Dialogue 8 - The Lecture

Kathleen is reading out an invitation from The Leeds Philosophical and Literary Society. 

 

Kathleen: The lecture will be followed by coffee, kindly paid for by Mr Bedford, and then there will be a tour of the Society’s museum.

 

Groans from nearly all the soldiers at the thought of a tour around a museum.

 

Fred: You must be joking! The Leeds Philosophical and Literary Society? I can’t see how that’s going to be a bundle of laughs.

 

Alun: I’d rather have a quiet pint down the pub, if I’m honest.

 

Kathleen: I’m sure it will be jolly interesting. And it’s a chance to visit Leeds.

 

Fred: I’m with Taff. Let’s slip out for a pint.

 

Kathleen: There will be no slipping out anywhere for a pint. Or Lady Wood will be confiscating all your trousers again! (Raucous laughter, shouts and whistles).

 

Fred: I don’t care, I’ll go down in me nightshirt! It’s warm enough. (More laughter). Couldn’t we have a dance here? We’ve got the gramophone player. Go on. Stick a song on, Tom.

 

Tom: What do you fancy?

 

Cyrille: (In French) Why don’t you play 'La Madelon'?

 

Tom: What’s Cyrille on about?

 

Fred: He wants you to play 'La Madelon'… you know, that romantic French song he keeps on about. I keep trying to tell him we don’t have a copy of it. Just stick on something cheerful we can all sing along to...

 

We hear Tom setting the needle on the vinyl and the strains of the popular song spring into life.