It's official, I'm one of the 50 Happiest People in Britain!
. . . according to The Independent. They call it an antidote to the Sunday Times' Rich List.
I seem to be in good company, with Camilla Parker-Bowles at No 1 Happiest, and Keira Knightley and Rolf Harris. According to the Independent, "Happiness is an elusive state of being" and "There's endless research on what makes us happy: a good sex life, a happy marriage, a network of loyal friends, a tight-knit family, a good laugh [ . . . ] a sense of achievement . . ." My husband's going to be insufferable if he reads the first two.
Oddly, though, I don't recognize anyone on the Happy List experts panel, so how my name could have popped up is rather a mystery. Still, for an ardent and often stern activist, I daresay I do smile a lot. The charming Lord Richard Layard, who wrote a fabulous book 'Happiness: Lessons from a New Science' last year - I met him on a bus - was genuinely confounded at how I could possibly be happy despite working 14-16 hours a day, 6 1/2 days a week, and still love my job after 17 years.
Who ever you are out there - thanks for the acknowledgement. My mum will have to stop worrying about me, now that's it's official that I'm one of the Happiest People in Britain!