The wonderful Mel Smith - sadly missed in 2021.

0:44 “We’re waiting for a skip” Perhaps one of the greatest statements in the history of comedy. 3:21 “Stubbs” - Homage to the great Basil Fawlty!

@martinworld7214

6 ай бұрын

O'Reilly would have been better in that respect

Sketches don't come any better than this. Not just the funny lines but the perfection in the acting! Griff in his despair and frustration is pure genius!

I think he immigrated to Australia! He's currently working on our freeway... for the past 40 years😣!

@mikejones-go8vz

Жыл бұрын

Millions of orange road cones in New Zealand 😳

“What exactly is holding us up?” We’re waiting for a skip! Priceless.

@bobbob9364

3 жыл бұрын

Lol

@johnjohnnyjohnson9987

3 жыл бұрын

Mel Smith delivered that line perfectly!

‘Leave it out...it’s a kitchen extension!’ 😂😂😂

My favourite Mel Smith sketch. Always stuck in my mind this one. Just sums up UK Builders. Rest easy Mel.

@JS-qg1ie

4 жыл бұрын

Until you compare to other nations... The brits were well ahead on the project compared to the French in all fairness

@pipster1891

4 жыл бұрын

And when the skip arrives, you suddenly find it full of old mattresses and doors and any crap before you can put your stuff in it.

@pegjames188

4 жыл бұрын

I've always turfed any over night dumping in my skips out on the tarmac. Did however turn up one morning to find our skip was gone turns out a load of rubbish was dumped in it and the cheeky sods had phoned the skip firm to collect it as it was full

@five-o5362

4 жыл бұрын

@@JS-qg1ie "Until you compare to other nations" Oh mate you need to get out more. Unless your reference point is some 3rd world country where people live in huts?

@cityzens634

3 жыл бұрын

Derek Holmes You sum up the middle class ponces that they work for.

gosh this is like watching a documentary about the HS2 😂

"You do realise this is the single most important engineering project this century..." "Oh leave it out, it's a kitchen extension."

Hey ! He's the one who built the Southern Freeway for the Liberals back in 2001 here in Adelaide . So in the morning traffic can only use it one way going to the City and then in the afternoon it flows away from the city . If they built the Southern Expressway in both directions back in 2001 would have added $68 million to the cost, but the projectnow cost them $370 million in 2010

Brilliant acting! Mel Smith can ease into any character perfectly.

"Half a channel tunnel" 😂😂😂

@michaelturner4457

25 күн бұрын

"including RSJ and damp course".

Always amazed at just how good they were. The acting is always phenomenal. Very talented gents.

And that is how this current government awards contracts to this day!

@artmcteagle

3 жыл бұрын

Spot on! Latest - a PPE contract worth hundreds of millions to a Pest control company with around 16 employees. Apparently the wife of the owner is a vet, has contacts in China, AND they are Tory party donors! Starve the children ... heartless, incompetent, totally corrupt bastards!

@Dec38105

3 жыл бұрын

@@artmcteagle take it you wont be voting tory again

@andrew300169

3 жыл бұрын

£14m for a ferry company with no boats🤷🏽‍♂️

@amanofmanyparts9120

3 жыл бұрын

@@andrew300169 And a port incapable of handling freighters/container ships of a decent size!

@gweilospur5877

3 жыл бұрын

Yeah, sure it is........yawn.

I keep getting back to this sketch. It’s so dense with jokes and perfectly delivered.

"You do realize this is the single most important engeneering project this century?!?"" "Oh it's a kitchen extension"

Contractors, the same everywhere! 😀

They're both on such good form here. A lot of sketch comics would just dial it in and let the lines get the laughs, but watch closely - it might just be a short sketch but the're both completely selling their characters. e.g. watch Griff at 1.13-1.23. Total commitment, brilliant chemistry, great stuff.

@harrypalmer4857

Жыл бұрын

They were amazing actors. Real talent.

Still makes me laugh " lent out the extension lead " classic thanks mel RIP.

That was brilliant I saw lots of their shows, but I cant remember this one

And our latest cock-up....Smart Motorways, that kill those unfortunate enough to break down on one.

@newbarker523

3 жыл бұрын

I agree. Smart motorways are bonkers.

@highdownmartin

3 жыл бұрын

The

@highdownmartin

3 жыл бұрын

Had someone pull off the M27 during roadworks at a contractors exit and then they promptly turned straight back onto the motorway then stopped right in front of me. there was a 50 mile an hour blanket limit on all three lanes with no hard shoulder I just about stopped behind them and then looking in my mirror there was about three or four cars stopped behind me I was blasting on the horn, shitting myself, and the passenger just waved at me to wait!! Ffs!!! I think the driver had misjudged the workman’s gap in the concrete temporary edging for a exit. They seemed to be map reading? then moved on after 20 seconds or so. ( this wasn’t a brake down) longest fucking wait of my life, I was in an old landrover and couldn’t have easily driven past them as I had stopped so close. Pulling out into lane two like leaving a tight parking space seemed more dangerous than being a sitting duck! That would have reduced the m27 to one lane only albeit briefly. Saturday morning, half eight , November 2020. Terrifying! Smart motor ways this happens at 70 75 No chance

@agnostic47

3 жыл бұрын

Everything with "smart" in the title isn't. Why do I need a "smart kettle"?

Stubbs? Should have gone with O'Reilly!

Quote " I'm not talking about Mrs Willoubys....I'm talking about this" I just love this sketch having worked in the building trade.

And when the skip finally arrived, fly tippers promptly filled it up !

*"...waiting for a skip..."* To this day I use that line but usually get blank looks 😂

@beta700a

2 жыл бұрын

Can you please kindly explain to a non-British "blank-looker" what this line actually means? (asking for a friend, of course ☺)

@trollobite1629

2 жыл бұрын

@@beta700a The humour is the contrast between a huge project like digging the Channel Tunnel being to the least significant part of a project namely an Englishman waiting for delivery of a skip (a skip being a container to take away waste) Or put another way, it's the flimsiest of reasons to not get shit done

0:46 "We're waiting for a skip" a classic line I have remembered although I have never seen this sketch since it was first on...!

God bless Alas Smith and Jones.

Some things never change.....HS2 in a nutshell!

Fantastic. Excellent script and superbly delivered.

Why have we lost this sense of humour. We were the best in the world. ONCE UPON A TIME

@jerrykew

4 жыл бұрын

Eh? What do you base best in the world on? Yes it was funny, but you seem to have toxic nostalgia

@45rpmSINGLES

4 жыл бұрын

PC brigade . The Laughing Popadom line would be out now

@malcolmthompson597

3 жыл бұрын

What arrogance! Maybe the best at being arrogant wankers.....

@seymourskinner2533

3 жыл бұрын

So tired of people whining about “pc” cancelling things when it just isn’t happening. Still plenty of good British comedy around. Just fragile right whingers always going on about things being cancelled when it hasn’t happened🙄

@seymourskinner2533

3 жыл бұрын

45RPMsingles rubbish. Why would it be out? Geebus you lot a fragile little flowers always complaining

What's clever about the Channel Tunnel is when both sides met, they were about 2-3 feet out or something. May have been less. And it takes a strange route due to the weaving geology. It is nothing like a straight tunnel. From what I can recall, I think it was the French side that didn't live up to expectations.

@RB747domme

3 жыл бұрын

It was about 80 cm.

@TheAmazingAdventuresOfMiles

3 жыл бұрын

Yeah. This sketch is a really funny watch! But in reality the tunnel was very well engineered from both sides, they did a damn good job of it. Yes the French progressed slower but they had by far the worst ground conditions to deal with.

@kevodowd5282

3 жыл бұрын

@@TheAmazingAdventuresOfMiles Didn't the French fishermen keep blockading the entrance.😂🤣😂🤣

@martinworld7214

6 ай бұрын

@@RB747domme so 2-3 feet is bang on the money then :)

Totally brilliant sketch.

Absolutely marvelous classic.. Top10 Mel&Griff, surely.

Good humour never gets old.

Class comedy and not matched.

Then there's waiting around till someone brings back biscuits from the shop to have with the tea.

AM TAWKIN ABOUT THIIIIS!! 😂😂😂

LOL! "Yea we were all set, ready to the bloody van broke down, dinnit"

it's so good. I totally agree with the comments below. The acting is amazing, and they were always very good at knowing how to end a sketch.

On the Goon Show it would have been, "You can't get the wood, you know."

Fantastic comedy duo. Belly laughs a plenty and we sure do need it looking at world events. BTW free the hero Julian Assange

'....well it was the Taj Mahal, I think its the Laughing Poppadom now' We know how to laugh at ourselves, hilarious sketch.

I’m still waiting for this builder to come round and put up my conservatory!

Mirror image of Great Britain's road works, endless waiting for work to be completed, endless amount of traffic cones, controlled traffic lights and workers standing over the holes they have just dug and not sure what to do next 🙄

'Laughing Poppadom'. Classic name for eaterie.

Just wondering ... did they finish Mrs. Willoughby kitchen extension? ;-)

This is the state of things beautifully done. £14m to a company that has no ferries to handle cross channelling after Brexit. Its not silly. It's true

@agnostic47

3 жыл бұрын

It wouldn't be a surprise to learn that the ferry company is owned by Grayling's brother in law.

Brilliant like all their comedy Have used that extension lead gag many times on building sites over the years

This is why you should never pay builders all the money up front, and never in cash

@pjay3028

3 жыл бұрын

Yes, they're just comedians.

@Isleofskye

3 жыл бұрын

The deal should be half upfront to buy thei parts and stuff needed and to pay earlier wages and the other half ON COMPLETION and not before :)I have known Builders leave jobs unfinished many times after being paid in full as there is no incentive other than morally to return as you or I would.ALSO, I have known clients refuse to pay "as their circumstances have changed" on completion.....

So true

I actually remember this skit from the original series on TV. I'm surprised they made it to Ashford lol 😆

Brilliant

One of their best. Worth sharing with people too young to remember ASAJ

@richarddavis7778

5 жыл бұрын

yes, especially as it is still far too close to the truth

Still funny even now - anyone who has dealt with local builders will recognise all these excuses rolled into one !

Chris Grayling to freight operator that has no boats "we paid you 2.5 billion for those ferries"

@normanmeharry58

3 жыл бұрын

Or.. "We paid you 12 million for that track and trace"

@agnostic47

3 жыл бұрын

It would be funny if it wasn't true.

As it turned out, the U.K. still dug more than those lazy extended lunch break frogs!

@TheAmazingAdventuresOfMiles

3 жыл бұрын

We did dig more than half of it but they had by far the worst ground conditions to contend with.

Ah the template for HS2!

This sounds like the Tory parties PPE tender process… £8.3 billion now written off.

Having worked with English builders I know the feeling only too well.

@fatherpaulstone896

3 жыл бұрын

where are you from then? you not british?

@fredmila

3 жыл бұрын

@@fatherpaulstone896 Yes me British, you British, no? 😂

@Finnec123

3 жыл бұрын

@@fredmila 😄👍

Same these days, Rochester Bridge, Strood Hi Street.... Months and months

@BertGrink

4 жыл бұрын

Berlin's new airport: Hold my beer!

Sounds about right! I love working for the British! The worker's rights is so strong!

Sounds like the tender for the garden bridge, and the ferry company with no ferries.

I lived in Dollis Hill in the 80´s !

i really think that not the nine o`clock may well be one of the greatest sketch shows ever, and even more funny this clip is the mystery of all the roadworks on great britains roads, apparently there`s a load of signs and cones, bringing the traffic to a standstill but usually there is no workman in sight, or failing that they don`t really seem to be doing much, and how on earth do these companies get the contract in the first place, does the local authority put it out that there got far too much money to spend, when this money could probably be spent somewhere else, don`t really care how and when it gets done, and off course the workmen cannot possibly work weekends, bank holidays or when it`s raining, and i`m sure that during my brief spell as a labourer on a building site many a year ago, the main thing apart from digging a hole slowly was us having loads of tea breaks and reading the paper, if you really want to hear a funny joke, then it goes something like the state of the country at the moment, and no doubt not even the excellent people behind not the nine o`clock news could right a funnier sketch.

My favourite sketch

Proper humour.

In other words, how the British Govt awarded the covid contracts.

@karlbassett8485

3 жыл бұрын

Well we've vaccinated more people than the rest of Europe combined, so they seem to be working out okay.

@PaulRoneClarke

3 жыл бұрын

@@karlbassett8485 Also the exact opposite of what actually happened. The UK side finished well before and at a substantially lower budget than the French side. To the point that in the last 18 months of construction thousands of UK workers went over to help the French who where a long - long way behind and hugely over cost. Here is the official report by Francis Hearn detailing the situation, issues and costs apps.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a276860.pdf We love to pretend the French and Europeans in general are doing a great job. So much better than us. It's a popular UK pastime - hating your own nation. It's often based on.. and let's not be obtuse about this. Bollocks. And your point on Covid as well Karl. Spot on. The UK has vaccinated almost 1.5X the number of people than the entire EU combined. The upshot of this is that, in 8 or 10 weeks when the UK restrictions are lifted properly - due to a hugely decreased risk of infection. The rest of Europe will be months behind. Just 12 weeks ago (October 25th 2020) what was left of the "Remain" group was adamant. Convinced, that the UK would be left without any vaccine as a result of Brexit. They issued two press statements and even a radio advert pleading for an extension and re-think. As usual - they were entirely, and completely wrong. No hang that..... "Wrong" implies they used data to come to an informed decision as to the likely outcome and that they miscalculated. They tried their best and were mistaken. That isn't what happened. They used no data, formed no testable hypothesis. They guessed based on their own political bias and need to peddle in fear. So they weren't "Wrong" "Wrong" implies a well intentioned mistake. That isn't what happened, What they did was "Lie" About what we expect from Remain

@dnomyarnostaw

3 жыл бұрын

@@karlbassett8485 Hahaha, what a low bar, Even the Seychelles and Israel has beaten the UK and most of Europe

@gweilospur5877

3 жыл бұрын

@@dnomyarnostaw Any countries without tiny populations?

Funniest one ever... R.I.P.

Hilarious! 👷‍♀️😅😂

This sounds pretty realistic for the tunnel 😄

Tunnel contractor and German generals. Got it down pat.

@jpgrumbach8562

4 жыл бұрын

Maybe their two best.

They gave the job to build HS2 to him too

This rings so true for pretty much every westminster funded project in the past year, except the person getting the money is some tory donor.

@Isleofskye

3 жыл бұрын

LOL.....Back in THe 1960's Harold " Man Of The People" Wilson and his Labour cronies used to take backhanders left, right and centre....:)

Waiting for a skip...😅😅😅😅

1:16 Griff turns in to Dev from Corrie!

He didn't take into consideration their constant need for tea breaks.

@Isleofskye

5 жыл бұрын

Play "Right Said Fred" by Bernard Cribbins on You Tube to tell you EXACTLY what it was like :)

Waiting for a skip. Absolutely brilliant comedy

@transrapide

3 жыл бұрын

What's a "skip" in this context? Is it a UK term??

@transrapide

3 жыл бұрын

@@terrystevens5261 So to haul away the trash (sorry, rubbish) from the construction site?

They went on to work on HS2

True also today, I am in the midst of one now

TC Roofing contracters of Bushey!

Can you come and do our patio by the weekend

We are waiting on a skip. Priceless

I've lent out my extension lead see!

Two and a half billion....it was a lot more than that!

@JonathanCorwin

4 жыл бұрын

Indeed, they had to sack this guy and write off what they paid him before going with one of the other tenders ;)

Best skit in the series? This is it.

@thedungeondelver

3 жыл бұрын

I dunno man...Nazi Generals is a real hoot.

@pelimies1818

3 жыл бұрын

Generally, general joke is very good, but I think it is not as original; who other would make a brilliant joke about channel tunnel? It is so Mel&Griff

So funny and so real

Brilliant 😅

Stubbs. Subtle indeed.

Watched this many times Brilliant. Would like to find the Russian swimmer one .

Gold

Half a tunnel! Haha

Waiting for a skip, love it.

Next job Crossrail...

This kind of sums up British engineering projects nowadays 🙄🤣🤣🤣

That’s a name from the past Cementation.

@jokepy4230

4 жыл бұрын

My first job back in 1972.

Er.. Complacent Government monitoring of HS2 contracts springs to mind in 2024.

Is Mr Stubbs a homage to Fawlty Towers?

Wasn't the builder in Faulty Towers also called Stubbs?

Is this the same contractor used for HS2.

I once went through the tunnel by train, but I couldn't see anything: it was too dark.