London for locals and tourists

Some more everyday smiles and helpfulness in London Town.  The place that everyone says is so cold and unfriendly.  Have you tell you guys I’m a born and bred Londoner and I think London is as friendly or as cold as any other city on this earth, depending on what you’re expecting.  Having said that, I think all modern cities can be very lonely places. But moving on....

So first off is Tarkam.   I had some keys cuts a while ago but they weren’t quite right so I went back but the original guy wasn’t there and the whole key cutting operation has been taken over by a new operation, The London Cobbler.

Tarkam, and his father, Mehmet, now run the key cutting and shoe repair shop sharing space with Magic Dry-cleaners in Golders Green.

I haven’t met Mehmet yet, but I’m guessing he will be as lovely and helpful as his son.  Tarkam is third generation shoe repairer and key cutter as Mehmet followed in his father’s  footsteps.

Thank you to Tarkam for your helpfulness and smiles.

Meanwhile, on a beautiful day in July, I found myself back in the Houses of Parliament, looking at the beautiful Westminster Hall ceiling, https://www.parliament.uk/palace/westminsterhall/.  and the carved angels that the lovely Helga particularly wanted to see, having seen some in Norfolk and she had been researching them and the work of Hugh Herland.   ---  Also with us was “grumpy/curmudgeonly” (his words, not mine) Rob.  He wasn't either of those things but he really wanted to make it into the blog but didn't want to smile! So now you're in here Rob, hope you like it. Okay? ---- 

But back to the post...   I couldn’t get pictures of the amazing ceiling because of I only had my ‘phone with me rather than a proper camera and there is a bit of scaffolding there that day but if you’ve never been to Westminster Hall, so long as you book, anyone can go in.  If you want to know more about the Hall, you can read about the hammer-beam roof and the architecture here www.parliament.uk/westminsterhall/architecture/the-hammer-beam-roof-/ and if you want to visit there are all different ways and you’ll find them here https://www.parliament.uk/visiting/visiting-and-tours/.

While I was there I thought I would see if Carlos was around to say hello, (see post everdayfolk.blogspot.com/2014/06/a-beautiful-summers-day-behind-scenes), but it turned out he was on leave while parliament was in recess but I’m almost glad he wasn’t there as it meant I got to meet Deidre, Barbara and Gary.

Gary is a visitor assistant and it was he that directed me to Barbara and Deidre when I asked about Carlos.

Gary was working in the central lobby helping the tourists and visitors with directions and answers.  He got very badly smashed up in a car accident a few years ago, shattering his leg below the knee but due to his character, this did not stop him from subsequently completing three marathons, his last and best time being 501, his nickname.

Thank you, Gary, for your interesting stories and smiles.

Over to the Reception desk in the Central Lobby, I asked after Carlos and both Deidre and Barbara were there fielding every manner of request.  Their modern title being a “service delivery coordinator”, (Sorry but it makes me long for politically incorrect titles like, ‘personnel department’, ‘housewife’, ‘waiter’ and ‘secretary’.  That’s me feeling old).  Anyway, when I showed them the blog to explain why I wanted to find Carlos, well it was wonderful, we started chatting like we were long lost friends.

I was sorry I had to go but hope the next time I have occasion to be in the Houses of Parliament they’re both on the desk to say hello again.

Thank you, Barbara and Deidre, for the help, the chat, the gossip and the smiles. 

Since I couldn’t get a picture of Westminster Hall itself, here are a couple of shots from St. Stephen’s Hall, including a plaque to Marjory Hume, the suffragette who chained herself to the statue of the Second VIscount of Falkland and among the expected style of paintings, what I consider a ‘weird’ one possibly featuring death by Charles Sims, R.A.  Sorry they're not better shots but it's quite hard to ge the right angle etc.  Just go yourselves and look at them!

by Charles Sims, R.A.

St Stephen's Hall

by Vivian Forbes

by George Clauses, R.A.

So thank you Tarkam, Deidre, Gary and Barbara for bringing that little bit extra to work with you and smiling while you work.

If you have someone you want to thank, tell us something nice that happened, just get in touch, this blog is here for you.  

You don't have to know how to do the formatting and stuff, we'll help you with all that.  This blog is for you, somewhere for you to have your say, spread the positive and say thank you.  

We would love to hear from you.

Hospitals, supermarkets and thank yous

A couple of unrelated thank yous that reminded me why I'm doing this blog.

Twice over the last few weeks, when my head had been all caught up with our own problems, I was pulled out of myself by someone going out of their way to be helpful and I thought that's nice, but I was so wrapped up in myself that I forgot my own "mantra" of looking for positive and good and shining a light on them.

Luckily I was given an opportunity to go back and remedy my oversight so the first thank you is to Dawn and the help desk team at UCH.        

Anyone who has had to park at a hospital, or use a disabled Blue Badge at a hospital, will appreciate this story.

At the Royal Free, a wonderful hospital, they have a terrible parking problem and policy for disabled users.  The badge is for my car but for when I'm driving a member of the family, let's call them "Fred".  Now at the Royal Free you can have four hours free parking with a disabled badge and after that you have to pay.  But, this is where it becomes so difficult.  The actual person who is named on the badge, Fred in this instance, has to show him/herself at the desk to prove that I'm not abusing the badge.  

Now imagine you've got to be in hospital all day having, say a blood transfusion, the first or last thing you have to do now is attend a desk where you have to present yourself to prove you really are "ill".

Don't even get me on the part where you have to pay for the remaining hours and how difficult that is!  I suppose, while I'm doing this, I could give a thumbs down to the Parking Policy at the Royal Free.  Great hospital, bad policy.  May I suggest a little more trust?  Take a leaf out of UCH's book?

So, yes over now to UCH and our thanks and thumbs up; for those that don't know, UCH, UCLH and the Macmillan Cancer Center www.uclh.nhs.uk/ are all part of one of the major newer hospitals in the West End of London.  The Blue Badge parking scheme is a national scheme except in a couple of parts of London.  UCH is in one of those exclusion zones for the Blue Badge so I was very worried about how and if I would be able to park when taking Fred there.  I shouldn't have worried, UCH/UCLH have a totally different policy.

Their policy seems to be trust and assuming that if you're in hospital and are using a blue badge, you need it and to be at the hospital, so try to make it easier for you.

Enter Dawn, (and Wendy who was shy about having her picture taken).  I wasn't sure if I was taking Fred home the next day or the day after, depending on progress but whatever, I was going to be bringing Fred back the following week.  No problem; UCH gives you a pass for the time you need, a day, a couple of days, a week which you display with your Blue Badge in their own limited parking or on a couple of specially designated nearby streets.   So simple, so stress free but more importantly, for here, a big thank you to Dawn for making me smile and taking me out of my own head and a big thumbs up  

Now, my other thank you, has nothing to do with health, hospitals, or charities, which seems to have dominated this blog in recent months, whether my own or from guests.

This time to the lovely cashier, Irene, at a local Sainsbury's in Golders Green.  Irene

always has a smile for her customers and when the transaction has finished and the till prints out those multitude of bits of paper with offers, price matches, school vouchers and what not, Irene carefully goes through them and if there is something of worth to note, she makes sure she has pointed it out for you.

I asked Irene if I may take her picture, (I always ask first), but she declined thinking "it would look ugly".  I wish Irene could see the lovely smile all her customers see and realise how it is anything but ugly.  In any case, a big thank you and thumbs up to Irene.

I would add Irene is such a breath of fresh air in an otherwise not wonderful Sainsbury's - getting better but still a throw back to the nineties.  Management, take note, thanks.

That's it for now but as always, if you would like to send in a post to tell us something nice that happened or to say thank you to someone, just get in touch and we would have great pleasure in putting up your stories here.  Thanks.

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.