Miles Beresford Kington (13 May 1941 – 30 January 2008) was a British journalist, musician (a double bass player for Instant Sunshine and other groups) and broadcaster. He is also credited with the invention of Franglais, a fictional language, made up of French and English.
Kington was born to William Beresford Nairn (also "Nairne", depending on the source) Kington (1909–1982), of Frondeg Hall, Rhostyllen, Denbighshire, Wales, and his first wife Jean Ann (1912–1973; daughter of John Ernest Sanders, of Whitegates, Gresford, Denbighshire) in Downpatrick, County Down, Northern Ireland, where his father, a Captain in the Royal Welch Fusiliers, was then posted.[1] Subsequently, Bill Kington ran the Border Brewery in Wrexham, North Wales. The Kingtons were a branch of a landed gentry family that married into the Scottish Clan Oliphant and produced the line of Kington-Blair-Oliphant Chieftains of Gask.[2][3] Kington had a younger brother, Stewart (1943–2009), who followed his father in the brewing trade, later becoming a cameraman.[4]
Kington was educated at Bilton Grange, a prep school in Rugby, then Trinity College, Glenalmond, a boys' fee-funded boarding school (now Glenalmond College). During a gap year Kington worked as a translator in New York City, and lived in Greenwich Village. He then studied Modern Languages (French and German) at Trinity College, Oxford. After graduation he spent some time writing with Terry Jones, an Oxford contemporary; but the teaming did not click, and Jones was in reality waiting for his friend Michael Palin to graduate.[1]
Career
Inspired particularly by the American humourist S. J. Perelman, Kington began his writing career at the satirical magazine Punch, where he spent some 15 years. It was during this time, in the late 1970s, that he began writing his Franglais columns, written in a comical mixture of English and French. These short sketches purported to be a study course taking as their raison d'être that "les Français ne parlent pas le O-level français" ("the French do not speak O-level French"). They were later published as a series of books (Let's Parler Franglais!, Let's Parler Franglais Again, Let's Parler Franglais One More Temps, and so on). During the 1980s he presented Steam Days, an informative programme about Britain's railways. He also presented one episode, "Three Miles High", in the first series of the BBC's Great Railway Journeys, travelling through parts of Peru and Bolivia.
Taught the piano from the age of seven, Kington discovered when he fell in love with jazz during adolescence that being able to read music meant he felt unable to improvise; he therefore took up the trombone. At Oxford he found that several fellow undergraduates played better, so he switched to the double bass when someone pointed out the shortage of bass players at the University. Kington was for many years a member of the cabaret quartet Instant Sunshine. To his regret, he only played in a jazz group for a brief period in 1962 during a summer job in Spain, where he ran into the British politician Enoch Powell, apparently looking somewhat displeased. Meeting Powell years later at a Punch meal and reminding him of their previous meeting, he was amused by Powell's comment: "I never forgot a face". Kington moved away from London in the 1980s, remarried, and worked from his home in the village of Limpley Stoke, near Bath.
He wrote a humorous column for The Independent, which he joined in 1987 after six years at The Times. He also wrote a similar column for The Oldie. Regular topics for his columns included:
Answers to a Christmas quiz that was never printed
Fictional court reporting
Jazz
Motorway ballads
Proceedings of the United Deities
Spot the fictional news story
Things for which there is no word
"Albanian Proverbs" which appear profound at first glance, but are actually meaningless
Letters concerning a recently deceased celebrity's supposed love of cricket
He also satirised Bertrand Russell à la Punch in "Bertrand's Mind Wins over Mater", in Welcome to Kington: Includes All the Pieces You Cut Out From The Independent and Lost (1989). In addition, Kington wrote two stage plays. Waiting for Stoppard, a good-natured pastiche of early Tom Stoppard plays and simultaneously a convoluted farce involving the fatwa against Salman Rushdie, was seen at the Bristol New Vic, Southwark Playhouse and other venues in 1995. The following year came The Death of Tchaikovsky – a Sherlock Holmes Mystery, in which Kington appeared in person at the Edinburgh Festival.
Death and legacy
Plaque on Kington's memorial bench
Kington's memorial bench
Kington died at his home in Limpley Stoke, near Bath, after a short illness, having just filed what became his final copy for The Independent. He had suffered from pancreatic cancer. In October 2008, "How Shall I tell the Dog?", written by him about events after receiving his terminal diagnosis, was serialised by BBC Radio Four, featuring Michael Palin as Kington.
A quotation frequently attributed to him is: "Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad."[5]
He is commemorated by a memorial bench alongside the Kennet and Avon Canal, near Blackberry Lane, Conkwell. It bears a plaque, with the inscription:[6]
In Memoriam
In fond memory of Miles Kington, who hated this spot, because there was never anywhere to sit down and enjoy it from. Miles Kington, humorist. 1941–2008
miles, kington, miles, beresford, kington, 1941, january, 2008, british, journalist, musician, double, bass, player, instant, sunshine, other, groups, broadcaster, also, credited, with, invention, franglais, fictional, language, made, french, english, contents. Miles Beresford Kington 13 May 1941 30 January 2008 was a British journalist musician a double bass player for Instant Sunshine and other groups and broadcaster He is also credited with the invention of Franglais a fictional language made up of French and English Contents 1 Early life 2 Career 3 Death and legacy 4 Bibliography 4 1 Franglais books 4 2 Other books 4 3 Stage plays 5 References 6 External linksEarly life EditKington was born to William Beresford Nairn also Nairne depending on the source Kington 1909 1982 of Frondeg Hall Rhostyllen Denbighshire Wales and his first wife Jean Ann 1912 1973 daughter of John Ernest Sanders of Whitegates Gresford Denbighshire in Downpatrick County Down Northern Ireland where his father a Captain in the Royal Welch Fusiliers was then posted 1 Subsequently Bill Kington ran the Border Brewery in Wrexham North Wales The Kingtons were a branch of a landed gentry family that married into the Scottish Clan Oliphant and produced the line of Kington Blair Oliphant Chieftains of Gask 2 3 Kington had a younger brother Stewart 1943 2009 who followed his father in the brewing trade later becoming a cameraman 4 Kington was educated at Bilton Grange a prep school in Rugby then Trinity College Glenalmond a boys fee funded boarding school now Glenalmond College During a gap year Kington worked as a translator in New York City and lived in Greenwich Village He then studied Modern Languages French and German at Trinity College Oxford After graduation he spent some time writing with Terry Jones an Oxford contemporary but the teaming did not click and Jones was in reality waiting for his friend Michael Palin to graduate 1 Career EditInspired particularly by the American humourist S J Perelman Kington began his writing career at the satirical magazine Punch where he spent some 15 years It was during this time in the late 1970s that he began writing his Franglais columns written in a comical mixture of English and French These short sketches purported to be a study course taking as their raison d etre that les Francais ne parlent pas le O level francais the French do not speak O level French They were later published as a series of books Let s Parler Franglais Let s Parler Franglais Again Let s Parler Franglais One More Temps and so on During the 1980s he presented Steam Days an informative programme about Britain s railways He also presented one episode Three Miles High in the first series of the BBC s Great Railway Journeys travelling through parts of Peru and Bolivia Taught the piano from the age of seven Kington discovered when he fell in love with jazz during adolescence that being able to read music meant he felt unable to improvise he therefore took up the trombone At Oxford he found that several fellow undergraduates played better so he switched to the double bass when someone pointed out the shortage of bass players at the University Kington was for many years a member of the cabaret quartet Instant Sunshine To his regret he only played in a jazz group for a brief period in 1962 during a summer job in Spain where he ran into the British politician Enoch Powell apparently looking somewhat displeased Meeting Powell years later at a Punch meal and reminding him of their previous meeting he was amused by Powell s comment I never forgot a face Kington moved away from London in the 1980s remarried and worked from his home in the village of Limpley Stoke near Bath He wrote a humorous column for The Independent which he joined in 1987 after six years at The Times He also wrote a similar column for The Oldie Regular topics for his columns included Answers to a Christmas quiz that was never printed Fictional court reporting Jazz Motorway ballads Proceedings of the United Deities Spot the fictional news story Things for which there is no word Albanian Proverbs which appear profound at first glance but are actually meaningless Letters concerning a recently deceased celebrity s supposed love of cricketHe also satirised Bertrand Russell a la Punch in Bertrand s Mind Wins over Mater in Welcome to Kington Includes All the Pieces You Cut Out From The Independent and Lost 1989 In addition Kington wrote two stage plays Waiting for Stoppard a good natured pastiche of early Tom Stoppard plays and simultaneously a convoluted farce involving the fatwa against Salman Rushdie was seen at the Bristol New Vic Southwark Playhouse and other venues in 1995 The following year came The Death of Tchaikovsky a Sherlock Holmes Mystery in which Kington appeared in person at the Edinburgh Festival Death and legacy Edit Plaque on Kington s memorial bench Kington s memorial bench Kington died at his home in Limpley Stoke near Bath after a short illness having just filed what became his final copy for The Independent He had suffered from pancreatic cancer In October 2008 How Shall I tell the Dog written by him about events after receiving his terminal diagnosis was serialised by BBC Radio Four featuring Michael Palin as Kington A quotation frequently attributed to him is Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad 5 He is commemorated by a memorial bench alongside the Kennet and Avon Canal near Blackberry Lane Conkwell It bears a plaque with the inscription 6 In MemoriamIn fond memory of Miles Kington who hated this spot because there was never anywhere to sit down and enjoy it from Miles Kington humorist 1941 2008Bibliography EditFranglais books Edit Let s parler Franglais London Robson 1979 ISBN 0 86051 081 6 Let s parler Franglais again London Robson 1980 ISBN 0 86051 114 6 Parlez vous Franglais London Robson 1981 ISBN 0 86051 150 2 Let s parler Franglais one more temps London Robson Books 1982 ISBN 0 86051 178 2 The Franglais lieutenant s woman London Robson 1986 ISBN 0 86051 398 X Other books Edit Miles and Miles London Hamilton 1982 ISBN 0 241 10901 9 Moreover London Robson 1982 ISBN 0 86051 173 1 A Wolf In Frog s Clothing Methuen 1983 ISBN 0 413 52680 1 Nature made ridiculously simple or How to identify absolutely everything London Hamilton 1983 ISBN 0 241 11116 1 Moreover Too Harmondsworth Penguin 1985 ISBN 0 14 008540 8 Welcome to Kington London Robson 1989 ISBN 0 86051 616 4 Steaming Through Britain London Unwin Hyman 1990 ISBN 0 04 440488 3 Jazz An Anthology London HarperCollins 1992 ISBN 0 00 215199 5 Motorway Madness London HarperCollins 1998 ISBN 0 00 255912 9 Someone Like Me Tales From A Borrowed Childhood London Headline 2005 ISBN 0 7553 1356 9 autobiography How Shall I Tell the Dog Last Laughs from the Master London Profile Books 2008 ISBN 1 84668 197 9 The World of Alphonse Allais translation of humorous essays by Alphonse Allais London Faber amp Faber 2008 ISBN 978 0 571 24738 7 My Mother the Bearded Lady the Selected Letters of Miles Kington London Unbound 2018 7 8 Stage plays Edit Waiting For Stoppard 1995 Death Of Tchaikovsky A Sherlock Holmes Mystery 1996 References Edit a b Oxford Dictionary of National Biography 2005 2008 ed Lawrence Goldman Oxford University Press 2013 p 649 Burke s Peerage Baronetage and Knightage 2003 vol 1 p 132 Burke s Landed Gentry 14th edition ed Alfred T Butler 1925 p 1338 Michael Bywater remembers Miles Kington The Independent 1 February 2008 Archived from the original on 14 May 2022 Retrieved 3 November 2021 Philip Sheldrake The Business of Influence Reframing Marketing and PR for the Digital Age Chichester Wiley 2011 p 153 Miles Kington Openbenches org Retrieved 27 September 2017 Kington Miles 18 October 2018 My Mother the Bearded Lady The Selected Letters of Miles Kington ISBN 9781783526505 My Mother the Bearded Lady The Selected Letters of Miles Kington Theoldie co uk External links EditMiles Kington at IMDb Official commemorative website Miles Kington Columns Obituary in the Independent BBC obituary Times obituary Telegraph obituary Guardian obituary Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Miles Kington amp oldid 1112004398, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
