This evening we went to see an amateur performance of Frank Loesser’s great musical, Guys and Dolls. The Brussels Light Opera Company, an amateur group bringing together people of many nationalities and ages, has existed since 1975 and is now an unmissable part of the Brussels expat community’s landscape. On this occasion they brought us Loesser’s witty music and lyrics and, behind that, the keen observations of Damon Runyan, on whose short stories about Prohibition New York the musical was based. We had great fun. The two leading ladies, Laura Ford as Sarah Brown and Lisa Armetta as Miss Adelaide, turned in wonderful performances. For my money, Miss Adelaide, with her romanticism undiminished by occasional bouts of world-weary pragmatism, is the story’s strongest character. All of the characters get some great lines but the public is always on Miss Adelaide’s side. When, on the fourteenth anniversary of her engagement (marriage has yet to follow), her fiancée forgets to get her a present, she remarks; ‘Oh, I don’t mind, Nathan, if you don’t give me a present. It makes me feel like we were married.’ There are still a few places left for tomorrow’s performance. Don’t miss it! Into the bargain you’ll see a brilliant tap dance routine from Grégoire Vandersmissen.