Quartet

                                                                                                                        Source: BBC Films

Amongst the burgeoning diet of murder, violence and intimidation on TV, last evening saw the screening of the BBC's comedy drama, Quartet, a delightful film with a happy ending for a refreshing change. Some of the best comedy lines are repeated in a Review here.

Under the cover of senility the cast are allowed to say what they think without fear of PC dictatorship, a spirit which helped us get through difficult times when Nazism was our greatest threat.

What a shame we have lost the ability to laugh at ourselves. Free speech is constantly being challenged. In our Universities special interest groups seek to determine the agenda while on the national stage Donald Trump is in trouble for expressing his opinion. Parliament will now discuss whether he should be banned from UK after a petition gained enough signatures to force a debate while radicals continue to pour out their hate of what is left of our democracy.

One of the most effective antidotes to hate is ridicule but such humour along with free speech is being suppressed for political gain. That is the problem MPs need to consider.

Meanwhile, escape the gloom: