THE other day I found myself contemplating one of the world's most famous paintings -- "The Scream" by Norwegian miserablist Edvard Munch.

"There, there don't take on so," I said (mentally) to the anguished, ghost-like figure in the foreground.

It is a symbol of the alienation of the human being from the real world and is unrivalled in the history of art, or so it says on the wall in the newly-restored Albertina museum and gallery in Vienna.

I think this means that we all know how troubled Edvard felt when he sat down one day, quaking with angst, to show us all how he felt about life, the universe and everything.

Or perhaps he had just stubbed his toe.

Whatever happened, it is a powerful image which can be conjured up to represent more or less everything that goes wrong in our daily existence.

Edvard (1863-1944) lost his mother and two siblings to tubercolosis, suffered a nervous breakdown in Copenhagen in 1908 and found that his work in his later years was impeded by an eye disorder.

The exhibition, which features the largest collection of Munch works to be displayed outside Norway, is a remarkable treat for those who enjoy being glum.

Some 60 paintings, borrowed from around 30 international lenders, confront us with love, jealousy, melancholy, fear, illness, loneliness and death.

It does you good to realise that there is always somebody more gloomy than you are.

Which brings me to the point.

As the Premier football season draws to a close over the next few weeks, there could be some unhappy supporters.

It is possible that the Wanderers will be relegated, Manchester United will miss out on a trophy and that Manchester City will suffer further five goal drubbings.

What better way for disappointed fans to get over it than to stand in silent contemplation before Mr Munch's masterpiece some time before the exhibition closes on June 22?

British Airways is making this possible with the launch of a new service linking Manchester Airport with Vienna.

Management will probably draw the line at promoting "gloom breaks", but I am sure there is a good idea in this somewhere.

My short trip to Austria -- to be described in more detail at a later date -- involved a friendly reception at Vienna airport involving the Lord Mayors of Manchester and Vienna.

The message on this press trip was that there is much in both cities for people to enjoy now that there is such a convenient air link.

Manchester was billed as "England's Football Capital" and Vienna was promoted as a desirable cultural destination.

Pictures of David Beckham and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart were displayed to help make the point.

As the coach took us back to our hotel in the city centre, I could not help noticing a variety of posters which showed that the beautiful city which was home to Mozart -- and has a world-famous opera house -- is already open to on-going cultural influences from us Brits.

We appear to be giving them Mungo Jerry, Sailor, Chris Andrews, Whitesnake and Status Quo.