Hyacinth Bucket came to dinner last night. Well actually it was actress Patricia Routledge CBE. In a distinguished career she has done everything from the Royal Shakespeare Company to Broadway musicals and Coronation Street. But it was as the socially pretentious Hyacinth Bucket (“pronounced Bouquet”) that she really became a household name around the world.
She is currently touring Australia in a charming piece based on the life of Myra Hess, the pianist who helped maintain morale in London during the dark days of WWII by putting on daily concerts at the National Gallery.
Patricia is one of many British national treasures who have a devoted following here, and the current show, Admission One Shilling, has sold out theatres all around Australia. Distinguished guests including my friend George Brandis, the Attorney General and Arts Minister, were delighted to come along to meet her.
There’s an element of “Keeping up Appearances” to diplomatic life: you’re always trying to show your country in its best possible light, and aspiring to keep up with your peer countries. I worry sometimes that sitcoms like this, which played on the delicate nuances of social pretensions in the middle of British society, can give an impression that Britain remains a much more class-dominated society than it actually is.
In reality modern Britain is a highly diverse society with relatively good social mobility. But it’s something we have to continue to work hard on.
We’re also a country that enjoys laughing at ourselves and our human foibles. That’s got to be healthy. Our evening with Patricia was great fun.