IT has felt, all in, like an incredibly bleak week. I probably don't need to do a recap of the misery-heaped-upon-misery, but as news cycles go, this recent seven-day stretch has felt like a series of sucker punches to the solar plexus.
Which is why, this weekend, I am dedicating my column to positive vibes only. Here follows a palate-cleansing sorbet for the soul with a round-up of feel-good stories.
Cool Runnings
WHEN it comes to heart-warming fare, the Jamaican bobsleigh team qualifying for the Winter Olympics for the first time in 24 years is a shoo-in.
The Caribbean island nation famously made its debut in the sport at Calgary in 1988, inspiring the Disney movie Cool Runnings. A five-strong squad – four men and one woman – will join the action at Beijing 2022, with the bobsled events getting underway a week today.
The team also includes Benjamin Alexander, a man who only clipped skis on his feet for the first time six years ago and is now set to become Jamaica's inaugural Olympic competitor in alpine skiing.
It is a story that bears many hallmarks of our very own Eddie the Eagle – only without the statement eyewear and oversize 1980s shell suits. Onwards to a fairy-tale ending.
Birthday wishes
EDNA Clayton spent her 100th birthday alone in lockdown last year. After moving to Hector House care home in Glasgow, staff were determined to make sure her 101st celebrations made up for it.
Alongside receiving 30,000 cards and messages from well-wishers around the world, including actors David Tennant and Michael Sheen, there came a special video from comedian Billy Connolly, who said: "I'd like to wish you a happy birthday. A hundred and one – that's spectacular. Well done!"
A return (almost) to a golden age
BRITISH Airways has announced that it will reinstate complimentary snacks and drinks on its short-haul flights – six years after it began charging for in-flight food.
This brought back fond memories of my first time on a plane – at the ripe old age of 22 – when I nervously thrust a wad of cash into the hand of the flight attendant to pay for the breakfast that he had just placed on my tray table, unsure as a rookie flyer how much it cost.
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It was free. He and his colleagues were so tickled by my naivety that, as I departed the aircraft, they beckoned me to the galley and handed over a clinking carrier bag of miniatures as a thank you for brightening up their morning.
Memes galore
FROM culture secretary Nadine Dorries gazing at prime minister Boris Johnson with the same glassy-eyed adoration as a Labrador eyeing sausages in a butcher's window, to MI6 chief Richard Moore tweeting his annoyance at Wordle braggers, recent events have spawned some top-drawer memes.
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The winner? Jimbo, a Canadian contestant from the reality show RuPaul's Drag Race: UK Versus the World – airing on the newly relaunched BBC Three – whose memorable performance involved ghoulish face paint, a tiny briefcase and, erm, cold meat.
The overall effect was variously compared to "a sleep paralysis demon" and "the vengeful ghost of a Beluga Whale". A joyful masterclass in owning it.
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