Francis Gay

Bob was replacing the handles on a chest of drawers. Each of the four drawers had two handles.

“It belonged to my great-grandmother,” he told me. “She kept her bed linen in it, so it was heavy. She also kept a bag of boiled sweets in there. If we were good, me and my siblings and cousins, we could have one. But, we had to get them ourselves. And because the drawers were wide, it always took two of us to pull it open.

“So, one of us being good was no use, we needed two. And if any two of us got sweets that was an encouragement to the next two. She grew up in a big family. All her children had big families. She learned a thing or two about dealing with little ones!”

They say teamwork makes the dream work. In this case, it made the drawer work!

The group were talking about

inheritances from family members.

They discussed taxes, disputes with siblings, how the money had helped them start a new business, and so on. I noticed Peter wasn’t contributing. Then he said: “Do you know what I inherited from my grandparents?”

Someone asked: “What?” And he said: “The two little brass bells she used to polish every week and kept on her mantelpiece. As kids, my brothers and sisters and I used to love getting to play with those bells. Now, my grandchildren and their cousins do the same at our house.”

The group fell silent for a moment, then changed the subject. They weren’t going to top that. They used to say that every time a bell rings an angel gets its wings. I rather think that, now, every time a great-great-grandchild rings one of these bells, an angel smiles!

Gary isn’t a minister or a social worker. But his job does involve dealing with the public and he sometimes gets into conversations worthy of either of those two occupations.

Today, I noticed his desk was abandoned while he talked to someone in a quiet corner.

It turned out the man had tried to end it all a few hours before.

Later, I asked him if the conversation had ended on a good note.

He thought about it and said: “There were no bad notes. Sure, a lot had gone wrong, and he was still in a problematic place. But all of that was before he decided to ask for help.

“After that, it was all good. Awkward, and difficult sometimes...but good.”

It’s often not an easy decision to make. It takes a lot of courage sometimes. But it does make all the difference.

Wrap up well this winter, Wear woollies and a scarf.

Enjoy some tea with lovely friends, Share chats and hearty laughs.

All will help to see you through,

When the temperature then drops.

As the warmth of people’s kindness, You know will never stop.