The Funny Fifth Column
UMOUR is perhaps the one British characteristic which puzzles Britain’s enemies most. Hymns of hate are answered with songs about barrels and the ladies who tap them; ferocity is countered by jocosity; misfortune is lightened by the conviction that, however dark the day, Fortune is apt to snip on the light at any moment. The British people possess the priceless gitt of singing best in the dark. And it is in such dark moments that humour most truly comes into its own. Humour, not treachery, is Britain’s fifth column; and it is a weapon more deadly to her enemies than they can ever imagine. It is an invisible mystery to them, something which works against them in secret, which cannot be put to flight with tanks or routed by cannon. It takes up no space in a:soldier’s pack or a civilian’s lunch bag; it cannot be captured or imprisoned behind barbed wire, and it is benignly intectious.‘("The Sériousness of Humour," Ken Alexander, 4YA, July 29).
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New Zealand Listener, Volume 5, Issue 112, 15 August 1941, Page 5
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169The Funny Fifth Column New Zealand Listener, Volume 5, Issue 112, 15 August 1941, Page 5
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Copyright in the work University Entrance by Janet Frame (credited as J.F., 22 March 1946, page 18), is owned by the Janet Frame Literary Trust. The National Library has been granted permission to digitise this article and make it available online as part of this digitised version of the New Zealand Listener. You can search, browse, and print this article for research and personal study only. Permission must be obtained from the Janet Frame Literary Trust for any other use.
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