MY WEEK BY FRANCIS GAY

Ron told me the story of his father’s last year.

The older man had always been very regimented, unspontaneous, not a big one for showing emotion.

Then cancer got a grip on him. When he wasn’t undergoing treatment, he seemed to withdraw from life.

And then the gifts began appearing. They were a strange assortment, always things that were needed, and often to the most unlikely

“No man wants to hear a beautiful woman tell him he reminds her of her grandad.”

I waited. I knew Harry was a grandad and thought it one of the most honourable titles a man could have.

After a moment, his grumpy face relaxed a little.

“Then she told me he had died recently. But my size and general appearance, and the fact that she felt safe around me, brought back such strong memories of him for her. Then she hugged me.

“But I knew it wasn’t really me she was hugging. So, on grandad’s behalf, and sure that if he was looking down he wouldn’t mind, I hugged her back.”

Grandparents! Their influence on our hearts is so powerful it can often outlast them. And a lucky few of us get to stand in for them sometimes.

I met Peter for the first time this week. He volunteers at a hospital that specialises in cancer treatment.

He was telling me about his work and assuring me that everyone had something to offer when it came to volunteering.

I asked what he offered, and he replied, “It’s more about what I’ve been given. That hospital saved my life.”

“Ohhh,” I said. “You had cancer? Were you treated here?”

“I didn’t have cancer,” Peter replied.

“My daughter did. And they couldn’t save her.”

I was temporarily at a loss – then Peter continued. “I would have sunk in the darkness after that, if there hadn’t been a chance to help others going through the same experiences.”

There are many ways to volunteer and, it seems, different ways to save a life. people. Speculation in the village as to who was doing it was rife. No one thought Ron’s dad a likely culprit, and he himself dismissed the notion that he knew anything about it. But the gifts stopped when he died.

It warms Ron’s heart that his very proper father might have found the Santa Claus spirit in his last few months. And, from the way he was talking, I wouldn’t be at all surprised if there were a few more anonymous presents on people’s steps this year.

Mabel is Samoan, and she’s in Scotland as part of a cultural exchange.

When Julie and her husband went to collect them from the caravan they’ve been staying in, everyone was ready, except Mabel.

Her husband and son both apologised for her tardiness, saying she was always late.

Not realising Mabel was walking in the door, Julie said, “She will be late because she will be tidying up after you two.”

Mabel laughed and said, “That’s exactly what I was doing. She gets it!”

And from then on the two women were the best of friends.

Scottish culture and Samoan culture must be very different, but some things are the same the whole world over.

Despite our superficial differences, we are all very much alike.

It only takes a minute, To smile and say hello, You’ll surely brighten someone’s day, No matter where you go. So we should really stop and think, Of those who might be sad, For that little act of kindness, Will surely make them glad.