Getting kicked out of the Vatican by the Swiss Guard (no, really)
Dave attended a Benedictine public school, along with a rather unusual set of fellow students. These included Andy Serkis (one year behind); and one of Britain's most notable gay comics (a few years ahead).
Since the school was uber-Catholic, periodic school trips to the Vatican were pretty much a requirement. One of these occurred when Dave was about 14. One of the primary activities on the trip was the tour of St Peter's Basilica.
Early on in the tour, Dave and the other boys were reprimanded by the Swiss Guard for walking around singing the Spam Song. Because, you know, reenacting the Comfy Chair sketch would have been far more appropriate. ;)
Shortly before the trip, his class had gone to St Paul's Cathedral in London, famous for its whispering dome. The acoustics in the dome of St Paul's are such that if you stand on one side of the perimeter balcony and whisper, that whisper can be heard by the person standing opposite.
Fourteen year old boys being boys, they decided to test this theory. So, Dave stationed himself on one side of the dome of St Peter's Basilica, and one of his friends stationed himself on the other. The initial attempt, with a whisper at the level that had worked at St Paul's, was unsuccessful. So they got louder. And louder. And louder still, until they were pretty much shouting across the dome.
Unfortunately, there was a mass going on below. In St. Peter's Basilica. Which is supposed to be all solemn, and holy, and most emphatically not full of yelling teenagers. Hence the reappearance of the Swiss Guard, moving with purpose to apprehend the offenders. This was the end of their St Peter's tour. :)
As a postscript, this particular trip was also the genesis of a years-long antipathy for Italian food, which took me several years, a lot of non-red-sauce Italian recipes, and the various New York outposts of the Mario Batali empire to overcome. I'll spare you all the tales of squirrel cutlet and aphid salad, unless you truly want to hear those.
Since the school was uber-Catholic, periodic school trips to the Vatican were pretty much a requirement. One of these occurred when Dave was about 14. One of the primary activities on the trip was the tour of St Peter's Basilica.
Early on in the tour, Dave and the other boys were reprimanded by the Swiss Guard for walking around singing the Spam Song. Because, you know, reenacting the Comfy Chair sketch would have been far more appropriate. ;)
Shortly before the trip, his class had gone to St Paul's Cathedral in London, famous for its whispering dome. The acoustics in the dome of St Paul's are such that if you stand on one side of the perimeter balcony and whisper, that whisper can be heard by the person standing opposite.
Fourteen year old boys being boys, they decided to test this theory. So, Dave stationed himself on one side of the dome of St Peter's Basilica, and one of his friends stationed himself on the other. The initial attempt, with a whisper at the level that had worked at St Paul's, was unsuccessful. So they got louder. And louder. And louder still, until they were pretty much shouting across the dome.
Unfortunately, there was a mass going on below. In St. Peter's Basilica. Which is supposed to be all solemn, and holy, and most emphatically not full of yelling teenagers. Hence the reappearance of the Swiss Guard, moving with purpose to apprehend the offenders. This was the end of their St Peter's tour. :)
As a postscript, this particular trip was also the genesis of a years-long antipathy for Italian food, which took me several years, a lot of non-red-sauce Italian recipes, and the various New York outposts of the Mario Batali empire to overcome. I'll spare you all the tales of squirrel cutlet and aphid salad, unless you truly want to hear those.