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I’ve had a bit of a blank week really, not a whole lot has happened and nothing has lit me massively. Then I smiled as I thought of some of the encounters I’ve had this week with ordinary people. Kind, funny people.

I could have picked Stephen, an official I had a meeting with, whose porridge stain on his fleece immediately put me at ease. But I didn’t, I chose Jenny.

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I catch a bus quite often these days now I’ve got my old but bold bus pass. It’s quite a little community. You hear some really fascinating conversations occurring. Best recent one…’we got our boosters done in time to go on a coach weekend to ilfracombe. Tested when we got there just to be on the safe side and we were positive so had to stay in our room all weekend.’ Response by friend listening ‘what the hell are you doing putting that junk in your bodies when it clearly don’t work?’ I felt like hugging him. Settled for a knowing smile. 😉

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Bless ❤️ Yes you have to hold off from piping up to strangers sometimes, don’t you? Or sometimes I don’t hold off, I just chime in uninvited 😂

Oh I love bus and train conversations. Sometimes I think if I write a book, it could be purely about them seeing as I’m so bloody nosey.

You hear some crackers. A couple of weeks I eavesdropped on these two old flames meeting by chance encounter and it was absolute gold!

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Loved this story! Especially reading it in my head with an accent. :)

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Oh that makes me happy. Have a lovely weekend x

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You too, Julie! :)

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This was compelling and so vivid. Really grabbed me. Such a strong image. Thanks for a really enjoyable read!

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Aww thanks. I wanted to write something but didn’t know what. In the end, I just thought “go with the real” even though it might be boring 😂😂

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Absolutely not boring in fact it was so good that I was thinking I could see a series of these portraits in one volume. I really liked it.

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Ive been thinking that myself. It could be a first book maybe. I’ve already done another a while back.

https://open.substack.com/pub/juliedee/p/love-and-garlic?r=1c4b56&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

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Brilliant. Read it out to my husband and had to take a breath half way through. Nearly cried.

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Oh thanks. I see Lee a lot, bless him. He’s a sweetheart.

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That's lovely. I rarely have encounters like that as I drive. But usually when I'm out and about shopping, I'll always have someone coming up to me to have a chat. Lol I used to find it really awkward when I was younger but now I just go with the flow.

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It’s strange what you take for granted really isn’t it?

So often I think about how not driving takes away from me and the opportunities I lack because of it, but this post and the comments has made me consider the social aspects provided to me that many don’t have.

Feeling that little more blessed 😇 .

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There's definitely positive and negatives to both. I started driving a bit later in life (27) so up until that point I was always on trains and buses. You definitely get to see a different side of life travelling on public transport that's for sure!

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I am setting off on a public transport journey in an hour, Rachel and will be actively loving that peasant wagon, hun😂😂😂😘

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Peasant wagon! 😂😂😂😂 Enjoy! 🩷

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“Jenny talks the way people on Eastenders do when they visit the seaside.” - that made me laugh!

Thank you for this slice of life. I’m quite conscious of the lack of social interactions like these that I seem to have compared to some people I know. Perhaps it’s a gender thing. Maybe it’s because I rarely use public transport. I wouldn’t want to appear intrusive with strangers so I’m certainly not one to initiate it - but it is something I’ve tried to make more of an effort with when it happens, and it will probably be more of a thing as I get older.

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I really enjoy them actually. Well, mostly, depending on my mood.

There’s nothing worse than seeing one of them when you’re fed up or look rough as hell.

And it’s always weird when I see them when I’m with my son. He struggles when I talk to other people so it must seem to them like I suddenly switch to being highly antisocial because he is in greater need of my attention.

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I rarely if ever ride buses and occasionally trains. My experience has mostly been on airplanes where Complete strangers will share their entire life stories with me. When I reflect on those times I now feel they are special moments after reading your article. I would always leave the pool lane feeling like I had friends. Less lonely.

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