A creative teenager brought smiles and good cheer to the otherwise cold and windy Republic Street yesterday by handing out “compliments for free” as part of his involvement in the Unification Movement.

Armed with a pink umbrella, just in case the heavens opened up, the 18-year-old from Washington complimented people on how well they looked or in some cases for wearing a “lovely” jacket.

The young man has not actually lost his marbles but was putting into practice what he lived and breathed as part of the Unification Church or Unification Movement – a religious movement founded in 1954 in South Korea by Korean religious leader Sun Myung Moon. He explained that he was one of seven members which made up the Malta team and was more of a missionary, challenging people on the meaning of life.

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