News about Eric Sykes

Many people were scratching their heads this week after discovering a straw bale under London's Millennium Bridge. The hay was soon discovered that it was in accordance with an ancient by-law, meaning that passing river traffic must be warned if the bridge level is reduced. And, due to the fact that the Millennium Bridge is under urgent repair and had workers dangling underneath, it was the case. However, this centuries-old regulation is just one of many bizarre regulations that are either still on the statute book or have been used to be in place. They include mandatory measures stating that it is unlawful to drink alcohol in a bar or carry a plank on a pavement in London (top right, a scene from the 1967 film The Plank starring Jimmy Edwards, Tommy Cooper and Eric Sykes) if you're loading it into or unloading it from a truck. Despite common belief to the contrary, it has never been unlawful to fire a Welshman with a longbow (left, the Princess of Wales firing a bow during a visit to a scout group).

HARDCASTLE, EPHRAIM: Since the Princess of Wales' pancake disaster this week, Dame Prue Leith may be clutching her head in her hands. Kate, who undertook an intensive course at Leiths School of Food and Wine in central London, should have had a recipe involving only flour, eggs, and milk. Prue's founder, Linda Lavigne, started by Prue in 1975, the program, which later cost about £1,600, should have made Kate an expert in sauces, de-boning, fighting souffles, and whipping up ice creams and canapes. When Kate covered pancakes, they may have been waving somewhere. IF Harry and Meghan attend the Coronation, will they be seated near Wills and Kate? That's the point: a Channel 5 documentary will premiere tomorrow. When they sat in separate rows at St Paul's Cathedral for the Jubilee service, commentator Daisy McAndrew reveals the apparent disconnect between them. 'There was no eye contact or conversation between them whatsoever,' she says. To most observers, the fact that they were seated on opposite sides of the aisle indicated that there haven't been any sort of patching-up.' Might a four-stool boxing ring be installed with a good view of King Edward's Chair? HAVING managed to remove stress from her life, Joanna Lumley, 76, will suffer a tension with Talking Pictures Screen, a 1971 soft-porn film in which a often topless Joanna, Fanny Hill, an 18th-century prostitute, will have relapsed. The actor, who was shot in the film, vies with Lady Chatterley to seduce as many men as possible. It comes to an end with a three-in-a-bed romp with a bald wine merchant. And who plays the lucky chap? Richard Wattis, the Seventies sitcom neighbor of Eric Sykes and Hattie Jacques, is better than him. Isn't life grand?

Sykes and Milligan's family owned a mansion in Bayswater, which hosted writers including Terry Nation, but Sykes' family sold it on. The townhouse, which has been used as an office space, is up for auction for £6.5 million and has been described by estate agent Carter Jonas as a perfect spot for converting back to a residential dwelling. The front facade of the house now features English Heritage blue plaques to indicate Milligan and Sykes' ownership of the house (left and inset), while the interior has been decorated in a boutique-style (right). Associated London Scripts' writing center during the years it was owned by the comedians.