The Lighter Side

By: Andy Thompson

Narrated by: Pete Nottage

Length: 2 hrs and 51 mins

Publisher's Summary

From the paramedic pondering a dignified solution as he surveys his previously digested Pot Noodle adorning the naked genitalia of a recently deceased lady, to the man who rang the doctor Out of Hours service with an audibly severe case of excess flatulence, with hilarious consequences, and the old lady's wig that caused one chuckling paramedic to struggle to keep a hold of the carry-chair, The Lighter Side - An NHS Paramedic's Selection of Humorous Mess Room Tales will have you laughing out loud then looking around furtively, wondering if you should!

In his The Dark Side series, Andy Thompson gives us a taste of the dark sense of humor paramedics use as a coping mechanism; here he packs laugh-out-loud moments into every word as he recalls health care professionals' encounters with the weirdest of behavior, hilarious misunderstandings, and cringingly embarrassing episodes. You'll soon be relating to the sense of humor that moves an ambulance driver to respond to his friend and fellow paramedic's predicament on a hot summer's day, as a powerful smell engulfs the saloon of the vehicle. What would you do? Open the cab windows and the hatch through to the saloon to provide some extra ventilation? Of course not! You switch the heating on, causing the already intolerable pong to become even more unbearable, making for a bangin' mess room tale on your later return!

This book is an eye-watering insight into the Lighter Side of working on the Dark Side, straight from the mess rooms of ambulance stations up and down the UK. There's also a heartening reminder of the power of a flamin' good belly laugh and its analgesic effect even in situations of severe pain. This is a book that laughs in the face of extreme emotion and stress. Outrageous? Perhaps. Distasteful? Probably. Humorous? Absolutely!

©2016 Andy Thompson (P)2016 Andy Thompson

Funny but too short

(As posted in GoodReads)
An amusing collection of medical stories from one of the first contacts of the patients. Too short…

Funny

Enjoyable, funny stories. Narrator was great. You can truly visualize each story. Definitely recommend for a funny read.

Not really very funny, at least to me.

These did not strike me as humorous or entertaining. I am an RN, and I totally understand this sort of story telling and humor, and often I too find things hilarious in my work. I do not know if it might be a cultural difference, as this gentleman is British, or his delivery, or what. Also I do think the punch line, so to speak, is often predictable from the beginning of each story, which of course does not evoke hilarity either. Not my cup of tea.

Ambulance Tales On The Far Side Of The Pond

It's a little different over there, but after you get used to their terminology and Spence of humor it is great.

good, but not great.

Was a good story to fill the time. Nothing against the author, but as an EMT myself, the stories just weren't that funny. Overall worth the read!

Could not finish

Would you try another book from Andy Thompson and/or Pete Nottage?

No

Any additional comments?

This is the 10th book of medical stories that I have purchased and listened to - but could not finish it - kept thinking the next story would be interesting, funny, or something - but they were very shallow.

Repetitive following The Dark side 1 & 2

Was quite good but at least 4 of the stories had featured in The Dark Side 1 or 2

3 people found this helpful

Oh dear

Overall 2/5

Why didn't the author read his previous books before writing this? He repeats some stories already told about three or four times. On the whole, it's a bit better than the previous two books, it doesn't sound quite so much as a court of law.

Performance 2/5

Same narrator, same problem - too fast.

Story 2/5

I'd have given this a higher rating if not for the repetitions of stories.

On the whole, I'd suggest giving the whole series a miss.

1 person found this helpful

Beyond distasteful; not funny

What disappointed you about The Lighter Side?

This book dutifully warned of occasionally offensive anecdotes and gave several disclaimers about the author's - and wider healthcare profession's - use of black humour as a means to cope with the horrific nature of the job. As a mental health nurse in a busy NHS hospital, black humour does not upset or bother me in the slightest; in fact I was looking forward to it! However the anecdote about the man calling for help as he hanged himself and then being found dead the next day just wasn't funny whatsoever. I was disgusted and stopped listening at that point. There is humour to be found everywhere if you look hard enough, even in suicide, but this book utterly failed to find or portray it.

Would you ever listen to anything by Andy Thompson again?

No, this put me off the author entirely.

Did the narration match the pace of the story?

The narration was sometimes a little slow and expressionless for what was intended to be a humorous book. Overall thought it wasn't bad.

3 people found this helpful

Awesome

Hilarious feels like your with them on every call out cant wait to listen to the dark side 2 can't stop listening

1 person found this helpful

Waste of time

What disappointed you about The Lighter Side?

Sample only slightly funny bit.

What was most disappointing about Andy Thompson’s story?

all of it apart from the sample.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from The Lighter Side?

95% of it.

Any additional comments?

Listen to the sample, then forget it.

1 person found this helpful

Hilarious

Absolutely brilliant, could not stop laughing. Definitely a must buy if you're a paramedic or even if your not