Mr Khil Kills Me.

Ok, I know I'm behind the times, and The Times, so slow have I been to catch on to this.  Annoyingly, R put it on Otterzen last week, which means I am also laying myself open to some very satisfied comments on, for example, my willingness to follow his lead.

But I can't help it. It's so, so funny.

I was chatting with a Slovakian gentlemen this week, who was of the firm and tearful opinion  that that damn perestroika was the beginning of the end for the Eastern Bloc.  The Soviets weren't perfect, he said, but they were better than this lot (reference to current Slovakian government, about which I know absolutely nothing) and we had a lot more fun.  Since one does not often hear Soviet-style communism credited with fun (at least, for those outside of the joint-jumping Kremlin), I was surprised.

But now I'm not.  If they had people like Eduard Khil lololling across their screens every night, I too would have spent the Cold War in absolute stitches.

According to The Times, Mr Khil has been pleasantly surprised by his new-found fame and is certain that the "rich orchestral arrangement" (which they'd used to distract from a complete lack of lyrics, this being the easiest way to get things past state censors) is the secret of its success.

Hmmm.  I'm not entirely sure I noticed the rich arrangement at all.  But in any case, it IS good to know it wasn't all doom and gloom behind the Iron Curtain, isn't it?

I defy you not to laugh.