Sometimes people are nice. Most of the time we don’t remember it: if someone is extremely shitty for no reason, that tends to stick in the mind more clearly than the person who holds the door for you or points out that you have dropped 5p. At the risk of veering into a trite, smug, fantasy-land I’d like to share some nice things people have done recently to me and my clan in a pathetic attempt to remind myself that not everyone is a totally anti-social bastard:

• My mum and dad get their car nicked and get offerred a new car by my aunt an uncle’s neighbour
• The car turns out to be fucked, but the people who sold it are so understanding that they give him the money back and tell him he can keep the car!
• Sure enough, the car breaks down, but the Green Flag rescue guy was incredibly nice and takes us home, together with the car, which he managed to get up the drive.
• My dad, after explaining his recent shitty experiences to a bloke from the local Nissan dealership, gets given a couple of phone numbers of some trustworthy car dealers (goldust!)
• After a week or so, another guy who has heard about my mum and dad’s shitty carkarma phones up and offers my dad a Nissan Micra
• The Micra turns out to be about 15 years old, but only 32,000 miles on the clock and only one careful old lady owner.
• Despite the previous statement sounding like a load of old shit, it turns out to be true! The seller was nice enough to drive the car up from Maidstone to Deptford to get Terry (friend of my parents who is also a top-notch mechanic) to check it out. Terry confirms it’s a pukka car!
• All weekend we have experienced nothing but helpfull, good-willed friendliness from the people of Glasgow
• I’ve had some red wine
• Michele’s mate, Louis, lent us a book (“How Mumbo-Jumbo took over the world by Francis Wheen”) which turns out to to be a superb and enjoyable read!

It’s important to spot the good things when they come along I think.
Good night.