It's the fag end of winter: it's cold and grey; you're skint; you've not seen the sun for months and your skin is so pale it glows in the dark. What better counterpoint to this abject misery than some rollicking, charming and cheeky Ealing comedies: "Kind Hearts and Coronets" (1949) followed by "The Lavender Hill Mob" (1951).
Both star everyone's cinematic surrogate grandfather, Alec Guiness, on top form.
To fully restore your faith in humankind and the world in general, look out for the scene in Lavender Hill Mob where Stanley Holloway and Alex Guinness are descending the Eiffel Tower - it's magic!
