Having been impressed by the Reduced Shakespeare Company when we went to see them with Gahalia and Matthew, me and Beasty went to see their Complete History of America (Abridged) ("The only show in the West End where you can get a round of applause for remembering your lines") last night.

We agreed to meet up a couple of hours beforehand and go for a drink, only Beasty insisted on being fashionably late. While he was navigating his way around the Underground, I got to see the Jubilee Flypast by dozens of military and civilian aircraft. It ended, quite spectacularly, with Concorde in formation with the Red Arrows. I'll scan a newspaper picture in for you later. Anyway, eventually beasty turns up and we go to an Australian bar in Covent Garden for a bite to eat. I had kangaroo steak (very tasty, by the way) and he had a wild boar and apple burger. So that's another animal I can cross off my World Wildlife Fund wallchart.

After eating, it was about time to go and laugh at the silly Americans. The show was side-splitingly funny, including the Dr Seuss guide to the 60's ("I do not like your Vietnam, Uncle-Sam-I-Am! I do not like your Vietnam!"), several terrible puns and Lewis and Clark as a musichall act. They also perfomed a Texan test*, and a live-action slide-show of the Civil war.

And, to be honest, containing a lot more excellent jokes than I can begin to remember now. Anyway, after that, we had another drink somewhere and headed off home.

winter"A had time was good by all"mute

*Beasty has made me promise not to reveal the details of this so that he can try it out at the RU, but it did reveal several Texans in the audience who could have otherwise passed for normal human beings.