Julian and Sandy, two keen thespians, played by Hugh Paddick and Kenneth Williams on the BBC sketch show Round the Horne.
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Listening to the radio was once something a whole family could share. British comedies were very popular in our house, and we memorised some great lines the way people would later memorise Monty Python sketches and other TV gems.
Of course, it was years before I fully appreciated the characters Julian and Sandy , or why the Latin bona was such an hilarious way to say “good”.
With funny voices, well established characters and catch phrases, sketch characters provided easy laughs. To get the most out of a real story, though, listeners had to use a little imagination and an ability to think visually.
For those who found Julian and Sandy too obscure [or their accents impenetrable] here’s the classic Hoffnung piece; “The Bricklayer”, recorded in 1958.