And it's goodnight from him

Very sad to hear of Ronnie Corbett's passing. Watching The Two Ronnies on TV was very much a part of my childhood, and watching it now is still terrific. It calls to mind a simpler, gentler and altogether more joyful age.

The thing that I remember most from The Two Ronnies is not "Fork Handles" or any of the more commonly repeated sketches. Instead, it is one of their mini-serials that was broadcast in segments, ten minutes a week as part of their main show. It was called The Worm That Turned. Looking back now, I guess the inspiration for its theme - women ruling, men subjugated - was somewhat obvious, given the coterminous ascent of one Margaret Hilda Thatcher. At the time, though, I was about nine or so, and was probably more struck by the Two Ronnies wearing dresses and the female secret police having PVC uniforms. Here's the first episode - you can watch the whole story here.

I also recall a particular Two Ronnies musical number, in which they performed their version of The Drunken Sailor. It included the memorable lines:

Hooray and up she rises,
She's got knees of different sizes.
One's quite small and the other wins prizes,
Early in the morning.

In later life, I would adopt and adapt this as a drinking song. Happy days.