WATCHING comedian Ken Dodd creak down to receive his knighthood from Prince William reminded me of a brilliant quip from Sir Peter Ustinov who was Chancellor of Durham University when he was at Congregation at Durham Castle awarding students with their degrees.
He had recently been knighted at Buckingham Palace and, being the comedian that he was, he said he had received a form from the Palace to fill in about what he could and could not do.
One of the questions was: “Can one kneel?”
Sir Peter said a more pertinent question would have asked: “Can one get up again?”
He also said that he had been presented with an alarm clock by one of the colleges but quipped: “With a bladder like mine you do not need an alarm clock.”
He was as much of a comedian as Sir Kenneth and great fun.
Malcolm Rolling, Durham
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