Keep On Laughing

Apparently, I've accidentally booked myself a week of laughing, drinking and behaving like 45 is just a number.

Which, to be fair, it is.

This week started with Gary Delaney at the Alexandra in Birmingham. Tonight I'm off to see Paul Smith at the Utilita Arena, and then on Saturday it's party time with the Word of Mouth family at their Over 30s Daytime Clubbing at St Paul's House.

Not a bad way to spend a week.

One liners, dark humour and a bloody good laugh

Gary Delaney was exactly the sort of comedy I enjoy.

One liners. Lots of them.

By the time you've finished laughing at one, he's already halfway through setting up the next. Throw in plenty of dark humour and it was right up my street.

And maybe that's because humour — particularly the slightly inappropriate variety — has always been a fairly big part of who I am.

Banter is important.

In my line of work, and just in life generally, I think you've got to be able to take it as well as give it. Sometimes the best way of dealing with something going wrong isn't to sit there analysing every detail of it.

Sometimes you've just got to laugh.

Next up, Paul Smith

Tonight brings something different.

I'm off to see Paul Smith live for the first time.

I've seen plenty of his clips on TikTok over the years, particularly the crowd-work stuff, so it'll be interesting to see what the full live show is like.

There's also something much better about comedy when you're actually sitting in a room with thousands of other people laughing.

You can watch clips on your phone all day long, but it isn't quite the same.

Then again, sitting safely behind a phone screen does dramatically reduce your chances of becoming part of the act.

So we'll see how tonight goes...

And then Saturday happens

Once the comedians have finished, apparently it's my turn.

Saturday is Word of Mouth Over 30s Daytime Clubbing at St Paul's House in Birmingham.

And despite the "Over 30s" bit making it sound like somebody should hand you a complimentary packet of Werther's Originals on the way in, I bloody love it.

I'm part of the WoM family.

If I'm not at the football and I haven't got the children, there's a fairly good chance you'll find me out partying somewhere.

That's just me.

The strange thing is that none of this week was particularly planned as some great escape or attempt to relive my youth.

The timings just worked.

Life has commitments. Work. Children. Football. Family. All the normal things that fill a calendar surprisingly quickly.

Sometimes you've just got to find the gaps and make the most of them.

"But you're 45..."

So?

I've never really understood the idea that reaching a certain age means you're suddenly supposed to stop doing the things you enjoy.

I'm 45.

It's a number.

Why should that stop me enjoying my life?

I'm not trying to be 21 again. I'm not pretending the following morning feels the same as it did when I was 21 either.

Believe me, Sunday morning will probably involve lying there for a moment contemplating some of Saturday's life choices.

But that's okay.

Because eventually I'll get myself moving and it'll be time for the traditional Sunday activity:

A few cheeky pints of Coke Zero with the old man and the Sunday pub crew.

Rock and roll.

Keep on laughing

Life isn't always good.

Things go wrong. Plans change. Work gets stressful. Relationships get complicated. Money disappears faster than you earned it. Something breaks just when you thought everything was finally working.

That's life.

You can't control all of it.

What you can do is learn to ride the good with the bad.

Don't take everything quite so seriously.

Go with the flow occasionally.

Have some banter.

Take the piss out of your mates — and, importantly, be able to laugh when they give it straight back.

Go to the football.

Go to the comedy show.

Go dancing.

Spend time with your kids.

Have a pint with your dad.

Do whatever makes your particular version of life enjoyable.

Because I don't think growing older should mean slowly removing all the fun from your life until the only thing you've got left to look forward to is putting the bins out on the correct night.

I'll worry about acting my age another day.

This week, I'm busy.

Keep on laughing.