It did the heart good to see members of Solihull Operatic Society giving Wallop Mrs Cox all they'd got, despite dreadful problems with the sound, when the rumbustious Brummie musical opened outside the city boundary for the first time in its six-year career on Monday.

It's a big, bouncy, warm-hearted show that deserves the best that a company can give it, and it is certainly receiving it this week in its sold-out run at Solihull Library Theatre.

It did not arrive painlessly. I'm sure there have been blood, sweat and possibly tears.

And certainly, musical director Alan Biddle faced an unexpected task with the discovery that the orchestrations had been trapped inside a computer and needed rewriting. It took him about two months.

But writers Euan Rose and Laurie Hornsby had reason to be delighted with what the company gave them - and designer Colin Judges has produced a remarkable Nelson statue for this story about a family of Bull Ring traders from the First World War to the present day.

Mrs Cox, beautifully played for the third time out of the show's four productions by Sheila Palmer, was applauded when she delivered the delightful line about Selfridges: "The jury's out on that 'oneycombed ant 'ill as far as I'm concerned."

The only member of the cast to have been in all four productions - the others were the premiËre at the Crescent Theatre in 2000 and two at Birmingham Rep - is Hugh Blackwood, who is on duty as racing tipster Prince Monolulu and a wartime American GI.

Next month the show will be back at the Crescent, with Northfield Operatic Society - but after that there may be a delay for other groups who have expressed interest.

Euan Rose says his hope now is to gather the cream of the casts who have been involved so far - with his selection presumably not excluding candidates from Northfield's production when it comes - and present it on a really big stage.

He has the Hippodrome in his sights - although the Hippodrome does not know it yet.

Sadly, Wallop's essential Birmingham accents are unlikely to allow it to travel far. But it would be wonderful to see the show given such a setting in the city it extols so honestly.

It undoubtedly deserves it.