Well, it was bound to happen.
The story so far….
While the 1980 movie “Sir Henry at Rawlinson End” (IMDB link) may be obscure, the radio series that precipitated it is probably even more obscure. Although Stanshall intended to compress the original BBC radio series in the eponymous 1978 album, by then Stanshall’s alcoholism had taken a turn for the worse and the album is definitely just a shadow of the original radio series. The almost-sequel Sir Henry at N’didi’s Kraal (1984) was quite a step down from the previous album.
The recordings of the original BBC series can be found online; but to understand the more obscure references in the series I’ve relied on a script published online at sansun.co.uk. Until that went offline. Something’s supposed to be happening at the Vivian Stanshall Appreciation Society and Archive, but that page seems empty, too. Wayback machine has the last capture of Sansun.co.uk at April 2018. Thankfully, I had archived a version should the site go down, so I’ve decided to put it up here. For posterity, and all that; and to honour the memory and legacy of one of the greatest British eccentrics and comedic masterminds ever.
As time goes on I might clean up the text here and there.
Note that no copyright infringement is intended.
Now, read on… The script is online here.
Download it in .docx or PDF:
Breathtaking! Thank you for preserving this.
You’re welcome! Please do download and keep it somewhere in case my own website goes offline.
Yes. Thank you very much. I lost this ages ago.
Many thanks. Have the recording on tape. (Tape? Look it up.) I’ve been a Stanshall fan since 1968. Your script serves as a useful jog to my memory in quoting lines to like-minded contemporaries whose memories may likewise fail in recalling interesting times.
You’re very welcome – though all thanks should go to person who put it up in the first place!