Well folks, I too have been on my travels and having read this intriguing article, I thought I would check out the alleged claims.  It didn't take me long to realise that Mike's observations are indeed correct.  Not only that, but I too have taken some snaps to substantiate my findings and here they are:

Help ma boab!  Wid ye credit it?  Ah could'nae believe ma peepers but richt enough thon twa members are ontae something an' here's mair evidence for ye...

It's Doddy wi' his twinky oot in broad daylicht nae less...

While there are times when I have a tendancy toward tactics of 'maim and destroy and ask questions later'... or maybe not ask questions at all; there are equaly times (well, maybe not equally but certainly it has been known once or twice... well - OK once) when I choose to use all of my cunning and powers of deduction to outwit my enemy.  On this occasion I simply can't believe that the 'Three Lads from Shields' have missed this little sensation!  Actually, not only the infamous (Hah!) TLFS but also Charlton Heston, who was photographed at this very spot with Galen's lass and even Spiderman, who goes past regularly on the bus on his way to the club for the meat draw (so where are your spider senses, now huh?).

It's been right in front of everyone's faces for 100 years!Take a look what's on top of the orb in Queen Vic's hand!  HAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAAAA! Fools! HAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAAAA!

Er, Witchie, Laddie, ah ken that time is a wee bit flexible where ye hail frae but a' this is makin' nae sense tae me.  Ken Dodd wis born aan 8th November 1927 an' that statue o' Queen Vic wis unveiled on 7th May 1913.  Ah mind it weel 'cause it wis at the same time that yours truly wis puttin' a braw new coat o' paint on the White Horse o' Cleadon.  Mind, ye, Albert Toft, the sculptor o' Queen Vic, wisnae drunk at the time!

So Laddie, thon Doddie's heid mustae been stuck on the orb mair recently.  Unless, o' course it wis ye yersel' wha did it usin' yer auld jiggery-pokery.  An' while ahm aan, whit are thon twa laddies daen climbin' on thon statue?  Michty suspicious if ye ask me.

By, the way, Witchie, thon statue o' Queen Vic is nine feet tall and since ye're all o' ten feet tall yersel' ah reckon ye'd mak a braw couple, both bein' made oot o' muckle great pieces o' metal an' a'.

Onyways, jist a thought...

Well Granpaw, at first I tended to agree with your observations but now I have my doubts.  I have a photo of the Town Hall, the building behind the Queen Vic statue, a picture I've looked at many times.  But upon closer inspection, some further clues appear.  I have attached the photo and a zoomed in version to see what you think.

Well I won the meat draw at the local club for the first time on Friday night, so I spent the weekend celebrating and took a couple of snaps around my home town.  Things have changed a lot over the years but strangely, my snaps seem to confirm Mike's observations.

It's funny how I can take these smashing snaps but the only 'photo' I have of myself is hand-drawn on parchment.

Good evening all. When one heard evidence of this strange phenomena infecting my kingdom one couldn't helpe but dee mention something I saw on a recent royal visite to fair Morecambe by the sea. There I was being carried around in my sedan chair, looking at lasses and that, when I spotted something odd about the statue of Ernie Wiseman. I produced my tudor camera (a slightly better model than Ann of Shields's) and tooke this snap...

Not many of ye peasants have such a vantage point as one. But, as I gazed out of my royal gaffe, I spotted this familiar fizzog on Eros himself. Gadzooks!

Heston! Heston? Don't talk to me about Heston. He wouldn't have spotted that diddy Doddie if it had come loose and hit him on that thick muscular neck of his! No time for sculpture for old Hes, he's far too busy admiring forms of a different nature...namely our lass! The flamer.

Just to clarify, I too have a tudor camera and I can't help but dee use it.  It takes decent snaps considering it's over 400 years olde and made from English Oak (similar to the best material for false teeth).  Anyway, ages ago (literally) I took a snap of a vary rare china dog that, as I remember, looked a bit like Doddy.  I'll dig it oot.

I found that snap of a china dog that looks a bit like Doddy, see what I mean?

Canny.

Thon china dug disnae look like Doddie! Tae me, it looks mair like Elvis... or maybe thon laddie ootae Kiss wi' the muckle lang tongue... whit's his name? Och! Aye! Gene McSimmons.