A Winter's Tale

Buy a good hat, a few thermal vests, a few fleeces and you'll be ready when winter comes calling, I guess. 

Whack on the heating for an hour, close the doors and wrap up well meanwhile. Turn it off an hour later, stay wrapped up and you won't feel the cold for most of the day indoors. You'll also keep your energy bill down slightly. Bonus!

Heat your room by putting plenty of candles in it. In the period dramas on TV they use them to provide light. It's only a few winters ago I realised they generate a surprising amount of heat too! Well, duh, I know, but still... you'll be surprised how much warmer you'll feel with a candle or two in the room. 

But be careful if you're having guests round: you don't want them to think you're luring them into some kind of love-nasium (whether this is your intention or not!)! Oh and you don't want to burn down your house, either! That won't keep you warm.

Foodwise, you can't beat a good old bowl of soup! Go for a thick soup, such as leek and potato. This will fill you up and, into the bargain, you can save yourself some money. Can't be bad!

Well, that's all the tips I can offer you at the moment, but I'm always on the lookout for new ones. What's your strategy? How do you brace yourself for this chilly season?

I'll get some soup warmed up for us while you ponder it over. Is leek and potato all right for you?

How customer service can make you a better person

I'm lucky enough to have two part-time jobs right now. One allows me to pen a few lines for a hotel company, which I enjoy. The other is in customer service, allowing me to meet and be myself with different people every shift, which I also enjoy. 

I smile and wish the good a safe journey home. I smile and wish the bad the same but throw an apology into the mix to ease their grievances. A kind smile goes a long way.

The job teaches values that could change the world and maybe ourselves if we tried a little harder. When a customer gets shirty I don't fly off the handle; instead I smile. When a customer gets impatient I smile and politely ask them to bear with me; then when I serve them I thank them for their patience. It goes a long way.

Being patient and tolerant at work, as well as being naturally pleasant, makes me more so outside of it. This is especially so when I'm in a queue and the customer in front of me is giving someone else some grief. And when I smile at my customers, they walk away - I hope - feeling better.

Maybe if we all worked in customer service we'd learn to be more tolerant, more compassionate and more patient and behave better towards others. Ultimately, we'd be more pleasant. 

Wouldn't it be nice to live in a world like that?

Most certainly. I can but dream though.

Betty II

It's been six months now since you left us, Nana. I miss you.

I know the spirits don't use the internet. That would be absurd. But I hope that if we do live on after we die, you'll somehow see this message.

I wanted to tell you I moved back to Edinburgh - your Edinburgh- and found a job. I love being back here and in work. I just wish it had all happened before you went away, so you'd know I was all right.

The other thing I wanted to say, Nana, is thank you again. I read your copy of The Whisperers, by John Connolly. I loved it and bought more of his books. He's one of my favourite authors now. 

In fact, I met him. He was signing his new book in Waterstone's, on Princes Street, and I bought a copy. I would never have been there if it wasn't for you.

With the copy I got a large sticker that said 'Tell them Charlie Parker sent you.' I will. And I'll do it with a smile.

But deep down, I'll know Elisabeth Mary 'Betty' Jones sent me.