The latest Phil Evans column from the South Wales Evening Post

The latest Phil Evans column from the South Wales Evening Post.
Comedian Phil Evans is from Ammanford. He is known as the man who puts the ‘cwtsh’ into comedy.
www.philevans.co.uk

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Best medicine: 

Doctor Phil Evans, specialist in humour-ology, here!
At your service 24/7.
Do step into my consulting room and take a seat.
No! Not that one! The cat was just sick over it.
What caused it to be sick? How do I know? I’m a doctor, not a vet.
It’s often been said that laughter is the best medicine.
Although if you’re diabetic, I wouldn’t advise you to chuck out your insulin and binge on a boxed-set of Dad’s Army DVDs . . .
However, it’s on record that people with serious illnesses can be helped back to recovery by having laughter therapy.
In one American study, heart attack patients were divided into two groups: one half was placed under standard medical care while the other half watched comedy DVDs for 30 minutes each day.
After one year, the ‘humour’ group had fewer arrhythmias, lower blood pressure, lower levels of stress hormones, and required lower doses of medication.
The non-humour group had two and a half times more recurrent heart attacks than the humour group.
Apparently, there’s also a type of therapy called ’laughter yoga’, but surely if you watch a Laurel and Hardy classic while standing on your head, the combination will cause hiccups and indigestion rather than giggles?
That’d be another fine mess . . .
Medical studies also reveal that even if you have no real reason to laugh – like when you’re listening to any Radio Four comedy show – even if you force yourself to chortle, giggle or guffaw, it’ll release endorphins in your body that are excellent for your health.
This evidence strengthens something I’ve always believed -
That in today’s world, the ability to make people laugh - and for people to be able to laugh as often as possible - is more important than ever.
We take life too seriously, in the main because of what we read in our newspapers and see on the TV news. Or by something that affects us, our relatives or our friends on a more personal level.
From the brief evidence I’ve presented, it does seem laughter’s an important part of a healthy life, both mentally and physically.
We all feel depressed and visit dark places at times, but for many of us there is always someone close, who can lift our spirits and make us smile.
Why not make an effort to be that person who lifts people's spirits when needed?
You could start by lending me your boxed set of Dad’s Army DVDs!

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Hygiene:

Too often, I find myself witnessing unhygienic actions in public toilets.
Not that I make a habit of hanging around in such places, but when nature calls, needs must.
It’s now very common to witness men leaving the toilets in pubs, cafes and restaurants without washing their hands.
I can’t speak for the ladies, as for me observing such activities in ladies toilets brings with it consequences and a warning that I took onboard immediately.
Moving on . . .
Recently, I saw a man leaving a pub toilet without washing his hands; he then went on to share a bowl of crisps with his partner.
It would be so funny if he was reading this . . . hang on.... was it you?
In supermarkets, I’ve witnessed men return to their shopping without washing their hands after visiting the toilet.
What’s the hurry? It takes less than a minute and would prevent germs from spreading and people becoming ill.
Mark my words, the next step will be hygiene police employed at all public places.
OK, maybe a slight exaggeration but possibly not a bad idea!

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Black Friday:

Black Friday weekend came and went and, personally, I saved a small fortune.
Oh yes, I didn’t go near a shop. And there you have it.
Having said that, I did witness a middle-aged man wearing tracksuit bottoms, brown leather shoes and a duffle coat struggling to get a 55-inch flat screen TV into the back of a taxi that was waiting outside a Swansea Argos store.
The gentleman in question was arguing with the taxi driver and insisting that the said item would fit and eventually it did, but getting it back out in one piece could be another story.
Meanwhile, the wife was furious due to the fact that her husband now insisted that she caught the bus home as clearly there was no room for her in the taxi.
In her temper she screamed “That’s it, I’m off to play bingo and you can stuff the TV where the sun doesn’t shine, you selfish pig”.
Clearly, not an ideal way to start the festive season and I’m sure they are not alone.

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You can follow Phil Evans on Twitter @philevanswales and www.philevans.co.uk