by Rachel Stewart

The news has been heavy lately. Like really heavy. So this week let’s have a change of pace. I don’t know about you but, if nothing else, I need it.

Now, I’ve always believed that if you can’t have a decent belly laugh you may as well jump in the hole and be done with it. By ‘hole’ I mean grave. You know, that place we go to do some long-term dirt napping.

It took me years to click to the fact that some humans are basically humourless. I would meet new people and ‘on paper’ thought we should become friends but yet I also knew something wasn’t quite gelling. Then I’d slowly realise that they didn’t find anything amusing. Like, anything. I’d keep waiting for their funny side to kick in. They might even have possessed a face that looked like a wicked one-liner was just around the mouth corner but, no. Nothing.

Self-deprecation is also a quality I find highly endearing. And people with no sense of humour definitely can’t laugh at themselves.

So, I learned to ditch them and move on. It’s kind of become my bottom line and is a handy guide to forming new friendships. No wit? Then we’re not gonna’ be close-knit. Brutal but true.

Anyway, this last week I actively went looking for a laugh. But when your friends are busy and you need some urgent comic relief there’s always the tried-and-true old faithfuls on the box.

Here are some of mine.

I love physical comedy done well. And there’s simply no better than the late, great Lucille Ball. Who could ever forget the conveyor belt scene in ‘I Love Lucy’ where Lucy and bestie Ethel are instructed to not let one piece of candy get past them without wrapping it?

Or Lucy getting stuck in her kitchen by a monster loaf of bread after using way too much yeast?

For the un-PC amongst us there’s the 1970s icon ‘All in the Family’. The woke left would never allow a show like it on the air now, which is a good enough reason to watch it.

Even back in the day CBS foresaw the possible controversy, but they did it anyway and ran a disclaimer every time the show aired which read: “The program you are about to see is ‘All in the Family.’ It seeks to throw a humorous spotlight on our frailties, prejudices, and concerns. By making them a source of laughter we hope to show, in a mature fashion, just how absurd they are.”

Archie Bunker’s over the top bigotry did more for social cohesion than any other sitcom during that era. In early 1972, ratings showed 60% of all American television sets were tuned to “All in the Family” at 8 p.m. every Saturday night. Its popularity was undeniable, and I suspect it was because contentious social issues could be hashed out in a safe, funny space. Those were the days.

Here’s Archie dealing with the gays in his inimitable style.

In the 90s along came Seinfeld – another one the 21^st century ‘wokies’ have deemed blasphemous. Jerry Seinfeld and writing partner Larry David created something spectacular in a show about nothing. Literally. It was all neurosis and personality flaws. Like all of us. Sheer perfection.

Here’s two of my favourites out of the so many to choose from.

Of course, Larry David went on to write ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’ – another absolute pearler. Haven’t seen it? Here’s a peek.

So there you have it. Just because I find my chosen clips uproariously funny doesn’t mean you do. But I strongly suspect the fact that you’re watching ‘Riding Shotgun’ means you probably do.

These days I find it’s getting much harder to have a belly laugh given the fare on offer. Although I will say that I’ve just started watching Clarkson’s Farm and it’s definitely worth a guffaw or seven. Jeremy Clarkson is great at letting us all see his agrarian cock ups, and while I know townies chuckle away at his antics, trust me when I say Kiwi farmers must fair chortle and snort.

It feels sad to be in a world where much of today’s comedy has morphed into un-funny safety-ism due to the fear of upsetting someone. And despite a world bursting at the seams with critical race theory, DEI, PRIDE parades and pronouns, have you noticed that our societal relationships are actually worse now than ever before in our lifetime?

It’s fraught, it’s tense, and we can’t seem to talk about anything contentious without it devolving into conflict and aggression.

With a world in turmoil the ability to see humour in the ordinary is an extremely valuable coping mechanism. Indeed, the ability to laugh at oneself is crucial to coping with life’s endless slings and arrows. It is my drug of choice. Oh, and the odd cheeky gin.

So, before they slip on your toe tag remember that life is short and none of us are getting out of here alive. Throw your head back and laugh it up.

It’d be rude not to.