You need a twinkle in the eye

We had a little excursion yesterday to see some Nato warships that were moored up on the Tyne. Young sir was delighted. Climbing up and down gangways and ladders. Inspecting the guns of all sort. Ringing the ships bell. Five of the vessels were minehunters so they had all sort of little underwater vehicles with propellers, thrusters and buttons - made me think of Thunderball. And there were few young sailors in their uniforms about too ;)

On the side of one of the vessels was a picture of the unfortunate squirrel from the Ice Age films hugging a mine. Some would probably say you are making fun of a serious issue by having a picture like that.

I think not. Sense of humour and laughter is important. Being able to see the funny side in difficult and hard things that we are going through makes them more bearable. Research suggest that laughter can reduce blood pressure and stress. Having a silly picture on a side of the boat doesn't reduce the seriousness of the work they do but it does remind you that having a smile on your face makes your day and others much more enjoyable than a miserable frown.

So my mission for today is to look for things to smile about rather than frown about.

Happy smiley Monday to everyone :)