APRIL the first has again come and gone with its usual japes and fun! There has been a lot of comment this year that Fools Day has been cancelled.

Reality is far stranger than fiction and for many people life is certainly not a joking matter. How many times have you said “You couldn’t make it up” when we hear the world’s news?

A quick Google search for the origins of April Fools Day is inconclusive. There are many ancient stories and quips about it from thousands of years ago and it seems a fairly universally accepted day of jokes and tricks… some more believable than others!

There is something within us that delights in such shenanigans. The jester/fool/comedian/entertainer is as popular today as ever. Stand-up comedians are everywhere!

Do you remember when an audience used to laugh as one… now we applaud the well- observed absurdities of life that we all recognise, pushed a little further by a good storyteller.

Or do you appreciate a good pun or “cracker/dad joke”… appropriate to the audience, of course. Ambulance/black humour may not be suitable in some settings but is a way to cope with tragedy in others. Assorted racial, ethnic or differently abled groups can find common fun among themselves that a casual observer might be offended by.

Jokes also age, some badly, as society changes. Biblical jokes likewise lose their potency in a stern, reverent reading or interpretation. Camels trying to get through the eye of a needle/the shorty Zaccheaus up a tree/sell everything to buy a pearl/the meek inherit the earth (as long as no-one else minds)… “Blessed are the cheesemakers” - Monty Python…

Religion is often a solemn thing but humour should help us keep in mind the absurdities of life. I literally thank God for comedians with faith who keep feet in both camps. Whether we roar, titter, chortle, guffaw, snort or smile, our humanity is confirmed and shared especially when news is bleak. Miranda Hart/Milton Jones/Sally Phillips/Frank Skinner/Johnny Vegas/Tim Vine and more, thank you!

Paul Benney

Superintendent Minister, St Austell Methodist Circuit