I like it when little things make me happy. And no, that isn’t the cue for you, dear reader, to make a phallus joke. You have to bring everything down don’t you? See, now, you’ve ruined it.
I’d forgotten how much I like Coke. Taking a few deep gulps of ice cold Coke and then letting out a loud satisfying belch is truly one of my very favourite things in the world. It’s even better if there is a slice of lemon in there. And again, no, dear reader, that isn’t a cue for a satirical barb about needing to add a bitter taste to the corporate piss of such an insidious company. I like Coca-Cola, it tastes nice and it makes me slightly giddy with glee every time I drink it.
Diet Coke is a very poor substitute, but my double chin has been insisting that I drink it all year, so as a treat, proper Coke makes a Christmas comeback. Even the bright red can is more wonderful than the slick, ooh look how slender I am silver can of the lean version. Bold colours, fizzy bubbles, too much sugar and caffeine, it doesn’t take much to warm my soul. Why would anyone ruin that by adding alcohol?
Another little thing that cheers me up is when I discover a new sitcom – even more so if it is recommended by someone else and lives up to the recommendation. It’s made doubly tasty with the addition of iPlayer, so you can catch up with most of the series in one go. I think sitcoms reveal a lot about themselves when watched back to back. When I first watched Spaced I couldn’t get into it, but a marathon on the DVD soon changed my mind.
So it was fun to watch Outnumbered this evening. It’s incredibly funny, with some engaging performances from the cast, and it achieves the impossible by presenting kids that you don’t want to punch in the face until they resemble Colin Fry’s elbow. I like the writers a lot, and they made the wise choice not to make the kids act too much, and as a result it’s semi-improvised, with the grown-ups going along with whatever the kids say. Have a watch, the first episode at the very least is worth the effort.
