IT'S THE SMALL THINGS IN LIFE ...

... that make you happy, goes the saying. I (re)discovered that today.

Yesterday I did something really stupid. I took kr.800 (roughly £90) out of the bank in cash, and put it in the pocket of my cycling jacket. I had lent my car to my sister-in-law and needed to collect something from a town 15km away, so I thought I would cycle there and shop at the same time. When I arrived, I discovered that the zip on the pocket was half undone, and that the money was gone. It must have fallen out of the pocket en route. Even worse, it was blowing a gale, so if the three notes had landed by the side of the road, then they would have blown up and away.

Today, with extremely low expectations, I decided to cycle exactly the same route, just in case. Looking into the grass verges as I went. Some 8km into the journey, I was amazed to see the blue kr.500 note sitting in a field about 20m away from the road. Being blue, I noticed it against the green shoots of the wheat crop. Dismounting, I hunted around in the area, and eventually found the other two notes.

What are the chances of that? I don't know, but it made me very happy.

Walter Blotscher