The English (we should say British, because Ivor Cutler was a Scot) rather pride themselves on being eccentric; a bit quirky, but happy to be so. Here are half-a-dozen or so examples interviewed very sympathetically by Dave Allen who is obviously fascinated by those who live life at a slight tangent to the rest of us.
What saddened me watching this programme again after 40 years (thanks to the internet) was, I couldn't stop myself wondering: 'Is there still room in the world for people like this?' Would you still find someone in the stockbroker belt willing to let a man live in a box in their garden, swap recipes, and play with their children, even if they did make great Yorkshire pudding? I think we were far more tolerant of eccentricity then. Nowadays, anyone cycling through the park covered in animals and talking to the children would be seen as a potential child molester. We have become suspicious and distrustful of others. Crime reports in the media often label someone 'an isolated loner' as if that indicates or explains criminality. Someone like Alexander Wortley just wants to live his life quietly, away from modern pressures.
Edward Blackmore was obviously a true scholar of Native American life, and Ivor Cutler is a riot (the idea of zoo animals forming "interesting relationships" when the public have gone home cracks me up every time). And I would really like a model railway like that! Incidentally, Bruce Lacey (the robot maker) is still going strong and seems to have been well on the way to inventing video games.
What saddened me watching this programme again after 40 years (thanks to the internet) was, I couldn't stop myself wondering: 'Is there still room in the world for people like this?' Would you still find someone in the stockbroker belt willing to let a man live in a box in their garden, swap recipes, and play with their children, even if they did make great Yorkshire pudding? I think we were far more tolerant of eccentricity then. Nowadays, anyone cycling through the park covered in animals and talking to the children would be seen as a potential child molester. We have become suspicious and distrustful of others. Crime reports in the media often label someone 'an isolated loner' as if that indicates or explains criminality. Someone like Alexander Wortley just wants to live his life quietly, away from modern pressures.
Edward Blackmore was obviously a true scholar of Native American life, and Ivor Cutler is a riot (the idea of zoo animals forming "interesting relationships" when the public have gone home cracks me up every time). And I would really like a model railway like that! Incidentally, Bruce Lacey (the robot maker) is still going strong and seems to have been well on the way to inventing video games.