Mr Pudey: Well sir, I have a silly clock and I’d like to obtain a government grant to help me develop it.
Minister: I see. May I see your silly clock?
Mr Pudey: Yes, certainly, yes.
Minister: That’s it, is it?
Mr Pudey: Yes, that’s it, yes.
Minister: It’s not particularly silly, is it? I mean, the hour hand isn’t silly at all and the second hand merely does a forward aerial half turn every alternate hour.
Mr Pudey: Yes, but I think that with government backing I could make it very silly.
Minister: Mr Pudey, the very real problem is one of money. I’m afraid that the Ministry of Silly Clocks is no longer getting the kind of support it needs. You see there’s Defense, Social Security, Health, Housing, Education, Silly Clocks … they’re all supposed to get the same. But last year, the government spent less on the Ministry of Silly Clocks than it did on National Defense. Now we get £348,000,000 a year, which is supposed to be spent on all our available products.
