Reasons to be cheerful.... and sad 123

Summer, Buddy Holly, the working folly
Good golly Miss Molly and boats
Hammersmith Palais, the Bolshoi Ballet
Jump back in the alley and nanny goats
Ian Drury

Spring, Ziggy Stardust, the latent lust
Watching the CanCan kicks and soaps
Hackney Empire, the local flicks
Knock down ginger,and skipping ropes
Rattie

Drove past a carpet of crocuses this morning, a blaze of purple and yellow. Enjoyed two days of blue skies and felt sun on my face. Spring is peeping out and the Winter is coming to an end. About bloody time!

Why isn't smugness a deadly sin? Seven may be the 'magic' number but if we are going to have deadly sins why not have eight eh? Add smugness to wrath, avarice, sloth, pride, lust, envy, and gluttony. 'Smugness' - Exhibiting or feeling great or offensive satisfaction with oneself or with one's situation; self-righteously complacent. Even worse when accompanied by 'gloating' - To feel or express great, often malicious, pleasure or self-satisfaction. Smugloating! See what I've done there? That thing people did with 'chill' and 'relax' -'chillaxing'. Hmmm.

I was became aware of someone smugloating today. And then I happened to notice it in several other situations and it is not nice. If someone has tried hard to make something work, taken a few risks, gone out on a limb, if their venture hasn't worked out the last thing they need is someone saying,(while wearing the face of a cat who's got the cream), 'yeah, I knew you were wasting your time, some people just can't be helped, don't know why you bothered' or when someones job is one the line the last thing they want to hear is 'yeah, glad I saw the writing on the wall and got out before the shit hit the fan'. Maybe it is just more prevalent in times of uncertainty. There are some not very nice people out there.

Today a very nice man died, Michael Foot, ex leader of the Labour Party (when it was the Labour Party)and book lover. I was fortunate to see Mr Foot at the Hackney Empire some years ago. I remember him as being very old and frail, but enthralling. He read something from a much loved book of his (I can't remember what it was) but it had meant a lot to him and his nephew, Paul, who had recently died and for whom the evening at the Empire was a tribute for. I remember he finished with a joke about the book and the audience were moved from sadness to laughter in a matter of minutes. I remember too the respect and admiration the audience had for this great man of politics. RIP.