Bliss on Toast Prue Leith

altar of this remote church in a magical valley that seems to exist in a world of its own, it is revered by experts as the finest – and probably leastknown – Romanesque shrine structure in the whole of northern Europe.

Have you met Miss Jones? Leonard Rossiter as Rigsby

Who can forget the immortal Rupert Rigsby, as played to perfection by Leonard Rossiter in Rising Damp (1974-78) on ITV?

And just as Eric Chappell was writing Rising Damp, he had another hit series in The Squirrels (1974-77), also on ITV. And now he’s releasing the scripts as a book, also called The Squirrels.

The three series were about the office of an accounts department of a TV-rental company. Instead of working, the staff bunked off and had office romances. Chappell based the series on his 22 years of office life as an auditor for the East Midlands Electricity Board.

Eric Chappell, happily still with us at 88, says of The Squirrels, ‘No one liked the title but I refused to change it, showing all the arrogance of a beginner.

‘It was inspired by a poem by Alfred Noyes which dealt with the frustrated hopes and ambitions of a young clerk – my feelings at the time.’

The idea was accepted by ATV – ‘With great reluctance,’ Chappell diffidently says. Still, it rose to number one in the TV charts in the first series.

In many ways, the series, starring Bernard Hepton and Ken Jones, pre-empted The Office by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant by nearly 30 years.

Hysterectomies aren’t much fun – but Oldie reader Suzanne Peel managed to see the funny side in a consultation with her surgeon just before her own op.

CONSULTANT: Good morning.

SUZANNE: Good morning, Mr P.

CONSULTANT (filling in a form): Now, let’s see, are you still at the same address?

SUZANNE: Yes.

CONSULTANT: And you have two children.

SUZANNE: Yes.

prue leith Bliss on Toast

Quick, easy, comforting and delicious suppers

Roasted squash (or pumpkin) with apple, pecan and fried sage leaves on toasted oat country loaf

CONSULTANT: And their ages are?

SUZANNE: Both early twenties.

CONSULTANT: So, you’re still at the same address, two children – and did you push them out yourself?

SUZANNE: No, they are still both at home, but I hope they move out and get a flat eventually.

CONSULTANT [slowly looking up with quizzical look on his face]: No, I mean did you push them out yourself at birth?

SUZANNE [with very stupid look on her face]: Oh, I’m sorry. No – one forceps and one natural.

Consultant slowly looks down and carries on writing on his form, presumably adding, ‘Forget the womb – check the head!’.

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