<a href="http://pigyard.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/russell-howard-wonderboxde.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-full wp-image-2283" src="http://pigyard.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/russell-howard-wonderboxde.jpg" alt="russell-howard-wonderbox(de" width="244" height="180" /></a>

We booked this many months ago before Jane's diagnosis and we did wonder whether it could be fitted in around her treatment but it turned out really well. We travelled down to Birmingham (don't trust postcodes on Sat Navs but that's another story) to stay overnight at the <a title="Arden Hotel Birmingham NEC" href="http://www.ardenhotel.co.uk/" target="_blank">Arden Hotel</a>, a short walk (yes it was only 10 minutes) from the LG Arena.

We've been watching Russell Howard on BBC Three for several years and enjoy his light touch humour. In "Wonderbox" he covers politics, religion and racism but he does this by acting like an overgrown child and gleefully retelling tales of winding up his mum, getting up to mischief and mildly rebelling, (think, eating After Eight mints <em>before</em> 8pm).

He expertly adopts every character he creates – whether it’s his West Country mum or a lion on board Noah’s Ark – with excitable energy. He has a wonderful turn of phrase, too, even at his most graphic: a ‘fanny fart’ sounds like ‘a walrus applauding as it falls down stairs’, for instance. And like his Good News TV show he finishes with a couple of heart wrenching moments - the first when a member of the audience asks to arm wrestle on stage only to turn round and ask his fiancé to marry him in front of 10,000 people. The second is the story of a teenage with terminal cancer who persuades Russell to wear a penis costume at his impending funeral and then the teenager recovers to be photographed wearing the costume himself. We had a great night together at our first ever arena gig.

After a good night's sleep at the Arden then up early for an easy drive back to Lincoln Hospital for Jane's 11 am appointment for her chemotherapy session - and more on this later.