My wife and I went out for a curry, last night. I had chicken Tarka. It’s like chicken Tikka, only it’s a little otter.

Now that makes me laugh, every time.

Isn’t it strange what tickles us? Despite having heard that joke many times before, I bet some readers still laughed. Others will have failed to ‘get it,’ while a few will groan and complain about how terrible it is. Very often, those who fall into the latter category do find the joke funny, certainly more amusing than anything they could come up with, but are too miserable to pass compliment.

(There, that should keep all but the brazen and brave from leaving derogatory comments on the attempted humour within this post.) 😉

I do feel though, there’s a difference in what’s considered amusing, dependent on the medium of delivery. For instance, I reckon you can get away with a more obvious, ‘in yer face,’ type of humour when it’s in spoken form. The same joke / line if delivered in writing, and without the obvious intonation, can fall flat and appear as the author is trying too hard.

Me? I love a good laugh. I’m quite open to raucous humour, but probably edge towards a more subtle style. When I give it some thought, I can see a distinct difference in my preferences dependent on the delivery:

Stand-up: I go for more observational humour. The likes of my home town’s (Glasgow) Billy Connolly and Kevin Bridges and Bolton’s Peter Kay crack me up every time out.

Written: I’m a huge Terry Pratchett fan, with over thirty-five books last time I bothered to check. And I know he’s not everyone’s cup of tea, but I love the writing style and humour of Jeremy Clarkson.

Television: I’ve mentioned it before on this blog, but Fawlty Towers is probably my favourite TV show of all time. And if that’s what makes me laugh, then John Cleese and his buddies in Monty Python’s Flying Circus must do the same. Yet I also love the more gentle and innocent humour of some 1970s UK sitcoms – in particular, Dad’s Army and Last of the Summer Wine. And of course, I can’t quote TV shows that make me laugh with mention of Morecambe and Wise.

Film / Movie: I go for the more zany / outrageous like: Life of Brian; Blazing Saddles; Young Frankenstein. I’m not generally a lover of films, but these do properly make me ‘lol’ every time.

Radio: I probably listen to more radio than watch TV (other than sport) these days. And it’s old-school comedy again that I love: Hancock’s Half Hour, Jimmy Clitheroe and Dad’s Army (again) are terrific for innocent laughs. With regard to the present, Elis and John’s BBC radio show / podcast is hysterical, proving modern day comedians need not be regarded as ‘outrageous’ to earn laughs.

So there you go. For a miserable old git, there’s a lot there makes me laugh.

(Yeah, you’re right – it’s a funny old business, is humour.)

🙂

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