There’s a 1940’s sang made famous by aat gran jazz trumpeter an singer, the late Louis “Satchmo” Armstrong ca’d “When Your Smiling” faar ae line suggests “the hail warld smiles wi you”. Bob Smith writes for ‘Voice.
Noo ye maybe canna aye ging aboot wi a smile on yer face aa the time, cos mannies in fite coats drivin a yalla vannie micht come by an cairt ye awa tae the nearest mental hospital, bit gyaan bi a nummer o soor faces a see in ma traivels ye’d think een or twa puir craiturs hid lost the winnin lottery ticket.
There are days masel fin a’ve bin doon in the moo bit there’s aye somethin gyaan on fit pits a smile back on ma fizzog.
Openin the curtins in the mornin an seein the sun shinin an hearin the birdies singin are jist twa examples.
A nummer o fowk spik aboot their busy lives pittin them unner pressure an they fun it difficult tae smile. Slowin thingies doon a bittie fowks micht help. As ma grunnie used tae say,
“Smile, cos yer a lang time deid”
Some billies get fair vexed fin the growth rate o the Gross National Product o wir kwintra draps doon. Iss gyangs richt ower ma heid as a’m nae an economist, an a’m sure tryin tae wark it oot wid hae ye losin the will tae smile.
As a’m nae fashed aboot the GNP or the FTSE a can affoord tae smile a bittie mair afen, alang wi the gweed fowk o Bhutan faa’s heid yins cam up wi the idea o GNH ( Gross National Happiness ), fit meesured fowk’s quality o life, foo muckle leesure time they hiv, fit’s happenin in their community an foo weel integrated they are wi their culture an the environmint.
Much mair ceevilised wyes o deein thingies in iss wee remote Himalayan kingdom than here a’m thinkin. Cwid iss idea wark in oor kwintra?
We shud bi happy nivvertheless tae bide in sic a placie steepit in history an tradishun
Weel we’d hae tae radically chynge oor ideas aboot meesurin happiness throwe foo muckle spendulicks wi hiv in the bunk or foo wir shares are deein an git awa fae the materialism culture faar spendin siller on lots o thingies wi dinna really need is supposed tae gie us a gweed buzz. GNH is worth a fling if it helps fowk intae a mair smiley mood.
If ye git the idea a think aabody in Aiberdeen are meesrable sods, iss is nae the case. The fowk faa hope the City Gairdens Project is deid in the watter are smilin richt noo fae chik tae chik, and there are a lot o mannies an wifies faa are nae jist smilin, bit are splittin their sides laachin aboot the mair an mair daft haverins cumin fae a certain Donald J Trump aboot the winfairms an Michael Forbes winnin “ Tap Scot” award.
Trumpie is a chiel faa winna be smilin jist noo. Tae use his ain words “Faa Cares?”.
In spite o wir main street in the toon lookin run doon cos o aa the empty shoppies, there are a nummer o gran biggins in Union Street an aa aroon Aiberdeen fit shud hae us smilin wi pride.
We maan cry oot fer the fowk faa ain the biggins tae spruce them up a bittie tho. A’m aa fer a bit o naitur bit young saplins, girss an weeds sprootin oot o gutters an lums is nae eese ava.
We shud bi happy nivvertheless tae bide in sic a placie steepit in history an tradishun in spite o a nummer o silly buggers ower the ‘ears tryin their best tae connach the history, tradishun an culture o oor toon, aa in the name o sae ca’d progress. So next time ye tak a toddle aroon Aiberdeen dinna ging aboot wi yer face lookin doon at the grun. Lift up yer een an see the gran architecture in oor city.
If aat disna mak ye smile an gie ye an uplift then a suggest a whiffie o laachin gas or maybe, in the case o quines, buyin a firmer bra micht dee the trick .
See? A kent ye cwid smile!
