HAVE you heard the one about what Frankie Howerd said to the matron in Liskeard?

It was January 1978, and the Friends of Lamellion Hospital in Liskeard were raising funds for a new day sitting room as an extension to the main hospital on Station Road.

The comedian and actor was appearing in a panto in Plymouth – and one of the Friends was inspired to give him a call and ask him to lay the foundation stone.

Howerd gladly obliged, and according to a report by the Friends, ‘insisted on seeing around every corner and through every door’ on a tour of the hospital, after placing the keystone.

And now the stone has been rediscovered – and is destined for a place in Liskeard’s museum.

The full story is in this week’s print edition of the Cornish Times, on sale now.