The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Happiness is cold and dark
Previously, it was great to be a Dane. Now it’s fine to be a Finn. The denizens of Finland, it would seem, have risen without trace to become members of the happiest nation in the world. They are following in the often snowbound footsteps – and couldn’t we in Britain, judging by recent weather events, learn from that? – of Norway, Denmark and Iceland in terms of general social jollity and satisfaction with life, the universe and if not everything, well, quite a lot of things.
Sweden isn’t quite as highly delighted with itself as these others following the Nordic model of social democracy, high taxes and high benefits but it’s still there in the top 10. There’s a pattern emerging here? Perhaps.
Looking north, of course, especially to a fellow chilly nation with a population of around 5.5 million souls, is something that has been happening quite a lot in Scotland recently.
Maybe it’s because they get it all out of their systems in interminable series of Nordic Noir so that they don’t have time for all that angst and stress in real life – no, sirree. They’re too busy benefiting from reasonable levels of income, high life expectancy, social support that is second-to-none, freedom of choice, equality of the sexes and levels of individual trust and generosity that are just oozing from every pore.
Finding interesting and instructive things to do on all those dark nights rather than indulging in dark nights of the soul.
Finland has taken longer to recover from the financial crash but seems to have done it better. Maybe, on a more serious note, that kind of, people bond, instead of fracturing, when trouble comes because they have already pulled together and enjoyed the luxury of being treated equally. Nobody feels as if someone else is getting more or better treatment than they are, getting what they shouldn’t or what they don’t “deserve.” “Stormi” times
Apparently, one of the Kardashian clan has named her recently-born daughter Stormi with an “I” which has the doubtful merit of sounding more like a porn star than an actual porn star does.
If nothing else, Stormy Daniels is living proof that the perfect way to create your porn star name is to use a combination of your first pet and your mother’s maiden name. Either that, or in her case, her favourite weather condition and her beverage of choice.
On the principle that everyone has their price, I suppose it’s as legitimate a way to conduct business as any other.
As I seem to recall remarking on a previous occasion, Donald Trump is the kind of man who thinks he can buy anything, but who has, on all the evidence, from Scottish landed estates to the purchase of sexual services, no respect for anything he can buy.