feet and cheered. Bosses had to
persuade them from staging further
standing ovations because it was feared
the result would sound like a pro-Brexit
rally ...
Back to School
Appleton Academy in Bradford has
introduced a new dress code for its
25
secondary pupils when classes resume
for the autumn term. Skirts are banned
and all pupils will have to wear trousers,
a decision which has not met full
approval from the girls.
Exceed Academies Trust, which runs the
school, said the “minor policy change ...
simplifies the uniform and it removes
the issue of pupils wearing skirts that are
an inappropriate length.” It claimed the
decision had been accepted “calmly” and
“politely” by pupils. But female pupils
have been talking about a petition calling
for the decision to be reversed, calling it
“ridiculous” and claiming the choice of
what to wear has been taken from them.
Not so calm and polite after all, then?
Parents have called the move “disgusting
and sexist” because boys are not being
forced to wear skirts, and are angered
because they heard the news on social
media before receiving formal
notification from the school.
Your Jottings team is shocked to discover
that nursery schools are abandoning the
naughty step as punishment for unruly
youngsters. Instead, staff are being told
take the little darlings to one side and
reason with them. One nursery
apparently uses an Ikea cushion as a
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