Finest in the district and Licensed for Public Dancing
Amongst Python fans, "Cheese Shop" has become a metaphor for an entity that's totally devoid of any ability to achieve its expected and obvious purpose. The published geocache location is something of a Cheese Shop. It's certainly uncontaminated by geocaches.
The Cheese Shop sketch had its beginnings in a car trip returning from Kent, where the Pythons had been filming for the day. John Cleese, whose family name was "Cheese" incidentally, was feeling a bit peckish and the idea of trying to buy cheese from a chemist shop came up. One thing led to another.
The sketch first aired on 30 November 1972 in Monty Python's Flying Circus episode 33, "Salad Days".
Here's a condensed sample of the sketch from that episode, for your amusement .....
| Customer (John) |
Shopkeeper (Michael) |
| (enters shop and rings bell on counter) |
(emerges from rear door) |
| |
'morning, Sir. |
| 'morning. Um, I was, uh, sitting in the public library on Thurmon Street just now ah, skimming through 'Rogue Herrys' by ah, Horace Walpole, when I um, suddenly came over all peckish. |
Peckish, sir? |
| Esuriant. |
Eh? |
| Ee I were all 'ungry-like! |
Ah! Hungry! |
| In a nutshell. So I thought to myself, 'a little fermented curd will do the trick', so I curtailed my Walpoling activities, sallied forth and infiltrated your place of purveyance to negotiate the vending of some cheesy comestibles. |
Come again? |
| I want to buy some cheese. |
Oh! I thought you were complaining about the music! |
| Oh, heaven forbid: I am one who delights in all manifestations of the Terpsichorean muse! |
Sorry? |
| Ah lahk a nice dahnce, 'yer forced to! |
|
| (cut to a Viking, who says Anyway, and back) |
(looking about, confused) Who said that? |
| Now my good man, some cheese please. |
Yes, certainly, sir. What would you like? |
| Well, ah, how about a little Red Leicester? |
I'm, afraid we're fresh out of Red Leicester, sir. |
| Never mind. How are you on ah, Tilsit? |
Never at the end of the week, sir, always get it fresh first thing on Monday. |
| Tish tish. No matter. Um, well, four ounces of Caerphilly then, if you please stout yeoman. |
Ah! Well it's been on order for two weeks sir. Was expecting it this morning. |
| Yes, it's not my day, is it? Aah! Bel Paese? |
Sorry. |
| White Stilton? |
Ah, normally sir, yes. But today the van broke down. |
| Aah! Ah, Lancashire? |
Sorry. |
| Liptauer? |
|
| Stilton? |
No. |
| Any Double Gloucester? |
No. |
| Danish Blue? |
No. |
| Gruyere? |
No. |
| Norwegian Jarlsberger? |
No. |
| Red Windsor? |
No. |
| Cheshire? |
(pause) No. |
| Emmental? |
No. |
| … (et cetera) … |
… (ad infintum) … |
| It's not much of a cheese shop really, is it? |
Finest in the district sir! |
| And what leads you to that conclusion? |
Well, it's so clean! |
| Well it's certainly uncontaminated by cheese. |
|
DON'T FORGET TO COLLECT THE CODE TO COMPLETE THE FINAL IN THE And now for something completely different geocache series: Monty Python’s 45th Anniversary Omnibus.
Did you know that NSW has a geocaching association? Geocaching NSW aims to enhance and improve the activity of geocaching and holds regular events where geocachers meet to enjoy their common interests. Visit the association website here.