If you’re anything like us, the only thing making the adjustments to a new life of social distancing not completely unbearable, is Hamish Blake’s new Zoom for One More series.
With more people working from home than ever before – and many of them using video conferencing program Zoom to connect – the 38-year-old spied a cheeky opportunity.
Hamish put a call out for Zoom conference links and passwords and has been gatecrashing virtual meet-ups ever since – with hilarious results.
So naturally, we rounded up some of the most amusing so far.
Hamish has been dropping in unannounced in a variety of Zoom meetings.
(Image: @hamishblakeshotz/ Instagram)
The Tasmanian primary school all-staff briefing
The prank started off innocently enough, when Hamish stealthily entered a Tasmanian primary school all-staff briefing over Zoom, and no one battered an eyelid.
But it wasn’t long before Hamish was adding his two cents into the meeting, and left the teachers baffled when he interjected with a pressing question.
“Sorry guys can I just say one thing? Can I just jump in here?” he asked. “What are we going to do about year five?”
While the question was sadly never directly answered, the teachers did impress Hamish with their clever use of emojis on the platform.
Nice!
The official Airforce flight-log meeting
Unfortunately, not everyone can appreciate the funny side of Hamish unexpectedly sliding into their work meeting.
When Hamish – appropriately decked out in a gold bomber jacket with his name emblazoned on the front – gatecrashed an airforce flight log meeting, high ranking officials were less than impressed.
As Hamish’s name popped up on screen, an irate officer asked” “Who has done that? It’s not funny, it’s a work thing.”
After some amusing back and forth banter about whether or not the airforce should make the gold jacket the official uniform, and deciding on a hard “no” to wearing pants with said jacket, Hamish said, “I won’t say who invited me because I’m just getting a slight vibe they could get in trouble.”
And it appears the Zoom gatecrash did in fact have some real life consequences, as it was revealed just days later that the Australian Defence Force had banned its personnel from using the conferencing platform, citing security concerns.
The early morning F45 session
Virtual exercise classes have surged in popularity after the government ordered the temporary shutdown of all gyms in a bid to “flatten the curve”.
So it was only a matter of time before Hamish dropped by uninvited, eager to get his fitness hit.
Rising bright and early, Hamish made his way into a 6.15am F45 class and was soon put through the paces by the enthusiastic trainer, starting with mountain climbers and push-ups.
As the class continued, Hamish became more and more distracting, and halfway through, he was unceremoniously booted.
Despite the indignity of a forced exit, Hamish took his ejection in his stride, later writing about the F45 trainer: “Never got his name, but he chose chin ups over chin wagging and that only highlights his professionalism. Was still an honour to be in the class for two minutes!”
Late night ballet class
Fortunately, Hamish had better luck in a late night ballet class.
However, despite being dressed to impress and ready to pirouette in his best lyrca outfit, Hamish was almost instantly shot down for his choice of attire.
“I think the leotard is a bit too short at the front,” one class member told him.
After urging the others to do away with the rules and regulations imposed by the Australian Ballet, Hamish led the rallying cry of “let’s just ballet our way!”
Moments later, it appears that meant turning the graceful ballet moves into a clumsy attempt at doing “the worm”, as Hamish hit the floor.
“Catch that? That was a triple worm!” he proudly told the others.
The New Zealand book club
Requiring a little less physical effort from Hamish was hijacking a book club meeting, which was taking place in New Zealand.
Hamish opted for comfort, as the dressing gown-clad comedian donned a towel around his head and had a scotch in hand for the meeting.
He had no idea which book they were discussing – and he certainly had not read it beforehand – but that didn’t stop him from bluffing his way through the chat.
“I want to say a few things about the book off the top. Number one, the title. What did you guys think of the title?” he asked.
“What were your favourite words in the title?”
He added: “I loved it. I didn’t love all of it, I thought it was a bit slow in the middle third but I thought it finished strong and that’s sort of all I want to say about the book. Let’s talk Tiger King!”
Well played Hamish, well played.
