Noel Bushnell contemplates what might have been, if Wodehouse had gone to see Lancs v. Worcs instead of Warwickshire play at Cheltenham.
I was basking in the autumn sunshine, mellowing fruitlessly, when an unbidden thought drifted into my cerebellum: what if Jeeves had not been called Jeeves? What if another cricketer’s name had caught P.G. Wodehouse’s ear and the gentleman’s personal gentleman who made his entrance on 18 September 1915 had been called something else? Would Jeeves now be a metaphor for members of the butlerine genus everywhere, or for sources of infallible information on any topic, but most especially in matters of correct dress for all occasions? I mean to say, what?
These be deep waters and, before I stick my toe in, perhaps I should recap the story so far.
It all started when the By The Way newsletter of The P.G. Wodehouse Society (UK) marked the centenary of Jeeves’ premiere with the lengthy and detailed opinion of Wodehouse authority Tony Ring that the un-surnamed Bertie in the first “Jeeves…
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Plumtopia 
Sorry to discover, via Noel, that you are a fellow flu sufferer. I have had the wretched thing for over a week now and am heartily bored with it.
Upright and ambulatory (just about) but unable to achieve anything. I would prescribe myself a cheering course of Wodehouse but can only just about cope with Georgette Heyer’s detective novels.
Hope you feel much better soon!
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Commiserations, Victoria. I hope you are over the worst of it now. My cold/flu thing has been quite revolting– I’m currently at the raw upper lip and endless coughing stage. The one benefit has been having some time to spend on my laptop (tucked up under a blanket) to catch up on missed blog posts (like this one). I’ve also been listening to Agatha Christie audiobooks. I used to read Agatha Christie whenever I was off school with flu, and the habit is still with me 30 years later.
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Honoria, good call on reblogging the N. Bushnell piece on Jeeves’ name. Sweet, even brilliant, wordsmithing in parts; much appreciated, if we can’ t have your own stuff.
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Thanks Ken. I have been trying to create Plumtopia as a place to share good things written about Wodehouse — and Noel is always a treat to read (I believe he is a journalist in ‘real life’).
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Thanks for sharing this. Get enough rest. Get the Bingo Little of your life to whip up a pick-me-up and hand it over to you in right earnest.
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Thanks Ashok. As it happens, Mr G has just made me a bowl of steaming Miso Soup.
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Get well soon!
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