Sharpen your sense of humour

It's good to have a sense of humour. I find it keeps me happy when all around me is dull and sad and grey. So a bit of silly jollity and fun is what the doctor's ordered; even though you can't read his handwriting on the prescription.

Anyway ... what was I saying before you interrupted me ... oh yes ... jollity and all that. I've been told I have a peculiar sense of humour, which often got me in trouble at work. Let me give you some examples which you can try at home. These are tried and tested jollity type things you can try for yourself on friends and family.

On one occasion we had guests visiting, so before they arrived I went to the toilet and carefully unscrewed the toilet handle to flush it. (See photo above). The handle balanced delicately where it is meant to be. I told the family to use the bathroom upstairs.

It was fun waiting for a guest to go to the restroom downstairs and as they tried to flush the toilet the handle came out in their hand. Would they admit to having broken it? Would they say nothing? Try to fix it? What fun I had when someone, (an elderly lady from our Church committee), came back from the rest room and said nothing all evening. She was followed in by someone else who also obviously found the handle not where it was meant to be and said nothing too.

On yet another occasion I was alone at home waiting for some people from work. Only one turned up. A lady manager from Sales. I left her in the TV room and went to the kitchen to prepare some tea.

I previously had a cup which had fallen to the ground and broke neatly ... very neatly ... in two places.

You could put the two halves together and no one would notice the cup was broken. So I put this and another cup on the tray, together with a pot of tea and milk. As I placed the tray on the table I pretended to have forgotten the sugar and went back to the kitchen telling my colleague to pour the tea.

You can imagine what happened when hot tea went in the "two-halves" cup. The cup split in two and there was tea everywhere. The woman was mortified and apologised profusely thinking she had broken the beautiful expensive china cup. I pretended it didn't matter, and that made her feel even worse. What fun that was! (I hope she doesn't read this Blog).

Another prank you might try ... we were having a number of guests for an evening meal. About ten people or so. Too many for their coats and jackets to hang on the coat hanger. So I told them to go up to the spare bedroom, first room on the right upstairs, and leave their coats on the bed.

There on the bed, on a plate, was a fresh fish which I'd placed earlier.

I had no intention of eating the fish. It was given to the cat later that evening. I just put it there to test my guests' reactions. Not one of them said a thing. 

The first course of the meal was salmon. I noticed most of the guests were hesitant to partake; especially the women. My wife did not know about the prank I'd played with the fish on the bed. Which made it all more fun. I just went up and removed the fish and gave it to the cat who promised me total secrecy.

The last fun example was purely fortuitous. I did not plan it.

I was at home alone. The family had gone to London. I got a call from work at about 5:00pm saying I was needed for an urgent meeting at our HQ up North. I packed an overnight case and planned to travel very early the next morning. I'd be away from home for about 36 hours or perhaps two days. 

I rang the neighbour and asked her if she could pop in the following day and feed the hamster in his cage. She had a key to our house. She was a kind lady who loved animals and always taught our children how to look after pets like dogs, cats, rabbits and so on. She readily agreed.

The following morning as I was leaving home I noticed the hamster was dead in his cage. He must have died in the night. It was too early in the morning, about 5:30am, for me to ring my neighbour and tell her. I left on my travels and forgot all about it.

You guessed it. She came to feed the hamster and found him dead. 

When I returned home she came running to our house apologising and explaining that she found him dead. She did not do anything to harm him. She said she liked pets and was most ashamed and worried that our hamster had died.

I did not tell her that the creature was already dead because this would have made matters worse. I tried to calm her down with a sherry, (or was it brandy?) I remember she had two glasses!

So there you have it. Three tricks you can play yourselves and have fun when you're feeling a little down.

A sense of fun

I read the other day that most people have two main characteristics in their make-up. One part of them is serious, sensible and responsible whereas the other is jovial, more laissez-faire and full of fun. The exact percentage between the two characteristics varies from one person to another.

This led me to think, seriously, about fun.

Now, I have not been given to much fun in life. I have always been a serious person. Somewhat lacking in humour. Some would say dour even. Taking my responsibilities seriously.

After all, how can we as a people deal with the world's economic and social and all other problems if we go around having "fun".

If it was up to me, fun would be a sin, a crime, punishable by tickling with a wet celery stick.

And yet, there are many organisations set up for the sole purpose of purveying fun.

Funfairs for instance. The very name betrays its evil intent.

You go there and ride into a little vehicle on rails which takes you up to a great height and then drops you down at the speed of gravity so that your heart misses a beat or two, your stomach ejects its contents through your mouth and your bladder echoes the same sentiments. What great fun a roller coaster is!

Or your ride a ghost train which goes through a dark tunnel for the sole purpose of being frightened to death by unexpected noises and cardboard characters appearing from nowhere.

I am sure you can imagine other means of fun at the funfair. Like getting a sugar rush by eating tons of candy floss, or pop corn or whatever else sugar saturated drinks are on offer.

Of course, funfairs are not the only ones guilty of encouraging people to have fun.

Other means of having fun are dance halls with their loud music where people get together and gyrate aimlessly like drunken giraffes.

Or climbing mountains for no apparent reason apart from the fact they are there.

Or squeezing oneself into narrow humid and dark caves, again for no apparent reason I can think of.

Or swimming with dolphins, or sardines, if you cannot afford dolphins.

Or jumping off a bridge or a canyon whilst tied to a piece of elastic and bouncing up and down like a yo yo.

Or ... I don't know ... I am sure you folks out there can think of other ways of having "fun".

Personally, I like the world to be sober and responsible. Sense and sensibility as Jane Austen said.

If "fun" is considered necessary it should be in the form of reading a book quietly at home or in the library. Something like the Encyclopaedia Britannica should do.

Or playing chess on one's honeymoon. Now that IS fun I tell you!!!

If, like medicine, fun is required for health purposes, it should be administered in small doses at long intervals, say once a year or so.

If it was up to me I would put a tax on fun. Now that's something the politicians have missed out on, haven't they? They should study every activity known to man, or woman, and if there is the slightest modicum of fun involved then they should tax it in order to curtail its use or performance.

If we were meant to have fun then we would all have been born with red noses, or other small peculiarities that makes one laugh at or be amused by.

I'll wait for a moment or two for your minds to wonder and list what small peculiarities tend to amuse you ...

OK ... back to attention now ... let us know what makes you have fun so we can tax it.