Day after day the papers are full of stories about how Britain is turning into a country full of people who are disrespectful of others at any opportunity. If an alien were to visit our green and pleasant land and watch the news it would appear to them that our island is awash with people who no longer have any respect for anything or anyone. Of course, this view is true in many cases and there are citizens of our country who truly do not care about how their awful behavior impacts on other people, but there is light at the end of the tunnel. Even in today’s Britain there are still people who care about others.

I’m talking about the common courtesies that have long been part of our British culture, people that give up their seats on buses and help old ladies across the road. In case you are thinking, well it’s all right for her to reminisce at her age, I’m in my late twenties and yes, I still like a bit of old fashioned courtesy. I’m not even adverse to a man holding a door open for me! These are the small actions that hold the fabric of our society together and they are there for people to see if only they open their eyes them.

I had an experience several weeks ago that blows the concept of the yob culture out of the water. I was in a late shop in Manchester when I experienced something quite remarkable. It was about half past ten in the evening when I decided to go and get a much-needed chocolate fix. For those of you familiar with late shops, I’m sure that you will agree that usually the best plan of action is to get in and get out as soon as possible, avoiding both the glare of the halogen lighting and eye contact with others. This occasion was different. Out of the comer of my eye, I spotted a frail looking old lady at one of the tills. The assistant was telling her that she couldn’t pay for her shopping with her pension book and asking her if she had any other means of payment. I saw that the poor old lady was fumbling about in her bag, looking embarrassed and flustered. I could see that her bag contained items like bread and milk and cat food. Stereotypical of an old lady but true. Generally people were looking the other way and pretending that it wasn’t happening. To my surprise, a young man, who at first glance looked like a bit of a hoodie’ asked the assistant how much the shopping was and promptly paid her bill of fifteen pounds. Not just fifty pence but fifteen pounds!

My feelings after witnessing this unusual event were shock and embarrassment. Embarrassment that I was one of those people that looked the other way and shock that the old lady’s good Samaritan was what people may describe as a hoodie’. It really got me thinking about how many incidents like this happen on a daily basis that challenge the views of a modern unruly Britain. I’m sure that there are many similar small acts of kindness like this across the country that go largely unacknowledged but for those of us that witness them, restore our faith in humanity.