Greater Glasgow

Terry and First in Glasgow help bus passengers beat Blue Monday!

Bus passengers in Glasgow city centre beat 'Blue Monday' on Monday 19 January, the most depressing day of the year, thanks to a little bit of magic provided by the city's biggest bus operator, First in Glasgow.

'Blue Monday' is the most depressing day of the year according to happiness and motivation expert, Cliff Arnall, formerly of Cardiff University, who identified it as the day when foul weather, debt, fading Christmas memories, failed resolutions and lack of motivation all conspire to depress.

To tackle this, a dedicated campaign, Beat Blue Monday, was launched by the Mental Health Foundation and First teamed up with a local magician to beat Blue Monday on First buses in Glasgow's city centre.

Terry's Magic's Terry Rooney popped on to buses in Glasgow throughout the day today to perform magic tricks, brighten up bus journeys and help our bus passengers beat Blue Monday.

Terry kicked off his magic journeys on service 5 in Glasgow city centre and said: "This is a terrific idea and I am excited to be helping First and its passengers beat Blue Monday. A little bit of entertainment is the ideal way to brighten up bus journeys on this miserable day and, when you add in a bit of magic, I have no doubt that we'll be putting smiles on faces throughout the day.

"Having performed in venues across the city, I'm sure Glasgow's bus passengers will get into the spirit of things and help turn their Blue Monday bus journey into a magic one!"

Gerry Irvine, First's Service Delivery Manager, said: "The concept of the most depressing day of the year offered the ideal opportunity to have a bit of fun with our bus passengers, brighten up their bus journeys and, ultimately, help them beat Blue Monday. And Terry's Magic is the perfect way to do just that, with short, snappy and clever tricks that I'm sure will both entertain and bamboozle our passengers.

"We hope our passengers enjoyed this little bit of magic, especially on such a cold, wet and miserable day (very apt for the most depressing day of the year!), and took the chance to beat Blue Monday with Terry's Magic and First."

Bus passengers were delighted to see Terry and his magic tricks on First's services. Helen Gallagher from Castlemilk, said: "This is just fantastic, it's made my day and really cheered me up. I was off ill last week and this is just the tonic I needed on my first day back at work."

Colleague and fellow bus passenger, Margaret McCallion, said: "Terry was great fun and it certainly helped beat Blue Monday!"