Cricket aims to clock up a century of lockdown levity
Jimmy Cricket is planning to complete a century of his special daily video messages.
For the past two months or so, Jimmy has been sending all his fans and friends togetherness posts as the world fights coronavirus.
The UK government announced on 23 March it was imposing strict new curbs on life in the UK.
However, some of the restrictions for the Covid-19 lockdown are now starting to be relaxed.
Jimmy has been posting the videos on social media with the message: “We can do this together!”
He created the first daily message the day before the lockdown and has attempted to give them topical themes.
He told a few jokes in the clip and urged people to help each other in these tough times.
He said: “Once we get though this, at the end of the tunnel, we’ll all have a great big huddle together.”
Jimmy posted number 66 today (Sunday 31 May) and reveals he wants to reach 100.
Watch post 66 here.
He has written this message to all his fans, friends and followers:
“Hi Friends, Just to let you know May and I are thinking of you during these troubled and turbulent times.
“This virus has brought so much heartbreak and sadness to so many that every morning you wake up praying that the tide will turn and it looks now that it slowly has.
“I noticed that the Daily Telegraph have a special column dedicated to good news.
“They reported that Northern Ireland had no new deaths on Monday for the first time since March 21.
“They also mentioned that care home staff in Devon have set up a restaurant-style drive-through which will allow residents to see their loved ones, and that Lloyd Falk, a 100-year-old Second World War veteran and one of the first coronavirus patients to be hospitalised in Virginia, has survived.
“All these stories lift our spirits and I suppose that’s why I thought about doing something to cheer people up.
“It was my youngest daughter Katie who suggested I do a joke each day on social media not long after the lockdown had kicked in.
“Before we knew it, we’d got to day 54 when one of our Facebookers suggested I go for the 100 jokes.
“His name was Paul Ritchie and I bought into his idea right away.
“After all, I can’t go on indefinitely and as I write this the last NHS clap-off has just taken place.
“These clap-offs were an inspired idea and brought us all together to show our appreciation for the front-line heroes.
“When I say daily jokes, they come in various forms. It could be a couple of quick one-liners or a longer joke with a punchline.
‘Phenomenal job’
“In some cases it could be a poem. The trick is to keep it short. After all, there’s no live audience so it’s a silent feedback.
“I put on my character costume of tail coat, hat and wellingtons and do them in weekly batches of seven and just drop them in each day one at a time.
“Mrs Cricket’s the one behind the camera and she does a phenomenal job.
“I’m constantly astounded how good the quality is on her iPhone.
“I try to make them relevant to what’s happening in the news.
“For instance some schools are opening this week so I’ve been doing jokes about my schooldays.
“Next, I’ll theme my material on shops opening and so on.
“I’m thrilled by the emails and texts I get from people telling me how much I cheer them up.
“So back to the goal of a hundred. A quick calculation points to July the fourth as the big day.
“Look forward to welcoming as many people as possible on my journey of lockdown levity.”
Jimmy Cricket has sent a video message of support to a Shropshire hospital during the coronavirus pandemic.