Sods' Opera party piece

Wherever he was in the world with his mates and a tank-full Jack inevitably provided his own entertainment with a sods opera. The songs and actions were sometimes crude and rude, sometimes patriotic and often expressing a need for home. The sods opera provided a valuable outlet for shared feelings with mates and was always entertaining, sometimes educational. Most , if not all, had their " party piece", something they liked or did well.Mine was bare-foot days done usually on the canteen table in bare feet of course and with a wet table I still don't know how I didn't fall off. Any other RRers have a party piece or favourite?

happy daze

 

Bare foot days? What's that Hobbit.

 

Sorry AAC forgot not everyone is as old as me. Its an old song from way back, WW2 vintage, Also forgot left pusser 42 years ago. So maybe best disregard this one although it would be interesting to know if any of the "real old" sods opera songs are still around or if sods operas are still around

 

We had one. Cannot remember what the overall act was (beer was involved) , but it did include:

1) Me being dressed as a woman (so its not all bad)...

2) some lads done as crab air with carboard spitfires (re-creating their finest hour)*...

Not sure that the fleet does this kind of thing anymore? I think acts full of repressed sexual tension and buggery are frowned upon now!

* Actually it was the Free Polish Air Forces finest hour as the 2 most successful allied pilots were Jozef Frantisek and Witold Urbanowicz, but the crabs don't mention that.

 

My two party pieces were, Squaddy, Crab and Jack having a Piss in turn and Squad Drill by the Chelsea Pensioners in wheelchairs. Ordinary chairs were used due to the normal lack of wheel chairs in most pubs and bars.

Nutty

 

i have video footage of a sods opera from 1991 the last one ever before wrens came on board, once i can find a hosting site that can let me upload 313megs i will link it to here it is very very funny!
if anyone knows any good hosting sites that let you upload big files please get in touch. Have tried youtube and photobucket

 

You need to convert the file. If you have it in QuickTime format I can convert it into a much smaller file for you and make it available in a variety of formats (including Video iPod playable). Do you have a COPY on DV tape by any chance?

Steve.

 

Reading about the “Sods-Opera’s†onboard HMS ships reminded me of a scene which I witnessed whilst hanging about at the South end of the Suez Canal in 1976(ish) H.S.M. Naiad. The PO’s and Senior rates organized an opera, funny as hell, but one dit sticks in my memory and still raises a laugh when I think about it.
Imagine the scene, the Jimmy is in his mess dress and announces to the assembled crew, that for our listening pleasure he would like to introduce (gives a fanny name) who is reputably one of the worlds most famous musical conductors.. At this stage a young greenie places a music sheet stand in front of the hangar door.
Entering from the starboard waste, a Chief Tif. Now you need to use your imagination here. He was wearing his mess shirt and bowtie. He was also wearing a stokers boiler suit which he had turned the bottom half (legs) inside out and was wearing the top half like a jacket. It gave the impression of the old “Claw-hammer coatâ€. His head was slicked back with probably half a pot of Brylcream and he was wearing a pair of John Lennon type specs. He was also wearing white gloves and had a baton in his hand.
Classical music (Helicopter scene from FMJ) starts up and off he goes conducting the music. The ever so slowly his arms started to get longer and longer and even more longer. What he had done was sewed another two arm lengths up into the ovvies, and his real hands were inside pushing the two false sleeves which were attached to broom handles out. I tell you for the first and only time in my life I nearly pissed myself literally.
Another memory for that trip was the Gully-Gully man. I was actually pulled into the middle of the chopper ring, and again I shit you not, don’t know how he done it but he started to pull me around for a few secs and then all of a sudden I felt movement coming from within my No 8 shirt. I undone a few buttons and fek me my shirt was full of fluffy yellow day old chicks, about a dozen if memory serves me right.
8)

 

Always liked the Eton Boating Song at the SOs. Crude but clever and funny. Also wondered who makes them up.

Verse from the Eton Boating song

The sexual life of the camel
is greater than anyone thinks
in the height of the mating season
he tries to get stuck up the sphinx
but the sphinx's sexual organ is blocked by the sands of the Nile
which accounts for the hump on the camel and the sphinx's inscrutable smile

8O

 

I also did/do the Chelsea Pensioners Marching sketch

 

I have a script some where of Cinderella[ HMS Delight 1959]

with the swear words in it you'd never get away with it now

Best sods opera I ever saw was in Malta in the small ships canteen Manoel Island -----------Submariners v Sweepers v Destroyers all doing their party pieces . The dits and songs were ace. Totally un rehearsed .
Matelots a long way from home enjoying life.

 

If you find it Greenie, please post it here so we can all enjoy the humour of yore. If it's anything like the TV series on Ark Royal when they did a spoof of the Magic Roundabout, it should be very funny! :lol: