Thank you, Ma’am, for all your heart and dedication

There might be company rules against this, so I’m giving no clues away.

“Amanda” just had her gas boiler serviced. Her landlord paid for it as part of the maintenance programme, which is just as well as she and her children barely get by day to day.

Afterwards, as she hung some washing up to dry, she discovered a card and some cash the engineer had left behind. It explained that people often give him tips after a home visit. He appreciates the thought, but he is in a decently-paid job.

So, he keeps the money in his tool bag and passes it on wherever he thinks it might do some good.

Needless to say, Amanda was warmed by the gift almost as much as the heating the boiler provided. And I’d like to say to the anonymous engineer, “That’s how you keep the pilot light of kindness burning bright, my friend!”

Our friend had a stroke. He’s in hospital now, but the long-term plan is for care-home accommodation.

Family and friends are doing their best, but talking is difficult for him, and the visits can be awkward. When we were saying goodbye at the end of the last visit, I asked what we could bring him next time. He said: “Yourselves.” Then he turned his head on the pillow, away from us, towards the bedside cabinet. The side of the cabinet was covered in photos of dear ones, so they were in sight even when he couldn’t move and they couldn’t be closer.

Those pictures brought it home for me. We sometimes hide behind gifts in situations like that, or make up reasons why we needn’t necessarily be there. But our simple presence is often the very best gift, the very best expression of our love.

Be there for them.

When Julie was nine years old, she met the Queen. Her Majesty was in Irvine to open the Magnum Leisure Centre and the local Brownie pack was part of the honour guard.

The Queen stopped, asked if they had been standing long, and thanked them for waiting. The meeting made such an impression that, four decades later, Julie couldn’t help shed a tear on hearing of the passing of Elizabeth

II. The Queen made a similar impression on the countless adults and children she met, over 70 years, all around the world. It would be impossible to calculate how many people shared Julie’s emotions at the sad news. That might pale in comparison to her many other achievements. But...it’s no small thing to have had such a profound effect on so many lives.

Thank you, Ma’am, for your service and your heart.

It was mid-afternoon when I met Rob. I asked how his day had been.

“Ohhh,” he sighed. “I wasted the first half. Now, I’m trying to catch up on all the things I didn’t do yesterday.”

“What things?” I asked. “Just household stuff, school uniforms, walking the dogs, shopping, stuff like that.”

I asked how he had “wasted” the morning. “Drinking coffee, playing video games, you know...”

Fair enough, I thought. Until I wondered why he had postponed all those things from yesterday. It turns out that yesterday, he’d taken his mum to a chemotherapy appointment, gone shopping for his gran, built furniture for a friend setting up a new home...

Rob – and everyone out there taking care of people you love – a few hours spent on yourselves, drinking coffee and catching your breath, is not wasted time! If Francis Gay could pass laws – it would be compulsory.

Lines may come to faces, Silver threads to hair, But eyes that twinkle brightly, Show golden hearts that care. For the spirit it is ageless, Finding joy all around, So seek those simple pleasures, Just waiting to be found.