How nice people can be

I am constantly surprised - in a good way - at just how nice people can be. I never had this sort of attention and kindness when I was younger. For much of my life I felt rather taken for granted, somebody who didn't matter very much. That has all changed in the last dozen years. Perhaps I now look old and tired, just a bit vulnerable, and deserving of extra consideration. Perhaps people - total strangers, often - find something in me that they like. Maybe I exude the kind of pheromones that prompt people to be pleasant to me. Or is it the 'Ultrabrite Smile that Gets You Noticed'? (You need to remember the mid-1970s TV ad to hook on that reference)

Who knows. The fact is, I often get smiles from passing women, and even men sometimes. I have a theory that I must go around with a cheerful smile on my face, and people see that and respond to it. I could be right! So many passers-by look morose and grouchy and tired of life. Not me! Then again, a couple of months ago two youths rode past me on their bikes in Steyning (a nearby town) and said 'Cheer up!' as if I'd been frowning. I certainly did after that. How annoying of them. How impertinent! But I couldn't keep it up for long. I soon cheered up.

The gesture that suggested this post was made in Waitrose in Burgess Hill the other day. A fair number of the staff there know me by sight, and several know me by name as well. How so? Well, I've been a twice-weekly customer for over ten years. But also, I'm apt to make conversation, subject of course to how busy the shop happens to be at the time. Mind you, I always get a greeting from some of the staff, or at least a wave, even if they're not actually serving me. I can generally count on having a chat, however brief, at the fish and meat counters, or when at the checkout. I don't know if Waitrose has a secret dossier on me, built up from pooled conversations over the years. If they have, it must contain a lot of information about my personal circumstances, and what I do with my life.

At any rate, I am always asked for my news, and the other day the ladies on the fish and meat counters did that. One of them is called Tracey, and we are quite pally. I told them that I'd put on a special lunch for my local girlfriends, a few days in advance of my birthday. 'Oh when's that, then?' they asked. So of course I told them. And showed them my new pearl pendant. After a little more chat, I wandered off to get the rest of my shopping.

I go to Waitrose early in the day nowadays, to avoid queuing to get in, and was soon as the till. I'd only just finished taking things off my trolley to be scanned, when a breathless Tracey plonked a big bunch of complimentary flowers next to my purchases.

'For you, Lucy,' she said. 'On the house! Happy Birthday!'

Wow. What an unexpected surprise! I said to her, 'You deserve a kiss for this! What a pity I can't give you one!' (Because of social distancing)

Well, that sparked a conversation with the lady on the till. This wasn't an everyday occurrence. While talking with her, I wondered what had been quickly arranged behind the scenes. Tracey must have first rushed to find a manager, to get authority to gift me the flowers (for surely ordinary members of staff can't hand out freebies without an OK). Then she had to make a suitable choice at the flower display, and create a 'nil' receipt for their records. Only then could she look for me before I left the store. She just made it, as I would have been through the till and gone.

I was delighted. It was so unexpected. A simple verbal 'Have a really good birthday' would have been more than enough. Well, I must be better-known at my local Waitrose than I thought!

And as you can see, they were excellent flowers! A great choice.

I cut the stems for a glass jug, and put them next to the white birthday blooms that Valerie had given me.

That wasn't perfect, as the two bunches crowded each other, so I soon found another spot.

Those big sunflowers were very striking. I told the girls about them. Jo approved of Tracey's choice - her late Mum had loved sunflowers. And I rather think this was a bunch that my own Mum would have enjoyed getting, as she always appreciated bright, sunny colours. Jackie was very impressed with Waitrose. Apparently it wasn't something that would have happened at Tesco, Sainsbury's, or at ASDA. 'Ah,' I said, 'It was only because I mentioned my birthday, as a bit of personal news.' And of course Waitrose did know my date of birth, in connection with the My Waitrose card I flash at the till. So it should have been easy to check that I really did have a birthday coming up.

Still, I hadn't actually touted for anything like this. It's more evidence, in my view, that if you are nice and warm-hearted to the right people, they will be nice and warm-hearted to you. Well, it made my day!