However bad your mood, there was always one regular Swansea sight who could be relied upon to do his level best to cheer you up. Then, one day, all of a sudden, he was gone and Swansea was just that little bit less colourful.
Now, after two years, he's back, but the story of why colourfully and elaborately dressed Tam vanished from view is more than a little sad.
The 49-year-old, known for his dancing and colourful outfits made from recycled materials which brightened the streets of Swansea and earned him fans across the city, left many concerned for his welfare when his daily appearances dwindled then stopped entirely, but at a chance meeting with him while reporting at a local foodbank, he told me the reason behind his disappearance. You can get more Swansea news and other story updates straight to your inbox by subscribing to our newsletters here.
The Lancaster-born ex-TV presenter who has lived in Swansea since 2003, explained: "My last outing was Christmas Eve 2020. I don't know what happened but I spiralled into depression and declined. For two and a half years I stopped wearing my outfits and was wearing the same outfit. I wore a wool hat in summer and winter including the heatwave we had. I wore a face mask even though I was not obliged to wear a face mask no more. I wore an extra large Next shirt donated to me by charity and ladies brown jeans.
"I wore them because I would only leave the flat on a Sunday afternoon, go to the local shop, top my gas up, buy my food shopping and come back. I did not see the sunshine, the street or the people until the following Sunday for two and a half years." You can read more stories about Swansea here.
He said this difficult time stopped him from expressing himself creatively with his outfits, something that had once brought him such joy. But one day, he decided to bring back the tinsel and ribbons and show south Wales what it had been missing.
"I was in a bad situation but there was enough faith inside me to keep me going and pray on a daily basis," said Tam. "Obviously, those people who I can claim love me and think about me with warmth, eventually the warmth reached me and one night I just blinked my eyes and I was in a happier situation."
"I ended up in Cardiff. Swansea is my home and Cardiff is a day out. So when I go to Cardiff I make an effort to look nice and I bought myself some new clothes and fabrics. Here we are, every day, something different!"
Tam is now back to his regular outings and meets fans everyday in Swansea. He even treated King Charles to a visit in Cardiff while he was at Cardiff Castle this month when Tam joined the crowds as the King drove past.
"I dressed up and looked like a cartoon character because I was dressed in fancy dress. I wore a crown, a wig, a cloak, a golden suit underneath, a baton in one hand which I created from my own accessories, maracas in the other hand," Tam told me.
"I serenaded the king, I made him giggle. He was in the Rolls Royce and he was giggling as he was waving." Tam then proceeded to blow a pink whistle which I had not yet noticed was around his neck and whistled enthusiastically like he was at a carnival. He explained that he had "serenaded" King Charles in the same manner for five minutes during his royal visit. "The echo of the whistle carried on and on from Cardiff Castle until he left," Tam said.
On why he first started to dress up in such eccentric outfits, Tam said: "I was in a rut and then I decided to buy myself new clothes and be a little bit more creative. I wanted to look a bit different. So, I started adding different accessories to my clothes and Christmas was approaching and it just went out of control and I began putting tree branches which I picked up off St Mary's Church garden, battery-operated lights and tinsel. People used to call me the walking Christmas tree."
Tam is happy he is now back to his usual joyful self and so are a lot of his 3.6k followers on Facebook group, 'Tam the colourful man', who are posting daily selfies with Tam around town.
"When people are happy, I am even more happy," he said. "I get motivated and I want today to be better than yesterday and tomorrow to be better so I'm adding more stuff." You can find out more about Tam here.
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