Georgian Entertainment

12/07/1796

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A Peterborough Playbill give us another glimpse of life in Georgian Peterborough. It tells us that:

This present TUESDAY Evening JULY the 12th, 1796, will be presented a COMEDY called 'The SCHOOL for SCANDAL'. To which will be added a FARCE 'The ENCHANTED ISLAND' Or Free-born ENGLISHWOMAN. The whole concludes with an ELEGANT, GRAND, TRANSPARENT PAINTING of THE TEMPLE OF LOVE, Designed and Painted by an eminent Artist.

It tells interested parties that this week's schedule is for performances on Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. I just wonder what was planned to happen on the Thursday. (Tebbs, H.F., Peterborough, Oleander Press, 1979)

Taken from The Peterborough Book of Days by Brian Jones, The History Press, 2014.

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Ernie Wise Took His Final Bow

1999

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Comedian Ernie Wise OBE, one half of the legendary double-act Morecambe and Wise, died on 21st March 1999. He lived on Thorpe Road in Peterborough for many years with his wife Doreen, next door to singer Edmund Hockridge.

Proud of his home, he often made references to Peterborough in sketches on the Morecambe and Wise Show. The show ran from 1968 to 1983 on BBC then Thames Television and featured some of the biggest celebrities of the day. Comedic sketches were interjected with dance and musical numbers, for which the pair are best known. The two outstanding sketches are Singin' In The Rain and The Breakfast Sketch.

Eric Morecambe and Ernie Wise were honoured with OBE's in 1976 for their many years of service on television, radio and films. They won many awards during their careers, including 8 BAFTAs and Freedom of the City of London. During one of their Christmas episodes in 1977 the pair broke all previous viewing figures with over 20 million viewers. Both are remembered with statutes in Morecambe and Morley respectively.