Smile!

Trousers has for some time been Bloggen ein totes Pferd. I hadn't fully appreciated the depths of blogging despair which the gentle Trousers had seen fit to plumb, until he used valuable space on his equine-scented blog to present me with an award. I am now officially a maker of smiles. Fancy that: me - a jack-of-all-trades public sector parasite consultant, making people smile. Well, I never! I'm pleased to be able to make someone, somewhere smile.

It seems that it is obligatory to make a speech, so mine is below. Please note that to fulfil the conditions of the award, I am wearing a posh frock as I write, on stage and blubbing uncontrollably.

OK, so I've cheated a bit. Instead of delivering a speech of flowing prose, I thought I'd make a list. Hence, I present all the things which I can recall have made me smile today:

1. The scent of the lillies on the air when I got up this morning;
   
2. The cobwebs heavy with raindrops which spanned the railings alongside the footpath to the station;
   
3. The near perfect timing of the walk to the station to have just sufficient time to buy a ticket and jog to the platform before the train arrived;
   
4. The wonderful turns of phrase in the book I'm currently reading;
   
5. The scones in the canteen being warm and making an excellent and tasty substitute breakfast;
   
6. My opinion seriously counting at work;
   
7. The fantastically terrible pink tie sported by a colleague;
   
8. Having an idea which was valued by the same colleague (for whom I have a great deal of professional respect);
   
9. My opinion counting again at work (twice in one day - this is a record for this programme);
   
10. Arriving home to find a meal ready and waiting;
    
11. This post.

So, no prizes for guessing that the prize for making me smile goes to Casdok.

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P.S. Discovery of the day: Stray appeared to be trying to excavate her ear, complaining of a painful pimple located deep inside the vessel. Having previously suffered a similar affliction myself, I was of course full of sympathy, and helpfully suggested that cutting the ear off would probably be the most effective way of relieving the pain. Could this be the reason for Van Gogh's self-amputation?