First thing today

I got up feeling quite rough. I took my time with the fags and coffee, and got thinking about charity. I thought of Christian charity, where one makes sure that one is seen to be doing good, in order to secure a place in the next world. I thought of organised charity, where a good deal of the money that been collected from the public disappears down the gullets of the organisers at lavish functions. I thought of those organisers who might hope to get a title or national award for their services to charity. I think of those same people who may earn a fat salary from the charity they represent. I think of charity in the Eighteenth Century where people gave alms willingly to the destitute, partly for religious reasons and partly because they believed it the right thing to do. Sod charity. I have much more respect for those people who do things for others because they want to, and who do not feel the need to be seen to be doing good. I love those spontaneous acts of kindness and generosity. I love too the idea of the person who has very little but has no hesitation in sharing what he has. It is my belief that even one small act of kindness makes the world a much better place.