Off the shelf: Hoffnung 7

From the section on Brass.

As well as being a cartoonist, tuba player, prison visitor, etc. Gerard Hoffnung was also a raconteur. In 1958 someone recorded him giving his famous ‘Bricklayer’s Lament’ monologue at the Oxford Union. This takes the form of a letter from a bricklayer to his employer explaining why he needs to take sick leave. I first heard it when a friend played it to me when I was at school and it was only later that I discovered he was a cartoonist. You can listen to it here on YouTube - it starts rather abruptly.