Bless This House title
Bless This House was a gentle comedy about an ordinary man and wife with 2.4 kids. The husband, Sid Abbot was a downtrodden man who, no matter how he tried always seemed to be on the wrong end of things. Played by Sid James, who is obviously a lot more famous for being one of the 'Carry on' team.
His wife Jean (Diana Coupland) is a busy housewife, who has a lot of extra activities, which means that her time spent with Sid is sometimes at a premium, but she is devoted and does what she can.
Sally (Sally Geeson) is an outgoing girl, far too outgoing for Sid, who is always trying to tone down her dress sense, and keep her away from the grasp of the numerous boyfriends she has during the series run. She is also vegetarian, and a staunch women's libber, which cause a few problems too.
Mike (Robin Stewart) is a gifted artist, but his subject matter is much too close too the bone sometimes for Sid. Mike is still a throwback from the late sixties 'Flower Power' craze, and uses some 'colourful' phrases, 'Hey man', 'Peace' etc, which annoy Sid.
Bless This House artwork
Jean is always caught between the arguments that ensue, when Mike and Sally are about, and usually sides with them, Sid usually gives in, as his 'anything for a quiet life' persona slips in, even though he doesn't always agree.
Sid always has an escape route from the chaos in his garden shed, often joined by his next door neighbour, and best mate, Trevor (Anthony Jackson), who is also watched over by his wife, Jeans best friend, Betty played by the late great Patsy Rowlands.
I loved this series, and the strip kept the spirit of the show, it was very light comedy, and as such translated very well into a children's comic. nice artwork and amusing strips make this a very memorable strip.
An interesting side note is that the show was Directed and Produced by William G. Stewart, in his previous guise, he did a lot of this during the 70's, on programmes such as Father Dear Father, The Rag Trade and early editions of Family Fortunes, before becoming even more famous as a quiz host on 'Fifteen To One'