Farewell Mollie Sugden

Sad news yesterday that Mollie Sugden has died. She was, of course, best known as Mrs Slocombe in Are You Being Served?, a great show from the 70s and one of my personal favourites when I was a littlie. How I got away with watching it I'm not quite sure - my t.v. intake was strictly vetted by my mother - because there were double entendres aplenty with this one. But perhaps the average 5 year-old misses all but the most obvious of jokes. I really did think she was talking about her pet cat.

As you know, I am on a bit of a nostalgia kick these days and I still hold affection for all of the Thames Television shows of this era - Are You Being Served?, Mind Your Language, Man About the House, Robin's Nest, George and Mildred, Doctor in the House. Although I did re-watch Love Thy Neighbour the other day and that one was a bit hard to take. Loved the retro interiors but the out-and-out racism? Hmmm - difficult to watch. But, as with my Andy Gibb clip from a few weeks ago, what it is is that these shows bring back those days for me - of sitting on the nubby, rust-coloured carpet my parents used to have in their living room, watching these neat little stories on the old black-and-white set, as some crazily funny circumstance was sorted out all in the space of half an hour. If only life could be like that! Some bantering dialogue, a few laughs and all done and dusted in 30 minutes! This clip in particular also reminded me of the days when I was working in a call centre. Our toilet breaks were timed too! I should say though, that if you are offended by some pretty off-colour 70s attitudes to women, don't watch this - it won't improve your opinion. I just thought it was a good example of Mrs Sugden at work. And perhaps I am also proving that a childhood raised on this stuff has inured me to its dodginess...hmmm...