"The cat's done a whoopsie in my beret"

And so to the theatre. I've had a bit of a middle-brow Easter, culturally speaking. 'Waterloo' is a fine film - especially for someone with an interest in military history - but I'm don't think even Sergei Bondarchuk would regard it as Art with a capital A. I also watched 'Up Pompeii' which definitely counts as a guilty pleasure. I am not ashamed to admit that I have always found Frankie Howard very funny (Oh, suit yourselves) and, of course, I honour him as one dissolute old git to another. As a reviewer on IMdB points out, the film is the sort of rubbish that only the British could produce and yet it features Sir Michael Horden, a man who had played Lear and who had been knighted for his services to the theatre.

Someone else on IMdB has been to the trouble of posting a comment pointing out the holes in the plot. I've no idea whether irony was intended.

Anyway, last  night was 'The Ladykillers', based on the old Ealing comedy which featured Sir Alec Guinness, Peter Sellers et al and was just the sort of classic that only the British could make. The stage version is scripted by Graham Linehan of 'Father Ted' fame, which promised laughs; and they were duly delivered. I very much enjoyed it. The character of Major Courtney, with his predilection for dressing in women's clothes rather reminded me of a Royal Navy submarine captain whom I once knew. He's switched roles to be a captain of industry these days so I won't name names. Perhaps it's something they teach you in officer training.

The role of Mrs Wilberforce was played by Michele Dotrice who may look different, but sounds exactly the same as when she regularly exclaimed "Oh, Frank.". She was, of course, married to the late Edward Woodward, thus neatly bringing us on to the subject of wargaming. Hopefully I can thereby escape censure from Comrade Conrad.