SITCOMS cheer you up, says TV channel Gold.
This is the result of a poll in which 84% of those asked said watching a sitcom was their preferred method of lightening their mood, as opposed to drinking wine or talking to their mother.
Some might suggest this poll was loaded, as Gold shows mainly old sitcoms.
Some might argue – me included – that certain sitcoms do the exact opposite of lightening the mood and cheering you up.
Certain sitcoms have me reaching either for the off switch or a half brick to hurl at the screen.
I could never understand the popularity of that paean to middle class smugness My Family. And yet Outnumbered, which walks the same turf, is brilliant.
The Office left me cold, but then, anything that has Ricky Gervaise in it, freezes me like an Arctic winter.
Not that I lack a sense of humour. Sitcoms that make me smile are varied and various: ’Allo ’Allo, Blackadder, Fools and Horses, Fawlty Towers, Hi De Hi and Father Ted.
But let’s face it, if it came to choosing some method of cheering myself up, I wouldn’t choose to watch television, in any case. Or drink wine – it gives me a headache. My mother is long gone, but a maternal chat wouldn’t have entered the equation either.
So what would cheer me up? Apart from winning the Lottery? Lots of things.
Walking the dog, because in the winter I always feel better when I get back to the warmth of home.
Phoning my grandson Lorcan in Ireland, who has a wonderful six-year-old’s view of life.
Seeing my mate Kev who is daft as a brush. Listening to my mate Wimps when he is in gag mode (he specialises in Tommy Cooper but slips in the occasional one from Dandy and Beano).
A trip to the East Coast or the Dales or York. Buying something new I don’t need. Immersing myself in the latest Lee Child thriller. Watching Manchester United or Town.
Any of those might work but, sorry, Gold. Watching sitcoms doesn't do it.
What cheers you up? Answers to the usual address.
