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Chapter 1: What significant events mark the summer of 1976 for Gyles?
Give me an M. Give me an O. Give me an R. Give me an E. Give me more.
Give me more Rosebud.
Hello, this is Giles Branworth and I'm full of joy because it's June. I'm also full of joy because I'm joined, as ever, on a Tuesday by my friend and colleague, the producer of Rosebud, Harriet Jane.
Hello.
Hello, Harriet. Is June a good month for you?
It is. It's my birthday month.
It is. This coming Saturday will be the birthday of Harriet Jane. And I'm not seeing her on her birthday, but you've got lots of family people because it's a Saturday. You're seeing lots of family people, I think, over the weekend.
Seeing my sister, both my daughters for separate things and a friend.
Very good.
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Chapter 2: How does Gyles plan to celebrate Harriet's birthday?
Because we're seeing each other quite a lot at the moment because we're rehearsing for our Edinburgh show. And I was hoping to have a birthday lunch with Harriet to celebrate her birthday. But I have to put this on the back burner because she's not really wanting to have any celebration at all until we've learned the lines, until we've learned the songs, we've got the moves right.
We can't quite believe that we're doing some informal tryouts in only a couple of weeks' time. I think it's two weeks today or two weeks tomorrow. I know, crumbs.
Are you allowed to read off a script when you're doing this?
No, well, I think at the first, we could at the first read-through, but the truth is we ought, two weeks from now, we ought to have dropped the books. We're doing a couple of private shows. And then we are at the Bedford Park Festival, where there are maybe a few seats left. I don't know. Then we are at the Riverside Studios in Hammersmith. This is all in London, England.
Then we're at the old sorting office, which is in Barnes, southwest London, where they've sold quite a few tickets for both of those shows.
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Chapter 3: What challenges does Gyles face while preparing for the Edinburgh show?
And then we go, which is not... There are two shows there. There are two shows there.
I don't think I've got both of those in my diary, Giles.
Oh, you better be there. Please be there. I'll be at one. I'll tell you what the dates are now in case people want to book. Because the first one, I think, is almost booked up. And the second one, I mean, it is all a bit frightening, you know. Just on Sunday, I finished my last tour, my last show, Jazz Brand with Can't Stop Talking. It was in Watford. And so this is quite soon.
We are going to be... Oh, Lord. I'm just flicking through the diary here. We are going to be doing... End of July, where are we? Yes, we're doing the old sorting office on the 2nd of August. That's the last one we're doing. And then we're doing one a few weeks before on the 19th of July.
Oh, I have got that.
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Chapter 4: How does Gyles reflect on friendships and loss in his recent experiences?
19th of July, 3.30 and the 2nd of July, 3.30. These are still tryouts where we'll listen to the audience. If they don't like things, we cut them. If they do like things, we can do more of that. The following week, we are up in Edinburgh. At the Gordon Aikman Theatre, Assembly George Square, we have sold lots of tickets. Four figures worth of tickets. Faster selling show in that venue.
People are coming literally from Australia, from India, from North America so far, have booked to come and see us. Wow. We're learning a lot, aren't we, as we do this?
We are, we are. Giles, can you sit, wait, can you, sorry, can you make sure you're not rocking backwards and forwards, forwards and away from the mic, and you're just a sort of steady distance from the mic, possibly not as close as you are now. Just have the mic where it is, but just move back a bit yourself.
Is that better?
Yeah, but stop rocking backwards. I'm always having to tell you, you know, when you're on a microphone, you want the same distance to remain between you and the microphone at all times.
Do include this. I'm not including this. Please include this, because people will be surprised to know that I first appeared in front of a BBC microphone, I think it was in 1966 or 67. So I've been doing this for quite a long while. But the young Harriet Jane, who's having a birthday, she's getting older at the end of this week, is telling me that my microphone technique is hopeless.
In fact, she says this to me on a regular basis. I'm rocking with excitement because here we are. And we're going to do some diaries.
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Chapter 5: What unique insights does Gyles share about his new house?
Also, I'm a little bit high because I'll be honest with you. I've had some highs and I've had some lows in recent days. Three good friends of mine have died recently. And I know.
I'm sorry to hear that, Giles.
You are still at the going to weddings stage, aren't you? Do you ever go to christenings? Do you ever go to... Maybe you're going to divorce showers. People have these divorce parties now. But you're not yet going regularly to funerals. Whereas I've reached the stage and age where I am. A man I knew well called Peter Ridsdale Scott died quite recently. He was a television producer.
And with him in the 1980s, I did a whole series of shows, including all the ones I did with Hinge and Brackett. He was just a nice guy.
Chapter 6: How does Gyles describe the process of preparing for the Oxford Theatre Festival?
And he brought out the best in people. And he introduced me to a whole range of people in the world of variety and entertainment. We did a series together called The Railway Carriage Game. And he had me working with people like Ken Dodd, one of the great entertainers of my lifetime. And fun people like John Inman. Lovely people. And so I loved him. He was always good company.
It was always a joy to go and work with him. So... Isn't that nice? I mean, I don't want to cry, but isn't it nice to be able to say someone was always a joy to work with?
Always.
I can't remember. We worked together for years. I cannot remember a bad day of going to work with this man.
Oh, gosh. He sounds fantastic.
So that's the first. Then, and I did tell you about this when it happened, my friend Jeremy Hanley died.
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Chapter 7: What humorous anecdotes does Gyles share about his after-dinner speech record attempt?
Sir Jeremy Hanley, KCMG, formerly a Conservative Member of Parliament, Foreign Office Minister. In fact, I think for a while he was Chairman of the Conservative Party. But he was a very middle-of-the-road man. He was just a decent individual, a lovely man. And he, again, he just made you laugh. He was a very witty speaker. Famously, he was at a dinner with Margaret Thatcher.
after a general election at which he got back a very small majority, but he got 20,067 votes. 20,067 votes and he won the seat. And at this speech when Margaret Thatcher was there, he said, I must thank you, Margaret, Prime Minister, I must thank you because you came to support me and you secured me that 67 extra votes that won me the seat Margaret Thatcher, thank you.
Mrs. Thatcher got up and said, no, no, no, Jeremy. Must explain to you, you got those 67 votes. I got you the 20,000. He was an amusing man. And he, again, was somebody who... It was just fun to be with. He was all... On the day I became a Member of Parliament... And when you do new things, you are apprehensive.
I mean, I know, for example, you are apprehensive about doing our show in Edinburgh because it's new. When I turned up at the House of Commons, my... I didn't look it. My stomach was churning.
Chapter 8: What reflections does Gyles have on the importance of listening and being present?
I was so anxious. I'd hardly ever been into the building before. Waiting on the steps outside the building... was this man, Jeremy Hanley, outside the building, because he remembered how nerve-wracking it was to go through the gates for the first time, to go through security, when you actually were a member and you didn't need to have things checked. You could just walk in.
And he just showed me around. He showed me where the eating places were, where the tea room was. He showed me, you know, the rules were finding your place. Because to get a seat, when people usually sit in the same place, you have to go in and place a prayer card on the seat where you want to sit. And then you have to turn up for prayers at the beginning of the day.
And there's these sort of things that you wouldn't know unless there was somebody there to tell you. Does that still happen? That still happens to this day. Because if all the MPs turned up, there wouldn't be room for everyone to sit down. So if you want to bag a place, be sure of getting a seat. You have to go in before proceedings begin. And you place a prayer card, it's known as a prayer card.
in a little, on the back of the seat, there's a little thing, ticket holder, that you can put your name in. And then, that's to book a seat, but to confirm your booking, you must be there for prayers, which is not shown on television. It's a private... moment of prayer before the speaker's chaplain comes and conducts, says a few, you know, says a prayer. And it is lovely.
Rather charmingly, when saying prayers, you turn your back, your face backwards. So you're not gazing into the eyes of the opposition. So you're not thinking bad thoughts about the people opposite you. You're actually focusing on praying. And that confirms your place for the day.
And that takes me to the third bit of sadness, a funeral that I've only just been to, Harriet, which is the funeral of somebody who also was in Parliament because he was in the House of Lords, a man called Lord Harries of Pentagrath. And listeners certainly in the UK may be familiar with his voice if ever they listen to Radio 4 and the Today programme.
Because for more than 50 years, he presented Thought for the Day, frequently and regularly, on the Today programme. He had a lovely voice, a lovely mind, a lovely heart. And he was a lovely man. I sat with Chris Patton, former governor of Hong Kong, former MP, Lord Patton of Barnes, who has been a guest on Rosebud. And he said to me, I think, Richard...
whose funeral we are at today, is probably the nearest person to a saint that I'm ever likely to meet.
Oh, gosh.
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