It was a year ago today that Ken Dodd appeared at the Theatre Royal and I witnessed one of the best comedy shows I have ever seen. He still had whatever it was that made him perform at his age and gave the show his all. Finishing just after midnight we were lucky to jump on the last tram of the service, Sunday's tram is a little hit and miss, such is Doddy's reputation for putting on a long show. I couldn't wait to get home and write the review for the newspaper, which is a direct contrast to tonight. Quite honestly, I couldn't wait to get the hell out of the theatre and forget all about what I just saw. There's a certain feeling when visiting elderly relatives and getting upset that they don't remember you or seem to know what is going on, this is how it felt watching Ken Dodd faltering and flailing around his show like an upturned tortoise.
At some point between today and a year ago to the day, Ken Dodd has gone and lost it. Rather than the quick fire show with genuine laugh out loud hilarity was replaced with a bumbling old man with a worrying cough and an apparent memory issue. He started jokes from the beginning after trailing off and at one point had to be prompted by one of his stooges, there was also more than one turn to the musicians for help. It was heartbreaking to watch to be honest and although I still regard myself as a fan and still consider Ken Dodd to be one of the best comedians this country has ever produced, the time has come to put the tickling sticks away and have a well earned retirement.
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