So I rang up my local swimming baths. I said ‘Is that the local swimming baths?’ He said ‘It depends where you’re calling from.’

Meaning of the quote

The quote is about a misunderstanding between a person calling a local swimming pool and the person who answered the phone. The person calling assumed the swimming pool was "local" to them, but the person who answered the phone said it depends on where the caller is calling from. This shows how the same place can be considered "local" by one person, but not by someone else, depending on where they are calling from.

About Tim Vine

Tim Vine is an English comedian known for his one-liners and his role on the sitcom ‘Not Going Out’. He’s won awards for best joke at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and held the Guinness World Record for the most jokes told in an hour.

More about the author

More quotes from Tim Vine

My house is a bit like a teenager’s bedroom. The kind of pictures you have hanging up on your wall say a lot about you. I’ve got ones of Evel Knievel, Elvis and Starsky and Hutch, signed by David Soul.

Tim Vine

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I’ll tell you what I love doing more than anything: trying to pack myself in a small suitcase. I can hardly contain myself.

Tim Vine

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Now you know those trick candles that you blow out and a couple of seconds.

Tim Vine

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I was reading a book… ‘the history of glue’ – I couldn’t put it down.

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Black beauty – he’s a dark horse.

Tim Vine

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I’ve just been on a once-in-a-lifetime holiday. I’ll tell you what, never again.

Tim Vine

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People ask ‘do you make a conscious effort not to swear?’ – if you’re doing silly stuff you’re not tempted to put swearing in. All the comics from my childhood, who were funny without swearing, were the people that influenced me. What I do is quite traditional anyway.

Tim Vine

English comedian

So I rang up my local swimming baths. I said ‘Is that the local swimming baths?’ He said ‘It depends where you’re calling from.’

Tim Vine

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I love acting, but it’s all just a bonus.

Tim Vine

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Now, most dentist’s chairs go up and down, don’t they? The one I was in went back and forwards. I thought ‘This is unusual’. And the dentist said to me ‘Mr Vine, get out of the filing cabinet.

Tim Vine

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You see I’m against hunting, in fact I’m a hunt saboteur. I go out the night before and shoot the fox.

Tim Vine

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So I rang up a local building firm, I said ‘I want a skip outside my house.’ He said ‘I’m not stopping you.’

Tim Vine

English comedian

So I went to the Chinese restaurant and this duck came up to me with a red.

Tim Vine

English comedian

With silly stuff, it’s seventy-five percent confidence. I always tell people that it’s because I’m nervous about getting that next laugh and I need to hear it. I always want to condense a joke.

Tim Vine

English comedian

I was at sea the other day and loads of meat floated past. It was a bit choppy.

Tim Vine

English comedian

I sit in places like Costa Coffee in Banstead and write rubbish. I need a deadline. I think about the 44 tour dates and keep imagining standing in front of all these people. Then every day I write 15 jokes minimum.

Tim Vine

English comedian

Apparently, one in five people in the world are Chinese. And there are five people in my family, so it must be one of them. It’s either my mum or my dad. Or my older brother, Colin. Or my younger brother, Ho-Chan-Chu. But I think it’s Colin.

Tim Vine

English comedian

Velcro: what a rip-off.

Tim Vine

English comedian

So I got home, and the phone was ringing. I picked it up, and said ‘Who’s speaking please?’ And a voice said ‘You are.’

Tim Vine

English comedian

You know, somebody actually complimented me on my driving today. They left a little note on the windscreen, it said ‘Parking Fine.’ So that was nice.

Tim Vine

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So I said to the gym instructor: ‘Can you teach me to do the splits?’ He said: ‘How flexible are you?’ I said: I can’t make Tuesdays.’

Tim Vine

English comedian

So I was getting into my car, and this bloke says to me “Can you give me a lift?” I said “Sure, you look great, the world’s your oyster, go for it.'”

Tim Vine

English comedian