Once upon a time, on or around 20-22nd August 1995, the Goon Show Preservation Society held a weekend long convention. The venue for this extravagance was the Manchester Hotel in Bournemouth, and the event was titled ‘A Weekend Called Fred’.
The highlights of of the weekend were the appearances by John P Hamilton, Dennis Main Wilson and no less than the Sir Harry Secombe himself.
Here’s a transcript of the Q&A session with them.
There were also videos shown, songs sung, and competitive Batter Pudding Hurling on the Beach.
Much of what occurred in Bournemouth has stayed in Bournemouth. A couple of the participants, nevertheless, had the nerve to recount their thoughts, experiences and opinions on the pages of our 1996 newsletter no.83. So, let’s find out what bedlam occurred.
The first witness is one Mike Coveney, who is an honorary president of the GSPS and generally blamed for starting the whole thing. – Mike’s story
Our second witness is Maxine Ventham, who corroborates Mike’s description of events. Or does she? – Maxines story
Another account, by Roy Bainton, was published in the Guardian in 2017 (read it here). It has prompted the weekend’s organiser, Chris Smith, to write this rebuttal.
The weekend was recorded on video. It lasts 4 hours! Someday I’ll find time to edit a highlights package and post it here.
The Goon Show Preservation Society 