We very often come back to laughter in this group. We know that laughter helps us on many levels physically, socially, emotionally and mentally, hence the saying; ‘Laughter is the best medicine’.
So, we had a more playful group today, actively thinking about things that make us laugh. Group members amused each other with funny stories and the re-telling of favourite comedians jokes. It worked; we laughed! We worked our way through the following questions which a group member had kindly brought in as an exercise we could do:
Funniest thing that’s happened to you?
Funniest thing that’s happened to your best friend?
Funniest person you know?
What they do or say that makes you laugh?
Favourite comedian, your favourite comedy thing they do?
Maybe as you consider some of these it may provoke a smile. People seemed to find themselves funny in some of the more slapstick calamities which sometimes occur in life; like going to the toilet in the middle of the night in an unfamiliar place, only to discover in the morning that it was not the bathroom that had been visited at all, falling into water unexpectedly or turning up to the wrong wedding, or funeral. There was a range of tastes of comedians, Leslie Nielson, Monty Python, Lee Mack, Michael MacIntyre, and Russell Brand amongst others. People were remembering Airplane quotes:
From “Airplane!” (1980):
Dr. Rumack: Can you fly this plane, and land it?
Ted Striker: Surely you can’t be serious.
Rumack: I am serious… and don’t call me Shirley!
Rumack: You’d better tell the Captain we’ve got to land as soon as we can. This woman has to be gotten to a hospital.
Elaine Dickinson: A hospital? What is it?
Rumack: It’s a big building with patients, but that’s not important right now.
Lee Mack [Not going out]
Lucy: “Have you been snooping in my wardrobe?”
Lee: “I was looking for a lion and a witch.”
Lucy: “I don’t want to hear your crappy jokes, Lee, it’s none of your business.”
Lee: “Actually it’s Narnia business.”
And to finish, as we about to head into the 2018 Edinburgh Festival, here are the jokes rated funniest last year:
The top 15 funniest jokes from the Fringe
1. “I’m not a fan of the new pound coin, but then again, I hate all change” – Ken Cheng
2. “Trump’s nothing like Hitler. There’s no way he could write a book” – Frankie Boyle
3. “I’ve given up asking rhetorical questions. What’s the point?” – Alexei Sayle
4. “I’m looking for the girl next door type. I’m just gonna keep moving house till I find her” – Lew Fitz
5. “I like to imagine the guy who invented the umbrella was going to call it the ‘brella’. But he hesitated” – Andy Field
6. “Combine Harvesters. And you’ll have a really big restaurant” – Mark Simmons
7. “I’m rubbish with names. It’s not my fault, it’s a condition. There’s a name for it…” – Jimeoin
8. “I have two boys, 5 and 6. We’re no good at naming things in our house” – Ed Byrne
9. “I wasn’t particularly close to my dad before he died… which was lucky, because he trod on a land mine” – Olaf Falafel
10. “Whenever someone says, ‘I don’t believe in coincidences.’ I say, ‘Oh my God, me neither!”‘ – Alasdair Beckett-King
11. “A friend tricked me into going to Wimbledon by telling me it was a men’s singles event” – Angela Barnes
12. “As a vegan, I think people who sell meat are disgusting; but apparently people who sell fruit and veg are grocer” – Adele Cliff
13. “For me dying is a lot like going camping. I don’t want to do it” – Phil Wang
14. “I wonder how many chameleons snuck onto the Ark” – Adam Hess
15. “I went to a Pretenders gig. It was a tribute act” – Tim Vine
A Life Worth Living 
Enjoyed as always. Fun sewn into the heart of this group and leave each session lighter and fuelled with inspiration and hope. Ta. Ash.