Friday, March 21, 2008

The Game is Afoot!

"Come, Watson, come!
The game is afoot!"
"Shall I wear a pair of shoes, Holmes,
Or just a single boot?"

"I know jiujitsu, Watson,
and Moriarty can box.
But all you do is take extensive notes,
So wear your wollen socks."

Friday, March 14, 2008

Bannerjee baboo is true to The Cause

Comrade Bannerjee, on having an orgasm,
Said he'd much rather an orgase havm,
For experiencing another
Would make even a Brother
Of the Communist Church stoop to bourgeoism.

Sunday, March 9, 2008

Bannerjee Baboo Takes Up Golf

Bannerjee baboo, a clerk from Calcutta,
when attempting mashie shots with a putter,
would often boast
he didn't butter his toast
at breakfast/ He toasted his butter.

Saturday, March 1, 2008

Much A-Diet About Nothing

Eat no more, ladies, eat no more;
Men were gourmands ever;
One fork in salmon, one in pig's corps,
To one course restricted never;
Then sigh not at salad, nor at soup be ruffled,
But let them eat until chocolate souffled,
And be you lithe and bonny;
Let your stomach's protests be muffled
Into 'Hey, nonny, nonny'.

Eat no more steak, dear ladies, eat no mo
Dumplings, full of meat and heavy;
The chicken and mash of men was ever so,
Since summer, fully sozzled in gravy;
Then sigh not at salad, nor at soup be ruffled,
But let them eat until chocolate souffled,
And be you lithe and bonny;
Let your stomach's protests be muffled
Into 'Hey, nonny, nonny'.


Original text:
http://www.poetryloverspage.com/poets/shakespeare/sigh_no_more_ladies.html

Stephen Fry on P.G. Wodehouse

Stephen Fry, actor/ writer/ prince among contemporary polymaths, talks about Plum Wodehouse, 'English literature's performing flea', in his article "What ho! My hero, PG Wodehouse", published in The Independent on January 18, 2000.

...

Had his only contribution to literature been Lord Emsworth and Blandings Castle, his place in history would have been assured. Had he written of none but Mike and Psmith, he would be cherished today as the best and brightest of our comic authors. If Jeeves and Wooster had been his solitary theme, still he would be hailed as the Master. If he had given us only Ukridge, or nothing but recollections of the Mulliner family, or a pure diet of golfing stories, Doctor Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse would nonetheless be considered immortal. That he gave us all those - and more - is our good fortune and a testament to the most industrious, prolific and beneficent author ever to have sat down, scratched his head and banged out a sentence.

If I were to say that the defining characteristic of Wodehouse, the man, was his professionalism, that might make him sound rather dull. We look for eccentricity, sexual weirdness, family trauma and personal demons in our great men. Wodehouse, who knew just what was expected of authors, was used to having to apologise for a childhood that was "as normal as rice-pudding" and a life that consisted of little more than "sitting in front of the typewriter and cursing a bit".

...

Read the full article here>>>http://www.drones.com/fry.html

Friday, February 22, 2008

A Professor of English from Delhi

A Professor of English from Delhi
Thought Byron was better than Shelley.
And when asked about Donne
He'd say, "Donne's more fun
than a pound of raspberry jelly."