" I Shall Say This Only Once"

Friend John is on the right

My visit of sheffield proved to be a short and ever-so-slightly surreal experience as I plunged from meeting old friend, Jane for tea at a nice but over priced wine bar in the centre of the city to sitting in the centre of a memorial hall sized audience of an am-dram performance of "allo-allo" in the " village" of Grenoside one of the many villagers which overlook Sheffield from the North West.

My old camp -as-Christmas friend John H ( who comments here as Bel Ami from time to time) was in his element. With a Nazi uniform complete with gold braid, Jack boots that Shirley Bassey would die for and a rather unfortunate scene with knockwurst sausage to contend with, he looked as though he was really enjoying himself on stage.

So I could forgive the atrocious acting by the leading lady, the interval raffle where you could win a small anaemic looking pot plant and the running commentary belted out by two old ladies behind me as it was all good natured fun in the tradition of Alan Bennett or Alan Akbourne.

As one of the old dears piped up during the interval

" there's nowt better than a bit of harmless old fashioned smut"

And I guess she was right.

After the show I shared a few pints at the local pub with the cast, who delighted at a semi serious post mortem of their performances and couldn't help thinking with some affection, that although I had wanted to leave the confines of a village for the much anticipated experience of a Northern City break

I suddenly did feel as though I had never really left Trelawnyd