Smile...you never know, you might even get one back! :o)

Smile.... you never know, you might even get one back! :-)

There’s this epidemic that’s seized the capital. It’s quite possibly reached pandemic proportions by this stage and it’s been haunting the corners of my mind for some time now.

There’s a mundane routine to which we are accustomed, this herding of cattle on train platforms, this army of clones that march to and fro from their caves, forests of papers litter the street corners and railways, an endless line of lights, metal corridors, humming escalators and marching feet broken up by the sound of a distant saxophone.....

The sky lights up and off they go, marching to their cubicles encased in yards of concrete, brick and glass filled with aromas of coffee and sweat mixed with fluid cleaners use and cologne.The rustling of broadsheets, tabloids filling every inch of space in the tightly packed carriages, steely eyed businessmen, balding lecturers with a furry forest on their chins, latecomers applying their morning war-paint, trend-setters, bristly builders, sleepyheads, ipod's ''with speakers'', people who don’t shower, expectant mothers and ones with pushchairs awkwardly protruding from a corner, tourists with cameras the size of a pinhead, and countless others all vying for a place.

The day comes to pass and before sundown, the chaos ensues. Headliners are projectiled at passers-by from all directions. The herd are going home to graze.

The big reds comb the capital in their big red lanes, people pouring out from every nook and cranny. The sheer volume of people, velocity and urgency with which migration recommences; they're chasing after a paradigm of life, they're chasing time....This behaviour is the manifestation of those infected with the stress virus.This highly infectious stress virus is primarily found in densely populated cities.
Not one of these infected individuals have the audacity to smile, its the most common symptom in addition to glaring at fellow travellers, and being unhelpful/unaccommodating to those needier than yourself.

However, fear not, the stress virus though highly infectious, is not completely invulnerable, there is a cure. You must arm yourself with...a smile...That’s right, a smile. You can disinfect yourself and countless others with this simple, effective and free therapy. Laughter is a catalyst but let’s not get ahead of ourselves people - smile!

I make an appeal to all Londoners out there to smile....it does wonders, just try it. :o)