Something happened on Kings Heath High Street that made me feel good all day.  Whenever I remembered it, I smiled.  If I felt a bit low, I just had to recall that thing and I felt happy again.  And again.  And again.

So what was that thing?
Last week, I was on the school run and I was in a rush, as usual.  I needed some cash so I parked as near to the NatWest Bank as I legally could, ran out of the car, punched my number into the hole in the wall, drew out fifty quid and then ran back to the car…leaving my money in the slot in the ATM.

Just imagine how cross I felt with myself when I later reached for my purse. I saw I had no cash and realised my mistake.

You can probably guess, from the headline, the outcome of this story.  I returned to the bank and asked if anyone had handed in the money.  Someone had.  Can you believe it? I was given my fifty pounds.

I was very, very surprised.  This was Kings Heath High Street after all.

And I was delighted – delighted to have my money back, of course, and very delighted by that act of honesty and kindness from someone I will probably never meet and never be able to thank.

This random act of kindness kept me happy all day, for many days actually.  Whenever I recalled it, I felt hopeful. It was a tiny act but, because it was close, it dwarfed Brexit, Trump and all the other things that sometimes make me miserable.

We have more personal power than we suppose. We really can engender in each other feelings of warmth and hope and gratitude.

And stranger.  Whoever you are, whether you are my brother, my sister, my older, my younger. Thank you. Thank you for handing in my fifty pounds at the NatWest Bank. Thank you.