I was really touched today, and quite surprised.

Jayne told me that I had a parcel at home from Amazon, and as I have not ordered anything from there for ages I was full of anticipation to find out what it was. I imagined it could be a birthday present, but couldn’t think who it would be from.

When I opened it up I found that it was from a fellow blogger and could not have been more gobsmacked. The phrase “its the thought that counts” is used so much we sometimes forget the meaning of it. I was really impressed that someone would go out of their way to make the gesture, which is not to belittle the article itself – its a book I really did want but never got round to buying.

I have heard of the concept of random acts of kindness, like going to the toll booth at the Dartford Crossing and paying for the next five cars, and have sometimes thought it would be fun to upgrade a stranger’s Flickr account to Pro just to surprise them. OK, this is not totally random, but it still had a similar impact.

If the intention was to spread a little bit of happiness then it worked. I shall not embarrass the person who now holds the unofficial title as nicest Labour blogger, but they know who they are and they know how much I appreciate it. I intend to react not necessarily by reciprocation, but more likely by doing the same thing for an unsuspecting third party – paying it forward instead of paying it back as the Kevin Spacey/Haley Joel Osment film has it.

I must be getting sentimental as I get older.