L aughter's a funny thing.
Who hasn't had to stifle a giggle at a funeral – and stared blankly at a legendary comedian like Charlie Chaplin?
When Spike Milligan was being shelled at Monte Cassino in 1944, he saw a sign written in chalk on a stone with an arrow pointing to ‘World War II – this way’.
The bleakest of situations can be defused with the blackest of jokes. As Mark Twain noted, ‘The human race has one really effective weapon, and that is laughter.’
