Stephen

I have of late rediscovered the joy of Stephen Fry, or rather his wit and wisdom. Like most people of my age I first encountered him in the impeccable Jeeves & Wooster series on BBC tv. Since then he has been one of those fantastic old-guard British actors who pop up on my radar from time to time and manage never to appear in anything mediocre. For the most part I put Laurie and Brannagh in the same camp.

I have in the past thoroughly enjoyed his books like Hippopotamus in much the same way as I have savored the linguistic tomfoolery of Will Self's books. I've never read the Star's Tennis Balls simply because I love Dumas' original too much but I'm reliably informed it's also effortlessly brilliant. Anyway I'm rambling.

I recently saw Peter's Friends for the first time in years and it reminded me how much I like Stephen Fry. A friend then pointed me in the direction of his new series of Podcasts available free from the iTunes store or from here. They make perfect weekend listening. As well as a masterful storyteller Stephen's delivery manages to flop uncontrollably between the stumbling British self criticism he does so well with the vim and alacrity that comes from pursuing his own tangential foibles. If you haven't already, download and have a listen...well only if you like that sort of thing obviously.