Peter Rhodes on dim meters, product placement at the Trump shooting and the true aim of football
The current issue of the Oldie magazine features Griff Rhys Jones.
![](https://www.expressandstar.com/resizer/v2/CIRLWWCWNJEL5MKOFYJPH5YJRA.jpg?auth=fedf7b3a8011d5822a0a3c661f19017b9bb9a051060c90dbdc11d2abea12ab3d&width=300&height=225)
He writes a funny piece about a stalker who tried to persuade him that his comedy partner, the late Mel Smith, was trying to kill him. Which proves that if a writer has a light enough touch, he can get a laugh out of the grimmest subject.
I found myself transported back to those happy days of Alas Smith and Jones in the 1980s and their sketch about a school sports teacher introducing his pupils to football. Time after time he drills home the question: “What is the aim of football?” Time after time the kids dutifully respond with the hallowed mantra: “The aim of football is to get into the penalty area and fall over.”