Hello Trees………

Apparently ‘Happiness’ may be the greatest ‘gift’ that you possess after all. However I still think it was the digital radio that I received for my Birthday last week.

(Note to self – got to stop referring to the birthday in posts at some point or another).

Nevertheless I was browsing through the BBC website last night and came across a report on some research that has suggested that an individuals level of happiness throughout life is strongly influenced by their genes.

A team at Edinburgh University undertook a study of identical and fraternal twins.

The team suggested that it is possible, by comparing the results from the two groups to calculate how strongly influenced a particular trait is by genetics.

In this case, the researchers looked for people who tended not to worry, and who were sociable and conscientious.

All three of these separate characteristics have been linked by other research to an overall sense of happiness or well-being.

The differences between the results from the identical and fraternal twins suggested that these traits were influenced up to 50% by genetic factors.

The other half is linked to lifestyle, career and relationships.

Dr Alexander Weiss who led the research, said: "Together with life and liberty, the pursuit of happiness is a core human desire.

"Although happiness is subject to a wide range of external influences we have found there is a heritable component of happiness which can be entirely explained by genetic architecture of personality."

Which opens up the possibility that unremittingly cheerful or inconsolably miserable people amongst us may just have been made that way.

I think there has always been a suspicion that this may be the case.

However it makes one wonder if being miserable and curmudgeonly could now be recognised as a medical condition and whether our masters would shell out any money to aid an individual’s recovery. As I seem to spend a lot of time whinging about tax, most popular music produced since about 1995, having to ask who people are on television and generally bemoaning the state of everything I feel that a hand out is not only deserved but morally required. I'm sure the cash would cheer me up immeasurably.

Meanwhile in a dank bunker under flickering striplights Gordon’s scientists will probably have already been set the task to slice and dice genes and perfect a therapy to ensure that we can all be bred happy.

ID Cards – Hello trees, EU Referendum – Hello Clouds, Northern Crock - Hello Flowers.