A little compliment…

The compliment. Such a small but very powerful gesture. And who would have thought that it would crop up on Oxford Street? Walking back from the gym in my much loved (i.e. faded and falling apart) gym clothes, I was greeted with a rare but warming compliment by a fellow walker. ‘Nice jumper’ was all that passed his lips as he walked past me. As for me – I smiled.

And he didn’t stop there. ‘Nice scarf’. ‘Love the tie’. ‘Cool shoes’. This man dished out various compliments to pedestrians as he passed them. Upon registering that the compliment was directed towards them, recipients would in turn smile.

I love this man and his compliment habit. Why? Because he is verbalising the thoughts that often remain just that – thoughts. Now I’m the first to admit that I check out the clothing of fellow pedestrians. And why not - it’s a fashion runway unfolding right in front of you. I am also the first to admit that when I come across an outfit that appeals to me, I would never verbalise my thoughts.

But Mr Compliment Man has taught me a small lesson. Don’t be afraid to throw a few compliments around here and there. After all, everyone loves a little compliment.

Finally - space in the top draw

My husband is a self confessed hoarder. From bus tickets to empty postcards, used batteries to magazines, he loves to keep those everyday items that the rest of us discard once they are no longer of use to us.

Whilst many of his hoarding obsessions drive me nuts, there is one that I secretly admire - battery hoarding. Most people know that batteries and our environment are enemies - few people would know why (something to do with the acid in batteries?). The point is that Aidan would go to considerable lengths to prevent old batteries from contaminating the environment. He would bag the batteries up and store them in his top draw until he figured out the best way to dispose of them.

Now, whilst the first part of his plan was successful (that bag of batteries started taking over his top draw), the second part was not so successful. After ten years that bag of batteries lived in 3 houses and increased to 6 times its original size. Why you ask? Because no safe and easy solution had been found for their disposal.

Saving our planet is all about taking personal action. It’s about making small contributions each day. One of Aidan’s contributions was his refusal to throw out used batteries with the household rubbish. Why then, if batteries are such a common part of our everyday lives and such a danger to our environment, is safe and easy battery disposal so hard to come by?

I’m sure that if Aidan had really put his mind to it he could have researched and located an old battery depot. But that is not the point. Because battery recycling was essentially a difficult task, that bag of batteries ended up going in the general rubbish bin before we moved to the UK.

Ironically, within the first week of arriving in the UK, I discovered a safe and easy solution to my husband’s battery hoarding obsession. Right next to Sainsbury’s check out counter was a cylinder displaying a huge sign ‘RECYCLE YOUR USED BATTERIES’. Eurika!

Finally, someone is helping out the battery hoarders of our world. Finally someone has made battery disposal safe and easy. Finally I can guarantee space in our top draw!