Magic and sparkle

Seeing love and inner beauty shine from the auras of others fills my heart with joy. It is an energy we can all have, it’s free and is so contagious. Holding power and having such a positive effect on peoples day to day life, I recently experienced this energy in Marks and Spencers cafe of all places. There was a lot of magic and sparkle flying around the Gyle in Edinburgh.

If any of you have visited a M&S cafe, you may have been aware of there being a lot of curvy grannies exuding matriarch energy. Keeping staff in check, bossing their husbands and having an orderly routine was my first impression of this cafe culture. Yet on further inspection and being in the company of my aunt (who is also a granny), I was viewing the whole situation in a different light. 
With my aunt recently having surgery on her right hand and extra help needed for day to day tasks, we chose to catch up over coffee then do some shopping. There was a busy morning rush happening in M&S cafe and not many spare tables available, yet customers were being seated and the buzz from background chatting was vibrant. Without much fuss, a female employee was creating more tables and ushering customers to them. It was like a military operation, with such precision and subtleness you could blink and miss it. My aunt was seated quickly, happily chatting to her neighbours on both sides of our table. The conversations continued with coffee being sipped and scones eaten. Stories about health, death and grandchildren were openly discussed and there was a real sense of community. So many other ladies were approaching my aunt and asking if she had fallen and was she ok? Kindness was everywhere.

There was a feeling of magic between these lovely matriarch ladies, who had obviously lived through so much and gained invaluable wisdom. It was like a secret society of an open heart club, where members were required to have grey hair, curves and a caring disposition. Feeling like an amateur and only in my mother years, I listened intently to the wise words. Absorbing the lovely energy and feeling grateful for these matriarch ladies, I found myself wanting to wear purple and keep niceness alive.

Community is so important for us as human beings. We are designed for company and interaction. It is a beautiful thing to exchange smiles and laughter with others, boosting our emotional centre and wellbeing.

Love exists all around us. Sometimes we need to open our hearts and eyes to fully experience it, which can happen in the most unusual places with the most unusual people.
The next time you are out and about, why not offer a smile or a kind gesture to someone? Knowing someone cares about you, offers support and strength which builds hope and community. We can learn so much from our older generation, after all they have been there and done that way before us.

Here is a wonderful poem by Jenny Joseph. Viva grannies!

When I am an old woman I shall wear purple
With a red hat which doesn't go, and doesn't suit me.
And I shall spend my pension on brandy and summer gloves
And satin sandals, and say we've no money for butter.
I shall sit down on the pavement when I'm tired
And gobble up samples in shops and press alarm bells
And run my stick along the public railings
And make up for the sobriety of my youth.
I shall go out in my slippers in the rain
And pick flowers in other people's gardens
And learn to spit.

You can wear terrible shirts and grow more fat
And eat three pounds of sausages at a go
Or only bread and pickle for a week
And hoard pens and pencils and beermats and things in boxes.
But now we must have clothes that keep us dry
And pay our rent and not swear in the street
And set a good example for the children.
We must have friends to dinner and read the papers.
But maybe I ought to practice a little now?
So people who know me are not too shocked and surprised
When suddenly I am old, and start to wear purple.


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