an evening of comedy

We went this evening to see Miles Jupp at the Mercury Theatre and he was very, very funny.  I like Miles Jupp, which is to say that I find him engaging, or rather find his stage persona engaging since you don't really know what any performer is like merely from seeing them perform.  The public face of Miles Jupp the comic, considered, polite, inwardly enraged at his own politeness in circumstances where he would be justified in being furious, frequently thwarted by technology, and detesting games, seems an uncanny reflection of my own world view, apart from the fact that he has five children and I am practically old enough to be his mother.  The show was virtually sold out and from the volume of laughter and happy buzz as everybody left at the end I should say there were a lot of Miles Jupp fans around Colchester.

I was sorry to read the story in the Guardian that Jon Holmes had been sacked from Radio 4's The Now Show, to put it his way, or that his contract had not been renewed, to put it the BBC's way. Apparently the programme makers want more women and minorities.  I am all in favour of women and minorities being given a fair shout on the BBC but I wish the management could manage it without messing around with the lineup of perfectly good shows that used to be funny.  Most of the comedy on R4 at the moment is absolutely dire, so couldn't that be replaced by some women and minorities who were actually funny, instead of discriminating against Jon Holmes on the grounds that he is white and male?  I don't generally bother with the Now Show any more, having lost patience with most of their new crop of guests.  Comedy needs some wit.  Merely insulting the Tories is not enough.

We got home to find Mr Fluffy in the hall looking as if he hoped for more food, and Mr Fidget sitting on the stairs looking pathetic.  Mr Cool was nowhere to be seen.  Mr Fidget came and sat with me on the sofa once he'd been fed, and burrowed vigorously into my fleece before settling down in unusually unfidgety mode and purring a good deal.  They are not used to both of us being out in the evenings, and while Mr Fidget ignores us half the time when we're at home it seems he misses us when we're gone.