So what’s been happening this week in the exciting world of amateur drama in Kingston Bagpuize? Right, next question.

I wasn’t needed out rehearsals this week so there is little to report on that front.

However now November is here the date of our opening night looms ever nearer. The Saturday night ticket includes a meal hence the increased price of £12.50.

So here’s the final ticket details for A Brief Encounter with Noel Coward at Kingston Bagpuize with Southmoor Village Hall 26th-28th November. 7.30pm start. Seats in all parts at the time of writing.

Tickets are £8 for the first two nights available from 01865 820375 and ask for Betty.

Saturday night as I mentioned is different and tickets for this occasion should be ordered from 01865 736913. Understand all this? Good, please explain it all to me.

The Saturday night is part of our 60th anniversary celebrations and we are hoping for a smattering of old members to turn up and join us on this auspicious occasion.

So endeth the commercial.

On to other matters dramatic. The revival of our social calendar was short lived as the ten pin-bowling venture has been cancelled and even numbers for the annual dinner are few and far between. What has happened to this once vibrant and successful group? Ah it wasn’t like this in my day etc., etc., etc., We had treasure hunts, skittle evenings, weekends away, theatre visits, great after production parties in each others houses, aunt sally nights the list goes on……

The one thing that is good about knocking on age wise is that one is expected to whinge. This I find I am particularly qualified for and the poor state of British television is not far from the top of my whinge list. With a liking for drama as you would expect I am totally stunned by the lack of it on the box, With reality shows, talent contests, soaps (which is hardly drama), programmes with ‘celebrity’ in the title and Ant & Dec forever hovering it’s enough to reach for the whisky and aspirins. As for comedy, I thought I would give the ‘the award winning’ The Thick of it a bash as I am a great comedy fan. Unfortunately these days’ comedy writers seem to confuse the ‘F’ word as a comedy line and hence the programme seemed to was me getting up from the sofa to turn the set off. Comedy writing-yeah right!

The top of my whinge list is politics and the gang of untrustworthy talentless tat that is currently passing for our government. Michael Martin in the House of Lords? Only the second Speaker in 300 years to be forced to resign his post and he is still elevated to the Upper Chamber, and Jacqui Smith looks like she will be following in Gorbal Mick’s footsteps. What a system.

Still at last Gordon Brown decided to throw the towel in and resign. His cabinet colleagues decided it would be a worthy gesture to name a railway locomotive after him. So a senior 'Sir Humphrey' went from Whitehall to the National Railway Museum at York, to investigate the possibilities.

"They have a number of locomotives at the NRM without names," a specially-sought consultant told the top civil servant. "Mostly freight locomotives though." "Oh dear, that's not very fitting for a prime minister," said Sir Humphrey. "How about that big green one, over there ?" he said, pointing to 4472 Flying Scotsman.

"That's already got a name" said the consultant. "It's called 'Flying Scotsman'."

"Oh. Couldn't it be renamed ?" asked Sir Humphrey. "This is a national museum after all, funded by the taxpayer."

"I suppose it might be considered," said the consultant. "After all the LNER renamed a number of their locomotives after directors of the company, and even renamed one of them Dwight D Eisenhower."

"That's excellent", said Sir Humphrey, "So that's settled then...let's look at renaming 4472. But how much will it cost ? We can't spend too much, given the expenses scandal !"

"Well", said the consultant, "Why don't we just paint out the 'F'?"