Manning was very funny. The best joke-teller of any of them. The trouble with Bernard was that when you had seen him once, that was it. Every time it was the same, with the occasional topical joke thrown in. Having said that, Manning raised lots of money for charity and did private performances for prominent people. I know this from being a member of a certain club in Blackley, Manchester, where Bernard was also a member. Not his own club, which is still operating on Rochdale Rd. in Harpurhey. If any newcomers to clubland asked for advice, he would always tell them the same thning: Make sure you pay your taxes! he didn't care about anyone who disliked him. To him, it was living that he was good at. And he was. Some of you are now going to quote the Mrs Merton thing. That did him no harm whatsoever. He was still as popular after it, as before it.