Let’s start with a joke.

A Caveman and a bear walk into a bar…

The bartender says: “Okay, what’s your story?”

The Caveman replies: “Bear with me.”

Okay, that was rotten.

But have you heard the one about the magician who lost all his magic?

Ian.

Or the one about the Bankie living with Cystic Fibrosis (CF) who turned to comedy three years ago and has just finished a stint at the Edinburgh Fringe?

Yvonne Hughes.

But Yvonne isn’t the punchline of a well-intended gag. No. This was and is Yvonne’s reality.

“Comedy was always something I turned to when I wasn’t well,” quips the 50-year-old comic ahead of her week-long run of gigs at the international comedy festival.

Now 50 years old, Yvonne was born with CF in 1973, a genetic condition caused by a faulty gene which is passed from both parents.

The disease causes sticky mucus to build up in the lungs and digestive system and brings on symptoms such as recurring chest infections, wheezing, coughing and shortness of breath and difficulty putting on weight and growing.

These symptoms exerted a terrible toll on the Clydebank native, who admits life before comedy was tough, an everyday battle where constant medication and routine physiotherapy had become the norm.

Yvonne continued: “I was very ill, and my lungs had deteriorated to the point where I needed a lung transplant if I was going to survive into late adulthood.

“But I wasn’t able to get a lung transplant because of complications.

“So, we decided, my family and me, just make memories and live life.”

It was then, in early 2020, in a pre-pandemic world when hardly anyone had used the words Covid, lockdown or Matt Hancock, that Yvonne decided she was going to focus on living, rather than just surviving.

“I was quite ill,” recalls the Bankie.

“At the time I was being supported by my parents and I thought; ‘I'm going to do an online course for myself.’

“And I was looking at art courses and then I just saw this comedy writing course and it was in person and I just thought you, know what that sounds brilliant.

“I didn't even know that part of it was to perform, so I just went for it, and I absolutely loved it.”

Fast forward three years and Yvonne admits she has never been happier.

She recounts performing her first stand-up gig just when coronavirus restrictions were being implemented and, with her condition putting her in the vulnerable category meaning she had to isolate, she believes it allowed her time to think about her new-found art.

“For me, the writing was a big thing.

“I've always written stuff but when I started writing comedy and people were laughing and you're getting gigs and you're getting booked and then asked to go back then it becomes a bit like a hobby you can’t give up.

“There's more excitement in it.

“You meet people that are from all different backgrounds and stories, and you don’t feel as different as you used to feel.”

Yvonne is all too aware she is attempting to follow in some big-name footsteps in pursuit of her dream, the likes of Marc Jennings, Stephen Buchanan and of course, Kevin Bridges already putting Clydebank firmly on the comedy map.

Her shows at the Edinburgh Fringe 2023 include Giggles from Glesga – an all-female show – and Crip The Light Fantastic, early steps on the road to stardom, she hopes.

But Yvonne explained it doesn’t matter where her comedy may take her, she is just happy to be doing something she loves and enjoys, an activity which helps her forget her cystic fibrosis.

She finished: “It's just been a miracle.

“People with CF weren’t living long lives and to get to this age exceeds the average life expectancy of somebody with this disease.

“Comedy has also given me a normal life which people may take for granted.

“I feel thankful that I have this time with my family and friends and I’m able to do something creative.

“Because I think it was always inside me, but I could never tap into it before because I couldn’t stop worrying about my health.”