BRITISH people love to moan. And given the general theme of Britishness throughout Andy Parson's comedy gig at the Corn Exchange last night, it seems only right to bring up the negatives first.

BRITISH people love to moan. And given the general theme of Britishness throughout Andy Parson's comedy gig at the Corn Exchange last night, it seems only right to bring up the negatives first.

Yet amid the sweltering heat of the venue, minimal seating space and sickness smells, the crowd were treated to two hours of decent comedy.

Known to many as the quick-witted, follically-challenged one from BBC's Mock the Week, Parsons always comes up with perfectly constructed one-liners, which are seemingly off the cuff, when he is on the TV, and that is exactly what he reproduced at yesterday's gig.

The show, which is one of his final ones in a five-month UK tour, covered a range of topics focusing mainly on politics and current affairs, from President Obama to the Budget. Yet his skill was turning the dry issues into hilarious comment, while at the same time making very good points and suggesting ideas on how to improve things, like using Hobnobs instead of sandbags to soak up the moisture during a flood.

During the first half, someone was taken ill and as Parsons could not see what was going on through the commotion, he began making jibes and pointing fun.

When he realised what had happened, you could feel his pain but his recovery was smooth and faultless. He even touched on it again on the second half, claiming that swine flu had now arrived in Ipswich and warned everyone nearby to buy a mask. I'll be getting mine today.

His fast-paced satirical humour left everyone in the packed auditorium in stitches and he finished to a rapturous applause, leaving no one in doubt of the reasons for his growing popularity.

NAOMI CASSIDY