Sore feet, rumbly tumbly

In February, I went to the Kensington Roof Gardens to see my friend Abby Holden play. I am a huge fan of Abby and this was a real treat. She is a delightful friend, a great laugh, and a brilliant singer/songwriter. The roof gardens are a delightful venue (which I went back to for a delicious lunch a few weeks later) and quite a swanky one too. Its been a while since I have been anywhere with a dress code.  (which I was only alerted to about 15mins before I left home!  Eeeekkk some serious rethinking of outfit went on!) So dressed in skinny jeans, a sparkly top and some ridiculously high heels, with a dodgy ankle, I walked like a wounded gazelle, trying to look elegant into the venue.

I immediately met up with my friends Juddy, Pauline and Michelle. We were all looking glam and scrubbed up well. We headed to the bar, and had some ridiculously over priced drinks and caught up, whilst waiting for the venue to open. None of us had eaten, and it was after 8, but we were all very excited so it didn't matter.

I am pretty sure that Abby was first up and she played a great set. We cheered and sang along. There were calls for Ginger pubes, which Abby good naturedley played for us amidst huge cheers. We all loved her single Kiwi Boy, which rang true with all of us, Juddy and I were laughing at the description of a guy wearing jandals walking into a dairy. You can hear/buy the single here...

We watched a few other sets and then headed back to the bar area where we could still hear the music but talk a bit more. And then I spied the burgers that were being made. I was suddenly starving and realised that it was after 10pm,and that due to houseguests etc, I had eaten very little that day. So a group of us headed out to the hotplate and ordered £10 burgers. They were delicious, but I think that was more the time rather than the burgers, they were definitely not £10 worth.

As we were sitting on the ledge of a garden devouring these delicious burgers, balancing them as only the tipsy can, a group of lovely young ladies walked past us. All of them were studiously pouting and looking too cool for school. One of the guys in my group watched them go past and said to me, why is it that at gigs like this, in places like this, beautiful woman always look so miserable. I answered, because their feet hurt and they are starving. He laughed, and then watched the next group go past and shouted Oh My God, you are right. They were looking enviously at the carbs that I was ingesting, somewhat off my diet for the night, and they were ever so slightly hobbling in heels that were towering.

He then looked at me and said, but you are beautiful too and you are smiling, why are you not pouting and miserable too? Because life is too damn short to be miserable. I had a pair of flats in my bag to change into, to get on the tube home with, I was starving and could not care less at that point if it was cool to be seen eating what felt like at that moment, the worlds most delicious burger.

But this brings me rather longwindedly to the point. When it did become fashionable to look miserable? I get smouldering, but miserable? And its clear that men find the whole thing rather confusing, I have had many conversations where they find the whole going out to dinner with woman thing confusing, as they never eat. I looked back at my facebook photos, with the exception of a recent one, where I have been photographed balling my eyes out at an airport, I am sporting a massive smile. Or dancing my little heart out, or hugging someone. Surely, this has to be a better way live life than being serious/miserable* all of the time? I am sure that if I started pouting often, that my friends would certainly tell me about it. I know that there would be stern talkings too.

So my plea is this, smile people! The world needs more happiness, more silliness, more love and more hugs.

*It should be noted, that when I speak to people I would say this 'serious slash miserable', which has caused Abby on many an occasion to say 'who says slash? That is hilarious!' I do people, I do.