Francis Gay

Unexpected gift was music to the ears of a grieving friend

Chris got an unexpected gift recently – a piano!

It was a bequest from a friend who had, sadly, passed away. And Chris didn’t want it.

His excuse was that they didn’t have enough space for it, but, really, he wasn’t sure he could handle the memories of the times he had listened to his friend playing it.

He was on the point of re-directing it to a nearby good cause when his wife, Helen, asked: “How much space does the music of a friend’s life take up, anyway?”

So, now the piano sits in their living room and Chris is reminding it of the old tunes and introducing it to some new ones.

“It’s funny, though,” he told me. “Every time I play, it seems like a duet.” The harmonies of old friend never leave us, it seems.

Graham watched The Lion, The Witch, And The Wardrobe with his four-yearold son Euan.

The boy was confused at the start, so Graham explained that, long ago, there had been a war and the children were sent to a house in the country for their safety. That’s where they found the magical wardrobe which took them to Narnia.

Later the same day, he saw Euan paying attention to a family who looked and talked differently to him.

Recognising the language, he explained that those children, too, had been driven from their homes (in Syria) because of war. “But, they didn’t have a magic door to go through,” he said.

“Maybe they could come through our door,” Euan suggested. Maybe, Graham thought, hesitantly. Then he swallowed hard, stepped forward, introduced himself to the other dad… and the adventure began!

Nicola took a phone call telling her a friend’s husband had been in a car accident and was in hospital.

“I’ll make a lasagne,” she said, before she hung up.

I was at a loss. The accident sounded very serious.

How was lasagne going to help?

It turns out Nicola is part of a network of friends who have a special agreement.

If any one of them hits hard times, or, if they are going to be kept busy with hospital visits, or something similar, everyone else makes just one freeze-able meal.

The family affected usually accumulate enough meals to see them through the difficult times without having to shop or cook. Husbands and children get involved as well.

How can a lasagne fix broken bones or see a poor family through to pay-day? Well, it can’t. On its own.

But, together, a lot of little kindnesses can make a big difference.

Jimmy was stranded in Schiphol Airport because of the bad weather.

With no planes leaving that day or the next, several hundred people were left looking for accommodation.

Waiting in the airport he found himself in front of a woman with two little children.

The airline wasn’t paying for accommodation and she didn’t have much money. Her distress was felt by the children who both started crying.

“I can’t be listening to this all night,” he decided.

He went online with his tablet and saw hotel rooms becoming unavailable while the prices of the remaining ones went up and up.

Suddenly, one room became re-available – at a ridiculous price – at the airport Hilton. Jimmy booked it... and then gave it to the woman!

“I slept in an airport chair all night” he told me. “But at least I didn’t have to listen to crying children!”