And now the good news

www.guardian.co.uk Tim Dowling Monday March 3, 2003 The Guardian

Plunging stock markets, perpetual terror warnings, imminent war. It's enough to get you down. But only if you think the glass is half empty! Cheer up with our daily look on the bright side...

Headteacher Joan Riley was so impressed by building work carried out on her school that she wrote a poem. Mrs Riley was delighted with every aspect of Bowey Construction's refurbishment work at Mowbray First School in Northumberland. "I felt the best way to show our appreciation was to write the poem," she said. Len Clark, Bowey's managing director, said: "When a client goes to the time and trouble to write a lengthy poem, we know we've done a good job." Let's hear from more people who are pleased with their builders! Poetry welcome!

A Somerset woman has had her stolen purse returned... after 10 years! The purse, snatched a decade ago in the car park of the pub owned by Maureen Baker, was returned to her by a cyclist who found it near a railway. The cash was missing, but the credit cards were intact. They're expired, of course, and the purse isn't in good shape, but Mrs Baker has been given a gift that money can't buy: a sense of closure. Nice gesture, cyclist!

There is one bright spot amid the gloom of Venezuela's political and economic crisis: due to a power shortage, Venezualan clocks are ticking too slowly. In fact the slowdown has put the clocks 14 hours and 36 minutes behind schedule, allowing Venezualans to savour life's precious moments just a bit longer. Let's hope they don't forget the lesson when the clocks speed up again.

Today's heart-warming animal story illustrates an innovative idea to help keep Frankfurt clean. City officials in the German financial capital have proposed putting number plates on dogs in order to crack down on owners who let their pets foul Frankfurt's pristine pavements. The system would rely on citizens informing on dog owners, who could face fines of €150. Well done, German busybodies!