The Evils of Bushey Spon

Goon Pod

In early March 1958 the elderly actor A.E. Matthews staged a protest outside his cottage in Bushey Heath – he sat on a chair over a hole the council had dug with the intention of erecting a lamp post there. A minor squabble which quickly caught the ear of the media, Matthews’ stand against his local council became a cause célèbre and he was interviewed on television.

Spike Milligan liked the cut of his jib and within a week the Goons were recording The Evils of Bushey Spon, all about the erection of a lamp-post. Matthews himself makes a guest appearance in the closing minutes and everything perfectly falls apart.

It was such a slight story on the face of it, only attracting interest due to an octogenarian celebrity being involved, and would have been very quickly completely forgotten had it not been for the Goons - as such, it remains a tiny ‘and finally’-type news story immortalised for the ages.

Joining Tyler to talk about it is returning guest Chris Diamond, who also takes the opportunity to pay tribute to the late great Donald Sutherland.