The Kindness of Strangers

A chance encounter with a gent in his 80’s has totally made my day today.

I was walking down the road, thrilled to see that an article I’d written for my manufacturing client (BEC Group) had been published in the Business pages of our local rag, the Lymington Times. So, I must have been grinning, walking along, arms stretched wide, reading this great big, cumbersome broadsheet, probably taking up most of the pavement width.

“I hope it’s good news?” a voice enquired.

“It is actually” I looked up, unable to hide my excitement, to see a gentleman, mid-80’s, bundled up against the cold, looking at me inquisitively. “I’ve had a piece published in the paper.”

“What’s it about?” he enquired.

“A local manufacturing business, they’ve invested in some new machinery to meet client demand. It’s great for UK manufacturing.”

“I used to work in manufacturing, what kind of machine?” he asked

Surprised by his interest I continued “a new CNC lathe, it’ll help them meet client demand, they design, mould and tool amazing stuff and they’re only down the road!”

“What kind of stuff?” he added.

“All sorts” I replied “helmets, equipment, contactless payment bands, the list is endless.”

“I used to teach CNC engineering, CAD design, manufacturing. I did it for 20 years and loved it.” He told me with a huge grin. “Well done, that's great to hear good news for a change, congratulations to you all.”

What a lovely man. So nice to get great feedback and how bizarre to bump into someone who used to work in precisely the field I’d been writing about.

I virtually skipped home!

BEC Group celebrate their latest investment to meet increase in client demand.