Jim Hacker is in a quandary. Upon the recommendation of his Press Secretary, Bill Pritchard, he has accepted an invitation as guest of honour at the annual British Theatre Awards dinner. However, the size of next year's grant to the Arts Council is less than expected and, as the event is to be televised live with a potential audience of 12 million, the Prime Minister is concerned that he will be ridiculed in the speech to be given by Simon Monk, managing director of the National Theatre. He asks Sir Humphrey Appleby for his advice, and it transpires that the Cabinet Secretary has a vested interest as he is on the National Theatre's board of governors. He tells Hacker that there is no point in trying to ingratiate himself with those from the arts because, as Prime Minister, most believe he is there to be mocked. When Hacker asks why he should give them money in the first place, Sir Humphrey replies that despite the fact that nobody is interested in them, the arts are part of the nation's heritage and "as long as they're going on, you can feel part of a civilised nation." The PM suggests that Sir Humphrey has a quiet word with Monk, the managing director of the National Theatre.

Sir Humphrey dines with Monk, who wishes to know the amount of the grant. Sir Humphrey refuses to disclose it in advance but manages to reveal it by strategically moving quantities of breadsticks around the table. This equates to only £1.5 million for the National Theatre from only £6 million for the Arts Council as a whole. Monk is exasperated and asks for Sir Humphrey's help. The mandarin responds that he is there to represent the PM's interests and that there are certain things that could upset him. Sir Humphrey goes into great detail, lest they should be referred to "by mistake" in Monk's speech — and Monk is only too pleased to make a note of them.

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Wikipedia