Here are two pieces of business from The Maestro of Magical Mirth. My favourite Tommy Cooper story concerns his habit of carrying a pocket full of tea-bags. Not for drinking, but rather for pressing into the palms of those who opened doors for him - along with a murmered, "'Ere you are - 'ave a drink on me."

He wasn't mean - he just loved to make people laugh. And as the doorman would open his hand, expecting to see a folded pound note, when he saw the tea-bag, 99 times out of 100, he would burst out laughing. Tommy LIVED for that. And of course, the tea-bag was worth INFINITELY more than a pound. The doorman would have a story he could tell EVERYBODY - and a memory beyond price.