Am I alone in being very unamused by Red Nose Day? I know it's all in a good cause; I'm sure lots of people enjoy it; I'm also sure that, on balance, it's probably a Good Thing. I went round Sainsbury's this morning, and everyone was wearing silly hats/noses/trousers. A man in a long blond wig and a strange outfit asked me how I was (fine, thanks), and someone was having all his hair shaved off by the checkout. All good clean fun.
Maybe it's because it's all been going on for so long (it started in 1985) that the novelty has warn off. Or maybe - awful thought - it's because I haven't got a sense of humour. Not GSOH but NSOH, or perhaps just W(wrong)SOH. Oh dear.
So I shan't wear a red nose, or stick one on the car, or watch the programme this evening (although I'm tempted by the special edition of Outnumbered). In any case, I'll be out. Of course, I'm not against charitable giving; like everyone else, we give to charity (especially The Smile Train and the Ethiopian Fistula Clinic; I thought I'd give them a plug. As it's Red nose Day).
It's just that I don't think today is any funnier than any other day.
Good heavens, I'd forgotten about red nose day! We used to have it here in SA but it seems to have faded out. The latest craze is shave-for-cancer-a-thon. Every March everyone rushes to have their head shaved or painted funny colours to raise funds for cancer. I can't even remember when last we had a red nose day!
ReplyDeleteJudy (South Africa)
Nope! I don't mind the folk dressing up; enthusiastic good people doing their bit for charity and the camaraderie that goes with it. It's sort of nice.
ReplyDeleteI haven't watched the programme for years as I find it rather boring.
I'll just drop my contribution into any passing bucket - but wont wear a red nose.
Anna :o]
WSOH rather than NSOH, I think.
ReplyDeleteI find plenty of things amusing but very rarely anything that's meant to be. For me, the act of designing anything purely to be funny means it almost certainly isn't...
Hi, Judy. Shave for cancer.... hmmm. I think I'll give that one a miss.
ReplyDeleteAnna - I don't mind people doing these things. I just don't want to join in. And I have put my money in a bucket!
Tim - I think you've hit the nail on the head. It's a bit like novels which are labeled "laugh-out-loud" funny, or the use of exclamation marks. Anything that says "laugh at me" kills the humour stone dead (for me, anyway).
But each to their own...
My husband won't watch a film described as 'a hilarious romp'.
ReplyDelete