Review of Howard Marks – Live at Greenwich Comedy Festival, London

Do you know the best way to avoid being caught at customs searches? Lion shit. So says Howard Marks, the legendary Welsh don of dope smokers who used the moniker ‘Mr Nice’ in his smuggling days in the 1980s, when he was Britain’s most wanted fugitive. All you have to do apparently, is weigh up an ounce of a lion’s finest and wrap it neatly in a concealed part of your luggage. If you are caught, it diverts attention away from your real stash, hidden internally, and if you are searched by a sniffer dog, the poor mutt takes one sniff and runs for the hills to the bemusement of its trainer. It also freaks out police horses if you are planning a demonstration, as were commonplace for Marks in the Vietnam-era 1970s. Throw some of that and the horse flees with its rider hanging off fearing for his life. Nothing illegal about carry lion shit with you! And it’s easy to come by – Marks used to buy a sackful for £3 from Dudley Zoo. Continue reading →