Fish, Seiko watch and emoticons

I saw these fish in a courtyard pool through a window in Maidstone hospital when, it now seems a long time ago, I was visting Dearest.

Rather more than 40 years ago I bought a watch from  a shop in The Strand. Itcost £10.00 and was of Japanese manufacture, something new  for a watch in those days. The name Seiko meant very little to me then. But it looked sturdy and functional. It was of course as watches were in those days powered by clockwork.  It served me well for around 30 years. Then one day it stopped without  warning. The repair shop to which I took asked for £90 to put it right, which at the time was about twice the price of a new Swatch watch. I put the Seiko in the draw of my desk and once or twice since then  have wound it to see if time had healed its sickness. No luck. Until yesterday when, coming across it I wound it up again. The second hand began to move and 36 hours later it is still ticking. Delecate and sensitive machines, watches.

At the town hall office where they provide visitor parking permits and the like, on the desk of the courteous young woman who was helping me, three emoticons are posted with  the words:
 We're getting it right ( mouth turned up at the ends)
 We could do better (mouth in straight line)
 We need to improve (mouth turned down at the ends)
The invitation to borrow  the computer screen seems complicated in order to react to the quality of service.  As it is  I am inclined to  click the first but shy away from  making the request. Meanwhile I am impressed by the large reproduction of the smiling emoticon on the desk next to the screen. It does not  altogether surprise me that such devices are needed to keep civil servants sweet in the face of the public.