There's little to please or delight us from the news these days. Even the satirical radio and tv programmes struggle with their wry observations when we're bombarded with tragic and troubling events on every side. Their response, then, has been to look closer to home with the smaller stories, raising smiles and laughter from the more trivial and inconsequential which are nonetheless often bizarre and bewildering.
We need to laugh after all. We know that humour helps diffuse tension and lift our mood, just like spending time outdoors appreciating our natural environment, listening to music or looking at beautiful art.
So as we approach winter, there are a couple of events coming up at The Riverside which I hope will lift our spirits for the short days and dark nights!
In addition to meeting the fabulous printmaker Angela Harding in December and finding out about her travels throughout Britain exploring the landscape and viewing birds and wildlife to inspire her glorious prints and watercolours, I'm pleased to announce another event a couple of weeks earlier.
On Sunday 17 November at 6pm we will be joined by the much-loved cartoonist Matt who will be telling us how he finds something for us to laugh about each day.
Whether or not you read the 'Daily Telegraph', I'm sure you're familiar with the work of Matt Pritchett who has been contributing a cartoon on the front page of the paper for more than 30 years (I have heard of some people who pick up the newspaper to take a look at that day's Matt cartoon and then put it down and buy a rival news sheet!).
I had the privilege of meeting Matt at his home on the border with Norfolk a couple of years ago and found him brilliant company. You can read my interview here. He's very entertaining and positive, and genuinely has a twinkle in his eye. I hope you'll come along and meet him. We'll be showing some of his cartoons from the past year on the big screen, and you'll go away with your own copy of his 'Best of Matt' annual for 2024. This event will be a real tonic, I'm sure, and I look forward to seeing you there!
Thank you for reading.