HS2 - Government proposals, alternative routes and general discussion

[whole diary]

[Robin Summerhill]

(I was actually given a typewritten copy of that gag when I lived in a bedsit in Wells Road, Totterdown, Bristol, between 1970 and 1972. The only difference was a substitution of the word knockers for a word that was in more widely-used parlance at the time )
The late 1960s called. They'd like their joke back...

Are you saying that the joke was written around 20 years before it was broadcast in the 1987 Yes, Prime Minister episode, A Conflict of Interest? Did the typewritten copy you saw attribute  the joke to Anthony Jay and Jonathan Lynn?

I'm sceptical that the joke originated in the late 60s as The Sun didn't start publishing pictures of topless women on page three until November 1970.

I also can't find any source online that suggests the joke has been around since the late 1960s. All the sources I've found attribute the joke to Jay and Lynn for that particular episode of Yes, Prime Minister.

Your typewritten copy of said joke could be worth a bit of money if it proves Jay and Lynn plagiarised it.

Completely off topic but I feel a challenge coming on here 

With a spot of luck that piece of paper should still be up in the attic somewhere. I think it was stored along with the collection of newspapers I found under the lino when we changed it in that bedsit. They were kept because they were rabbiting on about the nation's work still going on despite the King's demise (that was the last one we had in 1952, not William the Conqueror...)

If I find it I'll scan it and post it. However, I can assure you that that line in Yes Minister was not "original" in 1987, although of course it may have been modified to suit the circumstances of that script.

[eightonedee]

Indeed, I'd almost be prepared to wager a pint for BNM if I ever get to a Coffee Shop meeting where alcohol is served that the original may even have referred to the Daily Herald!

[TonyK]

Indeed, I'd almost be prepared to wager a pint for BNM if I ever get to a Coffee Shop meeting where alcohol is served that the original may even have referred to the Daily Herald!

Who knows? Could have been the Daily Universal Register, noted for its joke.

[Robin Summerhill]

(I was actually given a typewritten copy of that gag when I lived in a bedsit in Wells Road, Totterdown, Bristol, between 1970 and 1972. The only difference was a substitution of the word knockers for a word that was in more widely-used parlance at the time )
The late 1960s called. They'd like their joke back...

Are you saying that the joke was written around 20 years before it was broadcast in the 1987 Yes, Prime Minister episode, A Conflict of Interest? Did the typewritten copy you saw attribute  the joke to Anthony Jay and Jonathan Lynn?

I'm sceptical that the joke originated in the late 60s as The Sun didn't start publishing pictures of topless women on page three until November 1970.

I also can't find any source online that suggests the joke has been around since the late 1960s. All the sources I've found attribute the joke to Jay and Lynn for that particular episode of Yes, Prime Minister.

Your typewritten copy of said joke could be worth a bit of money if it proves Jay and Lynn plagiarised it.

Completely off topic but I feel a challenge coming on here 

With a spot of luck that piece of paper should still be up in the attic somewhere. I think it was stored along with the collection of newspapers I found under the lino when we changed it in that bedsit. They were kept because they were rabbiting on about the nation's work still going on despite the King's demise (that was the last one we had in 1952, not William the Conqueror...)

If I find it I'll scan it and post it. However, I can assure you that that line in Yes Minister was not "original" in 1987, although of course it may have been modified to suit the circumstances of that script.

Update - my total lack of a sensible flining system up in that attic has thwarted me for the moment. I did find a March 1972 Bristol Omnibus Company Fare Table book for the Bath and Swindon areas that I'd forgotten I had, but that ain't a lot of good in relation to my self-selected challenge...

Back up that loft ladder tomorrow it is then 

[TaplowGreen]

ITV tonight at 1930 "HS2^▸ (The next High Speed line(s)), Death of the High speed Express?" Could be interesting.

[johnneyw]

Thanks, this looks like a catch up TV^▸ (Thames Valley) job for me.  I'll try and do that before I read the comments on here about it.

[TaplowGreen]

Just watched it.....a tale of breathtaking  incompetence, mismanagement & profligacy with taxpayers money.......total lack of accountability.

 Shocking, but not surprising. Doug Thornton particularly interesting.

Adonis/Burnham desperately trying to justify persisting with it and throwing good billions after bad but you definitely get the impression that HS2^▸ (The next High Speed line(s))'s days are numbered.

[Clan Line]

but you definitely get the impression that HS2^▸ (The next High Speed line(s))'s days are numbered.

Is it surprising ? Just look at the Horlicks they made of GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) electrification - and Brunel had already done the difficult bit !  What have we now got as so-called inter-city expresses ? Glorified outer suburban DMUs^▸ (Diesel Multiple Unit) with hard seats, next to non existent catering and are slower than the trains they have replaced. Yet we are still being fed lies, sorry, gross exaggerations about these transports of delight, long after the travelling public have seen what they are actually like.
Why should anyone believe what is being said about HS2 ? They can't even agree on a story as to what it is actually for................

[johnneyw]

The program did take quite a critical stance, although this was more to do with the regrettable deficiencies in HS2^▸ (The next High Speed line(s))'s execution to date rather the the comparative merits and demerits of the project.
It was rather damning though.

[ellendune]

- and Brunel had already done the difficult bit ! 

Just remember that Brunel did not complete that project on time (years late) or on budget!

[JayMac]

Brunel wasn't spending taxpayers money though.

[ellendune]

Brunel wasn't spending taxpayers money though.

He was spending shareholders money though! What difference does it make?

[TonyK]

I was at the local station yesterday with a Chinese guest, as the Plymouth to Paddington train (IET^▸ (Intercity Express Train - replacement for HSTs (manufactured by Hitachi in Kobe, Japan))) arrived. She asked how fast it goes. "200 km per hour" I replied. She asked "Do you also have high speed trains?"

[TaplowGreen]

Brunel wasn't spending taxpayers money though.

He was spending shareholders money though! What difference does it make?

Do you genuinely need someone to explain that to you?

[ellendune]

Brunel wasn't spending taxpayers money though.

He was spending shareholders money though! What difference does it make?

Do you genuinely need someone to explain that to you?

No but I don't think whether it is shareholders money or tax payers money makes any difference.  Over budget is over budget.