gloom and despair ect.

There was an amusing piece on the radio about "smiling in France". The presenter noted that it wasn't considered normal to smile at people in Paris. I don't know whether this is true or not. But the presenter walked around Paris for a while and smiled at people. People got scared and looked away. Whether the French do this, I don't know, but frankly it sounds a reasonable thing to do to me. When I was very little I was forced by my parents to live in the South of England. When we visited the southern village again, a lady in a bakery remembered that as a child I used to be gloomy and quiet. She tried to cheer me up by giving me pastries. This explains a lot. People complain that I don't smile enough and spend too much time talking about darkness, disease and death. Hey, I am just waiting for some free doughnuts. As I swipe the plastic knife against the blue vein in my arm, I am just just waiting for some jam and cream. Keep smiling for the insane and jolly.