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"I’m all set to give off money like a — like a money geyser..."
―Mr Birling

Edinburgh is the fifth episode of the first series of the BBC's Cabin Pressure, which was first broadcast on July 30, 2008.

Synopsis[]

Official synopsis for the episode Edinburgh:[1]

A very special passenger makes Douglas grovel, Martin crawl, Carolyn frisk and Arthur cry.

Plot[]

Douglas and Arthur are excited for Birling Day, when they annually fly the rich Mr. Birling to the 'Six Nations final'. Martin finds out that they toady to Mr. Birling because he is a generous tipper but, finding Mr. Birling to be a 'horrible old boy', refuses to partake on principle.

Meanwhile, Carolyn is attempting to stop Douglas from stealing the expensive Talisker whisky specially procured for Mr. Birling, something he achieves every Birling Day. She tells Arthur to check for the sound of the seal breaking on each miniature before serving it.

After Wales win the Six Nations final, Martin discovers that he has misunderstood the magnitude of Mr. Birling's tips and, realising how much money he stands to gain, reverses his previous position. Keen to make up for lost toadying time, he allows Mr. Birling a large bottle of cheap whisky. Upon landing, Martin, Douglas, and Arthur find Mr. Birling too drunk to tip them.

Arthur has salvaged one of the Talisker miniatures, but they find it to be horrible, cheap whisky. Douglas reveals that he swapped the Talisker with the cheap whisky earlier, resealing the miniature bottles with clear nail varnish. Martin then gave the hidden Talisker to Mr. Birling who, they conclude, was probably too drunk to enjoy it.

Cast[]

Trivia[]

Birling was named after the overbearing capitalist character of J.B. Priestley's play An Inspector Calls. An earlier version of the episode included an opposite character named 'Goole', after the eponymous Inspector.[2]

Douglas claims that his first stag night was attended by a number of anti-establishment figures popular in the late sixties and seventies. These include: Jeffrey Bernard, a journalist associated with the Bohemian movement; Peter Cook, an influential satirical comedian; and one of The Kinks, though he doesn't remember which one.

Arthur provides a musical moment by singing 'Big Spender' with the alternative lyric of 'The miniature walked through the door...' (Instead of 'The minute you walked through the door...'). Mr Birling sings (in a manner of speaking) the chorus of 'Cwm Rhondda' and 'Ten Green Bottles'.

The Six Nations[]

The episode contains many inaccuracies regarding the Six Nations rugby tournament:

  • Birling Day is supposedly the day of the Six Nations final, but the tournament is actually a round-robin league with three games being played on the final Saturday. Though it is possible for a winner-takes-all fixture to occur on that day, this has only happened in the 2003 and 2013 tournaments.
  • All matches in the tournament are hosted by one of the playing teams, so the Wales v France match would usually have been played in Cardiff or Paris, rather than Edinburgh (though due to no other stadium being available London did host Wales v France in 1998).
  • Wales are described as the 'Triple Crown champions', following their victory over France. The Triple Crown is a victory by a British or Irish team over the other three home nations, so Wales would already have held that award before Birling Day. A victory over all the other teams in the championship is called a Grand Slam. While it would still be possible for Wales to be described as Triple Crown champions and not Grand Slam champions, it does suggest that they were in the unlikely position of having beaten all teams except the historically weaker Italian team.

Reflecting on this, John Finnemore commented, "Arthur doesn't know much about rugby... Rugby fans may at this point be able to spot where Arthur gets it from."[2]

References[]

  1. BBC Radio 4: Cabin Pressure, series 1, Edinburgh. Retrieved January 29, 2022.
  2. 2.0 2.1 Forget What Did: Farewell Bear Facts - Edinburgh. Retrieved 19th September 2023.
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