Wednesday 27 August 2008

Smiles

I witnessed a traffic accident today and it cheered me up enormously. And not only me. It seemed to cheer up everybody else who stumbled across the pileup outside Manchester’s art gallery. I’ve never seen so many smiling faced since the Beijing Olympics, only these were genuine smiles. No botox was injected into any five year old’s cheeks. This was real pleasure, when strangers turn to look at you and their faces say so much. A few took photos and others cheered the arrival of the police. I just moved on. Happy to have witnessed such a sublime moment.

So, I’m sure I speak on behalf of everybody who was there when I thank the rich pin-stripe with the nice new Mercededes-Benz who so graciously ploughed it into the side of a Manchester tram this afternoon. I don’t know what he was thinking – the tram was hardly going to swerve out of the way – but it made my lunchtime, possibly my week, and the lunchtimes and weeks of a great many people who found that rarest of pleasures: a shared comfort in the misfortune of others.

8 comments:

Penny Pincher said...

Well that has been an interesting exercise - I subscribed to your blog via the 'RSS feed' - it obviously can't keep up with your phenomenal output. I followed the feed from my homepage to the Crossroads post. I would have left it at that if I'd not come back to your main page via the comments section to find 2 whole new blog posts.
Therefore - this will let your regular readers know the 'RSS feed' is often slow to update when you have posted new blogs.

Glad to see you didn't throw in the towel right away ... keep on blogging

Richard Havers said...

Was he a possibly a footballer?

Black Cat said...

Hee hee, nice one Richard!

Richard (Madeley that is), don't even think about giving up blogging...

I miss you and Judy so much. I can't say what I feel about your "replacement" for fear of being sued. God bless you two:) xxx

BANDOLINO KID said...

Richard, regretably I'm a latecomer to your splendid blog but having found it I felt compelled to write to you to urge you to continue blogging.
It's not often that one finds such intellectually challeging material in the morass of the interweb. I feel it is no over exageration to suggest that your chronicles, may well in future generations, be regarded in much the same way as modern day scholars regard the diaries of Pepys.
Totally invaluable.
Kindest regards to you and yours.
Mr S.Pid

Swearing Mother said...

How very British.

Almost Mrs Average said...

Ashamedly, it did make me smile...ok I admit, laugh out loud. Not sure what you'll make of this Richard, but because I appreciate your appreciation society, I've given you an award. I know it's one of those bloggy blogging things but it's well deserved so please pop over to pick it up.

Anonymous said...

I think it's a sign, Dick: keep the blog.

I know what you mean, though, people are always going on about my output too, & every time I hear it I think: "What you really mean is I write too much."

Never one to do things by halves! It's certainly part of your charm. It's what makes it a struggle to fit in the other stuff, but that is a battle each must fight for himself. Just keep the crease in your trousers as keen as your eye, & you'll be fine.

Do you know, I created a whole category in Baroque Mansions, and I do use it woefully rarely. Must look into that...

xx

Anonymous said...

Schadenfreude, I mean. The category. It was admired by Charles Lambert, but I hardly ever find anything to put in it; is it a personal failing??

I shouldn't be allowed near a laptop till I've had my morning coffee.