Human spirit shines, even in a supermarket car park

In a quieter part of the supermarket car park sat three cars, each a bay away from the next.

The car in the middle was decorated with balloons and banners. The windows were wound down and sounds of chat and laughter could be heard. A baby cried in the centre car and voices from the other two joined in a lullaby.

Someone passing by saw my puzzled expression and explained: “Mum and dad

When I met Hugh, he told me he was on his way to build a tree swing.

“You see, my granddaughter and a couple of her friends come along this path on their way home from school,” Hugh explained. “There’s a sturdy little tree next to a stream along the way. I’m going to hang it there and let them discover it for themselves.”

“Are you recreating a scene from your childhood?” I asked.

“No. I never really had that,” he told me. “In lots of ways, I’m trying to give her the childhood I wish I had.”

Hugh’s a good grandpa, but he did leave me wondering. How many of the “spontaneous” happy events in our childhoods just happened by themselves? A fair few, I imagine.

But, isn’t it nice to think that some might have been left for us to “discover” by people who love us? I’d never wondered about that – until I met Hugh! are taking their baby home from hospital. The grandparents asked if they could meet – safely – on the way.”

You know, the lockdown periods will be remembered for the things we couldn’t do, the hugs we couldn’t give, the goodbyes that weren’t said. But, the human spirit being what it is, they will also be remembered for the many ingenious ways we tried to still stay in touch; to still be there for each other, even while safely distanced.

Eleanor showed me a photo of her three-year-old granddaughter, taken when she thought gran wasn’t looking. Little Joni had “borrowed” gran’s first-aid box and was carefully fixing sticking plasters onto the garden path.

“What’s she doing?” I asked. “There’s a crack in the concrete,” Eleanor told me. “She’s too young to tell the difference between the path and the ground beneath it. So she saw the crack and set out to, as she put it, “fix the world”.

We both agreed that, theoretically, the world might just possibly be fixed by children, one little act of kindness and innocence at a time. Then I sighed for the day that Joni would discover that fixing the world wasn’t as easy as applying a few plasters.

“Well, she has the most important part of the job taken care of already,” Eleanor said. “And what’s that?” I asked. “She wants to!”

The UK plans to cut aid to some of the world’s most conflict-ridden countries by up to two thirds, according to a leaked document.

Aid to Syria would be cut by 67%, aid to Libya by 63%, Somalia by 60% and South Sudan by 59%, according to the Foreign Office report obtained by the opendemocracy website.

Labour said the reported cuts would “cause devastation” to some of the world’s most vulnerable people.

Preet Kaur Gill, shadow secretary for international development, said: “This is a devastating reminder of the real-world impact the government’s politically motivated decision to abandon its manifesto commitment on aid will have on the world’s most vulnerable people.

“Make no mistake, people will die. Callous cuts like this signal a retreat from the world stage and will make us all less safe. This is not Global Britain.”

A government spokesperson said further decisions on individual aid programmes were still to be made.

“The seismic impact of the pandemic on the UK economy has forced us to take tough but necessary decisions,” the spokesperson said. “This includes temporarily reducing the overall amount we spend on aid.”