There are times when I find myself needing a mental distraction. Those times when my anxiety is high and I need something that takes my mind off the worries of the world.
I tend to befriend like-minded people on Facebook. That means that when they share a video, chances are I will like it or at least tolerate it. It was from people sharing videos that I came across a few British comedians that I really enjoy listening to. Their comedy draws me in and I am able to “tune out” for at least a little while.
Michael McIntyre has become quite popular and I have been watching him for quite a few years. He now hosts a game show called “The Wheel”, has these “unexpected star of the show” productions and picks on celebrity guests in the audience by borrowing their phones and “sends to all” strange text messages. My favourite thing to watch of his are his stand up comedy routines.
There is one special on Netflix called “Michael McIntyre Showman” which is definitely worth the watch. You could also follow his page on Facebook or subscribe on YouTube. I have shared this one video before on Facebook. It makes me laugh so hard that I am in tears, no matter how many times I have watched it. We downloaded it and listened to it in the car on our last road trip.
Another comedian I came across on Facebook is Sarah Millican. She is also British although I find her accent almost Scottish sounding at times. The thing I really like is that much of her comedy is about women’s issues and is something I feel I can relate to. She can get a bit sexual in some of her routines and uses a fair amount of expletives but I don’t find it crass. Another thing I like is that she asks the audience questions and some of the answers end up quite funny. She has been on tour in Canada but I have not yet gotten to see her in person.
Here is one of her compilation videos showing her love of food.
At Christmas I was having a Netflix dry spell. You know, when nothing new is up your alley and none of the shows you enjoy have new seasons to watch. My eldest son, Jonathan, suggested I watch Taskmaster on YouTube. I had never heard of it and none of my Facebook friends have ever shared any videos of it. He told me that it was a British reality show where comedians do different silly challenges competing against each other. I decided to watch the first series just to see what it was like. Well, this week I just finished series 13, so I guess I really do enjoy it. I will warn you that there is a bit of degrading humour at the beginning of each episode towards the Taskmaster assistant. Knowing that it is the assistant that apparently writes the script has helped me get past that.
I only recognized two people in all of the series. One was actress Sally Phillips that played Bridgette Jones’ (movies) friend Shazzer and actress Katherine Parkinson that was in “The IT Crowd” (on Netflix). Imagine my surprise when I was checking who the cast will be for Series 14 and saw that one of the five cast members is Sarah Millican!! That is like having your cake and eating it too.
Here is Series 1 Episode 1.
It is nice to escape life for awhile and laugh at someone else’s stories or mishaps.
Watching these comedians really does help to lift my spirits.
Laugh 😂 🤭🤣