May Meeting 2025 May 15, 2025

In accordance with our tradition, this month is our  “Nothing but Mae” film show in tribute to the eternally ever-popular Mae Busch.  Though her birthday is next month (June 18th), it’s always over-shadowed by Stan’s birthday just two days before.  So,  the month of May is dedicated to our Maisie.  So,  I intend to show nothing but a series of Laurel & Hardy films in which the eternally ever-popular Mae Busch provides a supporting, and in fact in one film, she’s credited as taking the top starring role!   Mae actually appeared in 13 films with the Boys…I’m hoping to show 5 of them!

As this meeting will conclude our first 25 years as an official Laurel & Hardy tent of the sons of the Desert, I’m also taking the opportunity to show one of the Boys finest, if not their finest, feature films…”Sons of the Desert” from 1933, where Mae appears as Mrs Hardy.  In a first for our tent, I intend to project this in HD from the US based 2020 Definitive restorations Blu-ray.  indeed, we’ve come a long way from ropey 8mm and Virgin VHS tape projections 25 years ago!  Two of our other projections will be in HD…including our silent “Love Em and Weep” from 1927.  By your consent, we may show this with  Randy Skredvedt’s backing commentary….it’s very good.

We will also continue our history of L&H cartoons with another Larry Harmon L&H cartoon from 1967 with a plot connection to our main feature.  There’ll be the usual raffle – all donations gratefully accepted….and of course the loyal toasts.

Our afternoon Laurel & Hardy film show at the Bull Inn, Bottesford has been booked for Saturday 14th June.   We will be celebrating our Silver Jubilee… our 25th anniversary as an official tent of the Sons of the Desert.  Our film show will cover a few relevant films…including “Beau Hunks” but as its your party celebration…where I’m just the GS with no authority whatsoever, in accordance with the constitution…you get a chance to view your favourite short film.   As I need to set a programme, please can you let me know your favourites at next weeks meeting or by the Spring bank holiday, May 26th,  at the very latest.   Depending on the response, I will try and cram in everyone’s favourite, but of those that are selected, you will be fully credited in the programme.

Yes, we will be having a raffle, quiz and the usual (long winded) round of toasts…including the eternally ever-popular Mae Busch.   The quiz will be an observational quiz on our Beau Hunks film with a few multiple choice curve ball questions thrown in…just to give everyone a chance of winning our quiz trophy.

For those that have not visited the Bull Inn before…this was the pub that Stan’s sister Beatrice Olga Healey ran in the 1950s with her husband Bill Healey.  Stan & Ollie visited the pub on a number of occasions whilst on a variety tour of the UK…most notably Christmas 1953 whilst performing at the Nottingham Empire.  they even served behind the bar on Christmas Day 1953….and there are photos in the pub that proves it along with other momentos in the pub lounge.  The film show will start at 1pm and finish at 6pm.  Come and go as you please.  The event is free to all and it will be great to see you.

For the more adventurous (early birds…how early?)…in the morning, we will also be visiting  the village of Barkston (4 miles north of Grantham).  This is where Stan Laurel’s father (Arthur Jefferson) has been laid to rest in the village’s very  small cemetery and there is the Plough Inn where he lived with Beatrice Olga and Bill on West Street during the 1940s.  The Plough Inn was visited by the Boys in March 1947 during their first variety tour of the UK…infact they were playing at the London Palladium.  I will be conducting the usual  walking tour of these sites starting from the Stag Inn in the centre of this very small village at 10.30am.  Again all are very welcome to join me.

There will be visitors from other tents.  I’ve had word that Mark & Theresa Hammond from Brighton will be joining us from the Helpmates tent.  Mark was a regular writer for the Laurel & Hardy magazine and has an absolutely superb collection of L&H memorabilia including autographs, original photographs, posters and  programmes .  Hopefully he might bring up a few of these items to show.  Also, we will be joined by members of the Sunderland “Beau Chumps” tent including GS Mike Jones.  Mike is well known amongst the Sons and has recently written a brilliant book on his take on the L&H films called “‘Twas Ever Thus”.  This is good value at £10…and fully recommended.  He will be with us selling his book. Incidentally…our film, was universally released as Beau Hunks.  However, in the UK it was released and re-released under the title of  “Beau Chumps” in the UK.  But, all our UK based VHS/DVDs has taken the “Beau Hunks” title.  It might have been more apt for us to have taken the “Beau Chumps” title 25 years ago…but unfortunately Sunderland beat us to it!  They’ve just celebrated their 40th anniversary!  Whatever…we share the same film.

I’ll write again to remind/finalise everything nearer the time.

Before then, hopefully, we’ll see you next Wednesday.  Please bring friends and family – all are very welcome.