Charlie Farquharson: Yer Last Decadent

Laura M. Gateman was a freelance writer/photographer and author of Echoes of Bruce County, lived in Chesley, Ontario.

It is hard to believe that the smooth, sophisticated Don Harron, who wrote the libretto for the musical classic Anne of Green Gables, is actually Charlie Farquharson. But when you see Mr. Harron in person as Charlie, you know he has the talent, a sense of humor, and a complete understanding of just what it takes to entertain a very wide range of people. Don Harron is a radio/television personality, an actor, a prolific director and writer, and a man who knows how to create a winner for his audience.

In 1972 Don Harron wrote his first book of nonsense, Charlie Farquharson’s History of Canada (McGraw-Hill Ryerson, 1972). Yer Last Decadent is his fifth book, and it seems he improves with time. The term nonsense is not really very accurate to describe what Charlie Farquharson says. Actually, hidden away behind his atrocious spelling, his unbelievable grammar, and his rough scribbling, the truth of the meaning sticks right out between the lines.

Charlie seems to have no scruples about taking on the whole world and anyone in it. He finds many things that must be said, ranging in interest from parliament to politicians, from sports to separatism, from the gays to the gladiators, from Royalty to Russians and everything in between.

Yer Last Decadent is actually a tongue in cheek look at the last decade and what went on worldwide in those ten years of our lives.

To enjoy this book to the fullest extent, it pays to have an open mind, a daily interest in what goes on in the world in general, and a knack for translating Charlie’s homespun linguistics into readable English. If, however, you have none of these you can read what Charlie has to say and “no yer rite close to a lotta darn truth, by gol.”