I read the morning papers with a strong cup of coffee in hand. Steeling myself for the latest local tragedy, stupidity from the American circus, or massacre of innocents in Gaza. There’s not much to smile about, let alone laugh.

Then I turn the page, and lo and behold I meet the Llama Patrol. You may not have heard of the Llama Patrol. Most haven’t. But back in the day (1970s) they saved many an unsuspecting bather and water-skier at Northland’s Kai Iwi lakes from, yes you guessed it, llamas.

As Kevin Norquay of the Sunday Star Times writes, “(They were) New Zealand’s most successful volunteer water safety organisation (saving) countless lives from a menace no-one else was even aware of.”

The fact that the danger never existed was beside the point. (Or was the point.)

The patrol was formed by five brave young kiwis. Sporting hats, banners, and signs warning ‘Beware of the Llamas,’ they set themselves up by the lakes with plastic binoculars and waited.

An impressed spectator wrote to the Northland News and letters came in a flurry. Some hailed their effectiveness, others tried to claim credit for their exemplary work, and others sought to undermine them with their assertions there were no llamas for swimmers to need protection from.

If you feel like a chuckle read Norquay’s article

https://www.thepost.co.nz/nz-news/360637081/no-lives-lost-unsung-heroes-llama-patrol

Of course you may not chuckle. Such humour is not to everyone’s taste. I once related a similar animal escapade to an American friend who just looked at me blankly waiting for the punchline.

That was the story of Woody, a traumatised giraffe found on a West Coast beach (Hokitika). Speculation has it that she fell from a passing circus ship and swam ashore. Woody was befriended by white-baiters who took advantage of her great height, and then abandoned her when the bait stopped running. She was found two weeks later, near death. Her saviours brought her to Christchurch where they decided she needed a new home.

And so it came to pass that Woody was listed on Trade Me (all proceeds to Orana WildlifePark). Being a popular and unusual listing she also came to the attention of the Christchurch Press.

Like with the Llama Patrol there was a flurry of letters to the editor. “That’s just a piece of driftwood” said one. “I think she needs a loving home environment,” wrote another, “that’s the thing with trauma the higher up you are the worse you can feel.” Other's questioned Woody's family tree and noted the giraffe held a strong resemblance to their brother-in-law.

The Llama Patrol and Woody do my heart good. I’m of the generation when the Goon Show and Monty Python gave us inspiration and license to create absurdities, or to repurpose Shakespeare, King Arthur, even the Bible to the same end. It was great fun.

Of course not everyone laughed. Some even protested. Which just added to the laughs.

And, O Lord, we need some laughs just now.