Faith in humanity

I was walking down Erdington high street today when a woman changed direction, walked up to me, and say "Excuse me" <pause> "Your trousers are lovely" and then walked off again.

Little things like that really make me happy - even if they happen to someone other than me - someone going out of their way just to be nice to a stranger for no gain to themselves. It almost makes me renounce my cold heart and stop hating everyone. Except the French, obviously.

Back when I worked at HSBC (the joy), I used to always try to do this every lunchtime. I'd go out onto Queen Street, and at some point I'd talk to a stranger, generally someone who looked stressed or unhappy, and try and brighten up their day a bit.

Try it, you meet some interesting people, and just one smile makes up for five people being distant or outright rude.