Tag: Smile

Life, Work

All Smiles

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After too many months under an oppressive cloud, it’s all come right in the last two weeks.

During a perfect family holiday last week, the sun never set. It even shone as I rolled our usually sodden tent – this time blissfully dry – back into its bag.

This week, I returned to masses of opportunity with TV, radio and print, change at the top and a super trip to speak at and see a successful Glasgow 2014 – it’s all good.

But perhaps best of all, I’ve rediscovered a smile. Walking out of the cinema this afternoon with the boy and the missus, I gave the ticket man a big grin and a cheery “Thank you”. In return I got not one, but a spontaneous double thumbs up! Smile and the world smiles with you.

It feels good to be out from under the the last few months. And to be smiling again in the summer sun.

: )

Life

Pictures vs Words

A game of two halves this week. Among the ink usefully spent, various modest contributions to the sum of human knowledge – but a good deal also wasted on other people’s zero sum games.

Such is the human experience; as much effort often spent on impeding each other, as on creating something new or sustaining something good. But there were good things – and two of them are encapsulated in pictures.

First a creative impulse one lunchtime to cut and paste some enthusiastic comments into a simple picture – what sums up the UK? Here’s what people round the world think.20140503-095349.jpg

And people round the world also liked it – 50 odd retweets and favourites and 500 plus likes on Facebook. This simple picture generated well over a thousand words, and the great majority positive. Just goes to show that most people like something nice to smile about on social media – especially a picture.

The other image is a restoration job. History is lost every day, but if you have the good fortune and responsibility to look after a piece of it, so you should. Our little piece of English history looks better cared for than ever.

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These two simple pictures will last in the memory far longer than any of the nonsense this week. And that makes me smile.

Life

Queen

Chugging slowly with a car full around a clogged South Circular last Sunday, I was simultaneously cheered and touched by my other half.

As as the peerless Freddie Mercury sang…

I’ve been with you such a long time
You’re my sunshine and I want you to know
That my feelings are true
I really love you
Oh you’re my best friend

…milady sang along and pointed at me. I smiled a truly happy smile. Some songs say all you need.