The morning sunshine descended like an amber shower-bath on Blandings Castle, lighting up with a heartening glow its ivied walls, its rolling parks, its gardens, outhouses and messuages, and such of its inhabitants as chanced at the moment to be taking the air.
In his light, flippant and always very amusing way, P. G. Wodehouse sets the scene for his series of short stories set in Blandings Castle, first published in 1935.
A version of Blandings returns to television screens in August, when Jennifer Saunders (Absolutely Fabulous), as Lady Constance Keeble, and Tim Spall (Auf Wiedersehen, Pet, The King's Speech) as Clarence Threepwood, ninth Earl of Emsworth, bring it back to life.
It is the second series of this version of the Wodehouse classic, but by no means the first attempt to adapt it for the small screen.
Previously, Blandings was adapted for television in 1967, starring the very silly Derek Nimmo of All Gas and Gaiters, and in 1975 with Pauline Collins (Upstairs, Downstairs and Shirley Valentine).
Episode one of the new series also stars a more recent, but recently absent former television regular, Harry Enfield.
Where has Harry been?
In episode one (UKTV August 10, 7pm), Enfield puts a little of just about every character he developed on Harry Enfield and Chums (Michael Paine, the nosy neighbour, Stan and Pam Herbert (''we are considerably richer than you''), Tim Nice-But-Dim, Wayne and Waynetta Slob, Kevin the Teenager, etc etc) into the Duke of Dunstable - the most obnoxious man in England.
As a quite inexplicable aside, Enfield apparently enjoys the opera, that obscure pastime of society ladies and men you will never meet, as they live in a different universe.
Who knew?
Episode one of Blandings involves a visit by the Duke of Dunstable, a man who - quite reasonably - hates Scotsmen and whistling.
With lots of good Enfield-style shouting and breaking of things, he develops a plan to have the Earl of Emsworth, the patriarch of Blandings, committed.
It is not the first time he has hatched such a plan - we discover he has had the whole Welsh branch of his family committed.
But a counterplan by the Woosterish Hon Frederick Threepwood (Jack Farthing), and his chum Pongo, who carries a flame for the Duke's daughter, foils the Duke.
There is also a pig, some egg throwing and the excellent Crom Castle, near Newtownbutler, in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland, starring as the castle.
Blandings is amusing rather than funny - the laughs come in the stylised upper-class English dialogue Wodehouse did so well.
And enough of Wodehouse - and Jennifer Saunders' talent - comes through to make Blandings well worth a watch.
- Charles Loughrey
