Heartwarming value of a simple £10 note

I had the great pleasure of becoming godfather to a darling little boy recently.

Afterwards, his parents gave me a £10 note. I said I didn’t need paying and the dad explained.

Several years before, when his life had been at a very low ebb, he met a lovely young lady and had the chance to ask her out.

But he couldn’t, because he had next to no money. So, I “loaned” him a tenner and forgot about it.

Dad-and-mum-to-be hit it off and started going steady. They were good for

It can be quite drab, Things play on your mind, When you’ve much to do, Time’s so hard to find; Take a little break, Pour that cup of tea, Say:“I’ll get things done, But now’s time for me.”

AMY’S college course starts this week. Do you know what she’s going to miss most once she’s at classes full-time? Sitting around doing nothing.

Now, before you say “typical teenager”, I should explain. As often as she could over the summer, Amy would take a book to George Square in the centre of Glasgow. But she rarely read.

Instead she would people-watch, amazed by the passers-by, wondering about their lives and being endlessly fascinated by why they did.

“So, you’ll miss that,” I suggested, “when you are studying... what?” “Psychology,” Amy answered. Ahh! So, she wasn’t really sitting doing nothing – it was “prep”. each other and started making a decent life together. They got married, along came my new godson and, now, they were repaying that loan.

Of course, the money went straight into the little one’s piggy-bank. But it reminded me that when you invest in people you better be prepared for some very interesting (and wonderful) dividends.

WHEN I met Larry he wasn’t a happy man. After a long hard week at work he’d been looking forward to his day off. Then he remembered he had volunteered to help at the homeless shelter – which meant getting up early and not getting finished until mid-day.

As he talked about how tired he was and how he only had the one day off I said: “You’re a hero!”

“I’m an ungrateful moaner, is what I am,” he replied. “I have it so much better than the guys in the shelter and all I’ve done is complain.”

“Yes,” I was happy to point out, “here you are – on your way there!”

An ungrateful moaner who still helps others will always be a hero in my book.