I usually hear Jon Richardson’s dulcet tones through a sleepy headed funk.  His Sunday morning radio show with Russell Howard is required hangover listening in my house.  However this was the first time that I’ve ever seen his stand up and I was a little worried that if he was rubbish I’d feel let down.  In my head this would then lead me having to find new Sunday morning entertainment that hadn’t fooled around with my expectations.  Luckily this rather extreme outcome was completely avoided when I discovered that he was really rather funny indeed. The show consists of Richardson moaning for an hour but it’s a weirdly positive brand of misanthropy.  He is optimistic about various aspects of life – such as cooking and Gordon Brown.  The problem is that he is consistently let down by human nature.  He’s tried to be nice to people but in the end he’s always taken advantage of.  Oh, and he also hates Jeremy Clarkson, which is perfectly fine by me. Richardson seems to be one of those comedians that really doesn’t have to work hard to get laughs.  This means that he’s either naturally gifted or so good at what he does that he makes it seem effortless.  Based on this show his place in my Sunday mornings is assured.  *****