My Jamaican people are the best! I'm always inspired, encouraged, intrigued and amused by the interactions that ensue, and the reactions I get from Jamaican people as I travel around this lovely but battered little blue ball we call Earth. Somehow, most of our people operate under the assumption that comedians live extremely one-dimensional lives and the only thing a comedian ever does with his or her time is delivering or collecting jokes.

For some weird reason, a lot of people also believe that comedians are always happy and are always supposed to be smiling. So many people who know me from stage or screen suffer a sometimes major bout of disillusionment when they have an up-close and personal encounter with my very serious and often miserable private persona.

There are folks who will meet me in the immigration line at Uncle Sam's airport, in the waiting room at a doctor's office, or sitting in church for a funeral and look at me with the pleasant expectation of a joke. And I never fail to disappoint them. I very often ask them if they request or expect a rendition of their favourite lover's rock tune whenever they have the pleasure of personally encountering Beres Hammond. "Every time yu meet a police officer, do you expect a body search or a shoot-out? And unnu ask for a sermon every time unnu buck up a pastor?" When I put it to them like that, some immediately get it. Of course, some take great umbrage and I get some serious cut eye or rude remark.

Then there are those who think I'm always on the hunt for new material. Everyone wants to tell me a joke or share their idea for a funny skit. It seems as if most people feel that I'm always on the lookout for new talent, and if I don't mind sharp, they'd stop in the middle of a busy thoroughfare and put down a serious audition for me. And if I don't give them the desired or expected attention, I get some strong reprimand, and some righteous rebuke.

'give dem a buss'

Yeah man, everybody want fi buss. And look here nuh, if I got a Jamaican dollar for every time somebody asked me to 'give dem a buss' on the Ity & Fancy cat show, I'd have the equivalent of US$1 million in my possession by now! It seems the show, now in the middle of its fifth season, has captured the imagination of a very large, diverse and very vocal audience both here on the rock and in the Diaspora all over the world.

comedy show in London

And talking about the world, guess what! Ity and Fancy Cat and me heading to good old London next week to join the rest of the world at the big Olympic Games. Yeah man, but we're not just going to watch the Games; we're actually going to proudly represent Jamaica at a series of comedy shows. Oh, and for the folks who want to buss a joke, catch up missed comedy performance, audition for a part or just interact with their favourite comedy duo, take note: in about two weeks time, you can do all that and more as we'll be www.ityandfancycat.com and the internet nah go good again.

box-mi-back@hotmail.com