Even in the worst of times, there is joy to be had

Tv presenter Gaby Roslin tells Lisa Salmon happiness can be found in the smallest of things

- Lisa Salmon

HERE'S not enough joy in this world and gaby roslin is on a mission to change that.

The chirpy TV and radio presenter is “very passionate” about spreading joy, using the word to describe behaviours and feelings like kindness, hope and happiness which make life worth living.

Feeling joyful comes naturally to Gaby, 61, who pretended to be the unfailingly optimistic children's book character Pollyanna as a cheery child, and eventually went on to desperately seek joy in the darkest of times when both her parents were seriously ill with cancer.

“For me, trying to be joyful is pretty natural, even when I went through the worst time of my life with both parents with different forms of cancer in different hospitals,” she says.

Gaby's mum, Jackie, died from lung cancer in 1997 aged 62, around the same time her dad, Clive, was battling bowel cancer.

“It was horrific, and you don’t wish it on anybody, but even then I'd be looking for the joy and tried to make my mum, who was dying, laugh and then coming to get my dad out of hospital,” she recalls, pointing out that her dad survived the cancer and is now 91.

“I do believe very strongly that even in the worst of times, there is joy to be had,’ she declares. “You can lift your own heart. You can lift your spirit. There are little things you can do to help and that’s what it’s all about, the little tiny tasks.”