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On the 15th June 2007 Alan jested on The News Quiz that he loved Wikipedia as it made him appear one year younger. He said that every morning he gets up, has a cup of coffee, and then checks wikipedia to see if it had been corrected. If so, he said, he changes it back. The history for this page, unfortunately, gives the lie to that anecdote. Murkee 17:45, 15 June 2007 (UTC)
What does "give the lie" mean above, please?
{{ editprotected}}
Well today, 27 July 2007, it shows his year of birth as 1837. I think that's possibly adding a few years to his age. Mind you, it would explain why he hasn't added anything to the Times comment page for a while.
I've checked the GRO index of births, and there is an Alan Coren registered at Hackney in the July-September quarter of 1938 (index is by quarter of registration, not quarter of birth, so this is consistent with a June 1938 birth). There is no entry for the Apr-Jun or Jul-Sep quarters of 1939, so we have a reliable (indeed definitive) source that puts his birth in 1938. Mayalld 11:00, 19 October 2007 (UTC)
In reference to the ping pong match being played out on the main page, this quote might be of interest:
Alan Coren was Jewish, too. The week he became editor of Punch there was a huge profile of him in The Jewish Chronicle. Coren was somewhat embarrassed. "This is ridiculous," he said, waving it at us. "I haven't been Jewish for years!" -- The Independent
Whether it's worth including, I couldn't say, but the source, an obituary written by someone who knew Alan Coren quite well, could be worse. -- Turnipface 10:05, 6 November 2007 (UTC)
Since it was I who originally inserted the "I haven't been Jewish for years" remark, may I just say that I couldn't remember the source of the quotation (in the Independent), but managed to find it before I read Turnipface's contribution above. Indeed, I have now re-inserted it into the main article, in a more appropriate place. Nevertheless, I think this says quite a lot about Alan's public attitude to his religious origins - I have little idea about his private feelings - and think that the sentence removed should be re-inserted. Comments? Hair Commodore 19:44, 10 November 2007 (UTC)
Seems to be some misunderstanding here about the difference between being of the Jewish race, and being of the Jewish faith. These can be, and often are, distinct categories. To my sure and certain knowledge, using one of Alan's favourite phrases, there are atheist Jews, orthodox Jews, don't-give-a-bugger-about-religion Jews, and a whole range of positions in between.
Coren now and then made coy allusions to his convictions; for example, his Times Diary piece re his visit to Marie Lloyd's grave, and his many funny, but withal respectful parodies of Genesis and other Old Testament texts. What he actually believed can never be known with certainty, and is somewhat irrelevant, IMNSHO, though I rather think he might have agreed with me re matters of wossname, theology, narmean?
As for the equally rather irrelevant matter of his exact birthdate, I'm surprised, but only mildly, that neither Giles nor Victoria has taken matters in hand here, they being, at the time of writing, both extant and literate. 2001:44B8:3102:BB00:30D0:11D9:B66D:2B15 ( talk) 00:14, 17 February 2018 (UTC)
Which cancer? F W Nietzsche ( talk) 20:28, 18 December 2008 (UTC)
The Daily Mail and the IMDb say that he died from lung cancer, but how accurate those sources are is questionable. The Daily Mail said the day after he died that they had that information from the family, but because after all these years the entry in Wikipedia has not been altered to specify which cancer, I think one can safely assume that was the Daily Mail misreporting. The broadsheets did not specify which type of cancer he died from. - P123cat1 ( talk) 13:12, 2 April 2014 (UTC)
It mentions that he was the Rector of St. Andrews University, but calls it an “honourary” position. As it is a position created by the Parliament of the United Kingdom, enshrined in the Universities (Scotland) Act 1858, and follows a democratic election, it may be an honour to hold, but surely is more than “honourary”? I agree that some university Rectors may be nominated and elected as student stunts, but many actively participate in University affairs on the part of their electorate, and are part of an important aspect of student representation. Jock123 ( talk) 13:15, 13 December 2012 (UTC)
Someone should transform this "article" from a list of bullet points into actual writing. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 138.246.2.239 ( talk) 13:54, 31 October 2014 (UTC)
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Just got hold of a copy of 'Pick of Punch' for 1966. A couple of pieces in there by Coren, and by someone called 'Alan Hackney'. The latter have Coren's stylistic fingerprints all over them, seems to me; working-class argot lovingly and phonetically reproduced, including Coren's trademark 'sunnick' ('something'). So... pseudonym ? 2001:44B8:3102:BB00:6525:1546:C0C7:5654 ( talk) 20:56, 7 September 2018 (UTC)
The following Wikimedia Commons file used on this page has been nominated for deletion:
Participate in the deletion discussion at the nomination page. — Community Tech bot ( talk) 14:52, 25 June 2019 (UTC)
Is anyone out there planning to write a considered, large-scale, and well-researched appreciation of Coren’s work? Yes, he was funny. That’s a given. He could also be profound, a sharp socio-political observer and critic, a master of parody and pastiche, and I’d do it myself except that I’m Australian, not a Brit, and I belong to a generation not of Coren’s, and I have no entrée into his world either private or professional.
Anyone? 121.44.8.105 ( talk) 05:12, 22 February 2022 (UTC)
Hackney or East Barnet? MongogramForCandy ( talk) 14:52, 18 October 2022 (UTC)
This is the
talk page for discussing improvements to the
Alan Coren article. This is not a forum for general discussion of the article's subject. |
Article policies
|
Find sources: Google ( books · news · scholar · free images · WP refs) · FENS · JSTOR · TWL |
![]() | This article is rated Start-class on Wikipedia's
content assessment scale. It is of interest to the following WikiProjects: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
![]() | It is requested that an image or photograph of Alan Coren be
included in this article to
improve its quality. Please replace this template with a more specific
media request template where possible.
The Free Image Search Tool or Openverse Creative Commons Search may be able to locate suitable images on Flickr and other web sites. |
On the 15th June 2007 Alan jested on The News Quiz that he loved Wikipedia as it made him appear one year younger. He said that every morning he gets up, has a cup of coffee, and then checks wikipedia to see if it had been corrected. If so, he said, he changes it back. The history for this page, unfortunately, gives the lie to that anecdote. Murkee 17:45, 15 June 2007 (UTC)
What does "give the lie" mean above, please?
{{ editprotected}}
Well today, 27 July 2007, it shows his year of birth as 1837. I think that's possibly adding a few years to his age. Mind you, it would explain why he hasn't added anything to the Times comment page for a while.
I've checked the GRO index of births, and there is an Alan Coren registered at Hackney in the July-September quarter of 1938 (index is by quarter of registration, not quarter of birth, so this is consistent with a June 1938 birth). There is no entry for the Apr-Jun or Jul-Sep quarters of 1939, so we have a reliable (indeed definitive) source that puts his birth in 1938. Mayalld 11:00, 19 October 2007 (UTC)
In reference to the ping pong match being played out on the main page, this quote might be of interest:
Alan Coren was Jewish, too. The week he became editor of Punch there was a huge profile of him in The Jewish Chronicle. Coren was somewhat embarrassed. "This is ridiculous," he said, waving it at us. "I haven't been Jewish for years!" -- The Independent
Whether it's worth including, I couldn't say, but the source, an obituary written by someone who knew Alan Coren quite well, could be worse. -- Turnipface 10:05, 6 November 2007 (UTC)
Since it was I who originally inserted the "I haven't been Jewish for years" remark, may I just say that I couldn't remember the source of the quotation (in the Independent), but managed to find it before I read Turnipface's contribution above. Indeed, I have now re-inserted it into the main article, in a more appropriate place. Nevertheless, I think this says quite a lot about Alan's public attitude to his religious origins - I have little idea about his private feelings - and think that the sentence removed should be re-inserted. Comments? Hair Commodore 19:44, 10 November 2007 (UTC)
Seems to be some misunderstanding here about the difference between being of the Jewish race, and being of the Jewish faith. These can be, and often are, distinct categories. To my sure and certain knowledge, using one of Alan's favourite phrases, there are atheist Jews, orthodox Jews, don't-give-a-bugger-about-religion Jews, and a whole range of positions in between.
Coren now and then made coy allusions to his convictions; for example, his Times Diary piece re his visit to Marie Lloyd's grave, and his many funny, but withal respectful parodies of Genesis and other Old Testament texts. What he actually believed can never be known with certainty, and is somewhat irrelevant, IMNSHO, though I rather think he might have agreed with me re matters of wossname, theology, narmean?
As for the equally rather irrelevant matter of his exact birthdate, I'm surprised, but only mildly, that neither Giles nor Victoria has taken matters in hand here, they being, at the time of writing, both extant and literate. 2001:44B8:3102:BB00:30D0:11D9:B66D:2B15 ( talk) 00:14, 17 February 2018 (UTC)
Which cancer? F W Nietzsche ( talk) 20:28, 18 December 2008 (UTC)
The Daily Mail and the IMDb say that he died from lung cancer, but how accurate those sources are is questionable. The Daily Mail said the day after he died that they had that information from the family, but because after all these years the entry in Wikipedia has not been altered to specify which cancer, I think one can safely assume that was the Daily Mail misreporting. The broadsheets did not specify which type of cancer he died from. - P123cat1 ( talk) 13:12, 2 April 2014 (UTC)
It mentions that he was the Rector of St. Andrews University, but calls it an “honourary” position. As it is a position created by the Parliament of the United Kingdom, enshrined in the Universities (Scotland) Act 1858, and follows a democratic election, it may be an honour to hold, but surely is more than “honourary”? I agree that some university Rectors may be nominated and elected as student stunts, but many actively participate in University affairs on the part of their electorate, and are part of an important aspect of student representation. Jock123 ( talk) 13:15, 13 December 2012 (UTC)
Someone should transform this "article" from a list of bullet points into actual writing. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 138.246.2.239 ( talk) 13:54, 31 October 2014 (UTC)
Hello fellow Wikipedians,
I have just modified one external link on Alan Coren. Please take a moment to review my edit. If you have any questions, or need the bot to ignore the links, or the page altogether, please visit this simple FaQ for additional information. I made the following changes:
When you have finished reviewing my changes, please set the checked parameter below to true or failed to let others know (documentation at {{
Sourcecheck}}
).
This message was posted before February 2018.
After February 2018, "External links modified" talk page sections are no longer generated or monitored by InternetArchiveBot. No special action is required regarding these talk page notices, other than
regular verification using the archive tool instructions below. Editors
have permission to delete these "External links modified" talk page sections if they want to de-clutter talk pages, but see the
RfC before doing mass systematic removals. This message is updated dynamically through the template {{
source check}}
(last update: 5 June 2024).
Cheers.— InternetArchiveBot ( Report bug) 05:46, 7 October 2016 (UTC)
Just got hold of a copy of 'Pick of Punch' for 1966. A couple of pieces in there by Coren, and by someone called 'Alan Hackney'. The latter have Coren's stylistic fingerprints all over them, seems to me; working-class argot lovingly and phonetically reproduced, including Coren's trademark 'sunnick' ('something'). So... pseudonym ? 2001:44B8:3102:BB00:6525:1546:C0C7:5654 ( talk) 20:56, 7 September 2018 (UTC)
The following Wikimedia Commons file used on this page has been nominated for deletion:
Participate in the deletion discussion at the nomination page. — Community Tech bot ( talk) 14:52, 25 June 2019 (UTC)
Is anyone out there planning to write a considered, large-scale, and well-researched appreciation of Coren’s work? Yes, he was funny. That’s a given. He could also be profound, a sharp socio-political observer and critic, a master of parody and pastiche, and I’d do it myself except that I’m Australian, not a Brit, and I belong to a generation not of Coren’s, and I have no entrée into his world either private or professional.
Anyone? 121.44.8.105 ( talk) 05:12, 22 February 2022 (UTC)
Hackney or East Barnet? MongogramForCandy ( talk) 14:52, 18 October 2022 (UTC)