Tuesday, December 01, 2009

Lord Bonkers' Diary: Pirate ships return to Rutland Water

Another week at Bonkers Hall has draws to a close.

Sunday

Walking beside Rutland Water this morning, I am pleased to discover that the pirate ships are again flourishing.

Back in the 1960s there were dozens of them. The pirates would all gather on deck and play sea shanties Extremely Loudly to the crowds of young people that had gathered on the shore to listen. This greatly concerned my old friend Anthony Wedgwood Benn – or ‘Viscount Stan’ as he called himself in those days because he thought it more demotic – who would come over to Rutland to chide me about it.

“These youngsters shouldn’t be listening to the pirates,” he fumed, “they should be doing traditional country dances and singing ‘I Love to Carry Manure to the Top of the Mountain to the Benefit of my Comrades on the Collective Farm’.”

I did not take his advice, though I gather the pirates rather faded from view when my own Radio Rutland was set up (and this part of the Water was used for naval gunnery practice – I remain a Rear Admiral in the Royal Rutland Naval Reserve).

I shall take great pleasure in telling Wedgwood Benn about the return of the pirates when next we have dinner.

Earlier this week

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