**** The Cycling Sketch from Episode 10 of "Monty Python's Flying Circus" ****
**** Transcribed 3/31/87 by						  ****
**** Jonathan Partington ( JRP1%CAM.PHX%UK.AC.CAM.ENG-ICF@AC.UK )	  ****
**** expressly for the BBOARD@YALEVM Python collection			  ****
 
 
		    MONTY PYTHON'S FLYING CIRCUS
 
			    EPISODE 10
 
		     Written and performed by
 
		JOHN CLEESE, MICHAEL PALIN, TERRY JONES,
		ERIC IDLE, GRAHAM CHAPMAN, TERRY GILLIAM
 
THURSDAY, 4TH MAY, 1972
 
(The green, lush Devon countryside.  Theme music.  There are trees in the
background perhaps and the camera is tracking along the hedgerow along a road.
 
We see a head whizzing along, sometimes just above the hedgerow and sometimes
bobbing down out of sight....  occasionally for long periods.
 
Title:			THE CYCLING TOUR
 
Mr. Pither, the cyclist, bobs up and down a few more times, then disappears
from sight.  There is a crash and clang of a bicycle in collision, mixed with
the scream of a frightened hen, and stifled shout of alarm.  We are still in
long shot and see nothing.  The music stops abruptly on the crash.)
 
Pither (Voice Over):  August 18th.  Fell off near Bovey Tracey.  The pump
caught in my trouser leg, and my sandwiches were badly crushed.
 
(Cut to interior of a transport cafe.  A rather surly proprietor with fag in
mouth is operating an Espresso coffee machine.	Pither, a fussy bespectacled
little man, in sweater, trousers, is leaning over the counter, talking
chattily).
 
Pither: The pump caught in my trouser leg, and my sandwiches were badly
	crushed.
Prop:	35p.  (He goes back to working the machine).
Pither: These sandwiches, however, were an excellent substitute.
 
(Enormous lorry driver comes up to counter)
Driver: Give us ten woods, Barney.
Pither: Hello!
 
(Lorry driver looks at him without interest, goes off with his cigarettes)
 
Pither: It's funny how one can go through life, as I have, disliking bananas
	and being indifferent to cheese, and then be able to eat, and enjoy, a
	banana and cheese sandwich like that.
Prop:	35p please.  (A juke box starts up in the background)
Pither: Ah! I have only a 50. Do you have change?
Prop. (with heavy sarcasm): Well I'll have a look, but I may have to ring the
	bank.
Pither: I'm most awfully sorry.
 
(Prop gives him change)
 
Prop:  15p.
Pither: Oh, that was lucky. Well, all the very best.
	(Pither proffers his hand.  Prop. ignores it)
	Thank you for the excellent banana and cheese sandwich.
 
(He exits busily.  Prop.  looks after him, shakes his head, and absent-mindedly
opens a sandwich and flicks ash in, and closes it up again.)
 
(Cut to hedgerows.  Theme music.  Pither's head bobbing up and down.  At the
same point in the music....  it disappears and there is a crash mingled with
grunting of pig.)
 
Pither (V.O.): August 23rd. Fell off near Budleigh Salterton.
 
(Cut to a woman gardening.  Behind her we see Pither's head peering over the
hedge.)
 
Pither: ...and the pump caught in my trouser leg.
 
(She carries on digging, trying to ignore him)
 
Pither:  And that's why they were damaged...(no reaction)...the eggs...you
remember...the hard-boiled eggs I was telling you about...(he comes round to
the gate and leans familiarly over the gate)...they were in a Tupperware
container, reputedly self-sealing, which fell open on contact with the
tarmacadam surface of the road.  (He looks for a reaction.  She goes on digging
very butch)...the B409...(he looks again for a glimmer of interest)...the
Dawlish road...(again no reaction) That shouldn't really happen to a
self-sealing container, should it?
 
(Lady gardener goes back into house.  Pither waits for a few moments)
 
Pither (shouting):  What do *you* keep your hard-boiled eggs in?  (No reaction)
		    I think in future I shall lash them to the handlebars with
		    adhesive tape.  That should obviate a recurrence of the
		    same problem...well I can't stop here all day...must get
		    on...I'm on a cycling tour of Cornwall.
 
(Cut to hedgerows again.  Pither's head bowling along.	Theme music.  He dips
out of sight.  Crash and a cow moos.)
 
Pither (V.O.):	Aug. 26th.  Fell off near Ottery St. Mary.  The pump caught in
my trouser leg.  Decide to wear short trousers from now on.
 
(Cut to another hedgerow.  Pither's head bowling along.  Short burst of music.
Crash.)
 
Pither (V.O.):	Fell off near Tiverton.  Perhaps a shorter pump is the answer.
 
(Cut to a tiny village high street, deserted save for an old lady.  Pither
cycles into shot, carefully parks his bike by the kerb.  He is in shorts, but
still has his bicycle clips on.  He takes them off and approaches the old
lady.)
 
Pither:   Excuse me, madam, can you tell me of a good bicycle shop in this
	  village, where I could find either some means of adapting my present
	  pump, or, failing that, purchase a replacement?
Old lady: There's only one shop here.
 
(She points with a shaking finger. Camera pans very slightly to
one side to reveal a shop with a huge four foot high sign:
 
"BICYCLE PUMP CENTRE. SPECIALISTS IN SHORTER BICYCLE PUMPS."
 
another sign:  "SHORT PUMPS AVAILABLE HERE"
 
another sign:  "WE SHORTEN PUMPS WHILE-U-WAIT"
 
The camera shows the shop only for a couple of seconds and pans
back to the old lady and Pither.)
 
Pither: What a stroke of luck.	Now perhaps cycling will become less
	precarious.
 
(Cut to int. of doctor's surgery. A knock on the door).
 
Doctor: Yes?
Nurse:	(sticking her head around the door):  There's a Mr. Pither to see you,
	Doctor.  His bicycle pump got caught in his sock.
Doctor: Alright, nurse, send him in.
 
(Nurse exits, Pither enters in shorts and sweater)
 
Doctor: Morning.
Pither: A very good morning to you too, Doctor
Doctor: I gather you had an accident?
Pither: Yes, my pump got...
Doctor: ...caught in your sock.
Pither: Yes, and my fruit cake was damaged on one side.
Doctor: Well...
Pither: It's got grit all over it.
Doctor: Well now, are you in pain?  (reaching round for his stethoscope and
	coming around desk)
Pither: Oh heavens no.
Doctor: Well where were you hurt?
Pither: I escaped without injury fortunately.
(Pause)
Doctor: Well what is the trouble?
Pither: Could you tell me the way to Iddesley?
Doctor: I'm a doctor, you know.
Pither: Oh yes.  Under normal circumstances I would have asked a policeman or
	a minister of the Church, but finding no one available, I thought it
	better to consult a man with some qualifications, rather than rely on
	the possibly confused testimony of a passer-by.
Doctor: Oh alright.  (He scribbles something on a piece of paper and hands it
	to Pither) Take this to a chemist.
Pither: Thank you.
 
(Ching of door.  Chemist comes out holding the paper and points up the street.
Pither thanks him and mounts his bike.
 
Cut to the hedgerows again.  Pither's head.  Theme music...reaches the point
where Pither normally falls off...his head disappears, the music cuts off...
no crash...suddenly Pither's head reappears further on and the music starts up
again)
 
Pither (V.O.): Sept 2nd. Did not fall off outside Iddesley.
 
(Cut to a small market town.  Line of cars.  Pither's head just above the roofs
of cars.  Theme music.	He suddenly disappears, the music stops and there is a
crash.)
 
Pither (V.O.): Fell off in Tavistock.
 
(Cut to a discreet corner of a Watney's pub.  Carpet and soft music.  A
middle-aged businessman and a sexy secretary who obviously want to be alone are
sitting huddled over a table.  On the other side of the table is Pither, with
half pint in front of him.)
 
Pither: My leg got caught in my trousers and that's how the bottle broke.
Girl:	Tell her today, you could ring her.
Man:	I can't. I can't.
Pither: I said you'd never guess.
Man:	16 years we've been together. I can't just ring her up.
Girl:	If you can't do it now, you never will.
Pither: Do you like Tizer?
Man (to Pither): What? No. No.
Girl:	Do you want me or not? It's your decision, James.
Pither: I suppose it is still available in this area?
Girl:	Do you want me or not, James?
Man:	What?
Pither: Tizer.
Girl:	Yes or no.
Pither: Is it still available in this area?
Man (to Pither): I don't know.
Girl:	In that case it's goodbye for ever, James.
Man:	No! I mean yes!
Pither: Oh it is?
Man (to Pither): No.
Girl:	You never *could* make up your mind.
Man:	I can.... I have....
Girl (taking off ring):  Goodbye James.  (She runs out sobbing.)
Man:	No wait, Lucille!
Pither: And does your lovely daughter like Tizer?
Man:	Lucille!
Pither: I wouldn't mind buying *her* a bottle of Tizer....  if it's available
	in this area, that is.
Man (turning on Pither): Would you like me to show you the door?
Pither: Well that's extremely thoughtful of you, but I saw it on the way in.
Man:	You stupid, interfering little rat.
Pither: Oh! The very words of the garage mechanic in Bude!
 
(The man picks Pither up by the scruff of the neck and the seat of his pants.
He carries him bodily towards the door.)
 
Pither: I had just fallen off...and my cheese tartlet had become embedded in
	the...
Man:	Damn your cheese tartlet!  And damn you, sir!
Pither:  ...dynamo hub...  which was not at that time functioning...
 
(He is thrown out.)
 
(Cut to ext.  of pub.  Pither picks himself up.  Sees girl outside sobbing.)
 
Pither: Just had a chat with your dad.
 
(Girl bursts into further tears.  Whistling cheerfully, Pither gets on his
bicycle and, happier than he has been for a long time, he cycles off down the
road and round a corner.  Sounds of car tyre screech and crash of Pither going
straight into a car.)
 
(Cut to interior of car speeding along highway.  Pither is sitting in the back
seat with his bicycle.	The driver, Mr Gulliver, is a bespectacled young man.
He talks with a professional precision.)
 
Pither:   Yes...my rubber instep caught on the rear mud-guard stanchion and...
Gulliver: Really? And what happened to your corned beef rolls?
Pither:   They were squashed out of all recog...  here just a minute.  How did
	  you know about the corned beef rolls?
Gulliver: I saw them - or what remained of them - on the road.	I noticed also
	  that the lemon curd tart had sustained some superficial damage.
Pither:   The curd had become...
Gulliver: Detached from the pastry base.
Pither (with some surprise): Yes.... that's absolutely right!
Gulliver: Otherwise the contents of the sandwich box were relatively unharmed,
	  though I detected small particles of bitumen in the chocolate cup
	  cakes.
Pither:   But they were wrapped in foil!
Gulliver: Not the hard chocolate top, I'm afraid.
Pither:   Oh dear, that's the bit I liked.
Gulliver: The ginger biscuit, the crisps and the sausage roll were unharmed.
Pither:   How do you know so much about cycling?
Gulliver: I'm making a special study of accidents involving food.
Pither:   Really?
Gulliver: Do you know that in our laboratories we have produced a cheese
	  sandwich that can withstand an impact of 4,000 lbs per square inch?
Pither:   Good heavens!
Gulliver: Amazing, isn't it?  We have also developed a tomato which ejects
	  itself when an accident is imminent.
Pither:   Even if it's inside am egg and tomato roll?
Gulliver: Anywhere!  Even if it's in your stomach, and it senses an accident
	  it will come up your throat and out of the window.  Do you realise
	  what this means?
Pither:   Safer food?
Gulliver: Exactly!  No longer will food be damaged, crushed or squashed by the
	  ignorance and stupidity of the driver!  (Becoming slightly messianic)
	  Whole picnics will be built to survive the most enormous forces!
	  Snacks will be stronger than ever!  An ordinary pot of salad cream,
	  treated in our laboratories, has been subjected to the force of a
	  9,000 lb steam hammer every day for the last 6 years.  And has it
	  broken?
Pither:   Er....
Gulliver: Yes, of course it has!  But there are other things that haven't!....
	  the safety straps for sardines for instance.
 
(A tomato leaps up out of the glove compartment and hovers, then it ejects
 itself out of the car window)
 
Pither:   That tomato just ejected itself.
Gulliver: Really?
Pither:   Yes.
Gulliver (embracing Pither): It works! It works!
 
(Crash and cut to black.)
(Fade up on country road.  Pither is cycling along with Gulliver on the back of
the bicycle.  Gulliver has his head bandaged and his arm in a sling.
Occasionally strains of 'Jack in a box' by Clodagh Rogers float towards us as
Gulliver moves rhythmically.)
 
Pither (V.O.):	What a strange turn this cycling tour has taken.  Mr Gulliver
appears to have lost his memory and far from being interested in safer food is
now convinced that he is Clodagh Rogers the young girl singer.	I am taking him
for medical attention.
 
(Cut to Pither and Gulliver cycling into hospital.  Sign: "North Cornwall
District Hospital".)
 
(Cut to nurse receptionist at counter with glass window which lifts up and
down.  Above window small notice:  "Casualty Admissions".  Pither appears)
 
Pither: Good afternoon... is this the Casualty Department?
Nurse: Yes, that's right.
 
(Noise of splintering wood and crash out of view.  Pither and nurse look up.
Cut away to three benches under large 4 ft sign "Casualty".  The front bench
has collapsed in the middle and half a dozen or so patients sitting on it have
slid into a heap in the middle.  Some with scalded hands, bandages etc.  some
with bloody heads.  A negro nurse is on her way to assist.  Cut back to Pither
and nurse.)
 
Nurse: What can I do for you?
(The window comes down on her fingers, she winces sharply in pain.  She pushes
 it up again).
 
Pither: Well, I am at present on a cycling tour of the North Cornwall area
	taking in Bude and...
Nurse:	Could I have your name please?
Pither: My name is Pither.
Nurse:	Hm?
Pither: No...  P I T H E R ...	as in Brotherhood, but with PI instead of the
	BRO and no HOOD.
Nurse:	I see...
Pither: I had already visited Taunton...
 
(Terrific crash.  Cut to trolley on its side, and a bandaged patient under a
 mound of hospital instruments and a nurse standing looking down)
 
Nurse:	Sh!
Pither: ...and was cycling north in...
Nurse:	Where were you injured?
Pither: Just where the A397 Ilfracombe road meets the...
Nurse:	No - on your body...
Pither: Ah no... it's not I who was injured, it's my friend.
 
(Nurse scowls, crumples up paper...  and throws it away.  The piece of paper
hits a smallish cabinet of glass which topples forward.)
 
Nurse:	Tut... Name?
Pither: Pither.
Nurse (long sufferingly): Your *friend's* name.
Pither: Clodagh Rogers...
Nurse:	Clodagh Rogers!
Pither: Well...since about 4:30....
Nurse:	...well I think you ought to tell Doctor Wu... Doctor!
 
(Cut to doctor on top of step ladder, unloading whisky from a crate balanced on
top of ladders into a medicine cupboard already stacked with whisky bottles.
Doctor whips round knocking off the crate of whisky.)
Doctor: What? Damn!
 
(Cut to patient in a wheelchair being pushed.  The wheelchair completely
collapses and the nurse is left holding the handles.  Quick cut to nurse as
window comes down on her fingers again.)
Nurse: Aaaaaagh!
 
(Doctor comes across to pither, limping slightly, in some pain.)
 
Doctor: Now, what's the trouble?
Pither: I am on a cycling tour of...
Nurse (nursing her fingers): He thinks he's had an accident.
Pither: Yes, I have friend who, as a result of his injuries, has become
	Clodagh Rogers.
Doctor: Don't be silly, man; people don't just become Clodagh Rogers.
Pither: So you may think, but what happened in this case was...
(There is a terrifying crash)
(Cut to doors, which are flying open, knocking over a nurse with
a tray of surgical instruments.  Gulliver comes in...)
 
Gulliver (rushing up to Pither):  No time to lose - we must make for Moscow
tonight.  (Grabs Pither and pulls him out.)
 
(The window comes down on the doctor's fingers.)
Doctor: Aaaaagh!
 
(Gulliver and Pither rush out of doors of Casualty Dept.  They slam the door.
Casualty sign drops on the heads of the people on the third bench.)
 
(Cut to camp fire at midnight in a forest clearing. By the light
of the fire, Pither is writing up his diary.)
 
Pither (V.O.):	Sept 4th.  Well I never.  We are now in the Alpes Maritimes
region of Southern France.  Clodagh seems more intent on reaching Moscow than
on rehearsing her new BBC1 series with Buddy Rich and the Younger Generation.
 
(Gulliver enters the scene.  His head is still bandaged but he has a goatee
beard.)
 
Pither:   Hallo!
Gulliver: We cannot stay here.	We must leave immediately.  There is a ship at
	  Marseilles.
Pither:   I did enjoy your song for Europe, Clodagh.
Gulliver: I have seen an agent in the town. My life is in danger.
Pither:   Danger, Clodagh?
Gulliver: Stalin has always hated me.
Pither:   No one hates you, Clodagh.
Gulliver: I will not let myself fall into the hands of these scum.
Pither:   I suggest you have a little lie down, my dear.  There is a busy day
	  of concerts and promotional visits tomorrow.
Gulliver: I. One of the founders of the greatest nation on earth.  I!  Who
	  Lenin called his greatest friend.
 
(From the darkness we hear French voices.)
 
M. Brun: Taissez-vous. Taissez-vous.
 
Pither:   Oh dear.
Gulliver: I!  who have fought and suffered that our people should live.
 
(Pair of middle class froggies in their prix-unis pyjamas appear.)
 
M. Brun:   Taissez-vous.  Qu'est-ce que le bruit?  C'est impossible.
Pither:    Er... my name is Pither.
M. Brun:   Oh... you are English?
Pither:    Er yes.  I'm on a cycling tour of North Cornwall, taking in Bude.
Gulliver:  I will not be defeated.  I will return to my land and continue the
	   fight against this new tyranny.
Pither:    This is Clodagh Rogers, the Irish-born girl singer.
Mme. Brun: Mais oui (sings) Jack-in-a-box, I know whenever love knocks (M.
	   Brun joins in) Eh!!	Genevieve, Gerard.  C'est Clodagh Rogers la
	   chanteuse Anglaise.
 
(Happy shouts from off as two small froggies in their teens appear in pyjamas
with autograph books and run up to Gulliver.  Gen. offers her book to
Gulliver.)
 
Gulliver: They will never silence me. They will nev...
Gen.:	  Excusez-moi Mam'selle Clodagh.  Ecrivez vous votre nom dans mon livre
	  des celebrites.  (Gulliver takes book.)  S'il vous plait.  La,
	  au-dessous de Denis Compton.	(Gulliver, having signed, hands the
	  book back.)  Merci...  oh!  Maman.  Ce n'est pas la belle Clodagh.
Mme. B.:  Quoi?
Gen.:	  C'est Trotsky le revolutionaire.
M. B.:	  Trotsky!
Mme. B.:  Trotsky ne chante pas.
M. B.:	  Un peu.
Mme. B.:  Mais pas professionalement. Tu penses de Lenin.
M. B.:	  Lenin!! Quel chanteur: 'If I ruled the world'.
 
(Cut to stock shot of famous Lenin-addressing-the-crowd scene doctored so that
we can dub the words 'Every day would be the first day of spring' onto it.)
(Cut back to clearing as before.)
 
Gulliver: Lenin.  My friend.  I come.  (He dashes off into the forest
	  possessed.)
Pither (aux Bruns): Oh excuse me, she's not very well you know, pressure of
		    work, laryngitis...  (He gets on his bike and pedals off
		    hurriedly after Gulliver into the forest.)
M. Brun (still reminiscing):  Et Kerensky avec le 'Little White Bull'.
Mme. Brun: Formidable.
 
(Cut to a few quick shots of Gulliver dashing through the trees and then of
Pither making much slower progress due to his bike.)
 
(Cut to a shot possibly of two frogs in a signal box, but probably a mundane
setting and it's not worth wasting too much time on, of Gulliver passing within
sight of the two aforesaid frogs, F1 and F2.)
 
F1 (seeing Gulliver): Maurice!	Regardez!  C'est la chanteuse Anglaise Clodagh
		      Rogers.
F2:  Ah mais oui!  (sings) Jacques dans la boite (he switches on a nearby horn
gramophone and the song is heard throughout the forest)
 
(Cut to Russian street.  Pither cycles along with Gulliver, looking like
 Trotsky, on the back.)
 
Pither (V.O.):	After several days I succeeded in tracking down my friend Mr.
		Gulliver to the outskirts of Smolensk.
 
(Cut to military man in studio.  He has a large map of Europe and Russia and a
stick with which he raps at the places.)
Military man: Smolensk.  200 miles west of Minsk.  200 north of Kursk.	1500
	      miles west of Omsk.
 
(Cut back to Pither.)
Pither: Thank you.
 
(They've stopped by a signpost that says:
					   Smolensk Town Centre 1/2
					   Tavistock 1612 m.		)
 
Pither (V.O.):	Anyway, as we were so far from home, and as Mr. Gulliver, still
believing himself to be Trotsky, was very tired from haranguing the masses all
the way from Monte Carlo,
 
(Cut to military man who thumps the map again.)
Military man:  Monte Carlo.  100 miles south of Turin.	100 west of Pisa.  500
	       miles east of Bilbao.
 
(Cut back to Pither.)
Pither: Thank you. I decided to check...
Pither (V.O.): I decided to check...
Pither: No, you go on.
Pither (V.O.):	I decided to check him into a hotel while I visited the British
		Embassy to ask for help in returning to Cornwall.
 
(By the end of this speech, they are leaving the bicycle on the kerb and
entering a door with the sign "Y.M.A.C.A."  over it, looking like a Y.M.C.A.
sign.  Over this...)
 
Pither (V.O.):	And so we registered at the Smolensk Young Men's Anti-Christian
		Association.
 
(Cut to military man.)
Military man:  Y.M.C.A.  Corner of Anti-semitic street and Pogrom square.
 
Pither (by now standing at the reception desk with Gulliver):  Go away.  (To
departing desk clerk).	No not you.  A single room for my friend please.
Desk clerk: Yes, sir. Bugged or unbugged?
Gulliver (as Trotsky): I think I'd feel happier with a bugged one.
Desk Clerk: One bugged with bath.
(As Gulliver starts to sign the register, Pither starts to leave.  He says...)
Pither:  Have a nice lie down.	I'm just off to the Embassy.  (He goes.)
 
(Desk clerk looks at book.)
Desk clerk: Trotsky! My lack of God, it's Trotsky!
 
(A couple of people race in excitedly.)
 
Gulliver:  Comrades.  Socialism is not a national doctrine it...  (Fade.)
 
(Mix through to sign:  "British Consulate Smolensk" sign is on railings
outside.  Pither cycles up and parks his bike and goes in.  Imperial music.)
 
(Mix through to interior...  smoke and incense about.  A picture of the queen
is dimly visible on the back wall.  A Chinaman approaches.)
 
Pither: Excuse me. Is this the British Consulate?
Chinaman: Yes yes...  si si...	That is correctment.  Yes...  Piccadilly
	  Circus, mini-skirt...  Joe Lyons.
Pither:   I wish to see the Consul, please.
Chinaman: That's right. Speakee speakee... me Blitish consul.
Pither:   Oh!  (He examines his diary.)  Are you...  Rear Admiral Dudley de
	  Vere Compton Bart then?
Chinaman: No. He died.	He have heart attack and fell out of window onto
	  exploding bomb, and was run over in shooting accident.  Nasty
	  business.  I his susscussor...  how you say...  succsussor.
Pither:   Successor.
Chinaman: Successor yes... I his successor, Mr. Atkinson.
Pither:   Oh, I see.
Atkinson: You like have drinkee? Game bingo?
Pither:   Well.... a *drink* would be extremely pleasant.
 
(Atkinson snaps fingers. Another chink bows obsequiously.)
Atkinson: Mr. Robinson. Go and get Saki.
Robinson: Yes, Boss. (goes)
Atkinson: How is Tunbridge Wells?  How I long to see once again walls of
	  Shakespeare-style theatre in Stratford-on-Avon.
Pither:   I'm a West Country man myself, Mr. Atkinson.
Atkinson: Ho yes! Arizona -- Texas -- Kit Carson Super Scout.
Pither:   No - West of England... Cornwall.
China (with difficulty): Coron... worll...
Pither:   Cornwall.
Atkinson: Coronworl...	oh yes know Coronworl very well.  Go to school there,
	  Mother and Father live there, ah yes, have lots of friends there.  Go
	  for weekend parties and polo playing cards and bridge in evening.  Oh
	  yes belong to many clubs in Coronworld.
 
(Robinson reappears, with drink and plate of pastries.	He puts them down.)
Atkinson: Ah, Mr. Rutherford, saki and bakewells tart.
(Hands glass of Saki to Pither.)
Atkinson: Well, old chap. Buttocks up!
Pither:   Rather.  (They drink.)
Atkinson: Now then Mr... er...
Pither:   Pither.
Atkinson: Pither ah yes...  fine old English name.  My father he Pither, and
	  mother she Pither...	all flends Pither...  Now we Blitish here in
	  Smolensk velly intellested in playing clicket.
Pither:   Cricket?
Atkinson: No...you not speak English velly wells.  We like play *clicket* -not
	   clicket - clicket...clicketty click...housey housey...Bingo.
Pither:   Oh...  Bingo...
Atkinson: Yes. Bingo.
Robinson: Bingo.
Atkinson (trying to get a grip on himself):  Bingo.
Robinson:  Bingo!  Bingo!
 
(Hammering on door.)
Chinese V.O.s: Bingo Bingo Bingo! (etc)
 
(Three Chinese throw themselves out of a cupboard and throw themselves at
Pither's feet, imploringly.)
3 Chinese: Bingo! Bingo! Bingo!
Atkinson: Contloll. Contloll selves!
Robinson: (beating floor with fist): Bingo.
Atkinson: Mr. Richardson! Contloll self!
3 Chinese (under breath): Bingo....
Atkinson: Hsai! (turns to Pither) So solly. Boys get velly excited.
Robinson  (quietly): Bingo.
China	  (close into Robinson's face): Shut face. (smiles at Pither)
	  Perhaps you help us join Bingo Club back in jolly old Blighty.
Pither:   Well it's not quite my line...
Atkinson: You put in good word, me and flends join really smart Bingo club in
	  Coronwold...
Pither:   Well...
Atkinson: We all velly quiet...sit at back...only shout "Housey!  Housey!"
	  (Obviously trying to control himself but it is too late.)
Robinson: Housey! Housey!
3 Chinese (still on floor): Housey! Housey!
Atkinson (with supreme effort of will): Contloll selves!!
(Hammering on doors and Chinese V.O.s sound of Chinese hordes from outside.)
Chinese (V.O.): Housey housey! Housey housey!
 
(Atkinson runs onto balcony.  Shot of stock film of Chinese hordes.)
Chinese hordes: Housey housey! Housey housey!
Atkinson:  Ni akawati nihi, keo t'sin feh t'sung, nihi *watai* bingo cards!
 
(There is a sudden silence from the invisible hordes below, except for slightly
shocked muttering.  Atkinson turns, and goes back inside.  Cut back to
interior.  Atkinson stalks in looking grim.)
Robinson: Nihi *watai* bingo cards?
Atkinson: Nihi *watai*!
Robinson: Ah so... (he bows and falls back obediently.)
 
(Atkinson turns to Pither.)
Atkinson: Now then, Pither Mr, which do you think better, Hackney Star Bingo or
	  St. Albans Top Rank Suite?
Pither:   Well, Mr Atkinson, I was hoping that you could help me and my friend
	  to get back to England as...
Robinson  (terribly quietly):  Hackney Star Bingo.  (Atkinson strikes Robinson
	  hard.)
 
Pither:  I'm actually cycling to...
 
(One of the other Chinese falls to the floor.)
Chinaman on floor: Star Bingo!	(He cowers as Atkinson turns on him and
		   strikes him.)
Atkinson: Controll selves!
2 other Chinamen (with awed reverence): Top Rank Bingo...
Atkinson: Shut faces!
All:	  Bingo... Top Rank... ahhhh!
(As the word Bingo starts to swell again from all those present and from the
hordes outside, Atkinson rushes around trying to silence them.)
 
Pither: Well I think I'll be off...
Atkinson: Please not go yet...	(he has grabbed Robinson by the throat.)
Robinson (breathlessly): Wimbledon Granada Bingo.
Atkinson: Shut face.  Please Mr. Bingo don't bingo yet...  I mean bingo...
	  BINGO!
 
(Pither escapes as all available Simian lungs cry out.)
All: Bingo etc. etc.
Chinese hordes: Bingo!
 
(Chinese are climbing over the balcony.  Cut to stock film of Chinese hordes
rioting.)
Hordes: Bingo! Bingo! Bingo!
 
(Cut to worried Director reading script:  'I'm sorry, News, I'd like to do it,
but...')
 
(Cut to Y.W.A.C.A. Lobby.  Pither walks up to desk.)
Pither:     Is Mr Trotsky in his room please?
Desk clerk: No. He has gone to Moscow.
 
(Cut to military man.)
Military man: Moscow. 1500 miles due East of...
Desk Clerk:   Shut up!
Pither:       Moscow!
 
(Pither is suddenly surrounded by four secret policemen dressed in heavy
 trenchcoats and pork pie hats.)
 
Grip:	Come with us please.
Pither: Who're you?
Bag:	Well we're not secret police anyway.
Wallet: That's for sure.
Grip:	If anything we are ordinary Soviet systems with no particular interest
	in politics.
Bag:	None at all. Come with us.
Pither: Where are you taking me?
 
(Secret police all move to confer.)
Wallet: What do we tell him?
Grip:	Don't tell him any secrets.
Bag:	Agreed.
Grip:	Tell him anything except that we are taking him to Moscow to be present
	as an Honoured Guest when Trotsky is reunited with the Central
	Committee.
Wallet: We're taking you to a Clam Bake.
Pither: Oh a Clam Bake.  I've never been to one of them.
Grip:	Right, let's go.
Bag:	Who's giving the orders round here?
Grip:	I am. I'm senior to you.
Bag:	No, you're not.  You're a greengrocer, I'm an insurance salesman.
Grip:	Greengrocers are senior to insurance salesmen.
Wallet: Cool it. Ice cream salesmen are senior to both of you.
Bag:	You're an ice cream salesman?  I thought you were a window-dresser.
Wallet: I got promoted. Let's go.
Bag:	Taxi!
 
(Man enters dressed as a New York cabbie.)
Taxi: Yes.
Bag: Drive us to Moscow.
Taxi: I haven't got a cab.
Wallet: Why not?
Taxi: I'm in the Secret Police.
(They all snap into salute.)
 
(cut to stock film of train wheels in the night.  The siren sounds.)
 
CAPTION: PETROGRAD.
 
CAPTION: OTTOGRAD.
 
CAPTION: LEWGRAD.
 
CAPTION: LESLIEGRAD.
 
CAPTION: ETCETERAGRAD.
 
CAPTION: DUKHOVSKOKNABILEBSKOHATSK.
 
CAPTION: MOSCVA.
 
*FIRST RUSSIAN HALL SET SCENE*
 
(C.U.  Hammer and sickle flag.	Pull out to reveal the stage of a big Russian
hall.  A banner reads "U.S.S.R.  42nd annual clambake".  At one side of the
stage sits an impressive table on a dais.  At the table are very important
Russian persons.  At a bank of mikes in centre stage a general is orating.
Pither sits on one side of the stage with his bike propped up against his
chair.)
 
General: ...Dostoievye unsye tovarich Trotsky borodins (Applause)
Subtitle:  Here is the man who brought our beloved Trotsky back to us.
 
General: Beluntanks dretsky mihai ovna isky Reg Pither.
Subtitle: The friend of the Revolution - Reg Pither.
 
(Cut to stock shot of wildly cheering Russians.
Cut back to general who beckons for silence.)
General:  Shi muska di svetsana dravenka upstomivia Engleska Vantyat.
Subtitle:  And now, in order to save time, I will continue in English.
General:  And now, Comrades, let us welcome the return of the greatest leader
	  of our revolution...	Lev Davidovich Trotsky!
 
(Gulliver appears looking as much like Trotsky as possible.
Pandemonium breaks out. He raises his hands for silence.)
 
Gulliver:  Comrades.  Bolsheviks.  Friends of the Revolution.  I have returned.
(Renewed cheering.)  The bloodstained shadow of Stalinist repression is past.
I bring you new light of permanent revolution (his movements are starting to
become a little camp and slinky).  Comrades, I may once have been ousted from
power, I may have been expelled from the party in 1927, I may have been
deported in 1929 but (sings)
			     I'm just an old-fashioned girl,
			     With an old-fashioned mind.
 
(Shot of Pither looking amazed, and confusion among the generals.)
Gulliver:  Comrades, I don't want to destroy in order to build, I don't want a
state founded on hate and division (sings)
					   I want an old-fashioned house
					   With an old-fashioned fence,
					   And an old-fashioned millionaire.
 
(Gulliver is now totally Eartha Kitt. Cut to Pither.)
Pither (thinking): Poor Mr. Gulliver was clearly undergoing another change of
		   personality.
 
(Senior general appears beside Pither with two guards.)
General: So!  You have duped us.  You shall pay for this.  (To guards) Seize
	 him.
 
(The guards seize the startled Pither and drag him away.  The senior general
strides back across the stage.)
General 2 (to boss general):  Shall I seize *him*, sir?  (indicates Gulliver)
Boss G.:  Wait, I think he's going down well.
 
(Cut to audience really enjoying it.)
General 2: He's more fun than he used to be.
Boss G. (tapping fingers): This is an old Lenin number, you know.
 
(Interior of Empty Prison Cell.  Pither is in cell writing diary.  Sign behind:
 'Condemned cell'.)
 
Pither (V.O.): April 26th.  Thrown into Russian cell.  Severely damaged my
	       Mars bar.  Shall I ever see Bude Bus station again?  Shall I
	       ever...
(Two guards enter)
	       Oh excuse me...
(Guards grab him and lead him out of cell.)
 
(Cut to exterior film of door leading out into prison yard.  The door is thrown
open and Pither is marched over and stood against a blank wall.  There are lots
of small holes in the wall, if Roger has time to drill them (!))
 
Pither (V.O.):	What a pleasant exercise yard.	How friendly they were all
being.
 
Officer: Cigarette?
Pither: No thank you I don't smoke.
 
(Cut to shot from behind Pither, including his back to see him facing a line of
uniformed men with guns, obviously a firing squad.  At that moment a regular
slow measured drum beat starts, like the cliche.)
 
Pither (V.O.):	After a few minutes I perceived a line of gentlemen with
rifles.  They were looking in my direction...
 
(Cut to Pither against the wall, looking behind him.)
Pither (V.O.): I looked around but could not see the target.
 
Officer: Blindfold?
Pither (very cheerful): No thank you.
Officer (stepping clear): Slowotny.
(Firing squad snaps to attention.)
Officer: Gridenwa. (Clicking of bolts.)
 
(Cut to shot of firing squad and the officer, his front is to the camera.)
 
Officer: Verschnitzen.
 
(They raise their rifles pointing in the direction of Pither, who is in shot..
The drum starts to roll.  Officer raises his arm.  We hear running footsteps
approaching, and shouting Russian.  Officer waits.  A Russian soldier runs in
waving a telegram.  he runs up and hands it to the officer.)
 
Officer (opens it and reads):  It's from the Kremlin, the Central Committee!
			       It says "Carry on with the execution".
Officer: Verschnitzen! (They raise their rifles.)
Pither (V.O.): Now I was really for it.
 
(Cut to shot of officer with his hand raised, the same shot as before, only
without Pither in shot.  Drum rolls again.  He brings his sword down, (we need
a sword); volley of shots from the firing squad.  Officer is looking in
Pither's direction.  Long pause.)
 
Officer (turning to squad): How could you miss?
Soldier: He moved.
Officer:  Shut up!  Go and practise.  (To Pither) I'm so sorry.  Do you mind
waiting in your cell?
 
(Pither is flung back in his cell by guards.  The door is slammed.)
Pither (V.O.):	What a stroke of luck.	My Crunchie was totally intact.  I
		settled down to a quick intermeal snack...
 
(Fade down. Fade up.)
(Pither has just finished his Crunchie.)
Officer (outside door): Aha! Gut!
 
(The guards race in and take him out.  The door left open.  We hear shouted
instructions.  Drum roll then stop.  Then a volley of shots.  Pause.  Sound of
feet coming back.
 
Pither is thrown into the cell, followed by the officer.)
 
Officer:  Next time.  Definitely!  (To guard as he leaves) Now then, how many
	  of them are injured?	Oh God...
 
(Close on Pither.  Outside we hear odd shots and muffled curses from officer.)
 
Pither (V.O.):	As I lay dwon to the sound of the Russian gentlemen practising
their shooting, I realised I was in a bit of a pickle.	My heart sank as I
realised I should never see the Okehampton by-pass again...  (he lies down)
 
(...we close on his sleeping face then we ripple and mix through to film of his
sleeping face, waking up, shaking himself in disbelief at finding himself in a
beautiful garden, with the sun shining, the birds singing, he is in a deck
chair, and his mother having poured him a jug of iced fruit juice, is gently
nudging Pither to wake him.)
 
Mother: Wake up dear, wake up.
Pither: Mother!
Mother: Come on dear.
Pither: So, it was all a dream.
Mother:  No, no dear, *this* is the dream, you're still in the cell.
(Quick ripple to him waking up in cell.)
 
Pither: What a disappointment.
 
(The guards race in and take him out.  The door left open.  We hear shouted
instructions.  Drum roll then stop.  Then a volley of shots.  Pause.
(Music?)  Pither is thrown back into the cell followed by the officer.)
 
Officer:  Next time.  Definitely!  (To guard as he leaves) Now then, how many
of them are injured?  Oh god...
 
(Close up on Pither.)
(Officer enters.)
Officer: O.K.  We're going to have another try.  I think we've got it now.  My
	 boys have all been looking down the wrong bit, see.
Pither:  No, no, they want to look down this bit.
Officer: Oh I thought it was that bit.
Pither:  No no this bit, otherwise you won't hit anything.
Officer: Alright, we'll give it a whirl. Seize him guards.
(They take him out.)
 
Officers (V.O.):  Here, come here.  You've got to look down this bit.
 
(We zoom into and mix through the poster on the wall, and the large name of
Eartha Kitt.)
(Mix through to stock film of the Kremlin.  We dub over laughter and applause.
Cheerful band sting.  Mix through to stage where someone dressed as Marshall
Bulganin is standing with a little real ventriloquist's dummy.	He gets up and
takes his bow, walks off as the curtain swings down.  Lots of applause and
atmosphere.  Terrible Russian compere comes on from the wings smiling and
applauding.)
 
Compere:  Osledi Osledi.  (He tells quick joke in Russian, and roars with
laughter, laughter from audience.)  (Holds up his hands, and then becomes very
sincere, saying obviously deeply moving, wonderful things about the next guest.
He finally introduces...)
 
Compere: Eartha Kitt!
 
(He backs off.	The opening bars of "Let's do it" on (RCA Ints.  10 30 Eartha
Kitt, C'est si bon") are played.  Gulliver dressed as Eartha Kitt slinks onto
the stage, the music stops.  He speaks like...)
 
Heath:	We in the Conservative party believe strongly in the virtues of
allowing the People of Britain to get on with the business of running their
affairs, of running their own lives, indeed of standing on their own two feet
without constant interference from the Government.
 
(Slight consternation from the audience.)
 
Voices say:  "Niet Eartha Kitt" "Es Edward Heath" "Who?"  "Der Premier Poofski
	     dos Britannia" etc.  "Ah, Edward Heath, capitalist pig".
Gulliver (as Heath):  We shall not shirk our responsibilities, nor desert our
		      principles.
 
(Cut to audience.)
Russian: It's Clodagh Rogers.
Other Russian: No, it's Edward Heath.
Another Russian: Sing "Old fashioned girl".
Gulliver:  ...We shall remain united, in our determination...
Russians are shouting:	Sing Old Fashioned girl.  Old Fashioned girl.  Old
			Fashioned girl.
 
(The first fruit starts being thrown. It spatters around Heath.)
Gulliver:  Furthermore I cannot reiterate too often our determination to
	   take responsibility for our own actions.
(He dashes off, comes back with large shield, with his arm through, he holds it
in front of him and on it there is a large picture of the face and shoulders of
Reginald Maudling (deceased).)
Gulliver: ...I'm very fond of Tchaikowsky.
 
(The fruit is now so thick, that it is impossible for him to continue.	At this
moment a piece of fruit thrown from the audience hits him in the head (possibly
an arty shot in slow motion).  The word 'Tchaikowsky' echoes around as we hold
a close shot of him, indicating that he is reverting to being really Gulliver
again.	He looks at a piece of fruit in his hand that has landed on him.)
 
Gulliver (in original voice as used in car):  Well that turnip's certainly not
safe.  (He looks up and becomes more aware of his surroundings.)  Good heavens.
What's going on?  Mr Pither, Mr Pither!?
 
(At this point it is becoming precarious on stage -- some Russians are coming
across the footlights and the shouting is very angry -- so he turns tail and
runs off the stage).
 
(Cut to outside stage door.)
(Gulliver comes running out of the stage door past a big poster saying 'Next
week Clodagh Rogers with the Goodies', and runs down street closely pursued by
angry Russians.
 
There now follows a chase sequence which should be as dramatic as possible.
Lots of close shots of Gulliver looking frightened as he runs for his life
shouting 'Pither'.  Close shots of Russians pursuing thin lipped and avenging,
some secret police, no longer comic, driving after Gulliver.  Latterly they
fire at him.  Gulliver, exhausted, finally turns into a cul-de-sac and stops,
realising that there is no escape.  He shouts desperately one last time
'Pither', 'Mr Pither'.	From over the wall of the cul-de-sac comes an answering
shout.)
 
Pither: Yes.
(Gulliver hears it, reacts and in the nick of time leaps onto a car and up and
over the wall as his pursuers turn into the street.  Low angle shot from other
side of wall of Gulliver dropping over it.  He lands.)
 
Pither:   Gulliver.
Gulliver: Pither! What a stroke of luck.
Pither:   Well yes and no. (He indicates with his head.)
 
(Cut to show that both of them are standing in front of a firing squad.  The
officer is heard as before.)
 
Officer: Squad! Fix bayonets!
 
(With a terrifying clank the bayonets are fixed.  Gulliver and Pither cower,
terror on their faces.)
Officer: Squad! Charge!
 
(The squad charge towards Pither and Gulliver screaming horribly.
When they are about two feet from them (!)...)
(Cut to Black.)
 
 
CAPTION --- SCENE MISSING
 
(Cut to Cornish country lane.  A road sign says 'Tavistock 12 miles'.  Pither
stands beneath with Gulliver and his bicycle.)
Pither:   Phew, what an amazing escape.
Gulliver: Quite agree.
Pither:   Well goodbye, Reginald.
Gulliver: Goodbye... George.
 
(They shake hands, Gulliver strides off.  Pither mounts his bike and rides off
into the sunset.  Music swells.)
 
 
**** end of file CYCLING PYTHON ****
To:		  CLARINET@YALEVM
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