Just Thinking

"If you wish to kill yourself but lack the courage to, I think a visit to Palmerston North will do the trick," Cleese said over a year ago. The Monty Python and Fawlty Towers star came out with this in his audio diary on his website for his "My Life, Times and Current Medical Problems" tour, which he will take to Australia later in the year. Cleese heaped praise on other towns and cities where he performed, but introduced Palmerston North as the "suicide capital of New Zealand".

Palmerstom North didn't really want that label but recognised that Cleese was not to be taken too seriously. What began as the suggestion of a joke has now hit the news. From the NZ Herald:

"Cleese's name is gracing a compost heap at the local landfill.

City council waste and water manager Chris Pepper said no one was taking credit for the sign, which was quietly put up about a month ago.

Entertainer John Clarke (aka Fred Dagg), originally from Palmerston North, had suggested more than a year ago that the landfill be named the "John Cleese Memorial Tip".

Members of the council had a good old laugh at this, and then somewhere along the line the "Mt Cleese" sign was constructed."

According to Stuff:

" Some people have a statue made in their honour, others a street named after them, but the Palmerston North City Council has bestowed the honour of a commemorative compost heap on comedian John Cleese.

Cleese achieved infamy in Palmerston North last year when, after a performance at the Regent on Broadway, he said he hated the "town", calling it the "suicide capital of New Zealand".

Palmy-born entertainer John Clarke (aka Fred Dagg) was quick to defend the city, and suggested the local landfill be named the "John Cleese Memorial Tip" with the tagline: "All manner of crap happily recycled".

A few members of the council thought this was a good idea; and as new signage was being organised for the old Awapuni Landfill (now a waste minimisation centre), "Mt Cleese" was born."