Riddle me this
Gyles Brandreth’s new book will have you puzzled
WHAT goes ninety-nine BONK? A centipede with a wooden leg!
If you liked that, you’ll love the new book by Master of Funny and Collector of Riddles, Gyles Brandreth, 74.
In What Goes Up White & Comes Down Yellow? you’ll find amazing riddles, brilliant riddling facts, and tips on how to solve the trickiest brainteasers.
So we thought we’d solve a few riddles of our own by putting some questions to the man himself.
Has humour always been a huge part of your life?
Yes. My dad would balance a pillow on top of a door, so it fell on you as you walked through, and gave me a trick glass as a birthday present. When you drink from it, you dribble.
Were you a joker as a child?
Before I was 10, I was doing impersonations of the comedians of the day –
Tony Hancock, Frankie Howerd and Ken Dodd. I collected joke books and my ambition was to be the person who wrote the jokes and riddles for Christmas crackers. I sent some jokes to a cracker company and they used some, though told me my favourite wasn’t ‘suitable’. (What does the Queen do when she burps? She issues a Royal ‘Pardon’).
How important is humour?
It’s essential. If you laugh, you last! I’m with [the poet] Maya Angelou: “Laugh as much as possible, always laugh. It’s the sweetest thing one can do for oneself and one’s fellow human beings.”
Who makes you laugh?
People like Harry Hill, Tim Vine and Milton Jones.
What do you hope this book will bring to people?
Happiness! Laughter! And a sense of the fantastic fun you can have playing with riddles.
■ What Goes Up White & Comes Down Yellow? by Gyles Brandreth, pictured above, £10.99 for hardback, Puffin.