What Makes You Happy?

PS PAUL SMITH HAPPY

A fresh cast of characters - Francis, Fiona and Timmy - on their passions, what puts a smile on their face and how they stay true to themselves in our new short film.

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“Everyone has their own thing. And my thing is trainspotting.”

Francis, trainspotter

Francis, trainspotter

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"My passion for trains and trainspotting came from where I used to get the Bakerloo line to school and the route would always pass Willesden Traction Maintenance Depot. There, things would change almost every day: the 0800 would be in a different position or there’d be a new locomotive in there. I used to stand up on the Bakerloo line seat as a toddler and look out the window to see what changed. I think that was just enough to capture my interest and blast me into a lifelong passion for trains."

"The feeling of finding my passion is kind of like having a friend. It’s like having someone that you can just text saying, ‘Oh, how, are you?’ Or them saying, ‘Are you feeling OK today?’ Now you have a lifelong buddy.
Trainspotting, for me, is asking myself, ‘How are you? How are you feeling here? OK?’. It is taking things back to the bare bones of just sitting and listening and looking and feeling and giving myself a chance to strip back the craziness of life."

Francis, observateur de train

Au fond de moi, j’adore la façon dont les trains prennent de l’élan et dont ils sont confinés à un chemin. Il y a une telle juxtaposition. J’ai l’impression que c’est bien de savoir où va le train. Et pour moi, peut-être inconsciemment, j’aime pouvoir prédire comment les choses vont se passer. Mais bizarrement, j’aime aussi l’imprévisibilité du train. Parfois, sous la pluie, vous attendrez un train dans quelques heures, puis il sera retardé ou annulé. Je pense que c’est certainement satisfaisant pour les deux côtés de mon esprit. "

“Songwriting for me is like therapy. I can say whatever I like.”

Fiona, songwriter

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"I feel nervous about putting my music out there, but at the same time, it’s empowering and it really builds confidence as well."

Fiona, auteure-compositrice

L’écriture de chansons est pour moi une zone sans jugement. Quand je compose des chansons, je suis capable d’être mon moi le plus authentique. J’aime écrire des chansons sur ce que j’ai vécu et ce que je vis. J’aime avoir l’impression de pouvoir me connecter à d’autres personnes. Et juste exprimer mes propres sentiments et savoir que je ne suis pas seule avec cela. C’est comme avoir un ami."

“My brother was gifted a piano for his birthday, and he would never use it, so I stole it from him and I would just learn my favourite songs. That’s how I got into music. I taught myself through listening with my ear… Sometimes I would stay up late until 2am just playing piano. When I’m in my car, I play my music really loud to the point where I can feel the vibrations and when I can see the waves.”

“Poetry was like finding my secret personal world, no one really could interfere.”

Timmy, poet and student

Timmy, poet and student

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“I kind of felt a little bit lost in this world until I found literature. Because literature seemed to me to be philosophy embedded within fiction. So you got the best of both worlds. You got life lessons and you got the stimulation of the imagination. And beautiful images. Poetry is a puzzle that keeps on rolling as you’re writing. It seems to reveal itself onto the page, revealing hidden aspects of the mind.”

“Each and every person is going to see something different when they read poetry. I love the freedom it creates… I’ve found a lot of solace in just letting go. I try to let the words wash over me instead of trying to decipher the meaning of everything, because in life, you really can’t gain the answers. It’s about coming to terms with the unknown.”

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Photographs & Film: Leonn Ward
Featuring: Francis, Fiona & Timmy