More North West London smiles (updated)

A few more North West London smiles and thanks;

My man and I were having dinner at the lovely West Hampstead eaterie the Wet Fish Cafe, (we've only just recently discovered their Monday night special price deal thewetfishcafe.co.uk), and we were waiting for a friend from San Francisco to join us.

Becasue of the Monday night deal, it gets very busy and we were holding up everything as our guest hadn't arrived, we were taking up space but not ordering.  Did we feel pressured?  Absolutely not.  Eventually, after a call to her hotel we found out she had fallen asleep and wouldn't be joining us.

So we started to order.  Now, the Wet Fish Cafe do something called Polenta Chips which are among the most divine foods imaginable but for a variety of reasons I hadn't been able to have these the last couple of times I ate there.  I was not to be thwarted this time.

Our lovely waitress, Feliz, who remembered us from the time before,  took our order but was dismayed to have to tell me that the table before had ordered the last portion of Polenta Chips as they had now run out of polenta.  Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooo.

I hide my emotions deep (not) and she could see I was upset so she said to leave it with her.  Now, I don't want to divulge any trade secrets but I know she spoke to the chef and whether they stole two chips from other portions or whether they had just enough left to make me two chips I don't know but what I do know is that Feliz turned up trumps and two Polenta Chips arrived with my duck.

Hip hip hooray and a thank you and a thumbs up to Feliz for that extra bit of service with a smile.

Meanwhile, in Argos at Swiss Cottage, the staff were going out of their way to be helpful.   In sharp contrast to Homebase before them where I had been left standing by not less than four members of staff who went away to find out something and never came back - sorry Homebase but you get a .  I was standing there for half an hour and finally walked out.

What a contrast in Argos where I went to look at the same product.   I got to the till and asked if I could view the item, (it's a fake Christmas tree).  Of course, no problem.  The tree came up and another smiley assistant showed it to me.  It was explained that this was a no return item.  Then the first lady remembered that Sandra had this particular one herself.

Well Sandra came out from behind the counter and could not have been more helpful explaining her personal use.  How good it was at holding baubles and lights. How well balanced it was.  How ot build it and how many years she has had it.

At the time of writing, I don't have the other ladies' names who helped me or indeed any of their photographs but to all three of you,  thank you and a thumbs up for that extra bit of service with a smile.  I hope to rectify the names and photographs before too long.

UPDATE - managed to get in to Argos when the right people were working so, here's a nice picture of both Sandra and Tina.  The third assistant wasnt there to ask her name or get her permission to use it but that doesnt stop me saying thanks and giving all of you a thumbs up   (by the way, Tina is laughing because another customer got in on the act and it was all rather jolly there, at Argos)

The next post will either be from New York if the smiles permit or will be another guest post, that is waiting in the wings.

Look forward to receiving your posts soon and, remember, promote the positive!

Guest Post From Lucy Barlow - RANDOM ACTS OF KINDNESS

It is a long time since I first came across the idea of random kindness…I was working in a solicitor’s office as a conveyancer…it is a lifetime ago…I think it may have been linked to a Dave Gorman project…perhaps I will google that sometime & see if there is still something out there…

Whether the original seed for RAOK can still be traced, it  remains a large part of my life…and RAOK don’t need to be flamboyant gestures or have deep meaning and global significance…

This week, I have been touched by many moments of RAOK…

My husband, Lee, was knocked off his bicycle when hit by a car…the driver stopped, and thank God my husband is limping, sore & bruised but in one piece & still with us…my heart opens to those people who stopped their rush to work and helped him out of the road and called the ambulance and waited with him until paramedics arrived……I don’t know who they are, but I thank them for their kindness…

The paramedics deserve thanks too, although theirs is less random, their act of kindness in dedicating themselves to working in service to humanity is no less than superhuman… 

My step-brother, Alex, for stopping when he saw my husband with the paramedics and put his own working day on hold to be with my children so that I could get to the hospital to be with my husband…and then returned after a long day at work with his wife to support him whilst I had to teach…I thank them for their kindness…

the Mason Gang

Our friends the Mason Gang who made my husband the subject of their weekly RAOK “Make my Wednesday”, praying for his speedy healing, and presenting us with a goodie bag for Lee…I thank them for their kindness…

My sons, for their quiet concern (“I am sad Daddy hurt his head”, “I am worried Daddy might have another accident”) and their independent decision to draw pictures for Daddy to wish him get well soon…and their recognition that Daddy needs gentle right now & so wrestling & climbing are off the cards for a while…I thank them for their kindness…

the end of the road

A man sleeping rough at the end of our road, I wanted to show kindness and so on the school run, I stopped with my children to give him money for a warm breakfast at the cafe around the corner…when I spoke to him, a second head emerged from his jumble of coat & sleeping bag…embarrassed apologies from the small woman there, who explained nothing untoward was happening…they were clearly doing nothing but trying to stay warm & rest…I assured them they did not need to apologise…she told me that the man had simply been kind enough to offer her a warm place to sleep and to keep her safe after someone else had given her a black eye the night before…I thank him for his kindness to her…I pray that they have found safer, warmer places to rest…

On the walk to school this morning, a young woman spotted an older gentleman who needs a walking stick and has limited speed…she spoke to him before running ahead to stop the bus for him & asked the driver to wait…the old man got his bus, the young woman continued her walk on her way…I thank her for her kindness…

I am sure that if I think longer, there are more moments of kindness than that, I know there are…fundamentally, people are kind…when they are not, it is usually fear that clouds their judgment and diverts their actions…this is still a beautiful world…stop and look around you…watch people…there will be more kindness, more compassion than you expect…smile at it, let it warm your heart or allow it to draw warm, salty tears to cleanse your sorrow and make way for more joy…and then make a resolve…to be kind…small things…cook your partner’s favourite meal or buy them that offensive smelling cheese they crave…tip double when you go for coffee…pick some litter…smile at someone…

The more small, random acts of kindness in the world, the less time & space for greed and fear to take hold…they don’t have to feel like grand gestures and world-changing actions…but in their own way, that is exactly what they are…

May we all be happy…
May we all be healthy… 
May we all live in peace… 
May we all be free… 
May we all be loved… 
May we all be kind… 
OM x *

P.S. you are now reading this via everydayfolk.blogspot.com and that is the result of yet more kindness @hoodedman_art for connecting me with @14NC on Twitter…I thank you both for your kindness…Let’s spread the love!

* I sign off on my blog  with OMx because I am, after all, simply an Ordinary Mama.  And also because in Yoga, Om is the sound of the Universe, of God, the original sound, the seed of creation and because it is a powerful vibration for peace and for tranquillity of heart & mind. Just in case you wanted to know.

This blog first appeared in a slightly different from at ordinarymamaextraordinaryjoy.  We would like to add some thumbs up to from us to Alex, the paramedics, the man sleeping rough and the young woman at the bus stop

Lucy Barlow, @PortsmouthYoga can be found at the website for yoga portsmouthyoga.co.uk and also blogs at ordinarymamaextraordinaryjoy.wordpress.com/ on mothering through yoga and at pregnancyyogaportsmouth.com/  about pregnancy, birth, breastfeeding & beyond

laughing in the morning, if only

Well I'm pleased that there have been some guest posts lately as I don't seem to have come across as many smiles of late.

I have a theory; I always thought that the sun was going to make a difference to this blog and unfortunately I think I was right.  The occurrences of smiles are definitely becoming less as the tones turn from yellow to grey, the nights draw in and the temperature plummets.

However, they may be less but they are still around and maybe for their rarity, even nicer?
 
Also, it gives me a chance to thank some people who if this blog had been going years ago, I would have posted about them, not least Ken.

In days of yore, (I can never use that word now without thinking of a particular episode of Friends), I had a personal trainer, and that personal trainer was Ken.  Not only did he get me super fit but, and this was the miracle for which he gets many thanks and thumbs up, he would arrive at 6:30 or 7:00am in the morning and get me laughing.

What a wonderful way to start the day and even though it was almost twenty years ago, I still miss those early morning laughs with him and that wonderful feeling of fitness when he left.  (He still sees my mother, lucky her).

And a few thumbs up but no photos - Friday, 15th November - to the workman dealing with the street lights in Lyndale Avenue, NW2 who cheered my day by saying I was the sunshine and to the lady on the bus from Finchley Road to St. John's Wood who helped me by ringing my 'phone when I thought I'd lost it, a huge thank you and .

Meanwhile, I'm sorry to say, a thumbs down to the driver of the Number 82 bus who on Wednesday, 6th November at about 9:30am, just south of Golders Green heading in to town, refused to let an elderly lady off the bus at the front, arguing with her and holding everyone else up for some time for what seemed like spite.  She believed the front step was easier for her to get off than the back step and he insisted that they were the same height.  Even if they are, was it so necessary to shout at her and embarrass her?  You know who you are so, shame on you and "thumbs down".


So, don't forget, Promote the Positive - this blog, www.everdayfolk.blogspot.com is here for you; this is a public pinboard where you can tell us about that great smile, that bit of extra service you encountered in your day which just made the difference or just something nice. Please, send us your posts, comments or just follow.  Thanks.

A guest post from Kevin Bampton - CHRISTMAS IS COMING! (Ahem. Sorry.)

It’s become much more exciting now that I have children.

It also requires more planning.

There are lists to be compiled from the seemingly random requests and suggestions from my 6 year old boy and four year old girl. Then there’s the question of what do we think our two year old girl would like that is not currently amongst the hand-me-downs from her older siblings.

Once we have our three lists we thin them out. The plastic tat and passing fads carefully removed, in what is nothing less than parental censorship, we are left with a collection of presents that will not drive us mad in the coming year. The items are then distributed by cost, availability and suitability to the various parties who will be spending actual money on these things.

Over the past six years the ‘problem’ of making it as easy as possible for my elderly parents to obtain said items has been solved by limiting the shopping to one store. So, armed with a printed and illustrated list they head off to Knight and Lee in Southsea.

Knight and Lee are owned by John Lewis and have been there as long as I can remember.

Each year they have approached a member of staff with a sheaf of A4. It has been taken from them and chairs found for them to sit, whilst various members of staff have set off through the toy department to find the required items of joy.

Once found (or ordered, with a promise of a phone call once in stock) and paid for, staff have carried the goods to the ground floor and helped obtain and load a taxi.

Each year it has been someone different doing this, so I have no names or photos. But each year the service has been consistently wonderful.

So, thank you staff at Knight and Lee for helping make Christmas shopping a lot easier for my parents and the whole process less of a worry for me.

I look forward to a similar tale from my Mum this year.

Have a fabulous festive season.

Editor's note - so a thumbs up to Knight & Lee from us too.

 Kevin Bampton - Portsmouth 
 http://kevinbampton.wordpress.com/

@Hoodedman_art

RNIB Black Lion Pub Quiz - the whole thing with thanks and photos

Anyone that follows me on twitter (@14NC) will know that I've been going on and on lately about a special pub quiz http://readforrnib.org.uk/event/london/literary-pub-quiz/ at The Black Lion Pub in West End Lane, NW6 http://theblacklionnw6.co.uk/ on behalf of the Royal National Institute of the Blind, (RNIB), Read For RNIB Day Campaign.  Well this post, which is a slight departure from the norm, is to say thank you to the many that helped with the night and to share some photos from the evening.

My idea was to take over the usual pub quiz and make it into a "literary" one, i.e. Read For RNIB, to raise awareness of the RNIB's work and to highlight the fact that only 7% of books are available to those that can't read normal print (http://readforrnib.org.uk/about/accessibility-of-reading/) while having a bit of fun at the same time.

I needed help.  I managed to recruit Carla who works at Paramount Properties (@west_hampstead) in West End Lane, and I couldn't have involved a better person or company. 

Carla and I went "cold-calling" to the pub and saw Gloria, (see earlier post Half A Bank Holiday for more about Gloria).  She loved the idea but had to check with management.  Management, in the guise of James, couldn't have been more helpful and supportive. (@TheBlackLionNW6)

Yes, we could have the pub on Sunday, 13th October and take over their normal quiz.  Usually all the entrance money goes first to paying the Quiz Master, Gareth, and then whatever is left over is the winners' prize.  The pub very generously agreed to hand over the entry money to us for the RNIB.

We had a date and a venue.  Now we needed prizes.  We had two main ideas.  Books and local businesses.  At this point, we had no idea how just how generous people were going to be!

To the authors and agents and anonymous individuals that donated signed copies of books, an enormous, huge, thank you and thumbs up 

           

Ruth Cherrington (@CHistorians) http://www.clubhistorians.co.uk/

Barbara Levy Literary Agency

Dame Stephanie Shirley (@LetItGoOfficial) http://www.steveshirley.com/splash.php http://www.let-it-go.co.uk/

Fiona Barrows (@fbarrows) http://about.me/fbarrows

Joseph D'Lacey (http://josephdlacey.wordpress.com/)

Kay Sexton (@kaysexton) http://www.kaysexton.com/

Rupert Crew Agency (@rupertcrew) http://www.rupertcrew.co.uk/

Other prizes donated included books, farm jam and proseco.  These were from various individuals but from someone I would particularly like to mention, Andy Sarner, (@Bubela), some mixing bowls and a kitchen towel as prizes for the winners.  Even though Andy couldn't make it on the night she went especially to the local kitchen shop to buy.  Other individuals and companies that deserve a thank you are Kamils, Chris and Ed at Browns, West Hampstead Library, Matthew at Cycle Surgery, Lena's, Jonathan of http://www.westhampsteadlife.com/, Anne, Marlee and Dave.  (If I've left anyone out, in this list, above or below, forgive me, let me know and I'll add you in!  Also, throughout here I've put twitter names if known and websites but I haven't included facebook pages which I know a lot you have, forgive me.)

To the local businesses, who so stepped up the mark, both putting up our posters and contributing prizes, you get an overwhelming thumbs up and thank you 

Danny and Saskia at West End Lane Books - a credit voucher (@WELBooks)  http://www.welbooks.co.uk/

Andre at West Fish Cafe - a meal voucher (@TheWetFishCafe) www.thewetfishcafe.co.uk

Shane at Art 4 Fun - six individual studio sessions (@Art4FunCafe) www.art4fun.com

Sylvia and Neel at Banana Tree - a credit voucher, a cuddly toy and a tote bag (@bananatree) www.bananatree.co.uk

Debbie and David Colour Division - voucher for photo session (@ColourDivision1) www.colourdivision.com

James at Little Bay Restaurants - credit voucher (@TheLittleBay) www.littlebay.co.uk
Esmeralda at Nail Suit - credit voucher http://www.nailsuiteuk.com/

Ed and Maziar at One Blenheim Terrace - a meal voucher (@OneBlenheim) www.oneblenheimterrace.co.uk

Mukesh and Nilesh at Peppercorns - (@peppercornsuk1) www.peppercornshealthstore.com a credit voucher 

Alicia and Davood at Hana - a meal voucher (@HanaRestaurantx) www.hanarestaurant.co.uk

Elijas and Sam at David's Deli - a meal voucher

The Black Lion in the end, didn't just donate the door money, they also donated bottles of wine as prizes, a meal for two voucher, arranged a Truman Brewery tour and stuck their hands in their pockets to add to the collection.  I can't say thank you enough and then we come to Carla.  

Paramount Properties http://www.paramount-properties.co.uk/ are very involved in the neighbourhood and through Carla, Robert Lazarus, the Sales Director and Spencer Lawrence, the Letting Director, not only did Paramount give a beautifully designed tote bag to absolutely everyone that took part in the quiz, but they also agreed to match whatever we raised at the pub.  Thank you  

The Tote Bag

So this was my idea for what the evening would involve but then, married couple Carol and Bob Bridgestock,who write the D.I. Dylan (@DIJackDylan) crime thrillers under the name R.C. Bridgestock (@RCBridgestock) and who had already sent me a signed copy of one of their books and an Audio CD of another came up with a great wheeze; I could auction off being a character in their next book.  Brilliant, in keeping with the theme and, more importantly, a great money raiser. Thank you both, so much.  http://rcbridgestock.com/ 

Okay, we've got the prizes now we need an event.  The RNIB helped (in the guise of Benjamin, Julia and Julie ) by sending balloons to decorate the pub, more tote bags for prizes, pins for the winners bags, bookmarks, posters, and literature for anyone who wanted to know more, but still, we needed a Quiz Master.  

In stepped Gareth.  Gareth usually does the quiz at the pub but we had the idea of wanting to add extra book-ish and blind-ish questions, (like "What time travelling author who fooled a nation with his radio broadcast also wrote short stories including one entitled, The Country of the Blind?" and "Which author of the Adrian Mole books has lost her sight?" and "Which blind Labour politician was Home Secretary from 2001 until 2004?"), no problem.  He was game for it.  I want to do a sealed bid auction at the beginning and end.  no problem.  But there was a problem, (to me); we couldn't speak until the week of the quiz or meet until the night.  Now I'm not a control freak, (no really, it's all lies), but this was giving me a little bit of anxiety.  Absolutely no need.  Gareth excelled and couldn't have been more helpful, intuitive or collaborative.  No only that, but after he'd left and said goodnight, Gloria handed me more cash; Gareth had donated his fee for the night.  Gareth, thank you and  a huge thumbs up   

And in case I didn't say thank you enough to James and all the staff at the Black Lion who were so brilliant on the night and before.  Thank you, thank you, thank you, we'll be back! 

Now to the night itself - wow it was great and I hope these pictures give a little sense of how much fun we all had! (if anyone would like a copy of any of these photos, please do just get in touch)

And.... the grand total raised?  £700.00.  Thank you all so much and give yourselves another thumbs up or two.

In closing, anyone who is unfamiliar with the EverdayFolk Blogspot, we're here for you, this is a public pinboard where you can tell us about that great smile, that bit of extra service you encountered in your day which just made the difference.  Please feel free to send us posts, comments or just follow.  Thanks.