Where to see statues of Comedy Characters - A light-hearted look at London, Dublin and Paris

Traditional seaside feature of Britain. Punch and Judy.

From these shows we get two common phrases, 'that's the way to do it,' and, 'pleased as punch'.

Clowns
An early clown in the UK was Grimaldi.
He made popular the phrase, 'Here we are again,' which was used in Pantomimes, and the question to the audience, 'Shall I?'

GRIMALDI


Plaque to Grimaldi in London, England.


Joseph Grimaldi clown. Blue Heritage plaque in London, England.



Grave of Joseph Grimaldi, the clown, in Grimaldi Park, Pentonville Road, Islington, North London, England, UK.



Avenue Q, American play, which I saw in London.

CHARLIE CHAPLIN
Charlie Chaplin said, "A day without laughter is a day wasted."

Charlie Chaplin statue, London, England, UK

Charlie Chaplin said, 'All I need to make a comedy is a park, a policeman and a pretty girl.'

You can see another statue of Chaplin in Vevey, Switzerland, where he lived.

OSCAR WILDE

Also look for the statue of Oscar Wilde, Witty Oscar Wilde, reclining, in London. On arriving in the USA, asked if he had anything to declare, he said nothing 'except my genius'.

Oscar Wilde in Conversation, statue in Adelaide Street, near Trafalgar Square,  London, England, UK.

Plaque on the house in Tite Street Chelsea, where Wilde lived in London, England.

During the late 1880s, Wilde was a close friend of the artist James McNeill Whistler and they dined together on many occasions. At one of these dinners, Whistler said a bon mot that Wilde found particularly witty, Wilde exclaimed that he wished that he had said it, and Whistler retorted "You will, Oscar, you will."

Oscar Wilde had been born in Dublin.

Plaque to Oscar Wilde in 1 Merrion Square, Dublin, Eire.

: "The most interesting people are men with a future and women with a history".

"I like men who have a future and women who have a past." Dorian Gray, ch. 15

Hubert ;-) 10:55, 4 August 2006 (UTC)

.... Always forgive your enemies; nothing annoys them so much.

America is the only country that went from barbarism to decadence without civilization in between.

Fashion is a form of ugliness so intolerable that we have to alter it every six months.

I think that God in creating Man somewhat overestimated his ability.

If you want to tell people the truth, make them laugh, otherwise they'll kill you.

Those Drapes

 The quote supposedly attributed to Wilde on his deathbed, "Either those drapes go or I do."

Grave of Oscar Wilde in Pere Lachaise cemetery in Paris, France.

Statue of Oscar Wilde in Merrion Square, Dublin, Eire.

Another view of this remarkable statue.

On the same fashionable square is the Jester's Chair which commemorates another comedian, Dermot Morgan, who played Father Ted in the Irish TV sitcom. Photo by NTF30 in Wikimedia commons under Merrion Square. 

I was Delighted to come across this by change when I was looking for photos of Oscar Wilde. I know that the main Wikipedia articles do not overload with a hundred shots of the same scene but simply take the best one. However, Wikimedia Commons shows you everything available which for me when researching is much more useful.

Jester's Chair commemorating Father Ted.

Pantomime
Christmas time in London (except when prevented by Covid-19).
You also see pantomime on ice at ice rinks.
See YouTube.

Useful Websites
https://www.a-speakers.com/speakers/brad-ashton-keynote-speaker/
 Brad Ashton's books on comedy: 
“How to Write Comedy”, 
“The funny Thing about Writing Comedy”, 
“The Job of a Laughtime”, and 
“Stand up and Be Laughed at”.

About the Author
Angela Lansbury is a travel writer and photographer, author of 20 books, and a speaker and speech trainer.
Her books include:
Wedding Speeches & Toasts
Quick Quotations

Writing Poetry For Fun
Angela's Alarming Animal Poems

Pantomime characters, pantomime dames create humour.

A Guided Walk From Green Park Station and The Ritz to Berry Brothers Wine Merchants Shop

Problem
What's the best route? What can I see and photograph on the way?

Answers
I am not an official London tour guide, although I have been on a day's training, observing. Just follow me, your friendly writer on the internet, and see what I saw. Starting from Green Park station you have lots of choices of walking routes. Coming out of Green Park station, I saw the Ritz hotel ahead. Since it was sunny, we saved that route for the return journey and headed into Green Park.

Every time I walk anywhere in London I see something new. As writer and dictionary compiler Johnson said, He who is tired of London is tired of life.

Walk through Green Park in the Queen's footsteps, or sit and read. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

An information panel told me the story of Queen Anne and how she used to walk along what is now Green Park, making houses overlooking the park more popular and expensive.

Walk south, as I did, to Berry Brothers & Rudd's new shop, I followed a friend, who knows the back routes. A few yards beyond the information panel a small alley leads between the houses.

Compare London and Bucharest
The Narrowest Street
When I was in Brasov, a regional capital of Romania, one of the city's main attractions was an alley called the narrowest street, or String Street.

String Street, Brasov, regional capital of Romania. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

Narrow Alley off Green Park, London. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

This alley off Green Park seems equally small to me. I must go back and take a photo of somebody with their arms outstretched. You must do it before 10 pm when the passage is closed. If you visit, that would be an amusing photo. But this passage is technically private property, not a public street.

When you emerge at the other end, you can walk across to an old English hotel

Photo of exterior of hotel with British and American flags. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

As I walked towards the hotel, I saw a lady walking towards me carrying a bunch of flowers. How very English, I thought. I had not known that carrying bunches of flowers upwards was English, until I went to Romania. In Bucharest, the capital of Romania, people carry bunches of flowers with the heads downwards.

A women carrying bunches of flowers upwards in a street in London, England. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

A woman carrying a bunch of flowers with the heads down in Bucharest, capital of Romania. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

People carrying bunches of flowers, head down, in Bucharest, capital of Romania. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

Elegant flowers in window boxes and a blue door. Georgian sash windows. London, England. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

A London blue heritage plaque saying that Frederic Chopin was here in London, England. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

I was passed by an Amphibian vehicle on a tour of London. I took these in Philadelphia, USA, and New York city, New York state, in the USA. Great fun when you tip into the water.  Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

Whether you want to walk through Green Park, sit in the sun, or walk through the back streets of London, or take an amphibious tour, always plenty to see and do in London, England.

The second part of my walk and Berry Brothers is in the next post.


USEFUL WEBSITES
UK
https://tfl.gov.uk
https://art.tfl.gov.uk/projects/permanent-commission-by-daniel-buren/
www.visitlondon.com
www.londonpass.com
www.visitbritain.org
ROMANIA
www.tarom.ro Romanian budget airline.

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. Please share links to your favourite posts.