Mr Punch enjoys a cuppa the same as anyone else. Lucky for him he bumped into the padre who just happened to have a brew on the go. All old soldiers will tell you how important tea is for morale. After all performing in a Punch and Judy Show is a bit like going into battle.
Photo taken at Beamish Museum.
Mr Punch and the Padre
Perhaps it came as a shock to Mr Punch to discover he is made of wood. If he was feeling nervous he certainly didn’t show it. This is Mr Punch at the Beamish Museum Autumn Agricultural Show with a master craftsmen highly skilled in the art of woodcraft. Taking a break after another energetic performance of his famous Punch and Judy Show, old red nose slipped into the craft tent for a breather. What a come down after 350 years of celebrity status to suddenly find your ancestor was a tree!
Mr Punch in the craft tent.
Heavy rain kept the crowds away from most events at the start of the Bank Holiday weekend. This young lady would not be put off. She was determined to see the Punch and Judy even if it was pouring down. The show went ahead and a small crowd gathered to join in the fun. Who needs sunshine anyway?
Waiting for Mr Punch
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Police officers had to take action today when Mr Punch carried on in a fashion likely to provoke hysterical laughter. The long arm of the law finally caught up with him at Carlisle racecourse where he was spotted cavorting and carrying on in an irreverent and noisy manner resulting in outbreaks of  smiles and laughter on members of the audience and passers by too.
Mr Punch was eventually released because the police decided they couldn’t pin anything on him as he has a wooden head.
Asked later why he had broken the law, he said ” I never touched it! ”
Mr Punch held by police!
Was he innocent or guilty? Want to meet Mr Punch? Â Why not hire a Punch and Judy Show for your next party or family fun day event.
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May Fayre And Puppet Festival
The 35th Annual Covent Garden May Fayre and Puppet Festival, is to be held in honour of Mr Punch’s 348th birthday, on Sunday 9th May 2010, at St Paul’s Church Gardens, Bedford Street, Covent Garden, London.
For anyone interested in Punch and Judy or puppetry this event is a must. There will be shows throughout the day by lots of practitioners of the art of Punch and Judy and other puppets too.
Timings are as follows:
10.30am – Assemble for the Grand Procession around the neighbourhood.
11.30am to  5.30pm – Continuous performances of Punch and Judy and Puppet Shows plus workshops, stalls, folk music and dancing.
This is a FREE event, open to the general public. It is a performance festival dedicated to the art of puppetry and there will be something to entertain and interest all ages. Do try and make it.
The tranquility of a beautiful Northumberland village was disturbed yesterday with the arrival of Mr Punch and his entourage.
The picturesque and historic medieval village of Blanchland nestles in the Northumbrian countryside and is popular with tourists. The peace and quiet was disturbed for a while yesterday when Punch and Judy were called on to perform at the Lord Crewe Arms Hotel to entertain wedding guests.
Mr Punch said ” We was a little concerned about doing the show at this venue because the hotel is supposed to be haunted and as we already have a ghost we thought it might cause trouble. The resident ghost might not be happy with an outsider putting the frighteners on people on his turf so to speak”
Fortunately all was well and the Punch and Judy Show went ahead to the delight of the guests.
After the show there was time for a quick look round before heading back to North Yorkshire.
Mr Punch recommends a visit to Blanchland if you are ever up that way. It is a lovely place as you can see from the photos below.
Approaching Blanchland from Co durham
The Lord Crewe Hotel, Blanchland, Northumberland
Blanchland village square
Blanchland has many pretty houses
Beatiful stone buildings
Stone Arch
The Blanchland Deli
The Lord Crewe Hotel is popular with ghost hunters so if you do go keep your eyes open for strange goings on…you have been warned!
ps Punch recommends the Deli ( nice grub and friendly service too )
Following the announcement yesterday that there is to be a General Election it has become known that one of our most famous comedy characters, Mr Punch, is considering running for office.
” Well The Ouse of Commons is like a Punch and Judy show most of the time so I shoulds fit right in. I don’t go much for kissing babies as you all know but the people of this country want straight talking and I don’t mess about. I believe in democracy and anyone who argues with me knows what they will get. I plan to drastically shorten the time taken to make decisions and put an end to lengthy debates. A few quick taps with my slapstick will soon sort things out. I’m a very fair man and what happened to Judy, The Policeman and the Doctor were all honest mistakes like any other MP could make like with their expenses and stuff like that. It was all within the rules! ”
When asked about transparency he replied:
” Of course there should be transparency. The voters don’t want a Parliament full of dodgy people who are lining their own pockets and saying one thing whilst doing something else. Look at my face. Do I look honest? Can you see any mischief in my eyes? Go on take a good look. Now compare me to Gordon, Dave or Nick. You see, we’re all the same. You can trust me just as much as you can trust them…honest! ”
Punch’s view on the voting system.
” Well I don’t agree with proportional representation as I am much smaller than everyone else, being just a puppet, so obviously my votes would be less. I would however change the system so that I got to count all the votes myself. This would be much easier than going through the hassle of boundary changes to rig the voting in favour of one party or another. The only way to be sure of winning is to do it all yourself and like I said before I believe in democracy and so I’d have to make sure people got the PM they really want…ME! ”
Punch’s opinion of “Red Tape”
” I don’t like red tape. There is far too much of it. My costume is mainly red and I’m sick of that too. I’ve been out on the hustings and folk are grumbling about the sheer amount of red tape we have to put up with. It makes me wonder if some cabinet minister has an undisclosed interest in a red tape company somewhere. My first act as Prime Minister would be to abolish all red tape. If you vote for me you will be voting for change. I promise there will be no more red tape. It will be either blue, yellow or green instead or possibly some kind of combination ”
Asked about other reforms he had in mind.
” It will be illegal to own a crocodile as they are nasty vicious creatures and I don’t like having my nose bitten. Also the laws on sausages need tightening up”
Gordon Brown can rely on Lord Mandelson to orchestrate his election campaign. Do you have a figure of similar competence and stature to run things for you.
” Yes, Joey the Clown is my number two. I’m confident that Joey will soon have the voters falling about laughing equally as much as Peter Mandelson or any of the other big shots. Joey knows how to tell a good porky so I’m leaving it up to him ”
What is your campaign slogan?
” I’ve chosen Oh I do like to be beside the seaside because it has a nice catchy tune that voters can sing along to and it doesn’t really mean anything because what I say I’m going to do and what I do once I’m PM will be different anyway…That’s The way to do it! ”
End Of Interview
