It was not so much a case of taking the bull by the horns as the elephant by the ears when Paul Millross and Keith Taylor popped in to the West Midlands Safari Park.

The idea was to get some publicity pictures for the Billesley Players' forthcoming production of the comedy-thriller Murdered to Death, which features a retired colonel who tends to talk about his time as a big game hunter who had had elephants in his sights during his Army service in India.

Director Paul Millross decided that nobody was going to be worried unduly by the fact that the Safari Park's elephants are African - but just to get everyone into the right frame of mind he asked Keith Taylor, who plays the colonel, to say something to set the scene before the photographs were taken.

Unfortunately, nobody warned the elephants, two 13-year-old females called Five and Latabe.

Paul said, "As soon as Keith opened his mouth and said something about when he was in India, they both turned and walked away as if they'd been insulted."

Fortunately, some patient persuasion and a pat on the trunk resulted in the two perturbed proboscidians' consenting to confront the camera.

* Quite apart from being captivated by the Swan Theatre Amateur Company's fine production of Harold Pinter's The Caretaker last week, I enjoyed a particular moment of contrast that it offered, compared with an earlier sighting of the play, years ago, in the studio of the Rose Theatre at Kidderminster.

It was nothing very important - just the point at which a blanket is shaken. For me, however, the difference was remarkable.

In the main auditorium at Worcester's Swan Theatre, the small piece of cloth hardly deserved to be called a blanket. With a couple of flaps and flutters, its role was complete and no harm was done.

But at Kidderminster, when a travelling rug was shaken in the confines of the intimate studio on a very hot summer's night, an unforgettable cloud of dust rose upwards, spread in all directions and settled decisively on to the sweat of the assembled patrons.

For me, it was a theatregoing moment that prompted an unexpected chuckle and was destined never to be forgotten.

Meanwhile, I am doing my best to forget the clown who occupied seat number N34 in the stalls on the second night of Beyond Reasonable Doubt at the Grand Theatre, Wolverhampton, recently.

This uncrowned king of sweet-bag rustling chewed his way through his bag of Bassett's Liquorice Allsorts, apparently oblivious to the patrons who were swinging round to glare at him in the half-light.

Theatres should have staff on patrol, ready to point out to such under-instructed citizens the error of their ways and invite them to retire to the foyer until they have finished sucking their sweeties.

* It is good to hear that Alcester Operatic Society is going to be among the first groups to be seen at the refurbished Palace Theatre in Redditch.

The society, which I saw when it was flourishing in the 1980s with productions at Alcester's Greig Hall, hit hard times and went down to a handful of members.

But the stalwarts hung on and spread the word and attracted a host of newcomers - and the result will be seen from June 20-24, when they move into the Palace Theatre with Fiddler on the Roof.

* Members of Sutton Arts Theatre treated themselves to a one-night Royal Variety Performance to celebrate the Queen's 80th birthday.

Vocalists, a ventriloquist and two comedians, plus a sing-song and passing the parcel, were the order of the day, followed by a buffet during which people were able to study the notice board that carried illustrations from the eight royal decades.

The occasion was acknowledged in letters containing good wishes from Buckingham Palace and Clarence House.

* Funny, how a musical seems to disappear from the local circuit for ages and then returns as a double act.

It's happened to Crazy for You. I haven't seen it for years - but suddenly it's back with a vengeance. Argosy Musical Theatre Company is now presenting the show at Birmingham's Crescent Theatre, and on Tuesday next week Coventry Youth Operetta Group will launch it at Coventry College.

Meanwhile, attention hereabouts is naturally focused on The Witches of Eastwick, with West Bromwich Operatic Society opening the Midlands amateur premiere of the West End hit at the Grand Theatre, Wolverhampton, tonight.

The company is one of a dozen groups in Britain selected by impresario Cameron Mackintosh to give the show a trial run, to establish how amateurs cope with the technical challenges it presents, including the airborne witches on their broomsticks. ..SUPL: