A morning salutation

An elderly man walking down Rathgar Road this morning shouted across the road to a young family going to school. 'Good morning how are ye', were his words. Cycling down the road I just managed to catch his smile and hear a response from the other side of the road. Rathgar Road is a wide road and I cycling, made it difficult to catch it all.

But it was just a great moment. And the man when he was making his greeting, waved his folded-up newspaper. I saw his smile.

A lucky man presumably. And then I began to think of the British soldier who was killed in Afghanistan yesterday, the bishops and all their nonsense. I remember once taking the mitre off a bishop the wrong way. I was later told it had been done the 'wrong way'. Why did I not have the wisdom to tell him to take it off himself.

Then on British television last evening there was a high-ranking officer of the British Army 'explaining' about Afghanistan.

Bishops, commanding officers, let them look after themselves. I like the man with his newspaper.