Kindness is something we like to talk about, but how many of us actually practice it? I've seen a few signs that have made me smile on my travels in the last week. One was in a pub last weekend, which proclaimed the venue has a "positive vibes only" policy and moaners are barred.
Another country pub I visited for Sunday lunch last weekend dedicated a large area of space to their mantra that everyone should be treated with respect. Sadly, I forgot to take a photo of it for this article, but their cauliflower cheese was a solid ten out of ten.
It's easy to dismiss all this as woolly claptrap, but the world is actually a much nicer place if everyone is a bit more polite and considerate. In an age dominated by social media, I wonder how many people stop and think before sending that angry and abusive tweet to a company or politician that there is another human on the other end of it, having to read it?
A good example is train companies. We all know there have been some issues with punctuality in recent years, but the level of vitriol I see at times being spewed on social media about it is simply vile. I sent a nice tweet on Wednesday morning, as I took three trains that were all bang on time, and the staff were super friendly. It's important to accentuate the positive in life as well as having a grumble, and I find social media quite draining for that at times. It felt nice to redress the balance a little bit.
MPs also have to deal with an incredible amount of opprobrium which is hurled in their general direction. Whilst it's part of the democratic process to raise concerns and highlight wrongdoing, when the insults descend into the personal and abusive, you've lost the argument as far as I'm concerned. Angela Rayner's timeline is a skip fire on any given day, but she recently took time on election day to give an interview to our work experience student at Tameside Radio, which I thought was fab. I'm sure she had a lot of other places to be, but she was happy to give her time.
Whilst you may have picked up I'm no fan of Nigel Farage, I don't think the hurling of banana milkshakes in his direction is acceptable. For one thing, it's a real waste of a milkshake. Secondly, it's better to engage in a proper debate, which will quickly expose policy holes and give you the real measure of the man.
The attempted assassination of Donald Trump was certainly a dramatic moment, and before you think to yourself it could never happen here, a reminder that two MPs have been killed by extremists whilst simply doing their jobs in the UK in recent years.
I've always had a real dislike for people who are rude to waiting staff. My ex girlfriend's dad used to click his fingers to attract attention, or even worse whistle. Appallingly rude! I wanted the floor to swallow me up.
So from train companies to serving staff, politicians to pubs, how about a wave of positivity to sweep away some of the gloom?
We all live fast-paced, busy lives, but if we took a few moments to consider how we treat others, the world might be at least 1% nicer. If I'd been delivering the King's Speech this week, I'd have proposed a Kindness Bill for Parliament. I've written before about the community spirit which emerged during Covid times, and it's probably about the only thing I miss about 2020 (although the banana cake and my wife's homemade curries were quite nice too). It would be great to try and foster this spirit of kindness once again.
I'm not above a moan where it's warranted, and you may accuse me of wearing rose-tinted glasses, but I remain of the belief that most people are quite nice. We all have our 'off days', but if everyone was a bit more considerate, it would certainly make life a bit easier.
In other news, I went to see The Syndicate on Tuesday night at the Alhambra Theatre in Bradford, and it was absolutely fab! I know it's been in Manchester previously, and if you ever get the chance to catch the show, I'd urge you to do so. Funny, well acted, and just a riotously good way to spend a couple of hours. Bravo to all involved, including soap legend Gaynor Faye!
Alex B Cann column -Things that get your goat 30/04/26
