comedy

Dr. Glaucomflecken and Other Healthcare Jokers

This column is being published on April 1. When I was in the journalism profession, that was a day we had to be on guard against pranksters who would try to trick us into reporting phony April Fools’ Day news items. So, I need to be very clear about this…

Can I Really Blame MS for Everything I Say?

It wasnā€™t an argument; it was a reality check. I was happy, nay, self-indulgent. Within a day, the olā€™ stand-up show that I produced at Londonā€™s Comedy Store for 30 years had gotten another booking at a countryside marquee just outside the city. I mustnā€™t disparage, as itā€™s our…

What Did I Do Over My MS Holiday? Stand-up!

So, yes, Iā€™ve been away for four weeks. Anybody miss me? Well not away as such. There are places with hoists ā€” even a specialist camper van you can hire here in the United Kingdom ā€” but matching that with a profiling bed makes for quite the elusive Venn…

‘He’s Fallen in the Water!’

Any British comedy aficionados among you will know “He’s fallen in the water” is the most famous of all the innumerable catchphrases of “The Goon Show.” That show was the root of Monty Python and every bit of the new wave of comedy that swept through our country.

Be Warned: Another Column All About My MS and Me!

Many years ago I thrust myself into the Edinburgh International Festival. For the many who have never heard of it: It’s the largest arts festival in the world, encompassing theater, mime, dance, comedy, film, books, and sometimes even a splash of opera. For some reason I even sat through…

Turn It Off, Then On Again

There’s always something! As a columnist, that comes in handy, as then I don’t have to think too much. Stop snickering at the back for thinking that I never think. How very dare you? If any of my fellow Brits are reading this, yes, I’m liberally nicking comedy catchphrases. Why…

It’s a Matter of Timing and Mic Technique

In the U.K., stand-up comedy is currently dead. Like Python’s parrot, it “wouldn’t move if you put 4,000 volts through it!” That’s not strictly true. Our government has just stumped up 1.57 billion pounds ($1.97 billion) to support the arts that were slammed shut by the crisis. Comedy is…

Cometh the Hour, Cometh the Woman

In this case, the woman in question was yet again my wife, Jane. The hour in question was 4 p.m. on my usual day of writing. But on this day, writing had to be forgotten until a stint later at night (yawn). I had an entertainment Zoom call to partake…

Keeping It All in the Family

Iā€™ve never done this before, but Iā€™m dictating this column to my wife. She has many attributes, among them being trained as a secretary many years ago. We went to the same further-education college when we were both in our late teens, but never met while there. I think she…

The Antibiotic Time Loop-the-Loop

Julian, the doorman at the London Comedy Store, is giving me his biweekly telling off about drinking. It’s biweekly because he and the other regular doorman, Mark, take turns helping me. I’ve known both of them for more than 30 years, though to be fair, in the…

A Voyage Round My Father-in-law

This is going to be a hard column to write, and quite possibly it breaks all the rules of column writing by being a tough one to read! I’ve always found humor handy when facing adversity. On the Titanic, my last dying bon mot might well have been, “Hey,…

It’s Back-to-School Time

Well, it feels like it, at least. I just had the whole of the Christmas-New Year’s period off because of how the dates fell. If you only have to be physically at a work venue one day a week, it will get you like that. If I manage another…

I’m Too Busy to Think About MS

Well, it’s not a cure, but working hard sure takes my mind off MS. In fact, I’m so rushed off my feet (irony intended!) I’m not sure I have time to write this. But if I stop and ruminate, then my bedroom turns from a frenetic office into a…

Chained to My Desk

The tinkling laughter of tiny children filters through the windows of my bedroom. It’s a sunny Sunday afternoon. In years past, I would be sitting in the garden watching my grandnieces play. Undoubtedly with a large jug of Pimm’s that I would have concocted for the assembled adults. We’re…

Back to the World

The stars sometimes align, even for us atheists. My son was making a fleeting weekend visit from his last year at his university. It’s all we were going to see of him over the Easter period. He’s taking it very seriously and aiming forĀ top gradesĀ in math. The week…

What Keeps Me Going ā€” and Smiling

Shooting the breeze after work has been part of my professional life for 27 years. We’re all winding down, yes, but I’m actually still working. New ideas, niggles, gossip are thrown together over drinks. True, many of the younger generation’s beverages these days are non-alcoholic, so they tend not…

Looking Back in Anger

Back in the day, I always wanted to be a columnist. That day was so long ago it was before sunrise. In my youthful naivety, I never thought about generating an idea a week. I also never considered it would be about my travails with an illness. Still,…

One Day in the Working Life of John Peter Connor

These might be the days of the gig economy, but I’ve been doing one every Tuesday for 27 years. My particular white van (for US readers the delivery drivers of such are a British stereotype of the new Amazon order ā€” or lack of it) is a comedy vehicle…