MAY I respectfully suggest to West Devon Council a means of resolving their cash crisis.

The council has it within their own hands to solve cash-flow problems at one fell swoop. The capital outlay would be minimal, expenses could be offset against the takings from a small admission fee. All that is required is a public invitation to a full council meeting.

The issues under discussion need not be complex. Just turn the councillors loose in the council chamber and let the public sit back, relax and enjoy the spectacle.

The script, of course, need not be understood. The play is the thing and the players primed for mayhem and self-sacrifice.

Prayers have been said, the hammer is down and the show begins. Some players forget their question, some change sides in a merry duet with themselves. Some remember only too well but knowing their question is of little consequence, seek to disguise this in a flow of rhetoric. Others in the absence of thought, shout 'Point of Order'. Some stand, some sit, others are caught in a Quasimodo crouch, arms extended with finger pointed, only to be told: 'No further questions' or 'You've already had yours'.

Dear reader, I assure you it is wonderful entertainment to see so much disorder and confusion, to hear the sarcastic half-whispered asides, the comments on human frailties and to witness the licence to mock. All lend sustenance to a farce fit to rival the best of London's West End.

All that is lacking is an orchestra but perhaps even that could be arranged.

Ted O'Regan

16 Vixen Tor Close

Okehampton