Sidney Samuel Grapes (6 June 1887 – 28 April 1958)''England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858-1966, 1973-1995'' was a British comedian, the owner of a bicycle shop and later a garage in

Potter Heigham Potter Heigham is a village and civil parish on the River Thurne in the English county of Norfolk. It is situated north-east of the city of Norwich on the A149 road, and within the Broads. The village is known for its mediaeval bridge and the ...

, a village in northeast

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

. In the years before the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, he acquired a reputation as an amateur

Norfolk dialect East Anglian English is a dialect of English spoken in East Anglia, primarily in or before the mid-20th century. East Anglian English has had a very considerable input into modern Estuary English, which has largely replaced it. However, it has r ...

comedian, performing at social functions in many parts of the county and on the radio. However, he is most famous fo
''The Boy John Letters''
The letters appeared in the ''

Eastern Daily Press The ''Eastern Daily Press'' (''EDP'') is a regional newspaper covering Norfolk, northern parts of Suffolk and eastern Cambridgeshire, and is published daily in Norwich, UK. Founded in 1870 as a broadsheet called the ''Eastern Counties Daily P ...

'', the regional newspaper, at irregular intervals. Grapes would simply write them when he felt like it - and they were always signed "The Boy John". They reported the events in the Boy John's village, and, in addition to the Boy John - a farm worker - they featured as their main characters his Aunt Agatha, Granfar, and old Mrs. W, their neighbour. Most of the letters ended with a PS containing one of Aunt Agatha's

aphorism An aphorism (from Greek ἀφορισμός: ''aphorismos'', denoting 'delimitation', 'distinction', and 'definition') is a concise, terse, laconic, or memorable expression of a general truth or principle. Aphorisms are often handed down by ...

s, which became famous throughout the county, such as "Aunt Agatha she say: all husbands are alike, only they have different faces so you can tell 'em apart".

References

External links

Friends of Norfolk Dialect

{{DEFAULTSORT:Grapes, Sidney People from North Norfolk (district) English male comedians 1958 deaths 1887 births 20th-century English comedians

See also

References

External links