Thoughts on Adrian Albert Mole

So, this week (April 2nd 2017 to be precise) sees what would have been the 50th birthday of one of my favourite fictional characters - Adrian Albert Mole, Diarist Extraordinaire and voice of a generation.

I've been a fan of the Mole diaries since they first came out in 1982. Maybe the fact that I was only 6 weeks older than the fictional Mole made him seem more believable, I don't know, but there was certainly something there that 'clicked'. With each subsequent volume I would be eagerly waiting to see what our 'hero'  would be up to this time around, what scrapes he would get into and even now, all these years later on, if I need something to cheer me up a little the Mole diaries are often my first port of call.

The life of Adrian Mole was never easy (but that would have been boring) . Right from the beginning his family was an awkward, tangled mess .His mother left for Sheffield with their neighbour early in the first book, his dad took up with Doreen 'Stick Insect' Slater then his mother came back, Doreen was dropped and the family was back together - but not for long. Trying to keep track of the family relationships should have been difficult but Sue Townsend, somehow, made it all quite easy.

Mole was very much the social commentator, always seeming to have something to say or advice to offer on the events of the day. He wasn't always right and his advice, although well meant, was often wide of the mark but, bless him, he tried. With his letter writing, poetry writing, play and novel writing (unpublished) he sees himself as an intellectual but isn't as sharp as he thinks he is (entry Monday January 18th 1982 - 'School. First day of term. Loads of GCE homework. I will never cope. I am an intellectual but at the same time I am not very clever).

As time went on he did eventually get published (an offal cookbook) but the things he worked on his whole life still remain unpublished. I guess if Sue Townsend was still with us he may have tried the self publishing route but would have got himself in the usual kerfuffle.

And that brings me to the end of Mole.

I remember quite clearly when I heard the news that Sue Townsend had passed. I was, as you would expect saddened by the news but also remember thinking 'Adrian Mole is dead' too. And, for some reason, that hit harder. No more Adrian Mole diaries.

I heard later on that Sue Townsend had been early on in the process of a new volume before she passed on but that it would now never see the light of day. I would have given anything for those pages and it gave me an idea that has sat in my head ever since...

Picture the scene... Glenn, Adrian's son is going through some boxes in his dad's room and comes across one filled with diaries. The last one is short, finishing abruptly. As he reads a tear drops from his eye. After the last entry he goes to the next date and starts to write...

'My name is Glenn Bott-Mole, son of Adrian Mole. My dad passed on last night (details?). He was a good man. These are his diaries of a life lived...'

That would have been the forward which would have been followed by the final entries. The rest would have been 'Memories of Adrian Albert Mole' by other major characters from the series, written by fans/comedy writers. Any proceeds would go to charity of the Townsend Estate's choosing.

Thank you Adrian Mole for a lifetime of chuckles. You were only a fictional character but I think of you as a friend.