Yes I am an old prude.

I have a signed first edition, must find out if it's worth anything?

That's the joy of the 'Off Switch' NanKate.

Sounds 'orrible!

Daft lot at the Beeb.

Wish I could have switched off the theatre last night. It was 'Toast', full of swearing and very little plot. What a waste of an evening. I suppose the actors did a good job but I wonder why they accepted once they had read the script?

I was going to start a thread along similar lines. I'm not a prude and I don't think you are really 'NanKate'.

For Christmas we were given tickets to see 'Old Folks Telling Jokes' which was on as part of Leicester Comedy Festival. The 'star' and compere was Arthur Smith who seemed the think that the 'f' word and a couple of 'c' words made him hilarious as, to be fair, did most of the audience. I think they must all have had a lot more to drink before the start than we had.

The rest of the 'comedians' seemed to think the same apart from a female vicar from Devon (whose name I can't remember) who was genuinely funny and who only swore 3 times.

Thanks for the supportive replies All.

My grandfather was a singer, dancer and comedian in the Music Hall. He would often say 'If you have to be rude to get a laugh, you aren't worth your salt'.

I am all for a bit of innuendo, but am sick of all the bad language that is now used by both men and women. It's a sad old world.

Why is it that the comedians who perform on TV and can be very funny think that when they perform live they have to pepper it all with these words? Do they think that is the way we all speak all the time?

I've forgotten the name of the one we saw who described himself as 'middle class' and is funny on TV but I couldn't watch him again after his horrid live show. I thought such words were only used by those with a poor vocabulary?

I agree so much with you Nonnie. We went to see Ross Noble live, as he had made us laugh so much on the TV. Well I wish we had walked out. He was dire, which is sad as he can be so funny.

A friend of mine years ago went to a show and there was a very blue comedian - it was Rolf Harris !!

I read [or started to read] the book years ago and thought it was horrible. I don't mind swearing but her book was just so over the top and filthy!

Billy Connolly claimed that he has a great vocabulary but that he just prefers swear words.

Many people seem to find swear words in themselves to be funny. I don't. If the act/joke/whatever isn't funny without swear words then it usually isn't funny with them, either, imho.

I also find it tedious trying to discern what is actually being said, if there is a lot of swearing.

I did read Fear of Flying years ago. It was considered very shocking at the time. I don't think it's suitable for morning radio, even nowadays.

I didn't swear at all as a young woman. I do now I think because I hear my husband swear a lot. His father did but my parents never. I think DH has become Mr Angry in his old age. I was always told and told my children that it was a sign of a limited vocabulary. I hate most of the comedians on the Apollo show. Mainly because of the language.

Fear of Flying is a book that changed my life when I read it in my 20s and was impressionable. However, I doubt if it has stood the test of time and I am surprised that someone has gone to the bother of dramatising it. Hardly great literature.
The OH and I often turn off TV programmes because of swearing. The latest proramme we discarded is called Vynil. The script seemed to have only one word in it and it begins with f.
Am I a prude? I prefer to think that I am discerning.

I don't think you are NanKate. If you were trying to impose your views on others I suppose that might be the case but you are not. Radio comes into your living room and therein lies the difference between that (and TV) and a book.

I'm not really bothered by swearing but I do think some of the TV comedies - and films as well - which seem to appeal to the younger generation are very explicit and I find them embarrassing - and not very funny either.

When Gordon Ramsay first appeared on TV I couldn't understand why the BBC seemed to have given him a license to swear uncontrollably all the time but I've noticed he has moderated his language in recent years. Could this be because he doesn't want his children to copy him?

In fairness to Radio 4, Jenny Murray did give a lengthy warning before the broadcast of Fear of Flying. i didnt find it particularity shocking, but it was very boring and rather out dated i thought.

The way comedians swear and at the same time make one laugh, I feel it is making swearing SEEM more acceptable. Yet, if we, or children swear we make a bad impression. Quite confusing for young people, I imagine.

Swearing loses its shock value when it is done too often. Comedians and others may think they are being really edgy when they constantly use the f and c words. They're not! It's not prudish to dislike these people they are just so boring On the other hand a respectable looking older lady who slips an f word in without hesitating or emphasising it completely confuses people. I love the look on people's faces as they try to work out "Did she really say that?"

Like when you spot a tattoo on an old lady! Oh, dear, might offend someone!

He may not be everyone`s cup of tea, but back in the mid 70s we went to a Northern club to see Tom O`Connor. He kept the whole club in stitches for over an hour and a half, with not one swear word. In complete contrast we went a couple of weeks later to see Bernard Manning, and it was disgusting. In fairness, we did know what Manning was like, but it was an outing with hubby`s brass band mates, and Bernard sent them cut price tickets, so we tagged along, wish we hadn`t.

When I hear comedians and other effing and cc-ing and thinking they are so clever and edgy I am reminded of the FLanders and Swan song, pee, po, belly, bum. They were getting at just these people who think it clever to behave like silly school kids.

Ma's out, Pa's out-let's talk rude:
Pee - Po - Belly - Bum - Drawers!
Dance in the garden in the nude:
Pee - Po - Belly - Bum - Drawers!
Let's write rude words all down our street,
Stick out our tongues at the people we meet,
Let's have an intellectual treat:
Pee - Po - Belly - Bum - Drawers!

What kind of talk is the Dons' delight?
Pee - Po - Belly - Bum - Drawers.
What's on every newstand in sight?
Playboy - Belly - Bum - Drawers.
What TV comedy's loved the best?
What did Illingworth say at the Final Test?
What is Prince Philip's favourite jest?
Pee - Po - Belly - Bum - Drawers.

Danny La Rue's in a double bill:
Pee - Po - Belly - Bum - Drawers.
Christopher Robin meets Fanny Hill:
Pooh Bear - Belly - Bum - Drawers!
Kenneth Tynan has given his all
And in Oh Calcutta they have a ball ...
'Cause the higher the brow the harder they fall:
Pee - Po - Belly - Bum - Drawers.

Ken Russell's filming in Regent's Park
Pee - Po - Belly - Bum - Drawers,
Full Frontal Composers, Bach to Bach
Pee - Po - Belly - Bum - Drawers,
From the folk-song scene to the world of Pop
They get their words from the Porno Shop-
Things seem to start where they used to stop
With Pee - Po - Belly - Bum - Drawers!

What a relief to find these posts!

NanKate - I heard part of it, thought 'what on earth have they put on this week?'. At the end I discovered it was one of those books I never got around to reading decades ago. Shan't bother!
Nonnie et al - so agree about the comedians too, some would be just as good without the obscenities. I also dislike the frequent casual use of the same words in panel shows, interviews etc. So unnecessary.

I don't mind if I'm watching a drama and the language is appropriate to the character and the action.

I suppose that when the book was written it was topical (1970s).
But to hear it read aloud at that time of the day - why on earth?
I gave up listening to Women's Hour ages ago, Jenny Murray must be there under protest.
Perhaps they're worried that they're losing listeners.

I agree with you NanaKate, you certainly aren't an old prude - well if you are so am I