Just Messing

One the nice running gags in Bill Forsythe's movie Gregory's Girl is the hapless penguin (human variety, in costume) wandering the corridors of Gregory's school in search of the room in which whatever penguin-oriented activity it/he/she is meant to be involved is, presumably, going on. I was reminded of the wandering bird this morning by a little lad I encountered at work wearing a sort of uniform made out of black bin liners, his face encased in a snorkel, and a colourful cap on his head. He seemed comfortably at home in this outfit, so who was I to ask him whither he was bound?

I must confess, I knew perfectly well he was looking for his team-mates in the rather jolly Odyssey of the Mind competition to which our school annually plays host. But it was nice to imagine he'd done it all of his own accord. Sometimes being daft just for the sake of it is the best way to be. But being daft on a competitive basis also has its rewards, I suppose.