What makes us happy? It can be so many unconventional things for so many different people, for me I find watching the sun come up every day, awe inspiring. The natural world fills me with wonder, but for some, happiness can be sharing positive emotions, having a meaningful relationship or just giving back to their community.

The chemical responsible for our happy thoughts is serotonin, once produced in the brain, it is circulated in the blood and throughout the nervous system. How clever is the human body?

Hubby and I were watching breakfast TV (in bed with a cuppa, but no biscuit boo hoo) the other morning and the broadcaster introduced Peter Davis, the oldest person to be recognised in the 2023 New Year Honours List. This 100yr-old war hero and former Mayor of Macclesfield, has been honoured for his voluntary work helping children learn to read at his local school and has become a beloved ‘grandad’ to the whole school during his six years of volunteering. After his adored wife passed away, he felt lost and needed a new purpose and reason to get up every morning. He now volunteers two afternoons each week and turns the chore of learning to read into a game, the children love him and often shout and wave if they see him in town. He says its wonderful as he now feels part of the community.

Mr. Davis flew gliders into Germany during WW2, whilst we sat enthralled and listening to his story, he recalled the time he lost control of his plane and began crashing to earth thinking how pretty the flowers were that were steadily getting bigger as he became closer to the ground! He came across as an incredibly humble and unassuming man and a lovely human being.

At the end of the report, both hubby and I sat looking like a pair of Cheshire Cats (from Alice in Wonderland), to say he ‘made our day’ was an understatement. We love this gentleman. You go Mr Davis, well done you.