WHAT REALLY MAKES US SMILE ...WELL-KNOWN NI FACES ON THE SECRET OF HAPPINESS

Walking in the Mournes, St George’s Market, happy kids, having a laugh at a favourite comedian, or hearing a great song ...

Today, on World Smile Day, a special day so declared in 1999 by artist Harvey Ball who wanted to promote kind acts and bright smiles throughout the world, we ask well-known figures what makes them happy. By Lee Henry

Singer and musical theatre impresario Peter Corry (51) lives in Belfast. He says: Good company, good comedy and good musical theatre make me smile. I love old black and white musicals — top hat and tails type stuff — and old-fashioned comedy, things like Sgt Bilko (right).

Classic performers like Phil Silvers, who played Bilko, played every week in front of millions of people live on American television and had to improvise as he went along, and that’s entertainment.

When I’m on stage and the house is full, that makes me smile. Even after almost 25 years in show business, performing on stage still makes me happy. I find great pleasure in performing, but also in going to see a good show. I was in London recently and we went to see 42nd Street and it was incredible. Musical theatre is part of my life, that genre of performance, and to see it done to the very best quality is just such a thrill.

I also produce and when you see a show that you’re working on really start to come together, when you hear the reaction of a packed audience and see the cast soaking up the adulation, that really makes me smile. And after, spending time with friends and loved ones, sitting back and enjoying a nice glass of wine.” Paula McIntyre (49) is a food writer and broadcaster. She lives in Portstewart. She says: My job makes me smile a lot of the time. I’m very lucky in that respect. I’m in London at the moment — I was doing a dinner last night, a charity dinner for Action Against Hunger — and I was cooking with 10 other women chefs, some of whom I’ve known for a long time, and I couldn’t have been happier.

It was a banquet in Borough Market, and we all had our photograph taken together and everyone commented on my smile: “Paula, your smile is so wide.” But I can’t help it. I just love to cook. Whenever I’m in a kitchen cooking, and I’m in control, that makes me smile.

I also love good comedy. There’s a programme on Radio 4 at 12.30pm on Saturday morning, The News Quiz, and I always listen to it because I’ll be on the road coming home from the BBC or wherever, and there are times I’ll be crying laughing at some of the things they come out with. Going to St George’s Market on a Saturday morning also makes me smile — seeing all the traders and all the really good food on offer.” Playwright Martin Lynch (66) lives in Belfast with his daughter Grainne and grandson Tiernan. He says: At this period in my life, my youngest grandson Tiernan makes me smile the most. He’s a pure delight. I love watching him discover the world, his little quirks and activities and the wee things he gets up to around the house.

He’s only 15-months-old, but last night I dropped a sweetie paper on the floor and he grabbed it, reached up to open to the living room door and put it in the bin before I knew what had happened. It’s amazing the way that kids even at that age pick up on the things that us adults do.

He lives with me, as does his mammy, my daughter Sue, and he gets into bed with me at night. I tell him stories and he imitates everything that I do. It’s just a great, great joy to watch a young child learning about the world. I have three grandchildren and they were all the same at Tiernan’s age.

Conan (12) and Lana (7) also continue to bring a big smile to my face. As a playwright, I worked from home, so I was able to spend a lot of time with my kids, and I’m very happy about that.” Radio Ulster’s Good Morning Ulster presenter Noel Thompson (60) lives in Belfast with wife Sharon, with whom he has two children, Matthew and Patrick. He says: Well, of course, the first thing that makes me smile is my lovely wife greeting me with a cup of coffee when I get home from a tough morning on Good Morning Ulster. (That’s the Brownie points won!)

Next, the joy of the great outdoors, walking in the Mournes, breathing in the wonderful fresh Co Down air, watching the different moods and colours of the landscape as the light and weather conditions change.

Standing in the Ulster Hall, the Waterfront or the Grand Opera House with the chorus of the Belfast Philharmonic Society or NI Opera singing spine-tingling music, united in exhilaration with all those other voices and the instruments of the Ulster Orchestra, that makes me smile.

Finally, driving across the African savannah on safari, the sun at my back, the wind in my face, filled with anticipation of whatever wondrous creatures will cross my path that day, and being thankful for having the health and opportunity to do all these things that bring such fun.” Comedian and actress Nuala McKeever (53) lives in Belfast. She says: I’ve been doing a lot of mindful meditation over the past few years and I’ve discovered that what makes me very content is having less instead of more. I used to focus on what was missing but meditation has really transformed that.

Now, I focus on how rich I am in all the great things in life, like health and love and a warm bed at night and hot water coming out of a tap every time I turn it on. I see what’s in front of me and gratitude makes me feel good, as opposed to fantasising about what is ‘missing’, whether that’s a relationship or a slimmer waist or more money or better weather or whatever, and ultimately feeling powerless and down.

The magic is that I really am what I’ve been looking for all this time.

At least, I have all the capacities that I used to look for outside myself. And having that portable, take-it-anywhere access to simple joy makes me happy.

Even when I’m not happy, I can smile at myself and know that this too will pass and it’s just me being me anyway, so nothing to worry about.” Composer Brian Irvine (52) lives in Donaghadee and Edinburgh. He says: Things that make me smile include my dad eating scrambled eggs and pancakes in his pyjamas, toe nails that need cutting, hair like a cotton wool pastie, the imaginary horse that exists in the mind of my dementia smitten mum and its random appearances at the window, by the lane, on my head, on the ridges of the waves by the Copelands.

A half worn poker, the tsunami laugh of the woman I love, the sound of the middle of things or the beginning of things or the inexplicable end, rust, invisible superheroes, freckles, oversized coats, a babushka doll, three day snow, bus tickets, caravans, thistles, polystyrene surfboards, Polish trains, punctures and scrunched up tissues tucked up sleeves.” U105 DJ Paul McKenna (42) lives in Newcastle with his wife Emma (34) and daughters Evie Grace and twins Rachel and Eimear. He says: Memories and pictures from the past make me smile. I have great memories of growing up in Newcastle, cycling around on my BMX and acting the eejit in school with my friends, one of whom, Ollie Forsythe, regularly texts in during my show about the things we got up to back in the day.

I’m a crowd-pleaser and I tend to be happy as long as everyone else is happy. In my personal life, I smile most when I’m with Emma and the girls. I love going out for family days when we are all together. It just makes life complete.

My work schedule can be tough, as I work so many nights, which means that I’m often not there for Evie Grace’s bedtime. When I’m playing music, though, there is nothing that makes me smile more than happy listeners and a busy dance floor.

I have listeners who live on their own, have mental health problems and feel that it’s easier to talk to someone that they don’t know on a personal level, and I am very happy to chat with them and play their favourite songs. That in turn makes them smile. World Smile