March 2021 – Alhampton News

May I apologise for the lack of Alhampton News from my direction. To be honest,
living where we do at the top of the drive, we hardly see anyone so I have to
rely on others for any news I get. By the time I know about it the rest of you
will know already! I would like to say a real Alhampton welcome to all our new
neighbours. There have been so many changes and we haven’t been able to
make you feel as much part of the village as we would like but, hopefully, it
won’t be too long before we can have some sort of gathering which you can
come along to if want to and get to know us.
Following Chrys Henning’s lovely story about the boys who cleared the rubbish
and a minor disagreement I had with an acquaintance recently about the relative
manners of the older and younger generation I thought I might share this with
you. First, a tale in support of the old…..
Don’t be difficult with the oldies, they’ve spent a lifetime honing their
skills….
The old gentleman handed his bank card to a bank teller and said, “I would like
to withdraw £50, please.”
The teller looked at him. “For withdrawals less than £250 please use the ATM.”
The old gentleman quietly asked why that was.
The teller returned his bank card and irritably told him, “That’s the rules. Now,
if there’s nothing else, please leave as there’s a queue behind you.”
The old gentleman remained silent for a few seconds, handed the card back to
the teller and said, “Please close my account and withdraw all my money.”
The teller checked the account, gasped and said “My apologies, Sir, the bank
doesn’t hold 25 million in cash.”
The old gentleman then asked how much he could withdraw immediately, to be
informed, “Any amount up to £250,000.”
Well, please let me have £250.000 now.”
The teller handed it over respectfully.
The old gentleman put £50 in his wallet and asked the teller to deposit the
balance of £249.950 back into his account

However they can be just as unreasonable as anyone else
A couple of years ago I was doing my weekly shop in the supermarket when I
had the misfortune to follow one of those ladies who is always just in front of
you, looking at what you want to get and spending ages doing it. Finally I
thought I had lost her when I rounded the bottom of an aisle to find her talking
to her friend, each one outside her trolley so they blocked the aisle. Coming the
other way was a young couple who hovered for a moment or two and then,
extremely politely, asked if they could get through. She turned on them and in
a very carrying voice declared, “That’s what’s the matter with young people
today. You’ve got no respect for your elders.”
I intervened saying, “That’s hardly fair. They were perfectly polite and you are
blocking the aisle.”
To my great pleasure she replied, “Well it’s true. I’m 72 you know!”
Trying hard not to smile, I was able to reply “Well, I’m 75 so show some respect
and let me come past.”
She was at a loss for words and swept away. I apologised to the young couple
on her behalf and said that we weren’t all so ignorant. They couldn’t have been
nicer!
So let’s stop judging people by age or any other criteria until we have the chance
to get to know them.
Louisa Oborne