Both my sons are home this weekend, having travelled by train from their respective universities yesterday.
By coincidence, I happened yesterday to read a short story by the poet Steve Pottinger about observing the realities of the human condition on a station concourse. It had the title 'Love and Coats'. The beautifully crafted story is here.
Steve reads it in his own distinctive style here:
I really do not think you will regret listening.
I asked Steve's permission to share this. He agreed, adding:
I wrote it a few years back, while waiting for a train at Euston and watching what was going on….
If only a few more people watched the world as carefully as Steve does.
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Thanks for posting that Richard, and Steve for writing it.
It may move us in different ways – if I could pass on one nugget? While on a placement in Edinburgh with an organisation working with, among others, homeless people I asked a staff member how to react to people begging in the streets. Other cultures seem to know what to do, we had forgotten. I was told the very least was to acknowledge their existence. Give a smile, a nod, a word. If you can’t/won’t give money, food, vouchers etc then fair enough – we all have to decide. The most crushing thing though for a person so down in life is to be ignored as if they are not there, worth nothing. Please, just a sympathetic look, gives a measure of dignity.
Good advice
In my train spotting days, when all went quiet (usually just after lunch) I often reverted to people watching from train watching. Fascinating.
I kept expecting to hear a steam engine whistle or a horn; a blast of steam, maybe some 2-6-0 slipping on a heavy train or the revving of a big diesel engine in the back ground too.
Alas not.
🙂
Hi Richard. The Quaker Cafe within Friends House (just opposite the station at 177 Euston Road) has recently restarted their Suspended Soup Scheme. On my way back to Scotland, I often eat there and prepay for a soup to be made available for anyone who asks for a voucher at Reception. At the moment, opening hours are a bit restricted (10am -3pm)… but beware of browsing in the Bookshop. Their selection is SO radical that one risks missing a train. Btw, they stock Dirty Secrets & Joy of Tax… eye-catching titles and captivating content. Regards, Ron.
I was a regular there until March 2020
I hope to be again one day
I love the scheme
A Quaker at No.10 anyone?
Worth a try.
Thanks Pilgrim; I’m available… but radicals tend to be UN-electable. Perhaps I could fulfil the role of PM as a Dictator? Things are Priti much trending that way anyway.
Again, I’ll go back Ms Arendt:
“Good can be radical; evil can never be radical, it can only be extreme, for it possesses neither depth nor any demonic dimension yet–and this is its horror–it can spread like a fungus over the surface of the earth and lay waste the entire world. Evil comes from a failure to think.”
The failure to think comes from ignorance.
Ignorance that is preyed upon by those looking for power.
Powerful. Thank you for sharing that.
My final thought was “and how much worse is it now? How much worse is it going to get?”
I’d never really understood the visceral hatred of Thatcher and the Tories until recently. Now, unfortunately, I get it and share it