This year's celebrity death

It seems to be compulsory for some kind of beloved celebrity to pop his or indeed her clogs during the festive season. This year's victim is one who means rather a lot to me: Elisabeth Beresford, author of the Wombles books.

If you aren't familiar with the Wombles, I pity you. They're rodentlike scavengers who live under Wimbledon Common and other places, and name themselves from an old atlas, hence Great Uncle Bulgaria, Tobermory and Madame Cholet. They live by cunningly recycling humans' castoffs and have hilarious small adventures. It's all very heartwarming but also genuinely intelligent.

Here's a clip from the rather good TV adaptation (narrated by the semi-divine Bernard Cribbins), though I urge you to find the books.



And 'their' terrible Christmas song, for which Mike Batt deserves to burn in hell (as he does for so many other crimes against music, taste, and the proletariat - he also wrote 'Bright Eyes' and is the Conservative Party's official composer):

More wombling madness

Now, there are other Wombles available. For some reason, Ulster Defence Association loyalist terrorists and their friends call themselves wombles (as this fascinating piece explains), and it was also adopted by a group of very impressive anti-capitalist protestors.

Hilary tipped me off to this work of genius: Neil Innes's song (as The Grimms) 'Womble Bashers of Walthamstow'. The Grimms was Innes, some Liverpool Poets and Scaffold, and recorded three albums after Innes left the Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band. Yes, it was the 60s and 70s.

	Neil Innes - Womble Bashers Of Walthamstow
	Found at Womble Bashers Of Walthamstow on KOhit.net

Wombling Free again!

Recently, I had cause to critique The Wombles for their hegemonic capitalist tendencies. I was, of course, mostly joking. Though Michael de Larribeiti clearly agrees with me: the 'Rumbles' in The Borribles are smug middle-class beasts which prey on the proletarian Borribles.

So I'm very happy that the Elizabeth Beresford's charming books are to be republished - I'm amazed that they were ever out of print. I have most of them already, but will certainly be purchasing the others.