Although famous racing commentator Sir Peter O'Sullevan once joked that she was "a real
old battle-axe", Mrs Topham was a formidable but in private very funny woman who was respected and admired in a male-dominated world.
and landed his character with a wife who is a bit of an
old battle-axe.
AS Oscar Wilde's
old battle-axe Lady Bracknell might have opined: 'To lose two strikers might be regarded as unfortunate, to lose three looks like carelessness.' But that is exactly what happened to Cardiff City at Hull and it finally proved a bridge too far for manager Malky Mackay and his men.
But then again, the grim
old battle-axe had an excuse - she's just managed to get someone to marry her.
"Frank - I'm 62," replied the
old battle-axe, "I'm nobody's babe."
The
old battle-axe is apparently a diehard fan of Huddersfield, who look good for a quick return to the Second Division.
So, to quote that
old battle-axe Maggie Thatcher, let's rejoice in that.
Hugh Morton-Jones, without whom this column would be much the poorer, refers me to Ian Parri's informative and educational article on Warrior Queen Boudica (February 7) in which is described the
old battle-axe's confrontation with the army of Paulinus.
"I would still love to play a blind
old battle-axe in a wheelchair in a TV sitcom."
And he did so to produce a tear-stained script in which the elderly '
old battle-axe' (her description, not mine) bemoaned the fact that everything she had ever loved in her life had been taken away from her, while also raising several smiles with the summoning up of the spirit of much-missed best pal Ethel.
ONE of the most touching scenes in soap for a long time had to be
old battle-axe Edna's last minutes with her beloved Batley.
Mr Major has many sup-porters for his outburst at the interfering
old battle-axe - but there are dark plots by his opponents to rubbish his memoirs when they helpfully appear at the time of the Tory conference.
Yes, the
old battle-axe has been irritating her son so much that when she genuinely needs help, he reckons it's another of her scams just to get him away from Emily.
It seems that Mrs P was a bit of an
old battle-axe who hated golf with a passion.
For 27 years, the
old battle-axe had fought off Compo's amorous advances in the longest case of unrequited love in TV history.
