On the 26th of October the meeting was chaired by the Forum Vice Chairman Duncan Verity.
Speaker Finder John Spinner introduced our guest speaker Bill Baker, one of the presenters on Tempo FM, whose talk was titled Monologues and Comic Verse. Bill related the history of the monologue from its popularity in the Victorian Music Hall, entertainment for serving soldiers in wartime and the folk clubs of the nineteen sixties to the present day where it regularly appears at funerals and weddings.
His interest developed from when he was involved in the production of a talking magazine for the blind which included a monologue in each issue. Bill read a number of examples from various famous monologists (a term invented by Dame Thora Hird who performed many monologues herself). The authors included Les Barker who was nominated for the post of Poet Laureate. As his monologues are best performed in a Lancashire dialect it is understandable why he was rejected. We also heard examples from Rob Wilton, Benny Hill and Pam Ayres.
Duncan Verity thanked Bill for a very entertaining morning.