Box 18:
The Unpublished Spike Milligan is a collection of the comedian’s work assembled after his death by his manager and friend of 36 years, Norma Farnes. Of those associated with the troubled comic genius, Farnes probably knew and understood him better than most, alternating between being the butt of his insults one moment, and being the beneficiary of a random act of kindness the next. Offering an insight into what life with Milligan was like, the anthology begins with selected extracts from his appointment diaries, reproduced in their original format, in which the most telling illustration of the depression which dogged him throughout his life is undoubtedly the entry dated 26
th September, 1980, which reads, simply,
“Die”. As Farnes observes wryly in one of her many footnotes,
“He didn’t”. Despite the chaos which often reigned in his mind, Milligan was actually a very well organised person, arranging every scrap of paperwork meticulously into box files, of which Box 18 contained his ‘ideas’; those items which he would work on when inspiration came to him, and leave for months on end when it didn’t. If an idea was in Box 18, it was because Milligan considered it unfinished and unworthy of publication, although Farnes obviously thought otherwise, and it’s thanks to her that Milligan’s fans are given the opportunity to savour one last helping of his humour, work that would have remained lost forever, had she adhered strictly to his filing system. It’s easy, perhaps, to see how some of the comedy sketches never saw the light of day, but conversely, many of his previously unseen poems and stories are vintage Milligan, in particular the works he wrote for children.
Personal favourites include the long-awaited follow-up to his novel Badjelly the Witch, along with a risqué story entitled The Squirrel Family, featuring a squirrel called Charles, his wife Lady Di, and their son, Little Willy, which earned him the handwritten postscript of “Are you going to get away with this?” from Farnes. There’s also the beautifully simplistic A Life After Death Story for Children, guaranteed to calm the fears of any child who has had to come to terms with the death of a pet, or indeed, of a family member, at such a tender age. The final part of the book is given over to Milligan’s prolific letter-writing, recipients of which include such eminent figures as the Princes Charles and Philip, along with Paul and Linda McCartney, but perhaps most amusing is the series of exchanges with the accounts department of Harrods over an unsettled bill, where Milligan declares his ‘complete and utter joy’ at the prospect of the matter being taken to court. Milligan’s fans will indeed have the last laugh at this otherwise lost collection of comic brilliance.