“The Never-Never Nest” by Cedric Mount is a humorous and satirical one-act play that exposes the absurdities of the hire-purchase (installment) system. The play features a young couple, Jack and Jill, who live in a luxurious villa at New Hampstead, complete with expensive furniture, a car, a piano, a refrigerator, and a radiogram.
When Jack’s elderly aunt, Aunt Jane, visits their house, she is deeply impressed by their lavish lifestyle. However, she soon becomes suspicious because she knows Jack’s modest salary is only six pounds a week. Upon questioning them, Aunt Jane discovers a shocking reality: Jack and Jill do not own anything outright. The house, car, furniture, piano, refrigerator, and radiogram have all been bought on installments. In fact, their weekly installments total seven pounds, eight shillings, and eight pence, which exceeds Jack’s weekly income. Jack foolishly explains that they make up the difference by borrowing money from a finance company (Thrift and Providence Trust Corporation) and repaying that loan through even more installments.
Horrified by their reckless financial behavior and refusing to sit or sleep on furniture that belongs to creditors like “Mr. Sage” or “Marks and Spencer,” Aunt Jane decides to leave immediately by bus. Before leaving, she gives Jill a cheque for ten pounds, advising them to pay off at least one bill completely so that one thing truly belongs to them. After Aunt Jane leaves, Jack wants to use the money to pay off two months’ installments on the car. However, Jill reveals that she has already sent the cheque to Dr. Martin for the final installment of their baby. The play ends on a hilariously absurd note when Jill states that with one more installment, their baby will finally be “really ours.”
Lounge – A room in a house used for sitting or entertaining guests / ,
Radiogram – An entertainment device combining a radio and a record player /
Villa – A large and luxurious country residence /
Shriek – A high loud cry / ,
Pound – Unit of money in the UK worth 100 pence /
Shilling – A British coin in use till 1971 /
Absurd – Not logical, ridiculous / ,
Relent – Finally agree after initial refusal / ,
Thingummy – Word used when the name of an object is forgotten / ,
Endorse – Sign on the back of a cheque to enable payment /
Lounge – A room in a house used for sitting or entertaining guests / рджреАрд╡рд╛рдирдЦрд╛рдирд╛, рдмреИрдардХ
Radiogram – An entertainment device combining a radio and a record player / рд░реЗрдбрд┐рдпреЛ рдФрд░ рдЧреНрд░рд╛рдореЛрдлреЛрди рдХрд╛ рд╕рдВрдпреБрдХреНрдд рдЙрдкрдХрд░рдг
Villa – A large and luxurious country residence / рдмрдбрд╝рд╛ рдПрд╡рдВ рдЖрд░рд╛рдорджрд╛рдпрдХ рдордХрд╛рди
Shriek – A high loud cry / рдЪреАрдЦ, рдЪреАрддреНрдХрд╛рд░
Tartar – An irritable or strict person / рдЪрд┐рдбрд╝рдЪрд┐рдбрд╝рд╛ рдпрд╛ рдЙрдЧреНрд░ рд╕реНрд╡рднрд╛рд╡ рдХрд╛ рд╡реНрдпрдХреНрддрд┐
Marks and Spencer – A British multinational retailer / рдорд╛рд░реНрдХреНрд╕ рдПрдВрдб рд╕реНрдкреЗрдВрд╕рд░ (рдмреНрд░рд┐рдЯрд┐рд╢ рдЦреБрджрд░рд╛ рд╕реНрдЯреЛрд░)
Thingummy – Word used when the name of an object is forgotten / рдЪреАрдЬрд╝, рдбрд┐рдмрд░реА (рдирд╛рдо рдпрд╛рдж рди рдЖрдиреЗ рдкрд░ рдкреНрд░рдпреБрдХреНрдд)
Endorse – Sign on the back of a cheque to enable payment / рдЪреЗрдХ рдХреЗ рдкреАрдЫреЗ рд╣рд╕реНрддрд╛рдХреНрд╖рд░ рдХрд░рдирд╛
Section 2
Pre-Reading Questions
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Read the comic strip given in the textbook (Suleiman and his son Nasruddin) and answer the questions:
Q i. Did this make you laugh? What lesson did the son learn?
Answer: Yes, it made me laugh. The son learned the lesson that one should enjoy life and take pleasure from things around us, but he misinterpreted his father’s advice by playing with meaningless words that popped up freely in his mind.
Q ii. What is the pleasure that Nasruddin tries to take?
Answer: Nasruddin tries to take pleasure by stepping into the running stream of water after hearing his father say that the stream is running for nothing.
Q iii. What did Nasruddin mean to say by IKKI Mikki Zukki…..?
Answer: Nasruddin did not mean anything specific; he was simply playing with random, meaningless words circulating in his mind for fun.
Q iv. Tell your class some more jokes like this.
Answer:Joke: Teacher: “Why are you late for school today?” Student: “Sir, because of a sign on the road.” Teacher: “What sign?” Student: “It said, ‘School Ahead, Go Slow!'”
Describe Jack and Jill’s house and the things that impressed Aunt Jane
ЁЯТб Solution:
Jack and Jill lived in a cozy, charming, and luxurious villa at New Hampstead. Aunt Jane was deeply impressed by their pretty furniture, car, piano, refrigerator, and radiogram.
Jack and Jill lived in a cozy, charming, and luxurious villa at New Hampstead. Aunt Jane was deeply impressed by their pretty furniture, car, piano, refrigerator, and radiogram.
Aunt Jane was worried thinking that she might have mistakenly written a cheque of two thousand pounds instead of two hundred pounds as a wedding present, seeing the lavish lifestyle of Jack and Jill.
Aunt Jane was worried thinking that she might have mistakenly written a cheque of two thousand pounds instead of two hundred pounds as a wedding present, seeing the lavish lifestyle of Jack and Jill.
Why did Jack say that it was better ‘to be Mr. Owner than to be Mr. Tenant’?
ЁЯТб Solution:
Jack said so because he believed it was uneconomic to pay rent year after year to a landlord when one could own a home simply by paying a small initial amount and easy installments.
Jack said so because he believed it was uneconomic to pay rent year after year to a landlord when one could own a home simply by paying a small initial amount and easy installments.
Why did Aunt Jane say that she would take a bus rather than go by Jack’s car?
ЁЯТб Solution:
Aunt Jane said she would take a bus because Jack did not own the car fully; only the steering wheel, one tyre, and two cylinders belonged to him, while the rest belonged to the finance company.
Aunt Jane said she would take a bus because Jack did not own the car fully; only the steering wheel, one tyre, and two cylinders belonged to him, while the rest belonged to the finance company.
Many people are in the habit of buying things on instalment. Do you support this trend? Give reasons for your answer
ЁЯТб Solution:
No, I do not support buying everything on installment beyond one’s earning capacity. While installments can help buy essential items, over-purchasing leads to heavy debt, financial anxiety, and mental stress.
No, I do not support buying everything on installment beyond one’s earning capacity. While installments can help buy essential items, over-purchasing leads to heavy debt, financial anxiety, and mental stress.
Q8
Describe a situation which you find most humourous…
Describe a situation which you find most humourous in the play
ЁЯТб Solution:
The most humorous situation occurs at the end of the play when Jill reveals that she sent the cheque to Dr. Martin so that after one more installment, their baby would finally belong to them.
The most humorous situation occurs at the end of the play when Jill reveals that she sent the cheque to Dr. Martin so that after one more installment, their baby would finally belong to them.
What do you understand by the title ‘The Never, Never Nest’? Can you suggest a new title?
ЁЯТб Solution:
The title ‘The Never, Never Nest’ refers to a house (nest) built entirely on installments, where full ownership is ‘never, never’ realized because the debt never ends. A suitable new title could be “Living on Installments” or “The Debt Trap”.
The title ‘The Never, Never Nest’ refers to a house (nest) built entirely on installments, where full ownership is ‘never, never’ realized because the debt never ends. A suitable new title could be “Living on Installments” or “The Debt Trap”.
Section 4
Vocabulary Exercises
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Task: Tick (тЬУ) the words which are similar to the words given in bold:
Charming! Such a cosy little room.
(a) costly
(b) cute
(c) comfortable
Correct Answer:(c) comfortable
Jack: Well, no. Not exactly all.
(a) immediately
(b) completely
(c) correctly
Correct Answer:(b) completely
Now, tell me, how much do all these instalments come to?
(a) loans
(b) full payment
(c) part payment
Correct Answer:(c) part payment
Yes, Jack, that’s what’s worrying me.
(a) surprising
(b) irritating
(c) troubling
Correct Answer:(c) troubling
Suppose you take it and pay off just one of your bills
Ramlal: Sir, I left my kit bag in the playground yesterday evening. Has it been brought to the Lost and Found?
Teacher: Ram you are real muddle head. You will have to describe your bag for me to identify it.
Ramlal: Sir, it is a large red and black Nike bag with a wheeler. It is torn at the right hand corner, no… no… it’s the left hand corner, let me see, if the bag is this way… then… left? Or right?
Teacher: Oh Ram! When will you improve! It’s okay, tell me when you figure out your right and left.
Summary & Answers based on Listening Text:
Who lost the bag? Ramlal lost his sports kit bag.
Where was it lost? In the playground yesterday evening.
Description of the bag: Large red and black Nike bag with a wheeler, torn at one corner.
Why did the teacher call Ramlal a ‘muddle head’? Because Ramlal was confused between left and right side of his own bag.
Cartoon 1 (Traffic Jam): A man on a scooter in a huge traffic jam lies to his boss on the phone, saying “Horrible traffic jam sir, I will be late for meeting,” while the autorickshaw beside him plays a slogan “Jhoot bolo… Kauwa kaate.”
Cartoon 2 (Office Interview): Boss offering a “seven-figure salary” which turns out to be Rs. 15,525.95 (inclusive of decimals).
Humor Element: Both cartoons show exaggeration and everyday irony that make people laugh.
II. Best-Joke Contest:
Students present jokes in front of the class and rate them based on humor.
“Thank you for calling the Weight Loss Hotline, If you’d like to lose half pound right now, press 1 twenty thousand times.”
“I’d like to offer you a seven-figure salary – Rs. 15,525.95”
Task: Collect 4 similar funny jokes or cartoons from newspapers/magazines and present them to the class.
Sample Joke Collection:
Joke 1: Patient: “Doctor, will I be able to play the piano after this operation?” Doctor: “Yes, absolutely!” Patient: “Great! I couldn’t play it before!”
Joke 2: Son: “Dad, can you write in the dark?” Father: “Yes, son, what do you want me to write?” Son: “Your name on my progress report card!”