Nigella Lawson saying 'Microwave' like this has made my Christmas already pic.twitter.com/ByXTDVIloq

— 🍯 (@EtceteraWithEst) December 8, 2020

Very humorously, Nigella Lawson mispronounced microwave, only to have Those Who Have No Humour get up in arms and Ms Lawson having to clarify that she indeed knew how to pronounce the word the Tory way. Maybe it’s the Brexit age, where we can’t even reference the Continent, because of the Empah or some such, but sadly it might be down to the demise of humour in parts of our society. Britain may be leaving the EU but parts of society are about as cheerful as a bureaucrat from Brussels as they realize it’s a fait accompli. Oops.
   Back in April, I Tweeted this:

Maybe I have a dirty mind, but if the Leader of the Opposition believes he needs to drive a 1,000 km round trip to attend an online meeting, then my question is: who is she, and does Mrs Bridges know?

— Jack Yan 甄爵恩 (@jackyan) April 6, 2020

   Got plenty of positive replies and likes except one chap was concerned:

Maybe ok for a bit of laughter in the enclosed bubble but not so sure about on a public forum. Does my humor cause distress for innocents is a good benchmark

— Maurie Abraham (@maurieabraham) April 6, 2020

   So even in New Zealand, free from the stresses of COVID-19 infections, humour is dying in parts of our nation. (In this country, it’s spelled humour.)
   The reason the joke isn’t offensive or even distressing is that it’s highly unlikely. That’s often the essence of a good joke. (‘Let’s send an astronaut to the sun.’ ‘They’d get burnt up.’ ‘Not at night.’) If you took exception to it, then the explanation that follows is that you think the scenario is likely, and, therefore, you’re in a defensive mode.
   And come on, most of us wouldn’t drive hundreds of kilometres to take a meeting during a pandemic, so if you choose to make an odd decision, then expect some mirth at your expense.
   This entire episode brings up so many other thoughts: what did he tell his wife? (‘Just popping out to have a chat to some people at work.’) What did she respond? (‘Come back by 11 p.m.’) What crossed his mind then? (‘Cool, she didn’t say which day.’) There’s an entire sitcom episode about the drive down.
   I believe Mrs Bridges is English by birth and it’s completely in line with her country’s sense of humour. (‘Another woman? Pull the other one, I couldn’t even get Simon to drive back to Oxford.’) I’d even say she loves a good joke because of some of the things her husband says. Simon Bridges showed his more jovial and relaxed side once freed from the pressures of leading the Opposition, so clearly he has a sense of humour, too. You’d need it to have taken on that job.
   I used to wonder why this country no longer does political satire as often as it once did, but the humourless are being given positions of responsibility. Ever been to a party where certain staff from a certain ministry are present? (I won’t name which one, in case they change their mind about my being the New Zealand ambassador to Someplace.)
   This has been happening since Labour got elected in 1984. McPhail & Gadsby, endless critics of Sir Robert Muldoon, and The Billy T. James Show vanished. The powers-that-be didn’t want to risk their own lot being lampooned. Being a National MP, Simon clearly wished to reverse that by entertaining all of us in the absence of such shows. How we all laughed at David ‘I’m not that guy off Red Dwarf’ Seymour twerking, and look at the votes he got! And how he converted the votes from Dancing with the Stars to political ones in 2020! There’s something to be said for the Wally act. If we no longer fund such programmes then it is over to the politicians.
   How I wish that were not the case and Melanie Bracewell could appear more often as Jacinda Ardern. Is Liz Mullane still keen to don the Helen Clark costume? Who’d play Dr Ashley Bloomfield? Calls to Jacinda. (Episode 1: Helen Clark calls Jacinda Ardern. ‘If you want my advice …’ ‘I don’t.’ Episode 2: Jack Dorsey calls Jacinda Ardern. ‘Why don’t you Tweet much?’ ‘With Jack and Maurie on there? Are you mad?’ Episode 3: James Shaw calls Jacinda Ardern. ‘Come round, I’ll brew some tea the Green Party way.’ We would entitle this ‘The Billy Tea, James Shaw’.) I’d watch that.