I grew up in a Radio 4 household. This meant that The Archers, the Shipping Forecast and quiz shows such as Just A Minute and I’m Sorry I Haven’t Got A Clue were the soundtrack to my youth.
I don’t remember many of the games on I’m Sorry I Haven’t A Clue, but I do remember hearing people periodically shouting out “Mornington Crescent”. I didn’t understand why. As a result of the game, I always assumed there was something special about the London tube station – and I still like having an excuse to get on or off the tube there, like I did this evening for a gig at KOKO.
In reality, it’s a pretty regular and unimportant tube station on the Northern Line just south of Camden Town. The station originally opened in 1907 so has some lovely details of the Leslie Green era of tube stations, including the red tiled exterior. It was a little used station and for a long time only operated on weekdays. It was closed for six years in the 1990s for repairs to the ageing lifts which was originally only meant to take one year. When it reopened in 1998, some of the cast of I’m Sorry I Haven’t A Clue were present. There’s even a memorial plaque in the station for Willie Rushden, one of the shows regular panelists.
It turns out the aim of the game was to be the first to say “Mornington Crescent”. Of course as with any comedic quiz show there was more to it than that.
“The objective of Mornington Crescent is to give the appearance of a game of skill and strategy, with complex and long-winded rules and strategies, to parody games in which similarly circuitous systems have evolved. The apparent rules are fictional, and its appeal to audiences lies in the ability of players to create an entertaining illusion of competitive gameplay.”
Wikipedia
I love how popular culture can have an impact on something as everyday and mundane as a tube station whose purpose is to help Londoners get around.
I rarely listen to Radio 4 these days, though as I’m tiring of the presenters on Radio 2 maybe it’s time to turn my dial back to Radio 4. I’ll certainly have to have a listen to some of the recent episodes of I’m Sorry I Haven’t A Clue and see how it compares with my childhood memories.