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Each week a different comedian solves Londoners’ issues. This week, the brilliantly wry stand-up and director, Liam Williams.
Dear Liam, I am finding 2016 very depressing. How do you suggest I go about cheering myself up? Ash, Holborn
Dear Ash, For me, solace is found in the fact that as the good in life becomes rarer it also become more dear. Things that I previously took for granted as commonplace are now charged with a bittersweet and succouring power: cups of tea, smiles from strangers, Gary Lineker. Cherish it all.
Dear Liam, My office crush has moved desks and now sits opposite me. How can I get any work done now? Elizabeth, Denmark Hill
Dear Elizabeth, Don’t fight your desire. Insane though love is, the one use it still has is in its power to remind us that work, especially office work, is an unnecessary capitalist construct designed to prevent people from ever finding higher human purpose. And if you get fired? Well, as Oscar Wilde said, ‘Who, being loved, is poor?’
Dear Liam, All of my friends have therapists and I feel left out. Should I get one too? Miriam, Streatham Hill
Dear Miriam, Are you rich? If so, obviously. If not, and you feel genuinely concerned about your mental wellbeing, contact your local mental health service. There are some very good ones. If, on reflection, you think you can manage to keep on keeping on, I recommend meditation. Just don’t, whatever you do, get into those adult colouring books.
Dear Liam, I am listening to so many podcasts that Iím not sure whether I am able to read a book any more. Should I be worried? Thomas, Walthamstow
Dear Thomas, If you’re so obsessed with podcasts, perhaps try reading a book about podcasts. And read a book on the tube. Don’t read Time Out; it will make you moronic.
Liam Williams is at London Wonderground with Shakespeare's Twelfth Night With Comedians on Jul 18. From £15.50.
Find out how advice compared when Gina Yashere solved London's problems.