In case, like me, you’ve ever wondered how people who are involuntary participants in a Chaser skit feel about the event, you may be interested in this one sample.
It was slow in the Annandale Post Office just now. When the two women behind the counter exchanged a couple of words in a language I didn’t recognise, I asked what language it was. ‘Tagalog,’ they said, ‘we weren’t talking about you.’ Which reminded me of last night’s Chaser skit, one of the very few I found funny, where they pretended to be USians who couldn’t understand the language spoken in England, asking people repeatedly if they could speak English. When I mentioned the Chaser, I didn’t get as far as mentioning that skit, because both women beamed with delight:
‘The Chaser! They came here! They tried to post a piano. They said they were moving to Burwood and wanted to send the piano through the mail.’
They both laughed and laughed, describing the absurd conversation, pointing to where the cameraman had stood. I asked if that bit had been screened, but they didn’t know: they don’t actually watch it.
I came home and found some photos of the shoot, which includes Glebe Post Office as well as Annandale. My interlocutors are in the background of one or two.
Screen grab of a photo by Edwina Pickles
Of course, the hapless employes of tobacco companies, the odd minister of religion woken in the wee hours to be asked if he’s had any more predictive dreams, the Rudds who are just trying to go to church looking as if they’re weathering a family crisis, the US vox pops who are made to look stupid in the extreme – these may not look back on their encounters with quite as much joy. But it’s good to know that some people do.
Me fail? I fly! 