Life on Tapp Aspiring to a lifestyle like our friends from the frozen north
Perhaps the least surprising news of the past week was the fact that the United Kingdom has slipped down the rankings in the World Happiness Report.
In case you haven’t already read the report, which ranks roughly 150 countries based on the wellbeing of its citizens, we’ve dropped two places in the league table to 19th.
If I am being completely honest – something a former cub scout such as this one always strives to be – I’m a little surprised that we have made it into the top 20, given what we’ve had to deal with in recent years.
Still scarred by the effects of Covid and multiple lockdowns – we haven’t had a great deal to smile about lately.
Seemingly endless strikes, record breaking energy prices which mean monthly winter bills now compare to a cheap week away in the sun – not that weeks away are cheap these days – and a succession of comically inept governments have all contributed to a collective glumness.
As someone who has dedicated their working life to the news, even I find the endlessly grim headlines a bit too much these days – the ‘and finally slot’ at the end of the 10 o'clock news always seemed to be a bit lighter in Sir Trevor McDonald’s day. A lot has changed since Sir Trev’s heyday.
Where are the skateboarding 90-year-olds and the dogs that say ‘sausages’ when we really need them?
Nordic countries Finland, Denmark and Iceland occupy the top three positions in the happy league, with those in the know putting this down to residents of those nations feeling looked after by those in power, and not just because they all do a great line in natty knitwear.
In the case of Finland, which has boasted the happiest folk for the past six years, the state provides an admired welfare system, not to mention an urban planning strategy which goes a long way to supporting the wellbeing of those who live in towns and cities.
Whether we will ever get to the point where we can say that we are as happy as the Finnish, we must not lose sight of the fact that our lot is much better than that of those who live in Afghanistan, Lebanon and Sierra Leone, the three unhappiest countries in the world.