More standup comedy from Gordon Brown

The story about Ronald Reagan that Gordon Brown told at the TED conference the other day wasn’t the only one that got a laugh from the audience (see previous post).

He also had one about singer Amy Whitehouse and Nelson Mandela. It was a neat example of the puzzle-solution technique illustrated last week with clips from Ronald Reagan, Margaret Thatcher and William Hague.

Puzzle: “Amy Whitehouse said “Nelson Mandela and I have got a lot in common.

Solution: “My husband too has spent a long time in prison.”

But I was always taught that you shouldn't laugh at your own jokes, and this would surely have worked better if he hadn't done so.

Dudley Moore's 'Little Miss Muffet' by Benjamin Britten

I’ve often noticed that I don’t often laugh out loud when listening to comedy on my own, and that the exceptions, when they do occur, really are exceptional.

It happened last night on Radio 4 during a fascinating programme, in which John Bassett was being interviewed about his long friendship with the late Dudley Moore.

The cause of my laughter was the latter's brilliant rendition of ‘Little Miss Muffet’ à la Benjamin Britten from Beyond the Fringe - which also reminded me that I’ve always found this piece far more entertaining than anything Britten himself ever managed to write.