Monday 4 October 2010

People are Lovely

(An unashamedly non-baking post)
Isn't it lovely when people are unexpectedly ace? I know there are rotters in the world (and the Government, mutter mutter) but there are also so very many kind, thoughtful people who are just Good Eggs.

Recently I had transport problems. My Vespa had a terrible petrol smell all of a sudden. It seemed it was leaking petrol but only when the engine was running. This was definitely Not Good.

My friendly and accommodating garage promised to slot me in the very next day if I could get the bike to them. They didn't really have a gap but "seeing as it's you, we'll sort something out." I thanked him and promised him a cupcake.

The next day the leak became a gush and the bike's rear wheel skidded in the petrol slick, causing me to come off. It was a bit painful and a lot embarrassing (and nearly gave my poor partner a heart attack in the car behind me). The bike limped along another 200 yards and conked out completely. It started to rain.

I rang the garage and mewled pathetically down the phone at them, "whinge, whinge, broken down, whinge, fell off, whinge, raining, whinge." Their van was miles away. However, he rang back and had managed to find a way. He came himself (he isn't a mechanic) and brought one of the mechanics he'd pulled off another job, came out with a very small van that could manage a Vespa. We got the bike limping along as far as the garage, they squeezed time in their very busy fully booked day and they repaired the minor fault that had caused the problems. And they charged me £13.

I love my garage.

Then a neighbour had a bit of bad luck. We rallied 'round as good neighbours do and again I was struck by how nice it is that people are friendly and helpful to one another. Just a bit of consideration makes the world so much more pleasant.

So here's a list of (some of the many) lovely, thoughtful and ace people I am appreciating:
Mark, who brought me coffee and chocolate in bed on a bad day
Ali, for sending a lovely email when I needed one
Rebecca, for all the kind things she does for my kids and for endless coffees in the morning
Emma, for sharing her exciting news with us
Lesley, for being astonishingly supportive above and beyond the call of duty for a tutor
Val and all her staff, for being the cornerstone of my business
Mum and Dad, for being about as ace as it is possible for parents to be
Claire, for recommending me for a profitable job
Luke, for being an all-round star
SJ, for gardening help and suggestions
Rose, Lucy, Jo and Debbie, for running a wonderful film making programme my son loved
Tracy, Ro and Helen T, for online chats

I hope your life is similarly blessed with superstars