The Lighter Side: What words are on your bad list?
From 'furlough' to 'next slide please', Brigit Grant looks at phrases she won't miss after this year, at a new weekly spoof newscast and dressing your dog!
Brigit Grant is the Jewish News Supplements Editor
Where there’s a will, there’s OY VEY
Absence makes the heart grow fonder allegedly, so I’m vaguely optimistic you missed Lighter Side.
The page took a mini break while our joyful Life magazine was produced,
so I hope you were hankering for its return.
We’ve all been in various states of longing, wanting and yearning since early spring and have vocalised it between quizzes on various platforms. House Party, Zoom and Teams are now much less fun than their names suggest and by week 28 of Covid, recreating the opening credits of The Brady Bunch was a drag.
Granted, there were – and are still – moments of hilarity when only the foreheads of the elderly and short appear onscreen at an online barmitzvah.
But a Zoomed Zayda slumped on a sofa is better than any guest who refuses to turn on their camera.
I won’t miss those people, just as I won’t miss the impulsive decision-makers who have created more bike lanes than there are cyclists.
I fear those lanes will be with us until Boris hangs up his handle bars, but I wish he’d put the breaks on those ludicrous flower troughs plonked on roads to create café sitting.
I’m ready to DISmiss those because a) It’s cold; b) they make parking an even bigger challenge for the Real Housewives of north-west London and c) speedy bagel stops can’t happen.
Words and sentences I also won’t miss (and hope disappear) in 2021 include: “Next slide please”; No face to face appointments; Furlough; Happy Birthday; Two metres; Keep America Great; Win Bigly (or was it Big League?) and “Are they in your bubble?”
You probably have your own ‘won’t miss’ list, but being home a lot with a teen also introduced me to “OK boomer” dismissing someone older from the Baby Boomer generation) and fit in place of outfit, which has too many syllables obviously.
What I will miss are Carl Reiner’s Tweets, the wisdom of Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and films starring Johnny Depp, although I’m happy to work with him anytime.
Let’s hope we all can work anytime and ‘employed’ is still part of our vocabulary in 2021.
Woof in Wool
As you will have noticed in our Into The Woods fashion story in Life magazine, it’s now possible to dress like your dog – thanks to Kat and her clothing at Love From Betty. The website was started because of her very grumpy miniature dachshund called Slinky. Sadly, Slinky passed away just before her 17th birthday in September, but here she is in her jumper (£29.50) and bow tie (£12.50) with Kat.
Gift of Life
If your loved one is worthy of a really special gift this Chanukah, head to www.davidovlondon.com, where beauty is available in symbolic form.
Tree of Life earrings made of green quartz set within 22K gold plated trees and finished with drop organic baroque pearls will set the tone for the year to come.
Tuning the Rodeo
Our resident cartoonist Paul Solomons is on fire when it comes to delivering clever comedic news-inspired caricatures.
As luck would have it, his son Jonah has inherited the ability to see the funny side of the daily headlines and, with his partner-in-crime, Hannah Montgomery, has started a weekly five-minute spoof newscast called News Rodeo.
Sharp satire aired in record time appeals to everyone and, as Jonah says: “We saw the mounting doom and gloom throughout the general public over lockdown and, realising they needed a laugh, News Rodeo was born.”
Since starting in October, Jonah (who also been an extra on Fantastic Beasts) and Hannah have covered such topics as the US presidential election, hacking, Brexit, doorbells and dog statues. For more front page wit, check out News Rodeo on any major music or podcasting app, or visit
https://newsrodeo.co.uk
Art Lessons
Some months ago, we featured Tania Kaczynski and her work as an art psychotherapist in the space she created for those who use painting to ease their trauma.
The New Art Studio, founded in 2014, was set up as a lifeline for refugees and asylum seekers to experience art therapy in an informal atmosphere.
The startling and spectacular work they created illustrates their courage, loss and redemption and it is now available for all in the book, Who Am I? The story of a London art studio for asylum seekers and refugees.
With the artwork set alongside the studio members’ deeply personal stories, the book is a valuable education for us all.
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