The kindness of...

I hardly know what to say.

Checking in this morning I spotted that Blossom had a new post, on a topic close to my heart, and as I can never wait to read his wonderfully knowledgeable and entertainly written posts, I clicked straight through to this.

By the time I got to the end, and realised what he had done, I genuinely did have a tear in my eye. I have met Blossom once, and that incredibly briefly, with no time for more than the quickest chat, at last year's Black Country Museum gathering. In that sense he is indeed a stranger.

But didn't I really meet him back in 2007 or thereabouts, when he left his first comment on nbWarrior, pointing out some error I'd made - but as always, with such tact, such obvious knowledge and devotion to getting it right, that, very unusually, he instantly won my respect. Whatever else the internet may be, it is, in my experience, somewhere where you - especially the shy and the awkward among us - can make real friends and meet some wonderful people.

And I understand absolutely what he has done, and why, and gladly accept it in that spirit, in the hope that one day I will be able to do something similar, if not for Blossom, then for someone else.

Thank you Blossom, from the very bottom of my.... bucket?