And a very Good Afternoon to you from Gray's Inn Road.
Looking out of the window, I see - hey, it's not raining. Not only is it not raining. The sun is out.
About. Blooming. Time.
I know us Brits are obsessed with talking about the weather - but it's hardly surprising when our summers are shorter than a bee's thumb. I mean, really. It is pa. the. tic.
Okay - spleen vented. On we go.
And let's start with someone who's been venting his spleen about his experience at Gatwick Airport. Travellers compared to "inmates of some Victorian penitentiary".... "we stood in hell"... and "Across the vast neon-lit Hades were knots and clumps of dejected humanity". Just three of the phrases Boris Johnson used to describe his time at London's second airport recently. Love him or loathe him - the man's got a way with words. We'll share more of them with you later... before sharing the words of the Gatwick staff.
Something that may provoke some choice words from many other travellers is the news that train fares are... now, what do you reckon? Oh yes, they're going UP. Again. In view of that fact that the train companies serving the capital have suddenly improved their performances beyond recognition - everyone gets a seat now - the trains are always clean - there are no delays or cancellations etc. - in view of all that, it only seems fair... hang on. Are you thinking what I'm thinking?
Okay, probably best to calm down a little. Perhaps we'll have a coffee. And then again, perhaps not. Apparently we're all drinking too many lattes and the like, and it's making us a bit "plumptious". Worse than that, it's not good for the old ticker.
Now, something that should be good for you - good for all of us, in fact, is the hand gel you'll now find around every hospital. You're supposed to use it going in and coming out of the place to keep you and the patients safe from such killers as MRSA. Only, the bottles have been going missing. Stolen, it seems, by alcoholics so desperate that they'll drink the stuff. Can you imagine being so ill with alcoholism, so gripped by the need for booze that you'll drink hand gel. Of course, it also raises the question over whether the bottles should be left around the hospitals at all? We'll try to get to the bottom of it all.
And so we come to not one legend. But two.
One of them was part of the 'That Was The Week That Was' team. In fact, she sang the theme tune every week. The programme pushed back the boundaries of British TV, indeed, helped establish our healthy tradition for poking fun at the establishment.
The other legend - well, he made one musical role so very much his own, that it's impossible to sing, whistle or hum the show's big number without hearing his mellifluous (now that's a great word isn't it) tones soaring through your head. He can't be matched.
Well, this pair of legends are starring at the Open Air Theatre in Regents Park this summer.
Who are they? What are they starring in?
We'll let you in on the secret - at SIX.
Ben & Romilly.
P.S. The sun's still out.
