Simple acts of generosity and the kindness they embrace can often be overlooked especially in a world where harshness towards compassion is projected by political leaders as a weakness.  The collective mass of these simple gestures of kindness, like a stream of water smooths a jagged stone into a pebble, is the ultimate antidote to this political harshness. This happened yesterday.

I was looking out from the ground floor window. It was a damp, rainy morning, overcast and cold. I decided to venture across the road to the local cafe for breakfast. The cafe, managed by a local Chinese lady who is always cheerful, keen to engage her customers to elicit ideas for the menu and on this dull day her cheerfulness will not go amiss. I open the door of the cafe, step from the chill into the warmth. A tame radio is playing, and the Chinese lady welcomes me. Four customers acknowledge my presence by raising their heads, they glare for a moment and quickly return to their food, drink, and chatter. After ordering, I sit quietly, frequently and addictively gaze at my iPhone reading the latest news and social media updates.

The table to my immediate right sits two guys in their late 40s discussing the incidental happenings of the universe. Conversation voids are filled with slurps of teas, munching of a full English. Newspapers laid open on their table generate observations concerning the weather, football, Trump and the ostentatious lifestyle of the rich and famous. They share stories about Valentine’s day. The cards they bought their wives, the meals they enjoyed and the wine they drank. Clicks, clangs, and the fragrance of cooking emerge from the kitchen while the traffic steers through the rain outside. People hurry by the window, collars turn up and hats firmly fixed. The table in front of me sits a man mid-30s and his teenage daughter. It’s like watching two chess players engaged in an enthralling game. They are negotiating about the arrangements for the day. He has care duties, and it’s the school holidays. It transpires that for the teenager her parents have recently separated, and he has just picked her up from home. There is a nervous tone as the pair start the journey of building a new path from the rubble, but shared giggles are heard as they leave the cafe for their day ahead together. He holds the door for his daughter and the young couple entering the cafe.

The young couple,  in their mid-20s, entering the cafe, without any eye contact, make haste to the corner table and empty their pockets on the top. The coins clatter, they are sorted and counted. There is a tension, a nervous tension. The young man has a swagger about him, he is heavily tattooed, wears a black baseball cap and refers to his partner as darling with a thick South Bristol accent. The young lady has a tired face, looks exhausted and she calmly nods at her man as he talks through the various options from the menu. He is taking his time, offering options. She confirms he makes the order with the Chinese lady at the counter. The young man turns and walks back to the table, sits opposite his women and reaches out to her. She leans forward slightly, gives an awkward smile and takes his hands. They stare at each intensively, he provides a nod of encouragement, comforting her, “everything is going to be ok, I promise.” There is a muffled cry, her head lowers and he tightens his hold of her hands.

There is tenderness in their exchanges of the ordinary. The proprietor of the cafe, with her small, unimposing Chinese persona, realising there is something not quite right strolls to the table where the young couple sat quietly.“Forgive me for intruding, but I could not help but see you are upset is everything alright?” asks the Chinese lady.  An uncomfortable silence, she gently smiles and asks again. The story unfolds. The young couple had recently moved in together against the strong wishes of the young man’s family. This had resulted in tensions and the breakdown in relationships between the young man and his family. He had chosen his love. The young lady had slowly, painfully and successfully weaned herself off a drug addiction. The tortured lines of despair on her face, which amassed around her eyes echoed her determination, but nobody except her boyfriend believed she had the willpower to keep up the fight. As the Chinese lady listened, the young man watched on attentively with a look that could melt icebergs. Due to a small change in personal circumstance, they had just received a letter, which had confirmed their social security benefits had been reduced to the point they could no longer manage to pay the rent for their shared flat. Both young people were without employment.

The young couple now faced the risk of separating. The only feasible option was for the young lady to move back with her parents while he sought a short-term arrangement with friends. The young couple shared their journey of highs, lows and self-inflicted wounds. The Chinese lady waited until the story had unfolded. She paused for a moment and turned her attention to the young man. “I was just about to put an advert in the window for help in the kitchen and serving would you be interested?” Without giving much thought, the young man eagerly replied, “yes, when can I start?” the Chinese lady answered, “No time like the present”  The young man and the Chinese lady stand up and walk to the kitchen area. As they approached the counter, the young man reached into his pocket to pay for the breakfast he and his girlfriend had just enjoyed. The Chinese lady said, “No payment required employees get food as part of their job.”