Beating Up The Carry Ons! All Aboard The Good Ship Windsor

Barbara ‘Babs’ Windsor adored a bit of Motown and was more than a little partial to the sounds that emanated from the Stax label.

But thanks to fellow Carry Oners Sid James and Peter Butterworth, Talbot ‘Tolly’ Rothwell’s turntable spun to the antiquated dreariness of the crooners (Frank Sinatra, Perry Como and Bing Crosby).

As the Carry On scriptwriter, Tolly wasn’t high on the pecking order when it came to selecting the aural ambience of his abode, especially on those rare weekends when the stars came out and illuminated the sleepy little Sussex village of Fulking.

But Babs was no shrinking violet, and often once the whisky and wine was in full flow, Tolly’s wall mounted speakers would throb to the wah-wah guitars and hard driving beat of The Temptations ‘Cloud Nine’. That’s when things got interesting .. especially if Kenneth Williams was in residence!

At first Kenneth would moan and bemoan the sudden competition for the room’s attention. He may have told his anecdotes many times over, but there was always an audience hanging on his every word.  

It wouldn’t be long before young Ken would note Sid James’ disdain at the ongoing racket, and that’s when, without a second thought, Kenneth would jump raft and come down on the side of the good ship, Windsor.

‘Turn it up, Barb’, he would scream. ‘Come on everyone, are we the only ones ‘ere with a pulse?’ Babs would love it, I loved it .. and Tolly would just give that ‘wink’ of his and retire graciously to the rear garden. 

The battle had been won. Soon, the likes of Marvin Gaye, The Isley Brothers, Martha and the Vandellas, Booker T. & the M.G.'s, Eddie Floyd and Wilson Pickett would drive Sid and his compatriots out of both the house and the party spirit. Kenneth may have been left with a much diminished audience, but it was an audience all the same!

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A Write Carry On - The Untold Story Of A Man In The Shadows

by Mike Cobley

Wholepoint Publications

Julian Clary Had His Part In Carry On Columbus!

Of course the Carry On film franchise didn't come to an end when its long-term scriptwriter Talbot 'Tolly' Rothwell’s contract came to an end with ‘Dick’, in 1974.

After stuttering on for another four films, there would be a break of some fourteen years until what, so far, has become the series finale, ‘Columbus’.

The ‘big four’ from the past to join the project were Jim Dale, Bernard Cribbins, Leslie Phillips and June Whitfield.

The reviews were as disappointing as the film itself, but what of the thoughts of the cast? The closest I came to an answer was having the opportunity to quiz Julian Clary.

The unplanned meeting was a few years back at the Sussex Arts Club, a private members establishment in Brighton.

At the time Julian was looking to retire to the country and write books. He'd had enough of the endless touring and showbiz glitz.

It was a sedentary lifestyle he was to soon to tire of, and it wasn't long - five years to be precise - before his next tour.

At the time of 'Columbus,' Julian told me, he would delight in 'shocking people'. That some people 'deserved to be shocked.' And ‘wasn't upsetting the apple cart what the Carry Ons were all about anyway?'

Julian believed, quite rightly, that his suggestive and middle-England bothering style of humour was very much of the Tolly Rothwell genre. Julian adored the double entendres packed Tolly scripts.

He also loved Tolly’s many great comedy moments that brought the very best out of Frankie Howerd, in Up Pompeii.

And it was with Frankie that he seemingly identified the most. Julian admitted to the same self-doubts and anxieties, as well as the promiscuous early years as a blossoming gay man.

So when the call came with an offer of a part of in ‘Columbus’ the fact that Frankie was to be on board was a big plus point. Sadly the great man passed away just two days before filming got underway.

Julian wouldn’t be drawn on the negative sides of the experience, just that it had been an honour to be asked and subsequently involved.

If he’d been born twenty years earlier, no-doubt Julian would have stood side-by-side with Frankie, Sid James, Kenneth Williams et al. As it was, the true Carry On spirit was pensioned off at the same time Tolly called it a day.

A Write Carry On

The Untold Story Of A Man In The Shadows

By Mike Cobley

Wholepoint Publications

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The Times They Were A Changing For The Carry Ons

The South Downs has a life all of its own. Running from the Itchen Valley of Hampshire in the west to Beachy Head, near Eastbourne, East Sussex, in the east; and I have walked its hundred-plus miles on more than one occasion.

Whatever time of the year you set off along its mainly chalk encrusted paths it’s best to remember that the seasons are never to be trusted.

Sometimes it's as though they conspire to lay-in-wait for the passing traveler, before unleashing their armory upon their unsuspecting gargoyle-wearing prey as they innocently wander the nooks and crannies of the supposed sleeping giant.

Twice the elements have forced me from the hills and down into the sparsely populated and welcoming valleys.

On both occasions I found myself in Fulking, the home of Carry On scriptwriter, Talbot ‘Tolly’ Rothwell. And on the second occasion it was he who gave me refuge.

I turned up at his door wet, tired, hungry and unannounced. He cured me on all of the first three accounts. At the time Tolly was working on his final Carry On script, ‘Dick’, and he wasn’t in the best of physical or mental health.

His study door was open and screwed up pieces of paper were littered across its floor. I was, for that night, to be his sounding board.

Tolly felt that it wasn’t just him who was feeling his age. The Carry On series itself was, with ‘Dick’, about to ring in some unwanted changes.

For a start it was to be the last appearances of Sid James (after 19 entries in the series) and Hattie Jacques (after 14 entries).

Then, of course, the film also brought down the curtain on Tolly’s eleven year reign as scriptwriter for the Carry Ons.

Plus, it was also to be Barbara Windsor's final acting role in a Carry On film. The times they were a changing!

Tolly could read the changes of the South Downs weather much better than I could, and early the next morning I was on my way.

I left a troubled, but much loved, man alone with his demons and failing health. The Carry Ons were in terminal decline also.

To read more on Sid James, Barbara Windsor and the rest of the Carry On cast and crew .. buy a copy of A Write Carry On .. Just CLICK HERE

A Write Carry On

The Untold Story Of A Man In The Shadows

By Mike Cobley

Wholepoint Publications

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Kenneth Williams Asked: ‘Is this where you get felt?’

The first time I met Kenneth Williams we were stood, along with Jim Dale, in the front room of Talbot ‘Tolly’ Rothwell’s house. Tolly was the then scriptwriter of the much loved Carry On films (and Kenneth Williams and Jim Dale were two long serving actors of the successful series).

Kenneth was bleating. He did that a lot. If you were in another room with a crowd of chattering people, then that not-so-far-away sound of bleating was more than likely to be the sound of Kenneth Williams holding court.

For when Kenneth was in a room 1/ he was never alone, and 2/ he was the king of all he surveyed and the others were there merely to listen.

‘Is this where you get felt?’ These were the first words Kenneth Williams uttered in my presence. I was barely into my teens and took his query to be one pertaining to non-woven cloth and not the sexually charged nod-and-a-wink meaning he had in mind.

Jim Dale piped-up in my defence and asked Kenneth to pipe-down. ‘He knows I’m only having a laugh, don’t you?’ I smiled back. Kenneth then asked my name and how come I happened to be at Tolly’s gaffe at the same time as comedy royalty.

I explained that Tolly and my dad had been friends since school and that we were often here at weekends. ‘Well, good for you. And what fine profession have you got your eye on,’ inquired Kenneth.

‘I want to be a vet.’

‘A vet. Dirty job. All those hours with you hands up strangers’ arses. What drew you to that?’

‘James Herriot. Well his books, I love them.’

‘Good for you,’ smiled Kenneth. ‘Read and ye shall find.’ He then broke his attention away from me, realised the bulk of guests were in another room .. and the next I heard was the not-so-distant sound of a bleating sheep.


To read more on Kenneth Williams and the rest of the Carry On cast and crew .. buy a copy of A Write Carry On .. Just CLICK HERE

A Write Carry On

The Untold Story Of A Man In The Shadows

By Mike Cobley

Wholepoint Publications

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The Day Eric Sykes, Sid James & Jim Dale Bowled Over The Locals!

It was the dying embers of an all-too-rare long hot summer and my parent's social life was about to peak when an unexpected invitation arrived for them to be among the select guests at a Preston Nomads versus celebrities charity cricket match.

The Preston Nomads were based in the village of Fulking, at the foot of the South Downs, in East Sussex, and it was a ground I knew well as Carry On scriptwriter, Talbot 'Tolly' Rothwell, was an honorary member of the club.

I'd spent many a summer's Sunday basking in the tradition of drunken men swinging wood at leather and berating the inevitable early loss of their open wicket. The game itself meant little to me; the open space, relaxed atmosphere and copious amounts of sugary offerings were a different matter.

On this particular day the celebrity side was to feature Sid James, Leslie Phillips, Eric Sykes, Peter Butterworth, Jim Dale and Tolly himself.

We’d spent the morning at Tolly’s while my dad took it upon himself to be chief motivator and bottle washer .. i.e he was getting in the way and taking the coming proceedings far too seriously.

Sid James, Peter Butterworth and Jim Dale arrived just before we left for the game. I sat next to Jim Dale on the short journey and I’m sure I sensed nerves among his quick wit and boyish charms.

From the first over onwards it became pretty clear that the batting total of the local Preston Nomads side was likely to cause embarrassment to the celebrities’ final score. So Eric Sykes took it upon himself to the play the clown, a role he was born too.

His one-liners, fake falls, mimed catches and impersonations brought the host side to its knees .. not an easy position to bat from. The obviously superior Nomads side saw their batting order collapse in just a few short overs.

After whisky-laced refreshments, Tolly and his band of misbehaving brothers stepped up and took under an hour to pass the Nomads total.

Victory was theirs, and the drinks were free. Celebrations went on long into the evening and my dad rescued me from the debauchery not long before its effects would’ve left a permanent scar on my emotional development!  

To read more on Sid James, Jim Dale and the rest of the Carry On cast and crew .. buy a copy of A Write Carry On .. Just CLICK HERE

A Write Carry On

The Untold Story Of A Man In The Shadows

By Mike Cobley

Wholepoint Publications

Available now at Amazon
Available now via iTunes
Read On Your Kobo