'Putin on the Ritz': Sandwich board with daily jokes warmly welcomed in Old North

As we all suffer through an Ontario winter made worse by a pandemic lock down, no-show vaccines, dire daily news reports and everyone hunkered down at home, who wouldn't welcome any and all attempts to raise spirits right now?

That's what Diane Thompson in London, Ont. had in mind when she set up a sandwich board at the corner of Cheapside and Waterloo streets in Old North. Instead of advertising daily lunch specials, this board shares a joke — often an eye-roller — that's updated daily. 

"Oh gosh, I just think anything that can bring joy to anyone's day in this time is great," she said.

As Thompson is quick to disclose, the idea of a joke sandwich board wasn't hers. She borrowed it from a friend in Guelph who himself borrowed it from a similar board he'd enjoyed over the course of last summer before it suddenly stopped positing in August. 

Thompson's friend in Guelph started his joke sandwich board on Jan. 1 with the idea of creating a hopeful, humorous start to 2021 after the dread and dreariness that was 2020. 

"I saw his sandwich board posted on Facebook and I thought 'That's really a good idea. It's just so fun," said Thompson. "I suggested I could do a satellite location." 

Their informal affiliate agreement allows Thompson to use the same jokes as her Guelph friend. He texts them to her and she gets her board ready the night before. A handy neighbour of Thompson's, himself desperate for a project to break up the monotony, built the sandwich board for her.

Thompson drags it on the curb by 7 a.m., in time to tickle funny bones of people who pass. 

'Total Dad jokes'

Thompson's board made its debut on Jan. 18. So far she says people are loving the levity, even if the jokes are the kind of groaners only your uncle Merv could shamelessly say out loud at a holiday gathering. 

"They're total Dad jokes," said Thompson. 

Someone posted about Thompson's joke board on a local Facebook group and earned many likes. 

"People were responding well," said Thompson. "One lady said 'It will give me an incentive to go for my walk.'"

Another woman said the jokes make her laugh out loud but her kids, not so much. Of course, having to explain each gag to a younger generation makes the whole thing funnier. 

"The kids are like 'What are you laughing at?' said Thompson.

The joke on display Wednesday starts with the Russian president giving a speech at a cracker factory and ends with the phrase "Putin on the Ritz." You get the idea. Even Putin himself might chuckle at that one. Well, OK, maybe not.

"Even if it makes one or two people a day get a kick out of it, then it's totally worth it," said Thompson. 

You can spot the sandwich board at the northwest corner of Cheapside and Waterloo streets.