Younger people help older person on rail journey

[whole diary]

[grahame]

From the Wirral Globe

A woman who had not used public transport for two years due to illness was helped by a group of young lads at a train station during her day trip to Liverpool.

Avril Griffiths from Bromborough had been visiting a friend in Liverpool on Saturday, 22 May when she began to feel anxious about her journey home.

After her friend walked her down to the platform at Central Station the group of boys spotted her and jumped out of their seats to help her.

She said: “This was my first proper trip out because I’ve been dealing with illness since 2019 and then the pandemic happened.

“I also had a stroke in April which has damaged my right leg, so I have to walk with a stick.

“As soon as the lads saw me, they all jumped up to offer me their seats and one even tapped a nearby fella on the shoulder who had a big rucksack so he wouldn’t knock into me.”

We hear too much about antisocial behaviour by youths ... so good to have a nice story in the paper to redress the balance.

But actually, it's the abnormal that makes the news. 99% of our community - of any age including the younger element are polite and helpful and it's the odd 1% we hear about; nice to have this story to redress just a little.

[broadgage]

Agree, a significant minority of young people behave badly, but we must remember that this is not the norm and that many young people are well behaved and helpful.

Also, some older people have unreasonable expectations as to how the young should behave.

Example, I recently observed several youngsters drinking beer and eating fish and chips on the beach. Two pensioners were shocked at this, but I doubt that the law was broken or that any harm was done.
They were not drunk, and placed the rubbish in a bin.
"drunken yobbery" if done by youths.
"A family picnic" if done by olders perhaps.

[Marlburian]

Back in 2012 I was on a bus near Staines with a few members of the Romanian Olympic rowing team. One young man insisted that I take his seat. Since then, several young women on the Underground (during Old Normal) have offered me their seats. I've always graciously declined, thinking to myself that I'm probably fitter than some of the male passengers younger than I.

[chuffed]

i was returning from a 5 day conference in Norwich some years ago for the IAO (International Association of Organists before Vicki S pulls any more hair out!) by train at 5pm.A group of some 20  teenage boys, some black some white, got on with a guy in his 20s (assistant coach) and an older man in his 50s. I have never been more impressed in a 30 year teaching career, with the respect shown by and to the three age groups. They were a football team having been to Carrow Lane for the day. The lads obviously adored their coach. Not the carriage the football coach!
He spoked to them softly,asked for their mobile phones, all handed over one by one. He told them when they could eat and drink , all done without fuss and ceremony. One by one they went up to him to make their mobile calls home. At some point in the journey he had a chat with a strapping West Indian lad who towered over him......  and it was some sort of incident which made the rest of the team, made it clear to him that he had let the side down. At the end of the journey they cleared away all their stuff and waited to be told to move. Before they left, I told the team publicly what amazing ambassadors they were for their club, and had a few words with the manager privately about what a brilliant role model he was to those lads in every way.