Andy Capp by Reg Smythe for December 17, 2024

So the dole stops here?

He forgot swimming in the canal, waking the neighborhood with his “singing”, and losing money at the track. Oh, yes—and getting into fights regularly.

Being Andy is a full time job!

Just give him his dole money and shut up.

There’s only so much time in day and a man has his priorities.

♫ "The Lord above gave man an arm of iron

So he could do his work and never shirk.

The Lord above gave man an arm of iron but-

With a little bit of luck, with a little bit of luck-

Someone else’ll do the bloomin’ work!" ♫

Not to mention pigeons.

Yesterday, I watched the episode of “Last of the Summer Wine” in which Compo wanted to get some money back from a school bully named Biff Henderson who had extorted a shilling from him in the 1930s. Compo reckoned that if he got the shilling back inflation would make it two quid. Unfortunately for him – but fortunately for Foggy – they could not find the school bully they were looking for.

This reminded me of a recent discussion on this site. Someone seemed unfamiliar with the comic strip word “Biff” and several people – including myself – mentioned Biff Tannen from the Back To The Future trilogy. I also mentioned a character called Biff in a comic called Wham. I explained that this was in the 1960s and before my time but I did read three Wham annuals in the 1970s and was familiar with the Wham characters Frankie Stein, Grimly Feendish, Sammy Shrink, Footsie the Clown and Glugg through the comics Shiver and Shake and Whizzer and Chips. Frankie Stein first appeared in Wham and went on to appear in Shiver and Shake, Whoopee!, Monster Fun, and Buster.

“In your spare time – if you get it, what will you do?”

The only thing THAT bum is good for is pothole filler, and I mean throw his worthless arsse in the hole and top it off with a layer of asphalt.

Cheating at cards, cheating on Flo, Cheating at Darts, cheating at Pool, cheating at cheating.

On Guitar Bob nights at The Rose and Crown Andy is also a music critic.

That could get you tossed off the dole, Andy!

Yeah, that’s the biggest problem with work…it interferes so much with the important stuff.

But which does Andy do best?

And raising pigeons!

They should tell him, “free money is over. You work (since he is able) or no more money”. Too much free stuff going out.

Of course none of the stuff pays much.

I wonder if Andy has ever been referred to the “Work Programme” It doesn’t exist any more but if you were unemployed for over a year you were referred onto it by the Jobcentre.

xxx

I’m surprised he knows what a CV is. In his day they were called resumes and I’m sure he didn’t use it then.

Now give me my dole so I can get busy.

He forgot to put “falling into the canal.”

I have so many hobbies, I had to find a job that pays well, and allows me to indulge in some of them.

It was rough-going, until I did. Can’t say I blame Andy.

Andy does not want a job