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BY ANGELA KELLY

LOCKDOWN HUMOUR – TRADEMARK OF STOIC BRITS

IT may be a particularly British trait but when it comes to ongoing disaster and major concern we tend to turn to humour.

I’m sure it was the same in wartime and in other countries. When something enduringly scary threatens, we discover the funny side of it and use it as a form of defence against the awfulness.

That has certainly been true of the pandemic. While it’s too difficult and too raw to actually laugh at Covid-19 itself, we have been turning instead to the sideeffects and restriction of lockdown to cheer ourselves up.

In fact, I think we are at our most inventive here.

Humour surfaced early in the first lockdown and mainly online. One of the first things that made me laugh – a surprise, really, given the seriousness and overwhelming worry of the threat then – was a short video of a good-looking shirtless man in a hat dancing. The before lockdown and after lockdown footage showed the tight torso changing to a wobbly belly. We laughed at the change, soon learning the irony as many of us munched our way through the months ahead. We’ve laughed at the possible results of lockdown. One of my favourite Facebook postings was: “Do you ever get up in the morning, look in the mirror and think ‘that can’t be accurate!’”

We’ve become happy to laugh at ourselves. We smiled at jokes about over-zealous hand-washing, mask-wearing and taking precautions.

“Pretty wild how we used to eat cake after someone had blown on it. Good times ….” went one popular post. And so many were crazily accurate. “Set in retrospect, in 2015, not a single person got the answer right to ‘Where do you see yourself five years from now?’”

We even found our own occasional desperation worth a smile. “Where is far far away and how do I get there?” was a post offering a bitter tinge. Then there was: “I’m looking for a moisturiser that hides the fact that I’ve been tired since 2010” which hit home.

Then there were the clever ones: “I told my suitcases that there will be no vacation this year. Now I’m dealing with emotional baggage.” Add those to the many cartoons, videos, memes and observational humour and you discover a funny underside to what is plainly an international disaster that could scarcely have been predicted.

Personally, I feel it says something fine and stoic about our individual make-up that allows us to react to very dark times by sometimes laughing out loud. Little has been innately funny about this global pandemic and its terrible effects on people. But, our ability to find the humour in it, to share that with others and to laugh together has proved to be a brilliant way

FANCY A PAIR OF OUR BET’S BEST EARRINGS?

WHEN actress Julie Goodyear became an unusual sort of national icon as Coronation Street’s brassy landlady Bet Lynch her wardrobe was not the envy of women everywhere.

The too-short skirts, too-tight tops, heavy make-up and upfront behaviour behind the bar of the Rovers Return brought out the prude in most of us.

Tutting at Bet became a national habit – when we weren’t laughing at her antics and lines, that is.

Fast forward from 1966 to 2003 when she was in The Street to last year and Julie Goodyear MBE impressing the nation in a different way. The Manchester actress donated a large amount of Bet’s jewellery and her own to help local hospice Willow Wood.

“When I heard that they had been forced to cancel almost all of their fundraising events in this their 21st year, I wanted to do something to help,” compassionate Julie explained. The jewellery was sold in an online auction as part of Coronation Street’s 60th birthday in December, resulting no doubt on a major donation for Willow Wood and some delighted purchasers. Who today, though, would really wear Bet’s finest horrors? Well, me for one. Bring on those earrings like a birdcage – they’re great!

COP SHOWS THAT BECOME PART OF OUR LIVES

IF there’s one thing the past year or so has taught us to appreciate it’s the TV. Pre-lockdown, we might have been a bit reticent to list telly-watching among our hobbies but now we’re happy to admit its importance in our lives.

It’s also been interesting to see how our habits have changed. More of us have come to appreciate Netflix and iPlayer and become binge-watchers of series. One thing we’ve also perhaps noticed is how some types of programmes have altered. If you’ve watched daily doses of old police programmes The Bill and then back-to-backs of Line of Duty or Unforgotten you can see how far cop series have come. New series of either of the latter are eagerly awaited – that’s not to take away anything from The Bill, its plot lines and acting. But with Line of Duty and Unforgotten, we’re actually hungry to see it – we can’t wait. Writer Jed Mercurio certainly knows how to tell a riveting tale in LoD. You’re frightened to miss a second as you might skip a vital clue or move towards identifying who “H” might be or whether the OCG (Organised Crime Group) has more police in its pocket.

Yes, they’re big on acronyms in Line of Duty. The three main characters – played by Vicky McClure, Martin Compston and Adrian Dunbar - have their own little nuances so that everything feels familiar. Yet, things are happening all the time that take us into new territory.

Unforgotten is a marvellous showcase for the talents of writer Chris Lang and the acting of Sanjeev Bhaskar and Nicola Walker. I don’t think I’ve ever seen an actress with such talent for showing emotions in her face. The whole plotline is there sometimes.

How lucky we are in this country to have such fine writers and performers. And, oddly, lockdown gave us the time to appreciate them anew.

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Self-drive & coach inclusive breaks

GREAT VALUE 5 DAY HALF BOARD BREAKS

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When it comes to inviting, relaxing breaks, we have the ideal holiday for you...

Whether you’re looking for a romantic break for two, a family holiday or getting away with friends, Robinsons’s Holidays offers 12 hotels in 10 of the most popular UK destinations. Our fleet of 26 luxury Mercedes coaches provide return travel in comfort and style from your pick up point and will take you directly to your hotel, aiming to arrive between 3 – 5pm. If you’d like to get out and about to explore the local area on your holiday, then all of our breaks can also be booked on a self-drive basis so you’ve got the freedom of having your own car.

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Every break includes:

Return coach travel (self-drive option available) Comfy en suite accommodation Breakfast & 3-course evening meal Live nightly entertainment*

Trip Advisor’s Travellers’ Choice

We are proud to announce that six of our group – Barrowfield, Daish’s, Devonshire, Bournemouth Sands, Claremont, Hotel Prince Regent – have been awarded the coveted TripAdvisor Travellers’ Choice award for 2020.

Local pick up points from make it easy to get away.

Price includes return coach travel from: B1 Pick-up: Poulton-le-Fyde, Fleetwood, Cleveleys, Bispham, Blackpool, St Annes, Lytham, Freckleton, Preston, Bamber Bridge, Chranock Richard Services.

All offers are subject to availability and standard terms and conditions (see brochure or website for T&C’s).

DATE HOTEL DAYS ROUTE PRICE

JUNE

04 Sands Hotel – Bournemouth 5 B1 £229

09 Hotel Prince Regent – Weymouth 5 B1 £279 16 Devonshire Hotel – Torquay 5 B1 £214 24 Imperial Hotel – Eastbourne 5 B1 £289 27 Abbey Lawn Hotel – Torquay 5 B1 £254 JULY

16 Russell Hotel – Weymouth 5 B1 £279 21 Somerset Hotel – Llandudno 5 B1 £304

24 Esplanade Hotel – Scarborough 5 B1 £304 31 Daish’s Hotel – Isle of Wight 5 B1 £289 AUGUST

07 Sands Hotel – Bournemouth 5 B1 £289

12 Hotel Prince Regent – Weymouth 5 B1 £314 19 Devonshire Hotel – Torquay 5 B1 £289 25 Russell Hotel – Weymouth 5 B1 £294 31 Imperial Hotel – Eastbourne 5 B1 £304 SEPTEMBER

07 Somerset Hotel – Llandudno 5 B1 £319

15 Abbey Lawn Hotel – Torquay 5 B1 £294 19 Barrowfield Hotel – Newquay 5 B1 £264 26 Esplanade Hotel – Scarborough 5 B1 £274 DATE HOTEL

OCTOBER

DAYS ROUTE PRICE

03 Daish’s Hotel – Isle of Wight 5 B1 £264 10 Sands Hotel – Bournemouth 5 B1 £229

13 Somerset Hotel – Llandudno 5 B1 £229

15 Hotel Prince Regent – Weymouth 5 B1 £234 16 County Hotel – Lake District 5 B1 £259 18 Imperial Hotel – Eastbourne 5 B1 £219 22 Devonshire Hotel – Torquay 5 B1 £219 28 Russell Hotel – Weymouth 5 B1 £214 29 Barrowfield Hotel – Newquay 5 B1 £199 NOVEMBER

06 Abbey Lawn Hotel – Torquay 5 B1 £229 30 Abbey Lawn Hotel – Torquay 5 B1 £219 30 Somerset Hotel – Llandudno 5 B1 £224 DECEMBER

03 Russell Hotel – Weymouth 5 B1 £219 06 Daish’s Hotel – Isle of Wight 5 B1 £209 07 Esplanade Hotel – Scarborough 5 B1 £204 13 Sands Hotel – Bournemouth 5 B1 £184

18 Hotel Prince Regent – Weymouth 5 B1 £199

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Prices shown are per person based on two people sharing a Standard Room. Supplements apply on twin/double rooms with sole occupancy. Optional local excursions can be booked at the hotel. Many more coach or self-drive holiday dates available in 2021. If you would prefer to self-drive, deduct £20 per person from prices shown.

Call - 0800 083 9900 Quote - 50PlusP&F or visit robinsons-holidays.co.uk

10 fabulous locations, 12 great hotels.

Bournemouth

Bournemouth Sands Llandudno

Somerset Hotel Newquay

Barrowfield Hotel Weymouth

Hotel Prince Regent Weymouth

Russell Hotel Eastbourne

Imperial Hotel

Isle of Wight Scarborough Torquay Torquay Blackpool Lake District