 You may not think giant foam balls are entertaining or in the slightest bit funny, but when a rather rotund Little Miss Giggles made an impromptu visit to Kingston University for Comic Relief last week, even our grumpy lecturers couldn’t help but flash a smile.
Andy Jackson was spot-on with his tactics – i.e., build up some momentum and a lot of sponsorship for his marathon in April by donning a massive fun-suit. Well Miss Giggles was actually in her birthday suit (why are all the Mr Men and Little Miss characters naked??!) but that’s beside the point. In fact, everywhere Miss Giggles walked people were somehow overcome with an urge to wave, chat, point, smile, and laugh or run away. But in each case donations were made in the name of helping children with Leukaemia. I was surprised. I thought London, renowned for its overworked moody City boys and stressed ice cold maidens, wouldn’t have the faintest idea of how to react to a gigantic blue blob (with a radiant ginger barnet I must add). And it’s all too easy to see charity and the help of other people in a cynical light, especially when the papers get involved. It was only last week that Madeline’s father, Gerry McCann spoke out about the “sensational, untruthful, irresponsible and damaging reporting” to which the press subjected them. But the truth was in the money jar, which was so full to the brim that reinforcements were put in place to dispense some of the change (including 20 Zimbabwean dollars – well it’s the thought that counts!) in the optimistic bid to keep collecting. I was humbled out of my sceptical temperament by the scores of people who, despite living in a time of economic uncertainty, were prepared to empty their pockets with a smile. And in the words of Louis Armstrong, when you’re smiling the whole world smiles with you.
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