My mother was a gentle woman who had some very firm ideas. Among those was her belief in the importance of good manners in general and the saying of please and thank you in particular.
It was something she passed on by deeds rather than words, preferring to practice rather than preach and it surprised no-one who knew her that when I asked her if she had any message for people at her funeral she asked me to just say thank you.
Today I’m grateful for her good example and the many other people I encounter who remember their manners.
