What made you happy today?

[DelW]

Do you mind my asking where you live? Cuckoos are getting sadly, and it seems ever-increasingly, rare in Britain: the last time I heard one was in the Isle of Wight -- that must, I think, have been more than ten years ago.

I'm mostly walking not far from home, in the Surrey / Hampshire / Sussex borders. I've heard cuckoos in two recent springs, probably 2022 and last year.

I had a recording of the more recent one on my phone, but sadly the phone expired without warning and that wasn't backed up.

 

[Calthrop]

I had a recording of the more recent one on my phone, but sadly the phone expired without warning and that wasn't backed up.

"A tale of two endangered species", one might say ...

 

[Howardh]

Mild sunny weather, already got my hockey gear for my final game of the season. Might be my last ever if I decide - no, make that my body decides - that's enough and it can't take any more. So enjoy while i can.

 

[Camberman]

Mild sunny weather, already got my hockey gear for my final game of the season. Might be my last ever if I decide - no, make that my body decides - that's enough and it can't take any more. So enjoy while i can.

"So enjoy while i can" - a very good motto for life!

 

[DelW]

"So enjoy while i can" - a very good motto for life!

I think Horace got there two thousand years ago (and he probably wasn't the first) ....

Carpe diem | Origin, Meaning, Uses, Examples, & Facts | Britannica

Carpe diem, often translated as ‘seize the day,’ a phrase used by the Roman poet Horace to express the idea that one should enjoy life while one can.

www.britannica.com

Carpe diem is part of Horace’s injunction “carpe diem quam minimum credula postero,” which appears in his Odes (I.11), published in 23 BCE. It can be translated literally as “pluck the day, trusting as little as possible in the next one.” The phrase carpe diem has come to stand for Horace’s entire injunction, and it is more widely known as “seize the day.”

 

[Camberman]

I think Horace got there two thousand years ago (and he probably wasn't the first) ....

Carpe diem | Origin, Meaning, Uses, Examples, & Facts | Britannica

Carpe diem, often translated as ‘seize the day,’ a phrase used by the Roman poet Horace to express the idea that one should enjoy life while one can.

www.britannica.com

Thanks for finding Horace's full injunction - I had no idea carpe diem formed part of a longer sentence - I feel just a bit better educated now (especially as I deliberately swerved Latin at skool LOL!).

I'm going to put carpe diem on my fridge door to remind myself to take heed of it - I'm hoping it will help me make every day a happy day.

Best wishes.

 

[Howardh]

If the weather's making everyone happy today; with a lot of the land above 15c; what a shame the clocks haven't gone forward so we could be sat outside at 7pm in the setting sun. Does seem odd that they go "back" roughly 8 weeks short of the shortest day, yet go forward 12-13 weeks after. Soon be mowing the lawn after tea!

 

[styles]

Got let up onto the bridge in the ferry today and shown all the controls. Kid in me came out.

 

[dangie]

Quaffing quite a few Belgian beers today in Brugge.
Not sure if I’ll still be so happy in the morning…..

 

[Peter C]

Took my disabled daughter who is a wheelchair user and has learning disabilities to Basingstoke today. She loves trains (travelling on them and watching them). First time we’d been and was hopeful we would be allowed on to the platform.

I asked at the ticket office and they were very helpful - allowed us through the barriers and we went up to platforms 2/3.

She loves to wave at the drivers / guards and I have to say I think every single one of the 21 trains we saw we got a wave out of. A couple sounded their horns and some drivers lowered their windows for a chat.

It made my daughter (and me) very happy and we had a great time.

Just thought I’d post a positive story - it was so nice to feel so welcome.

This post, from this thread, has made me happy this evening. It really is the little things in life and as I said the other day, there is something so purely happy and simple about someone from a train waving at someone not on a train and vice versa.

-Peter

 

[Camberman]

"It really is the little things in life" - totally true.

Just found a website Action for Happiness which has this:

10 Keys to Happier Living

Everyone's path to happiness is different. Based on the latest research, we have identified 10 Keys that tend to make life happier and more fulfilling.

Together they spell GREAT DREAM and you can explore them below.


Image shows the 10 Keys, which are:

Giving - Do kind things for others
Relating - Connect with people
Exercising - Take care of your body
Awareness - Live life mindfully
Trying Out - Keep learning new things
Direction - Have goals to look forward to
Resilience - Find ways to bounce back
Emotions - Look for what's good
Acceptance - Be comfortable with who you are
Meaning - Be part of something bigger

 

[Skimpot flyer]

On holiday right now, staying with my Chinese other half’s son from a previous marriage, his wife and our delightful 3-year-old grandson.
We’ve seen him on video calls before, but when they came to meet us at the airport in China, his dad walked him towards my partner and asked him ‘who is this?’
Without a moment’s hesitation, he just said ‘NeNe’ and lifted his arms up.
Tears of utter joy rolled down her face! He looked a bit puzzled & confused by this reaction, but after the tears stopped, he reached up a tiny hand to wipe her face.
Which set her off again.
Beautiful moment!

PS. Anyone know any search engine that might work in China? I’d google it, but I can’t use google or yahoo. Thanks.

 

[styles]

It is sunny today, and dry. That's enough for me sometimes.

In Stornoway this weekend, and as it's the Sabbath, when you've checked out of your B&B you're practically "forced" to relax as there's no shopping tourist attractions open. A nice quiet walk up to the castle or a jog along the harbour - magic.

 

[Ken X]

On holiday right now, staying with my Chinese other half’s son from a previous marriage, his wife and our delightful 3-year-old grandson.
We’ve seen him on video calls before, but when they came to meet us at the airport in China, his dad walked him towards my partner and asked him ‘who is this?’
Without a moment’s hesitation, he just said ‘NeNe’ and lifted his arms up.
Tears of utter joy rolled down her face! He looked a bit puzzled & confused by this reaction, but after the tears stopped, he reached up a tiny hand to wipe her face.
Which set her off again.
Beautiful moment!

PS. Anyone know any search engine that might work in China? I’d google it, but I can’t use google or yahoo. Thanks.

Baidu.com

 

[Ashley Hill]

Working my first signalling turn of the year.

 

[dangie]

Quaffing quite a few Belgian beers today in Brugge.
Not sure if I’ll still be so happy in the morning…..

What made me happy today is that I didn’t wake up feeling rough.
This enabled me & the wife to sample Belgian Waffles washed down with more excellent Belgian beers.
The Trappist beers certainly are nice, but need to be treated with care.

 

[Skimpot flyer]

Baidu.com

Thanks!

 

[Ashley Hill]

Watching Ken Dodd on an episode of The Good Old Days from 1976. What a genius he was.

 

[Camberman]

Watching Ken Dodd on an episode of The Good Old Days from 1976. What a genius he was.

I saw a documentary last night about him - I had forgotten he was also a ventriloquist. A very clever man indeed.

 

[Harvester]

Stunning photos of Margot Robbie in a wedding gown, filming on a misty moor, on the set of “Wuthering Heights”. She may be a little old to play Cathy Earnshaw, but she did look very serene and attractive.

 

[Peter C]

I thought I had posted this before, but apparently not. Something that made me happy the other day - a chat with the chap who works in the WHSmith at my local station. One of those people who work on the railway or railway-adjacent who make the whole experience that bit nicer - always in a good mood and has time for everyone.

-Peter

 

[aftv]

Being sent the final timings for a Railtour I'm booked on with a friend for Saturday and finding out the release date for F1 25 on the Xbox Series S|X and PlayStation5 (30th May if anyone else is interested.)
It's the little things that make me happy.

 

[43096]

Turning up at Porto Campanhã station this morning to find a pair of English Electric diesels on the 0725 to Pocinho.

Stunning scenery, perfect weather and EE locos, what’s not to like?

 

[Camberman]

Yesterday afternoon my lawn was dry enough to scarify and cut for the first time this year - the smell of fresh cut grass is lovely and makes me cheerful.

 

[Purple Train]

The eclipse!

 

[Skimpot flyer]

We took our grandson on his first train ride today, a high speed train, no less! We took him visit the fabulous Dinosaur Museum in Yanji, Yanbian Province.
I think I’m enjoying a second childhood, through his eyes!

Thanks @Ken X for the Baidu tip, but I suddenly thought this morning, ‘what’s the name of that Chinese AI thingy that was in the news back home for being developed at a fraction of the cost of others?’

DeepSeek is now on my phone and was incredibly helpful with directions to/from the station. (I’ve attached a screenshot of all the extensive information it gives).

The bus fare was ¥2.

Google it and see how cheap that truly is !!

 

[Camberman]

I think I’m enjoying a second childhood, through his eyes!

I'm with you on that! - I too have re-found my inner child through my young grandson.

 

[GusB]

Finding a hitherto unheard piece of music by Sibelius then going on to listen to more well-known pieces (Findlandia). I feel a Spotify binge coming on...

 

[Peter C]

Finding a hitherto unheard piece of music by Sibelius then going on to listen to more well-known pieces (Findlandia). I feel a Spotify binge coming on...

Now I don't think I've listened to much Sibelius but I know what you mean about finding a new-to-you piece of music and then wanting to find the rest of the composer's/artistes' discography. The other day I found this excellent recording of With a Song in My Heart (which some readers may know as the theme to the BBC's Two-way Family Favourites) and I've listened to it on loop several times since...!

-Peter

 

[mm333]

I was out ticking off stations from my list yesterday and so got the train from Lincoln to Collingham.

I disembarked and started taking photos of the station. As the train departed, the guard lent out of the window, waved and shouted “Bye!”. Made my day!