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Monday 24 August 2015

G is for Joyce Grenfell.

Stately as a Galleon. By Joyce Grenfell.

 Famed for her hilarious monologues which she would perform on the radio, stage and television.


 


Joyce  performing Stately as a Galleon on her T.V. show,  I loved her, she was such a clever, eloquent and witty lady.



 She wrote The Belles of St. Trinians, which starred herself and Alastair Simm.

 The list of her works is endless so I am just including Stately as a Galleon for your glee!


..
(this is a monologue which can be set to music, it is a humorous description of ladies indulging in Old Thyme Dancing..If you Google Joyce Grenfell, there is a host of information about her and also clips of her live performances on You Tube, Well worth looking at, if it grabs your attention.) 

Stately as a Galleon.

My neighbour Mrs Fanshaw, is portly , plump and gay, 

 she must be over sixty-seven if she is a day.

 You might have thought her life was dull.

 It's one long whirl instead,

 I asked her all about it, and this is what she said:

I've joined an Old Thyme Dance Club, the trouble is that there,

 Are too many ladies over, and no gentlemen to spare,

 But still it has to be,

 Some ladies have to dance together,

 one of them is me.


Stately as a Galleon, I sail across the floor,

 Doing the Military Two-step, as in the day of yore.

 I dance with Mrs Tiverton; she's light on her feet, in spite of turning the scale at fourteen stone,

 and being of medium height.

 So gay the band,

 So giddy the sight,

 Full evening dress is a must,

 But the zest goes out of The Waltz

 When you dance it bust to bust.

So stately as two Galleons as we sail across the floor,

 Doing the Valse Valetta, as in the days of yore.

 The gent is Mrs Tiverton and I am her lady fair,

 She bows to me ever so nicely and I curtsey  to her with care.

 So gay the band,

 So giddy the sight,

 But it's not the same in the end, for a lady is never a gentleman,

 though she may be your bosom Friend!

So stately as a Galleon, I sail across the floor,

 Doing the dear old Lancers, in the days of yore.

 I'm led by Mrs Tiverton, she swings me round and round

 And though she manoeuvers me wonderfully well

 I never get off the ground .

 So gay the band,

 So giddy the sight, I try not to get depressed.

And it's done me a power of good to explode,

 And get it off my chest!


My sincere thanks to the GORGEOUS Denise for devising ABCW and also the GENIAL Roger for his GREAT efforts in overseeing the smooth running of ABCW,
Thanks also go out to the GLADSOME team of helpers who support the running of ABCW,

Best wishes to you all.
Di,
ABCW team,




 

***



31 comments:

  1. The words to her "song" are wonderful...hilarious in parts. I bet it would be a treat to see her perform.

    Leslie
    abcw team

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Leslie Google her... there
      is a link to you tube, there's a lot of her recitals, very funny indeed,
      Best wishes
      Di
      ABCW team

      Delete
  2. Replies
    1. Hi Dee Dee,
      Good to hear from you again and thanks for your comment.
      Best wishes,
      Di,
      ABCW team.




      Delete
  3. Over 67? My, she's ancient. Ans I'm almost her age!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Oy Roger,
    I shall be 70 years young next year..70 is the new 60!
    Best wishes,
    Di.
    ABCW team.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I don't know her..... but you've written a very nice entry about her.

    And Roger & Di..... age is no more no less than just numbers.... its how you feel that realy matters ;-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Melody,
      I hope you can take the time to Google JG, she's very famous in the US as well as the UK. and really extremely funny.
      I agree with you that age is nothing but a number.
      .Although I am blighted with RA and have to use a wheelchair to get around,
      I still feel younger than the years the numbers indicate,

      best wishes,
      Di,
      ABCW team.

      Delete
  6. Gorgeous, Di! This is really funny!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Gee! Thanks Wil,
      I just knew you would enjoy JG's humour.
      When you have the time, Google her there is lots of her works there.
      I hope you had a wonderful time with your family in Australia, looking forward to some pictures and
      tales of OZ !

      Welcome home !
      Best wishes,
      Di,
      ABCW team.

      Delete
  7. Such a giddy introduction to the letter G! Thanks Di for introducing her to me. I was cracking up over the 67 reference, too. I think 70 is the new 50! I'll be back later to link up!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Ellen,
      I hope you have the time to Google JG, there are lots of monologues and You Tube clips of her performing.
      I'm looking forward to being 50 !

      Best wishes,
      Di,
      ABCW team.

      Delete
  8. GREAT introduction of 'g'! I didn't recognize her name, but her voice is familiar so apparently I've seen her on something. I love her humor! And her singing is not too bad.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Hi Norma,
    JG isn't really a singer as such, if you Google her on Wikipedia, you will se her list of achievements of which there are many.
    Also there are links to her performing her monologues on You Tube,

    best wishes,
    Di,
    ABCW team.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Ha ha this was cute. Coming from an all girls convent it was pretty normal for us to dance with girls. Nothing unusual there.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Tulika,
      good to hear from you, most girls danced together in my younger years, primarily because the boys were pretty
      useless at dancing.

      Best wishes,
      Di,
      ABCW team.

      Delete
  11. Love it! I shall think of myself as a stately galleon when I take the dance floor. Fortunately for me, the Husband still likes to dance. But, there are times when I go up with the women. The Mama has been known to come up and shake her stately hips as well.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Su-sieeee,
      Well all we girls do dance together but I do find it odd when men dance together...
      I think the Mama has earned right to Google JG just to see how funny she is, on You Tube too!
      She was quite a noble lady and was the sister of Lady Astor, but so down to earth.
      I used to watch her in a wonderful quiz programme called Face the Music in the 60's- 70's... she died quite
      prematurely at the age of 69...RIP Dear Joyce...
      Incidentally, there has been a wonderful stage play about her called.... would you believe, called 'Dear Joyce' , in which a much loved British actress called Maureen Lipman takes on her role, really very good !
      Again worth checking out.

      Best wishes,
      Di,
      ABCW team.

      Delete
    2. Oops ! should read
      'I think the Mama has earned the right to be called stately', such a grand lady...please give her my regards,
      love Di xx

      Delete
  12. I was not aware of Grenfell's work, so thanks for the introduction. Blessings!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Arnoldo,
      Glad you enjoyed the introduction,

      Best wishes,
      Di,
      ABCW team,

      Delete
  13. Ha ha this was cute. Coming from an all girls convent it was pretty normal for us to dance with girls. Nothing unusual there.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Ha ha this was cute. Coming from an all girls convent it was pretty normal for us to dance with girls. Nothing unusual there.

    ReplyDelete
  15. I did not know Grenfell, so it was fun reading the lyrics.
    Let's travel to Greece, Kastoria for my "G"

    ReplyDelete
  16. And "G" stands for lots of GREENERY in a GLASSHOUSE, with GARDEN ponds and GOLDFISH!

    ReplyDelete
  17. Thanks for hosting! My "G" is for GLORIOUS GAZANIAS, a GREAT GROUNDCOVER for your GARDEN

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. My pleasure Nick,

      best wishes,
      Di,
      ABCW team.

      Delete
  18. Well done! what a wonderful blog post!! I had such fun reading it and it put a spring in my step for the day! with love from Cape Town, south Africa

    ReplyDelete
  19. Hi Hettienne
    Thanks for stopping by and so glad you enjoyed reading about JG,

    Best wishes,

    Di.
    ABCW team.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Great "G" words :)
    Wasn't aware about Joyce Grenfell. Thanks for the info.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Hi Anita,
    Thanks for dropping by . Hope you have time to Google Joyce Grenfell and watch her on You Tube,
    Really very funny ...Enjoy!

    Best Wishes.
    Di.
    ABCW team.

    ReplyDelete