“A little nonsense now and then is relished by the wisest men.” (Roald Dahl)

/ madamebibilophile

Somehow I’ve contrived to remain blissfully unaware that today would have been Roald Dahl’s 100th birthday and celebrations abound. I only realised this morning when the BBC News informed me of such, and then at work one of my colleagues mentioned she’d sent her daughter to school dressed as a spider. I assume this is a reference to James and the Giant Peach, and not her convoluted way of telling me she’s taking 6 months sick leave because she’s lost her mind.

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As a result I’ve prepared zero for this blog, but I was reminded of one of the best viewing experiences of my childhood a few weeks ago, when my sister-in-law mentioned she was reading George’s Marvellous Medicine with my niece. My brother has no memory of this  televisual treat – sometimes I wonder if we shared a childhood at all.  Luckily for my brother & anyone else who missed the programme as a child, some kind person has uploaded it in 5 parts on YouTube and its brilliance is not dimmed by adulthood – enjoy!

21 thoughts on ““A little nonsense now and then is relished by the wisest men.” (Roald Dahl)”

  2. A great post particularly at such short notice. Roald Dahl always was a good source of inspiration for World Book Day so it’s good he’s got his own this year! I met him when I was a child as I was born not far from where he lived and he did a talk at the children’s library – I thought he was a giant at the time and that was before the BFG was even invented.

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  5. Hahaha! This is brilliant!!! Rik Mayall was such a genius – one of my major claims to fame is that I used to work beside his mother-in-law! Off to track down the other episodes on youtube – I hope she explodes! Cabbage rather than chocolate, indeed! Old witch! 😉

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  6. Like you, I was a tad surprised at all the Roald Dhal stuff happening, and I absolutely remember Rik reading George 🙂 My favourite book was The Witches, and being allowed to stay up to watch Tales of the Unexpected was a rare treat! I think I’ll have to check out if someone has helpfully uploaded them, too!

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  7. I loved watching ‘Tales of the Unexpected’ on telly with my family. I was a tad young and some of them were so scary they gave me nightmares, but I didn’t let on in case I got banned from watching. My favourite of his children’s books is ‘Danny, Champion of the World’ which I read again and again, and then again to my children – any excuse! It was like the handbook of socialism for children.

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  8. Hadn’t seen Rik reading George – it’s brilliant (and school holidays next week in Australia so will be parking the kids in front of those clips).

    I think my fave Dahl quote (from Charlie) – “A little nonsense now and then, is cherished by the wisest men.”

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    • I’m glad it will be seen & hopefully enjoyed by another generation 🙂

      Have I misquoted relish for cherish? I will change the title if so – the interwebs lied to me! (I’m decorating at the moment, my books are all buried under dust sheets so I had to rely on technology!)

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  9. Aw super late on this too lol. I love Roald Dhal, so many good childhood memories. My nephew was watching Charlie and the Chocolate Factory the other day, and I got inspired to go out and buy him a Dhal set, even though he won’t be able to read for another few years. I can’t wait for him to fall into the magic is Roald Dhal.

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    • Well it nearly passed me by entirely too! I’ve seen those Roald Dahl sets and been very tempted by them… Its great when kids start getting into the books you enjoyed at their age, isn’t it? Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is an absolute classic 🙂

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