MovieChat Forums > Only When I Laugh (1979) Discussion > closer to the truth than you'd think

closer to the truth than you'd think

posted 13 years ago by mshyde
7 replies | jump to latest

O.W.I.L has always been one of my favourites, even growing up and i was only 6 or 7 when it finished originally. there was always something about the set of the hospital that i liked lol.

I think it could be to do with how familiar hospitals are to me, i have a disability, spina bifida, and have spent a good amount of time in various hospitals over the past 36 and a bit years.never been bothered by it, the NHS is a wonderful thing. This might have you thinking ive flipped but i can honestly say one of the best times of my life was nine weeks i spent in Ancoats hospital in Manchester about 19 years ago. it might sound daft to some but there was fun to be had (raiding the hospital cafeteria storage room, the phantom midnight farter, no one ever did find out who that was, racing around the grounds of the hospital, fell out of my wheelchair doing that and cracked my plaster, looking around at night for the ghosts, it was an old hospital) when youre in those places for a lengthy period you do build up a sort of relationship with others on your ward, including the staff. like the 3 in OWIL did. I didnt want to leave when my time there was up.

Anyway, thought i could connect my experiences to only when i laugh, hospital stays really can be like that, in a way.

[–] Reblioso 11 years ago

Thanks for sharing:)

[–] minifie-1 11 years ago

...except that patients don't usually stay on the same ward for years. This series is being repeated in England on ITV 3,which surprises me as the curmudgeonly Bolam stopped repeats of the superior 'The Likely Lads' going out. I heard that Peter Bowles was not liked by his peers and the late Thora Hird used rude words to describe him but I have never met the men. Whatever happened to Strauli? I bet he's glad of the repeat fees.

[–] BigBadEd 9 years ago

Thora Hird didn't like him, Marlon Brando said Bowles was his favourite British actor.....I will stick with Brandos opinion.

[–] nickm-71961 8 years ago

ive ment him he seems like a ok person but you have to work with him to find out

[–] perkin2000 9 years ago

Something rather uplifting about reading that. Thanks for sharing it.

And, yeah, the NHS is a wonderful thing, all the more reason it must be defended from the profiteer scum.

[–] louiseculmer 8 years ago

That is very interesting. the crazy thing wbout Only When I laugh though was thwt those three men stayed in hospital for ages, even though there seemed nothing much wrong with them. not to mention they seemed to have a nurse and a doctor to themselves.

[–] the_asylum666 7 years ago

Love this show. Great how once in a while you stumble across something which just clicks. And whilst my hospital experience wasn't exactly like yours or this show I kept thinking about the show whilst there.