April 23, 2001 11:05: In the age of mobile phones, e-mail and Burger King, the creative medium of poetry seems a little dated. Melodramatic phrases like "I wandered lonely as a cloud" and "Oh rose, thou art sick" just don't seem to fit with today's instant-everything culture.
It doesn't help that poets are a morose bunch whose writing is either depressing or totally nonsensical. Fortunately, it's not all doom and gloom as there are a handful of poets who take a more light-hearted outlook on this thing called life.
One of the best-known of these comic wordsmiths is the ever-popular Pam Ayres.
After she first appeared on the TV programme Opportunity Knocks more than 25 years ago, Ayres has become something of a national institution. She captivates her audience with hilarious observations, intriguing storytelling and charismatic poetry recitals.
She has teamed up with charity group, The Oddfellows, to put on her new show An Evening With Pam Ayers. Not only will you get a good laugh for your ticket price but, better still, all the profits are going to the Acorn Children's Cancer Appeal at Queen Mary's Hospital, Sidcup.
The plan is to raise £300,000 to build a new unit to care for young victims of cancer and their families. Terminally ill children are, without doubt, a genuine issue in all our lives when compared to the old lonely-as-a-cloud line. Buy a ticket, have a chuckle and help out the kids.
An Evening With Pam Ayers is on at The Rose Theatre, Sidcup, on Friday April 27. Tickets cost £12.50 and can be booked on 020 8308 2616 with all profits going to Acorn Children's Cancer Appeal.
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