AMID the swirling vortex of bleak news, it is important to seek out little sprinklings of joy. Like the story about a plucky pet chihuahua in the US who ran to find help after her 86-year-old owner had a stroke. She saved his life.
Or the street dog – yes, animals feature highly in these feel-good offerings – who was adopted by a car dealership in Brazil and given a job as a pawfessional car consultant with his own employee badge and the promise of a forever home.
Another gem is the 11-year-old Nigerian boy who has won a scholarship to New York's prestigious American Ballet Theatre after a mesmerising video of him dancing barefoot in the rain went viral. Look it up on YouTube. I promise your heart will soar.
We all need a unicorn chaser – or sorbet for the soul as I like to think of it – and one such tale that has tickled me is the return of wine windows in Italy. Florence's buchette del vino have re-opened to serve up wine, cocktails, gelato and coffee during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
The idea dates to the 17th century when, as bubonic plague ravaged northern and central Italy, resourceful Tuscan merchants created a small hole in the walls of their businesses to pass flasks of wine to people outside on the street.
READ MORE: Susan Swarbrick: The world's most spirit-crushing job (and no, it's not working for Boris)
The wine windows fell out of fashion but as Italy emerges from lockdown, many of the 150 or so around the city have found themselves pressed into action once more.
There isn't an equivalent here in Scotland as far as I'm aware. Although you could get a pal to pop round and pour a nice bottle of Chianti through the letterbox or pass an ice cream cone via the cat flap if you are craving a similar experience.
I was ruminating on what else it would be good to see make a comeback and the first thing that popped into my head was Pat Sharp's Fun House. I don't know what that says about my current state of mind.
Also, I'm not sure how it would enhance life in current times, unless the gunge on Fun House contains the secret ingredient required for a Covid-19 vaccine. Best leave me off the global task force to tackle coronavirus.
That said, the UK Government is looking for a Head of Pandemic Preparedness. Which is a bit like advertising for someone to close the stable door after the horse has bolted. Next, we will be hearing that they have employed Doc Brown from Back To The Future to build a time machine.
READ MORE: Susan Swarbrick: I need to stop basking in memories and learn to live in the now
In other news, President Donald Trump is pushing for environmental policy rule changes that would allow showerheads to boost water pressure. "Because my hair – I don't know about you, but it has to be perfect," he said.
The unicorn chaser, I hear you ask? Well, imagine how annoyed Trump will be when he realises that poor water pressure isn't the reason his hair looks like something that's been scraped off the motorway with a shovel.
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