Alan Bennett: "Keeping On Keeping On" includes Morrissey mentions

Alan Bennett's latest publication Keeping On Keeping On has a few Morrissey mentions. Here's one -

 

[gordyboy9]

wonder what he declined and then accepted.funny note,like how the time isn't very specific.

 

[nicky wire's legs]

heavens, would i were to receive a note like that!

most loyally,

a blazer shopping partner of morrisseys

 

[Anonymous]

 

[Quando quando quando]

heavens, would i were to receive a note like that!

most loyally,

a blazer shopping partner of morrisseys

I'm going to buy that book alone for anything Moz related. But I know it will be fun anyway to read it.
I've read some anecdotes about them and they were really funny, sometimes hilariously so, and nice.
Things Moz said about him and vice versa.
As I will buy Johnny Marr's autobio as well it's gonna cost me some money but it will be a treat.

 

[Anonymous]

Wow. So, when a drunkard asks you if you're happy, you don't just reply, "...Are you... A great big buffoon?".

You, Mr Bennett, Sir, strike me as a man of infinite patience!

Someone once wrote "Sometimes it is hard to realise what a remarkable man Wilde was, given that so many mediocrities have sought to summon his spirit to give flavour to their own lives."

Well at least he wasn't yelled at from a pub terrace...

Mr Bennett Sir, when you die, you'll be in the queue behind Bowie, and you seem far too well-mannered to jump it. So perhaps you could write a TTY statement now that your fan could just post later? As he'll be too busy weeping for Henrietta Marigold, the 101 year-old star of "Bystanders" anyway...

I mean you're probably a sort of father figure, okay, but you can't for a minute think you compare.
As you also seem quite humble, thank God, you'll see that.

At your entire service

A garageman near the Roundhouse, London.


PS -Have you been introduced to a Mr Dulcet at all? Yes, the one in charge of the tea now. Quiet sort of boy, not like the other one, right? Your favourite, frankly? Oh you're right, pearls before swines, all of them. It's like giving a camera to a baboon really. Have you ever met the nephew? But you probably have a book to write and here I am, gossiping....-

PS2 - ? Oh no, don't worry, he doesn't get offended, he thinks I'm joking. I mean you must be used to that as well.

 

[nicky wire's legs]

I'm going to buy that book alone for anything Moz related. But I know it will be fun anyway to read it.
I've read some anecdotes about them and they were really funny, sometimes hilariously so, and nice.
Things Moz said about him and vice versa.
As I will buy Johnny Marr's autobio as well it's gonna cost me some money but it will be a treat.

i dont even know who alan bennett is. im still meaning to buy 'list of the lost'. i feel bad that i havent yet....

 

[Anonymous]

"Are you disgustingly happy?"

Why is this question so important to him? There are countless stories of him asking people this question.

 

[Anonymous]

Miss S.'s astute remark about the cheesy smell is making me think Morrissey might be channeling her whenever he mentions rats.

(It's the hashtag cheesegate mr Bennett. Oh yes, big scandal.)
(? no no, a "hashtag" isn't necessarily linked to drugs.)

 

[Anonymous]

"Are you disgustingly happy?"

Why is this question so important to him? There are countless stories of him asking people this question.

Ha. I had misread it in the tweet as "distinguishly". Mr B. looks more distinguished than disgusting, doesn't he.

Interesting choice of word. Maybe Mr B had a boyfriend and M was secretly jealous (as I think we can rule out a homophobic remark on his part...)

But really I think it's a bit like an autistic child asking if you often walk your courgette.

Stuff just goes through his head like that...

mmm...

 

[Quando quando quando]

i dont even know who alan bennett is. im still meaning to buy 'list of the lost'. i feel bad that i havent yet....

You will like it.
I'm reading it for the second time and it gets better all a long.
It's weird and pompous and sarcastic and funny and a novel on it's own. Pun intended. There are no comparisons.

I'm going to re-read the monologue of the wrench before the light of his life has been taken away from him, more or less by accident, but hey he wasn't very happy anyway.

Moz would accept 2 options, you read it, but if you don't and feel bad about it, it would please him as well.

 

[nicky wire's legs]

You will like it.
I'm reading it for the second time and it gets better all a long.
It's weird and pompous and sarcastic and funny and a novel on it's own. Pun intended. There are no comparisons.

I'm going to re-read the monologue of the wrench before the light of his life has been taken away from him, more or less by accident, but hey he wasn't very happy anyway.

Moz would accept 2 options, you read it, but if you don't and feel bad about it, it would please him as well.

oh im so glad to hear a good review of it! im going to read it, i have a definite interest in reading the novel morrissey wrote. the only reason why i hadnt bought it when it came out is that it wasnt available in canada. i dont know if it is or not yet, i will have to check. otherwise ill just order it online, even if i do consider that to be a bit of a nuisance.

 

[Anonymous]

I flicked through the Alan Bennett book today, and there are three - VERY - brief mentions of Morrissey. The extract printed above is one in it's entirely - no further detail is gone into.

In the second one Bennet briefly mentions how part of Morrissey's appeal (especially to his Northern fanbase) is that success doesn't appear to have changed him: he still looks like he could be a plasterer, or his mate.

In the third mention, he bumps into Moz + female publicist at a pub, where they are both somewhat uncomfortable, and he muses on how Morrissey looks like he could have been a road digger (this is a compliment).

That's it!

 

[I_Am_A_Disco_Dancer]

Here's the full quote and a little context -

Entry on May 11, 2007:

Note how in the south-west even the humblest hamlet nowadays seems to boast a business park.

An element of Morrissey’s appeal, particularly for his Northern (or poorer) audiences is his rawness. Whatever success he has had as never given him any sort of veneer, no coating of wealth or sophistication. He still looks like a plasterer, or his mate.