Mixed experiences

This has been another mixed week. On the one hand I experienced the kindness of strangers, on the other I simply cannot understand what this government thinks they are doing.

I have been sorting through boxes which have been in storage for sometime and found some framed photos from when my son passed his military training. Two of these needed the glass replacing before handing them back to him. 

When I went to the local framers to get this done there was a stunning picture on display that really made an impact on me, my thoughts kept returning to it for several days. I chatted to the lady about it and mentioned how much I liked it. She told me the price was £800, totally beyond me. I said that I am downsizing since I am moving and disposing of things rather than acquiring anything new. When asked where I was going I told her to Scotland and that I was only taking what I could get in my car.

A week or so later when I went to collect the framed photos I was amazed to find she had made a much smaller copy of the picture framed it and attached a label on the back “with good wishes for your new venture”. The kindness of a stranger, someone I had never met before.

As generous and kind as this was it had a much more significant effect than I am sure was anticipated.

Since the pandemic arrived I had effectively stopped interacting with strangers until a few months ago. I had not realised that my expectation was that of being unacceptable, tolerated, that this had crept back into my thinking nor was I aware I that I had slipped backwards. The only people I had been meeting were people I knew and were already friends or people I worked with. This lady must have thought I was okay and it enabled me to feel better about myself. Her simple gesture in one act removed that niggling self doubt that had crept back in over the last two strange years.

The other contrasting aspect of the week which, although not personal, has left me bewildered is down to the new government and their approach to the countries finances. For the life of me I cannot see how what they have done is going to make the slightest difference to how ordinary people are going to cope with problems of cost of living and of energy. The response to their fiscal event has sent the pound crashing, interest rates will go up and even if their policy were to work long term, which I really don’t believe it will and it would take years, in the short term people will not be able to heat their homes, feed themselves, business will go bust and they don’t seem to care. It beggars belief that foodbanks and warm rooms are going to become essential to many people’s existence. The impression that comes across is that this is all about the elite (so called) lining their pockets, leaking information from which their cronies can make fortunes. It is all so seemingly blatant. A radical change of policy, a fiscal event to avoid scrutiny, without a government vote. 

I can only hope this blatant attack on people’s way of life will shake the population out of their disillusionment and apathy over politics sooner than later before everything has been sold off to private investment companies for the benefit of very few wealthy individuals.