In ‘Dad’s War’… In 1943 Ian Reid was wounded and captured in North Africa and taken to an Italian prisoner-of-war camp. He escaped and survived… Following his father’s footsteps nearly sixty years later, his son Howard meets a family in an isolated Italian farm that had sheltered and looked after his father:
‘Pompilio… considered it only human to look after a lost and frightened stranger…. He had no hidden motives, just a strong sense of the duty of hospitality, of common decency.’
Our Men’s Shed has been repairing and restoring a commemorative bench that will soon be returned to its seafront location. A plaque on it reads: ‘This seat was given by the people of Pakefield and Lowestoft in memory of Fred Cable who gave his life while saving another from the sea near here June 17th 1959.
A freak wave had dragged a woman out to sea. Fred Cable dived in the sea to rescue the woman. The woman survived; Fred didn’t. His brave, decent sacrificial actions are remembered…
Last night we went to The Seagull Theatre to watch a bunch of nine-to-twelve-year-olds perform a half-hour version of Bugsy Malone. They’ve been learning it and rehearsing it at their drama club this term. Proud parents and friends formed an appreciative audience.
Their performance won’t receive national acclaim. These were ordinary children who’ve worked hard together, taught by talented teachers. There was joy, enthusiasm and huge achievement in this wholesome production that involved ordinary, decent people.
Last night’s local news highlighted ‘Acorn House’. Close to Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge, families can stay there whilst their children are in hospital. It alleviates financial worries and helps the mental wellbeing of families at a potentially stressful time…
It’s clear: the kind, thoughtful, caring staff of Acorn House are good decent people.
How common is ‘common decency’? Life’s headlines are dominated by the powerful and the famous… Many people I know will never make national headlines, but they’re good decent people… Perhaps decency is more common that we sometimes think.
malcolmsmusings.org 