Tickling the English

Executive Summary: LOL, especially in transit.

Full review: Ok so I'll be honest and tell you that I only bought this book because I was stuck at the airport and needed something to do.  It was during an ash-induced weekend of cancellations and delays.  And what a good purchase it was.  Before long I was chuckling away to myself, my fellow delayed passengers having to endure the added misery of the bench bobbing up and down as I tried and failed to contain my laughter.

Partly poking fun at the English, and partly at the British in general, all from the Irish perspective made it an interesting read.  I have lived my live on both sides of Dara's literary fence and enjoyed identifying with the comedian and the butt of his jokes all at the same time.

Not being the fastest reader out there, it took me just about a month to read the whole thing.  I read it in the garden. I read it in the bedroom. I read it on the train. It never seemed as good as on that first day in the airport.  Don't get me wrong... I laughed throughout, but not as much.  And then as I was getting near the end I found myself back at the airport, and that last page was read as we landed.  And once again I struggled to stifle the laughter.  Once again my poor travel companions had to put up with me shaking the seating, and I had to put up with strange looks from bemused travellers.  I'm not sure whether the book was funnier at the start and finish, or if it was the airport that made the difference.  Perhaps it's just funnier when it's a private joke that everyone around doesn't know about?

So I thoroughly recommend Tickling the English, particularly if you are leaving on a jet plane and you don't know when you'll be back again. And if Ken Dodd comes to town, I'm buying a ticket.