Talk about random. I was sat in the bus station today, waiting for my bus cuz I got there way too early, and I got out my latest book [Phillip Pullman's Northern Lights if you want to know] to read while I waited. Then this bloke sits down and then this woman, so I stop reading to move up and make room for her, but she doesn’t so I’m about to go back to reading when the other bloke asks me what I’m reading. I show him the cover, say I’d heard Pullman was good and was going to try it myself. So he gets out the book he’s reading and shows it to me, about a murder mystery in Istanbul. This is normal enough, I’m in a public place, we’re both waiting for the bus so it’s not like either of us could cause any trouble for the other etc, so we carry on talking.

This guy, it turns out, is really interesting. He talks about history, how he’s related to some famous ancient Welshman. We talk about history in general and historic murder mysteries like Brother Cadfile. He tells me he’s a bit of a writer himself. Then his bus turns up. He introduces himself, does that slightly odd greeting I’m use to getting for well dragged up people, the half hand-shake followed by a kiss in the back of the hand, and he asks me for my e-mail address and gives me his. Please bear in mind he’s like my Dad’s age, so ya know… Then he has to go, and it’s all very amenable and courtly, and so utterly utterly random.

Isn’t it odd that the most random things make my day?

☮&♥