Terry Jones, February 1, 1942 – January 21, 2020.

With Terry Gilliam, Neil Innes, and Eric Idle.

I’m desperate to make Python a proper cringy fandom…

From George’s appearance on the Rutland Weekend Television Christmas special aired on BBC2 on December 26, 1975.

“‘The Pirate Song’ was written for the pirate sketch on the Rutland Weekend Television Christmas Show, 1975. It was co-written (words and music) by Eric Idle and myself. [...] All my friends are pirates.” - George Harrison, I Me Mine (1980)

“George lurched on as a truculent and slightly unstable pirate and demanded to know where the Pirate sketch was. As the sleazy compere, I insisted he was only there to sing ‘My Sweet Lord,’ and there was no pirate sketch. But he was having none of that. ‘No pirate sketch? Well, up you then,’ and off he stormed...” - Eric Idle, A Sortabiography (2018)

“I got an e-mail from the Liv the other day [in 2003] saying she thought George performing ‘The Pirate Song’ on Rutland Weekend Television was the bravest thing he ever did and that she wanted to be a pirate, too. Well, his dark sweet lady was the love of his life, and I know how much he loved her; a braver, finer, lovelier companion no man could ever find, and it breaks my heart to think of these last […] years.” - Eric Idle, The Greedy Bastard Diary (2003)

“[P]irate as he is, [George] deserves the word ‘bold’ for he is, in truth, quite the boldest man I have ever met.” - Derek Taylor, I Me Mine (1980)

“He was a naughty boy, you know — an artist, a pirate. But his meditation left him well prepared for his death. He said he was ready to leave his body. He was always a ‘No need to panic’ kind of person.” - Olivia Harrison, Vanity Fair, September 27, 2011 (x)

Buster Being An Urban Spaceman

Music: I’m The Urban Spaceman by Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band

I'm planning on starting that MP Regency AU fanfiction! What should I include? (U, PG and 18+ suggestions are all welcome!)

OH MY GOD YOU'RE ACTUALLY DOING IT?!?!!? LESS GOOOOOOO!!!!!

Ok uhh here's my suggestions!! :

-All (well technically 3) the Pythons have a really specific kinda Regency royal/heir-like title/nicknames to them based on where they were born (i.e some random examples; John Cleese, Earl of Weston-super-Mare, Captain/Admiral/General Graham Chapman, Duke of Leicester, Terry "Jonesy" Jones, Baron of Colywn Bay of North Wales). Then you have Vicar Michael Palin (of Sheffield), Baron Terry Gilliam from Paris, France (he says he's a Baron but the others don't really believe him and thinks he's really a phony or something lol), and self proclaimed "Maestro" Eric Idle (from the local Cheshire pub). Then you also have Stableboy Neil (Innes)/Neil the humble Stableboy, Countess Carol Cleveland and Countess Connie Booth (in this AU, Connie is Carol's older half-sister/cousin) of London, Lieutenant David Sherlock (Gray's second-in-command in the army, and also love interest but pretends to just "be friends" so to not make people suspicious about their relationship with eachother, etc!

-Gray is both a highly respected army official by day (at work technically), and a promiscuously gay playboy by night (when he has the time off doing the army business). He smokes alot too.

-Jonesy ends up with Regency era Denise Coffey and learns that she's not as "bad" as anyone makes her out to be. She's considered"bad" because she's apparently "too common" to fit with society. In other words, society thinks she's "too unattractively normal" to be considered pretty, to which she politely says bullshit to :).

-John and Gray are childhood best friends with eachother. Michael and Jonesy are also childhood best friends with eachother. Eric and Terry tags along as well.

-John becomes instantly uhh "emo" and tragic and moody and cold because of his recent breakup with his (ex-)fiancé Connie, even though they just broke up since almost a week ago. He mopes about it all the bloody time that even his friends start to get annoyed by it all, and it makes even his own sappy poetry look like decent stuff.

-Eric and Neil meet up at the weekends to play as a musical duo at the local Cheshire pub. Eric is, ofc, sorta homeless, meaning he has to to stay over at Neil's cottage house but also stay at the local taverns until he has to pay rent.....but mostly he chills out at Neil's house.

-Eric gets a "rags to riches" kinda story where, with the help of Gray who just so happen to be at the local Cheshire pub to "meet a special friend of his" (which is ofc David) in which Gray overhears the pretty good singing, he agrees to hire Eric as his servant and give him a permanent place to stay and enough money to live by. Eric is ecstatic ofc!

-Michael is a kind and innocent vicar, a follower of god, but he's a bit horny too! He particularly has a crush on a nice and kind woman called Helena (who runs the local bookshop in the town). Mike has the hots for Helen but knows he can't actually ask her out due to him being religious and stuff and it apparently going against the rules to marry whilst preaching about god or something. However, he tries to get around this by starting out slow, via becoming companions with Helena by helping her with the bookshop part-time. It all seems going to plan. However, things start to get a bit too *spicy* when Michael accidentally sees Helena in her regency era undergarments (which is a "stay"-kinda undergarment) just as she was about to get unchanged. As if it couldn't get any worse, the stunned Michael commits the greatest sin he has ever committed.......he sees a bit of her bare back. That alone is enough to make Michael faint. Helena, being the good and understanding friend she is, helps Michael get back to life and takes care of the poor soul. Michael is grateful for Helena helping him, but feels guilty for seeing her like that. Helena tells him that it's ok and that it was an accident at the end of the day. Michael smiles, and out of the repressed passion he held back for all these years, he slowly cups her face and begins kissing Helena, and Helena, at first surprised, is then quickly eased and understands and kisses back Michael. Michael and Helena then have the most excruciatingly passionate sex that night, and both are left satisfied.

-Gray meets David in an abandoned farmhouse, and they both announce their feelings for one another, and they both kiss passionately and uhh have the most beautiful gay sex one could ever hope.

-There's alot of "characters running through the moors" whenever the character starts a new relationship, romantic or platonic.

-Gray wakes up naked every morning after each promiscuous affair.

-Terry the Parisian Artist develops a romance with the ""weird"" woman who runs the tailoring clothes shop, Ms Margret "Maggie" Weston. Terry & Maggie bond over their shared weirdness and love for absurdities in life.

-John and Connie began an (almost) lifelong romance (before they broke up) when they were young teenagers of about 16/15 at a ball one night. From there on, they hit it off with each other pretty well. The young John and Connie then sneakily exited from the ballroom, then they snuck out and playfully ran to the garden maze and then snogged each other all night long.

-The Pythons and Co go to a regency era fairground/carnival and have a lovely, fun time there. They also get to ride on the merry-go-round on the merry-go-round horses!

Uhh hope you enjoyed the ideas I gave! Let me know which of the ideas is your favourite and why? I absolutely can't wait to read it!!

The Rutles "Cheese and Onions" (1978) - song by Neil Innes

Bad movie I have Monty Python and the Holy Grail 1975

Tonight’s random vinyl shelf pull…

The Rutles “The Rutles” 1978

Excellent tunes by Dirk, Nasty, Stig, and Barry! The Prefab-four!

Top flight Beatles parody musically and film wise. The brain child of Eric Idle and Neil Innes. Do yourself a favor and search out the film “All You Need Is Cash”!

And one of my all time favorite songs (seriously)…

Oh look! The whole movie is on YouTube! Watch for the George Harrison cameo!

rutland weekend television

‘it’s hard to make it when you’re straight! when there’s nothing in your closet you’d like to liberate’

Summer moodboard: Neil Innes dressed as Superman parading around an amusement park on a sunny day

The Rutles 1978

Before I’d seen the mockumentary I remember being very confused when Am I In Love? was released and actually charted. I genuinely believed The Beatles had released a new track. God I miss Neil Innes. What a genius.

Back on my bs…

Neil Innes

December 9, 1944 – December 29, 2019

Rutland Weekend Television: Favourite Songs

Slaves of Freedom x Drama on a Saturday Night

Lie Down and Be Counted x Singing a Song Is Easy

24 Hours in Tunbridge Wells x Concrete Jungle Boy

Buster as Bertie in The Saphead (1920)

Music: How Sweet To Be An Idiot by Neil Innes