While this Christmas is likely to be vastly different to the ones we’ve enjoyed in the past, the lead-up to it since the firebreak was lifted has been no different to previous festive seasons.

There’s the same old Christmas songs blasting out in the shops and supermarkets; glum-faced shoppers queueing at the tills; and TV channels cheekily announcing their “Best Ever! Line-Up Of Festive Specials” that, in reality, would send even the most easily-pleased viewer in search of a good book to read.

And if that doesn’t win me “The Wales Press Award For The Longest Sentence In A 2020 Article”, I don’t know what will.

So, like many of you these days I sometimes feel the need to switch off from the hustle and bustle (I think I know what a hustle is, but I’m on shakier ground when it comes to a bustle), close my eyes and relax.

The problem is, that’s usually the time strangers come up to me and say, “Oi! Phil, mate! I know you’re a comedian, but what makes you laugh?”

My usual reply is “Kindly get out of my bathroom before all my soapy suds disappear and the water gets cold!”

Many comedy greats of the past and present can tickle my funny bone, as do some lesser-known stand-ups I’ve worked with around Wales – when the comedy clubs and theatres were open – with sharp material and great stage presence.

Apart from performers, what makes me want to laugh out loud are the comments I overhear when sitting in coffee shops – always at a safe social distance.

I once heard a woman say to her friend “He’s been getting on my nerves and I’m fed up to the black teeth!”

Then there were the two ladies discussing what they were having for dinner that night… “I was thinking of cooking pasta”.  “Spaghetti?”  “No. Can-a-lonely”.

And here’s one to remember next time you’re waiting at the tills for ages…. Two ladies were discussing their favourite author… “Of course, that’s not his real name.”  “I didn’t know that!”   “Yes, he writes under a plom de nume!”

Happy queuing!