Dear Rita, Larry and J K,

John Cooper Clarke is a very funny man. I used to see him around back in the day, and I think we probably both had the same fondness for dangerous things — drugs and humour. I remember standing in the audience at some little club, maybe forty years ago, and watching John, staggered by his speed and virtuosity and mordant humour, and laughing and laughing and laughing. I have never forgotten his famous haiku –

To con-vey one’s mood

In sev-en-teen syll-able-s

Is ve-ry dif-fic

So, if you’re in lockdown and feeling low and need to laugh, go online, check out John Cooper Clarke and have your faith in humanity restored. A brilliant, brilliant man.

Love, Nick