A Very Funny Man

My grandad used to tell me that I was distantly related to Jerome K Jerome. Apart it having a bit of a strange name you might be wondering who he was. You might have heard of Three Men in a Boat which started out as serious travel guide to taking a boat down the river Thames but which eveolved in a comic masterpiece. It is still read today.

I remember two chapters in particular. One in which a man is travelling on his own on a very crowded train. He is carrying two very smelly cheeses with him. When the train arrives at each station, people suddenly spot a nearly empty compartment and open the door only to fall back into the arms of the person behind them as they catch a whiff of the cheese. By accident he had stumbled upon the perfect way to keep the carriage to yourself.

The other chapter was about Hampton Court Maze. One of three, Harris is overconfident and cocky, thinking he can lead everyone through the maze. Of course, he gets more and more lost. He even tries to “rescue” others before things get more and more desperate. In the end after passing the baby’s rattle several times he admits defeat and has to be rescued by the keeper. It’s gentle irony, dry wit and observed humour – very Victorian but still funny today.

He evolved a way of writing that used comic prose to great effect and used that lovely British obsession – taking the other person down a peg or two with self-deprecating wit and absurdity or as it is otherwise known, took the mickey! He also wrote plays.

I like to think that my grandad was right, and I do indeed have a connection, but I can’t prove it in any way. So unless the BBC come a-knocking on my door and ask me to be part of “Who Do You Think You Are?” I’m not going to be in a position to find out. But they can’t stop me trying to be funny, or stop me writing plays!