Siberian Hamster...

The inimitable Fr. Z has been having hamster trouble.

It seems that the little hamster in the sidebar has been causing some browsers to load slowly, or to scream "malware detected," and so, Fr. Z has decided that maybe the hamster has to go to join all the other little hamsters in the skies...

...though Vincenzo (the Photoshop whizzkid) decided that perhaps the hamster ought to be sent on pilgrimage to Rome...

I'm afraid that every time I hear "hamster," I start chortling. The classic BBC series Fawlty Towers had an episode called Basil the Rat (I used to think it was The Health Inspector, but apparently not.) Now, unless you have seen the episode, you won't appreciate the connections between rats and hamsters. I have looked in vain for the relevant clip on YouTube, but they only have a later part of the episode.

The health inspector pays a visit to the hotel, and Basil Fawlty goes up to Manuel the waiter's room to get him to sort out the dead pigeons in the water tank. Then he spots Manuel's pet...

I can't remember my favourite scene exactly, and searching Google hasn't helped. But basically, it goes like this:

Basil:"What's that?"
Manuel: "He my hamster."
Basil: "It's a rat!"
Manuel: "I think so too... I say to man in shop, he rat, he say no, he filigree Siberian hamster, only one in shop, special price only five pound."
Basil: "It's a bloody rat. Don't you have rats in Spain, or did Franco have 'em all shot?"

Anyway, Polly the maid pretends to give the rat to a friend to look after. In reality, they hide it in an outbuilding... and, predictably, the rat escapes. Polly, Terry the chef and Manuel all try to find the rat before Basil Fawlty discovers the deception...



This is just such a funny episode, and there's no more on YouTube, so I'm going to download it from iTunes.