That said, how can any of us be entirely sure that certain tweets that seem beyond parody aren't actually parodies after all?
Or that po-faced-seeming tweets from BBC reporters aren't actually self-mocking ones?
Case in point. This morning's Broadcasting House on Radio 4. A frothy, amusing discussion about cakes - including historic cakes with lots of cream in them. Cue a tweet to BH from veteran BBC reporter (and BH regular) Hugh Sykes:
Now, is that a po-faced BBC reporter making a po-faced, nanny-statist point (of the kind BBC types are often thought to make), complete with a leaden attempt at humour? Or is that Hugh sending up those kind of people and that kind of tweet?
Knowing Hugh (though only through his Tweets and reporting), I'm inclining towards the former but...who knows? It would be good to think it's the latter, and that Hugh's cheerfully channeling his inner Sir Toby Belch:
Dost thou think, because thou art virtuous, there shall be no more cakes and ale?