Outside of the often hedonist pleasures of food and drink, I spend a fair amount of time trying to assist those who have not been as lucky in life as I have been.

A couple of years ago I visited a helpline service for youngsters in north London. The group I was with was given a role playing task based on real calls received the previous day. The first was from a 15 year old girl who was contemplating suicide because her father had raped her and she felt she was responsible.

Last week I met a lady who for over a decade had been working in a centre for AIDS and HIV victims. A decade – think about it. Yesterday I met a senior police officer who was working on ‘honour killings’ – murders that take place invariably within ethnic minority communities driven by extreme adaptations of protecting a family’s reputation.

All of these people had one thing in common – they were all happy and smiling. I couldn’t help thinking on each occasion what amazing inner strength they all had given what they had to face day in, day out. I suppose hospital nurses are the same as they have to face a constant stream of people who are distressed with sickness and suffering and they always tend to be chirpy too.

And then there’s me getting grumpy with waiters if bread isn’t served properly at the table. Well, that’s not going to change....

:)