Mrs Caldicot's Cabbage War

I viewed and taped this production when it was first shown on TV, and recently had an occasion to re-watch it. I loved it even better the second time around.

It's the tale of a woman forced, by the death of her obnoxious husband and the designs of her avaricious son and his equally greedy wife, to retire to a residential nursing home. She does not find things to her liking. It is run by a strict regime, and although not overly mistreated, the elderly inmates are not exactly handled with due reverence either. The new arrival, Mrs Thelma Caldicot is about to change all that...and how! Hopefully I trust not many (none would be better) of these types of establishments are run as depicted here. Even more so as I'm getting on a bit myself, and one can never be quite certain of the future. However, I have my fingers crossed.

Reminiscent of the American made-for-TV movie, "Amos" (1985) starring an ageing Kirk Douglas, which more poignantly explored a similar theme (as indeed to some extent did a certain two-part episode of "One Foot in the Grave"), "Cabbage War" takes a somewhat less cynical view of things. This results in a robustly delightful, slightly over-the-top comedy, with real life man & wife team John Alderton and Pauline Collins for once in opposition to each other, and playing their parts with perfection and relish. In such a distinguished and superbly chosen cast it's difficult (after Pauline Collins) to pick out the star of the piece. They are all just simply wonderful. Not wishing to spoil it for those who haven't as yet seen it, I won't delve further into the storyline. Suffice it to say that it's one not to be missed.