Smile!

When I got my head out of the clouds and realised someone was saying "Smile!" to me, I thought it was one of those comments that I would sometimes get back in London like "Cheer up, love - it might never happen" which always used to leave me scowling and muttering under my breath. I can't help it if my relaxed walking look is a bit down in the mouth. It takes a lot of energy to walk around with a big grin all the time. Anyway. The origin of the "Smile!" comment was this bloke here who was pointing to his face, frozen in a big beaming smile and then pointing to my camera..."take my picture?" he asked. What a gift. I wish more people would ask me. We had a good chat and he assured me that I had not lost my English accent which made me feel pretty good. I thought he hadn't lost his either but then he said he was from Adelaide. In the end, he tried to get me to sign up for regular direct-debit charity contributions and I suddenly had places to go.

That's how they get you. You say no the first time, then you think about it and feel really guilty. Then the next time you get approached a little voice inside your head says "don't be such a tight-arse...AGAIN" and before you know it your bank account details are on the clipboard.

But back to the smile - it's an absolute winner, isn't it?