Monty Python in Aberystwyth Page #4

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One of the first to implement a ban

was Aberystwyth.

Its council voted that the film

would not be shown in the town.

Should councils have these powers?

Someone must have the right,

so perhaps the council should, yes.

I think it's up to you to choose.

You're free to walk out if you find

it offensive or anything.

You have a right to choose yourself.

We understand there was at one time

a group of county councillors

who actually sat and watched

the film

and decided it wouldn't be

a good idea to show such a film.

Especially Aberystwyth,

of all places.

That town of loose living and fun.

I was 16 years old

when The Life Of Brian came out

and I was a young Swansea

schoolboy then.

And it was banned in Swansea as well.

It wasn't just banned in Aberystwyth,

it was banned in Swansea,

banned in east Devon,

parts of Surrey.

It was banned in the whole of Norway,

for some reason.

This wasn't just the story of one

town, it was all over the place.

And it was really very odd.

I remember it vividly.

When you're 16,

especially during those years

when you're wearing Anti-Nazi League

badges and things like that,

it was one of the only proper moments

of censorship.

So, for a while, the film was never

shown in public in Aberystwyth.

It was a real surprise. Aberystwyth,

of all places. London, yes.

Coach trips were organised

or people got on the train

and they went to Cardiff for

the weekend just to see the film.

Partly because it was Monty Python

but actually because

it had been banned.

It was a funny old time.

In an ordinary sort of Swansea

background upbringing,

if felt like your most militant

action, really.

Harmless, when you look at it now,

but it felt like a powerful thing

to do. We were 16 and voting.

And that was how things stayed

for almost 30 years.

The people of Aberystwyth

were banned

from seeing The Life of Brian

on the big screen.

This was until an unlikely figure

took office in October 2008.

There was a little bit

of press interest

that this famous film star was going

to become a town councillor.

Friends suggested I put my name

forward to be a town councillor,

and I said, "Alright then." So I did.

And I got elected and you know...

Then somebody who was the mayor

dropped out

because she wasn't happy with things

that'd happened,

so somebody suggested

I put myself forward.

I wasn't sure, but I did.

And here we are.

The first blow has been struck.

And so fiction became reality

when Judith

from the People's Front of Judea

became the 36th

Mayor of Aberystwyth.

And after only a few weeks

in office,

she discovered her past was about to

catch up with her.

I was lying on my sofa

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