In need of some silliness

February 10, 2016 by Ray Morgan

In need of some silliness

Life is a serious business, ain't it? We're (I'm) full of woes like: will I ever get a mortgage? Am I the right kind of person at work? Am I a rubbish feminist if I read magazines that have the Kardashians on the front cover? How many cups of tea is too many cups of tea? Do I eat enough quinoa? Am I eating too much quinoa? What if I get hit by a bus and they pull out my earphones and I'm listening to Katy Perry, instead of something cool like Talking Heads?

We can be plagued by Great Adult Fears. Growing up isn't the Friends standard we were tube-fed as teenagers, and instead of lofty apartments and full fridges we have damp that the landlord won't fix, and the thought of leaving the door unlocked for pals to pop in brings us out in a panic.

We measure ourselves against others: should I be having children? Is it bad that I think I don't want them? Does my hair look good enough today? Everyone seems to have better hair than me. I've given up dairy but am I a terrible person that I still eat fish? Am I like, a fish murderer? How can I be so selfish and hypocritical to wear leather shoes and eat tuna? I lie awake at night speeding through the more insane parts of my brain. Too-big thoughts, keeping me awake.

That stuff is exhausting. Sometimes when you've worked 9-5 all week and you spent more than £10 on lunch each day even though there's leftovers in the fridge and you're REALLY tired, you want something ridiculous to make you laugh and take all that thinking away.

I was lucky enough to be gifted tickets to see Reeves & Mortimer at the Cliffs Pavilion in Southend. I have long been a fan of the pair, whether it was their Big Night Out sketches, Shooting Stars madness, right up to House of Fools which seemingly came and went from the BBC without much fanfare, even though it lit up the drudgery of regular TV programming like a massive, silly beacon.

At the show, I laughed. I laughed a LOT. Vic and Bob's specific brand of silliness was just what I needed. They sang stupid songs, whacked each other over the head with frying pans, larked about and spoke in such ridiculous voices that I actually CRIED laughing. That is a cliche that played out last night. It felt great.

I got home, the song "Henry VIII Was Capable of Flight" my new earworm, which set me laughing all over again. I got into bed and lit a lavender candle, something magazine articles always tell you to do which I finally got round to, and smiled at all the ridiculous things I'd witnessed by Vic and Bob. I slept like a baby, for the first time in ages. Fun is not overrated. Go and get some.

Ray would like to point out that she blew out the lavender candle before going to sleep, for all you fellow worry-warts out there.