Saturday, 24 February 2018

#454 The recovery of Stephen Fry

Thank heavens for Stephen Fry. Though the eccentric old comic had made clear his own thoughts on the existence, or rather non-existence, of an almighty God above, I felt relieved to see the national treasure (Fry, not God) recovering and now talking about his recent ordeal.

I knew the survival rates for prostate cancer were generally very good if it was detected quickly but it still would have terrified the hell out of the guy and his experiences wouldn't have exactly been pleasant. Fry was upbeat in his comments, reporting “as far as we know, it’s all been got.” Accordingly it seemed a nod to the divine and no less to his doctors was now in order.

I used to love watching the the smooth-talking gent in his roles in Blackadder and Jeeves and Wooster. Since then, Fry had consistently renewed his own indispensability on screen, exploring his bipolar disorder, black cabbing it across America and hosting the award-winning quiz show QI among many other achievements. I think my favourite was the America series. Fry's personality and mannerisms were so quintessentially British that it seemed hard to find another celebrity more worthy of the assignment.

With trademark humour and colourful explanations, he gave a beautiful description of the events surrounding his diagnosis and surgery on his personal blog on Friday, which I watched, enjoying it as well as feeling that familiar awkwardness one gets when someone else talks about their experience with a horrific disease. The celebrity, told viewers that the experience was "not one that he would wish on his worst enemy".

His account, an educational and sage journey through the process of identifying the cancer and subsequent treatment, would highlight to millions the importance of getting checked early, a key determinant of survival rates. For me, it was pleasing seeing Fry on screen, even if it was to recap such a dreadful ordeal. I felt sure that following his recovery, he'd be off on another adventure soon enough. Hopefully his next one would be much more pleasant.

3 comments

Profound Familiarity said...

Blogger Fizzfan said...
Any excuse to post this.......
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Opv8vZ6RvB0#

23 February 2018 at 17:13 Delete
Blogger Dan Copping said...
That bird looks like a real pain in the neck.

23 February 2018 at 17:23 Delete
Blogger Fizzfan said...
If you like that.....and possibly even more entertaining.......
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=CEQuDyuQFKE#

23 February 2018 at 17:34 Delete
Blogger Fizzfan said...
Anyway. Yes what a relief and he is indeed a complete national treasure.
I’m not sure what he hasn’t done. He’s even been to prison and holds a record for the most F words spoken in 90 seconds.
I adore him and also used to feast on Blackadder and QI. I didn’t think his replacement would measure up but I actually think she’s doing exceptionally well.
The docs about bi polar also excellent, as was his American tour.
I was trying to think of other celebs with the same level of Britishness and of course Judi Dench popped up but was then superseded by the marvellous Maggie Smith.
Worryingly Jeremy Clarkson came to mind too.
I will look at his blog later.
Thanks:)

23 February 2018 at 17:42 Delete
Blogger Dan Copping said...
That's pretty cool.

Snakes alive, 8 million views. What am I doing making blog posts when I could be making YouTube videos?

Profound Familiarity said...

The comments made on this post have been re-pasted above for the following reason:

Yesterday I wrote two posts because I wanted to capitalise on any views that might arise from people searching for Stephen Fry.

However, wanting to make sure I post every day without writing more than one post per day, I've re-posted the Stephen Fry post as today's post.

Fizzfan said...

Wow, he was a pretty lucky chap to get diagnosed so early. I don’t know if the NHS screen for it on an annual basis or not.
It’s good he’s getting the message out about that type of cancer too. It seems scarily common.

Rotten news about Emma Chambers dying today. I didn’t know her by name but when I saw her photo I immediately recognised her as the ditsy one in Notting Hill and The Vicar of Dibley.
That’s too young:(