This morning I listened to a BBC international comedy hour. The programme had a lady comedienne from Malawi as the compere and the dozen or so performers were from various parts of the world. I was interested by the fact that most of them were women; three of them declared themselves to be lesbian. I'm not sure if that had anything to do with their being funny. In the old days being a comedian meant being a man. I think I gave up on humour about forty years ago. Being British I naturally enjoyed BBC comedy while I lived in the UK. When I moved to Canada I was raised on mostly US shows such as "I love Lucy", "The Carol Burnett Show". I laughed my head off at Archie Bunker. Then something happened; I got sick of North American humour and to this day I don't find it the least bit funny. The CBC has comedy programmes, and people are always laughing their heads off, but I have to switch off the radio. Nowadays, If I want to have a laugh, I go to YouTube and watch the old comedy programmes. Tim Conway from the Carol Burnett Show still makes me laugh. So what's gone wrong?
What interested me about the BBC show was the fact that I laughed throughout the entire hour. Maybe it was something to do with the fact that most of the comedians had moved to the UK from various parts of the world and so they were tuned into British humour. I'm not one of those who remembers jokes but I still remember the Russian lady saying that there was a new trend in Russian Presidents that had them involved in the elections of presidents all over the world. The Mumbai man had me in stitches talking about the British in India. He mentioned that they'd introduced gin and tonic as a wonderful cure for malaria, and tea, which he objected to as it was "Ours in the first place".
This morning I looked in room 2 in the mouse house and didn't see anyone. Vuth came over so I said he could take it back as I obviously didn't need it any more. At that point I saw a shadow scampering around in room 1 and there it was - another mouse. I went downstairs, around 10pm when the alley was asleep, and released it. This time it scampered off into the darkness and didn't bother about the neighbours' homes.
My head is getting so muddled with appointments; I'm glad Cina has given me one of the many calendars her company receives each year. I got quite excited when Vuth said the French Bred bank calendar showed Cambodian national holidays. They usually have a couple a month so it's nice to know they are happening. Unfortunately, this calendar shows them in blue but explains what they are in Khmer. Makara here means January and the 7th is a national holiday called Victory Day - which is for victory over the Khmer Rouge. It's also a very popular name for a boy child. When I left the office I bumped into Soubert, who is a stickler for political correctness. He jabbed his finger at the day and said, "It should be Invasion Day!" That's because, on the 7th of January, the Vietnamese came and got rid of Pol Pot but then they occupied the country for 10 years until they were told by the UN to get out. I suppose there are many dates that mean different things to different people.
This evening I have a dinner appointment with a Canadian friend who is passing through Phnom Penh on her way to Bangkok. Tomorrow I'll most likely be meeting another Canadian friend who is returning to Cambodia after spending the holiday with his wife in Thailand. On the 12th a friend from the UK is coming to help with the dentists; the group arrives on the 14th and we start work on the 15th. On the 19th I've just heard that a friend from Poland is coming here and wants to meet with me. She's here until the 28th, and visiting many of the places I'll be in, but not at the same time. I may be able to see her while the dentists are touring the temples in Siem Reap. Meanwhile, two of the dental group leave the group a day early, two are having a short touring holiday after the work ends, two more are staying on in town and want my help seeing things, one lady is going off on her own for a backpacking experience and needs buses and hotel rooms. My brain can't even deal with my own travel arrangements, never mind anyone else's.
