OK, here's how it started. Back in June John Staedtler called a resident in Westphalia-on-Sea and accused him of being the Piddlebackside blogger. He duly emailed us, and we sent off postcards to Mr Staedtler from various places around the country. He reported this in his Monday column. We then composed a series of other postcards with humorous (we thought) pictures, little poems and a storyline promising to reveal our identities. A whodunit-type story was unfolding, but the deal was Mr Staedtler had to participate by printing some of the clues, because they weren't in the blog. We thought it would be an interesting crossover between the very real Westphalia-on-Sea and the wholly fictional Piddlebackside. We even went to the trouble of sending 'jigsaw' cards to Dr Pangloss and Charlie Windsor which had to be fitted together with John Staedtler's to reveal a message. (we do hope they kept them as souvenirs - might be worth something in the future!) All quite clever, but either Mr Staedtler or the powers that be down at the Westphalia Express weren't having any of it. Well, there was no point us continuing with it if it wasn't going to be printed, so we informed Mr Staedtler that his character would have to be killed off (a common and fairly harmless soap storyline to get rid of actors/characters) as he couldn't have such a prominent role in Westphalia-on-Sea if he wasn't prepared to play ball. He was duly dispatched, and that was when a member of the Westphalia-on-Sea constabulary called the same resident that Mr Staedtler had called back in June to say they had received a complaint about the scene in chapter 63, and could he do something about it! Well, our gast was completely flabbered. We had heard of silly old ladies in the past sending birthday cards to Granada TV addressed to characters on Coronation Street, but this was surreal - on a different level. Anyway, that complaint was a litle premature, because hey presto! up popped Mr Staedtler in chapter 64, right as rain and not a scratch on him. It had all been a dream. Yes, it was a Bobby Ewing/Dirty Den moment, so there was no need to go out to the car park outside the Westphalia Express looking for a corpse after all. Hope that clears it all up.
Anyway, as the whole postcard storyline is dead and buried, here are the first ones that were sent to John Staedtler. It was a bit of shame, but thankfully Dr Pangloss, Charlie Windsor and the rest of the gang show no sign cutting off the supply of good material, so it's business as usual ... don't forget to click the link on the left to read the latest story on the Westphalia Express ...
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4 comments:
Speaking as a silly old lady...................................and resident of Eastphalia, I wish it to be made clear that I've never sent a card to a Coronation Street character, or even the Pangloss/Windsor axis!
Dear Madam
We can assure you that if you are navigating your way around the Internet and perusing our humble offerings you are definitely not silly. Unfortunately on the information available we cannot comment on whether you are old, or, in fact, a lady, but our guess is that a certain revolutionary spirit is still burning in your heart.
So what you are saying is Wendy Richards isn't dead?
Thanks for explaining. One's respect for the local paper has consequently diminished. Will the message ever be revealed?
A less puzzled reader.
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