The British have a way of constantly being in the news.
Whether Mandaking, monarchs dying, or PMs resigning.
If nothing else, I always count on Shashi Tharoor to take a jibe at them in one of his speeches.
Or the (in)correct use of the Oxford comma.
But today, there’s another English gentleman that I want to talk about.
Joseph the carpenter lived in the 20th century, around 110 miles away from London.
His son’s name was John.
John was a simple man, quite removed from the world’s worries.
He sat on a small bench outside the church, selling little wares.
Never bothered about how many articles people took from him or how much they paid him.
Day after day, this continued.
He had no complaints. But his wife was angry.
One day, as he returned home, his wife told him, ‘I need some money. For the house, for myself. What you bring is not enough for me.’
He understood that while he may be satisfied, his family may desire more.
So before going to bed that day, he prayed.
‘Dear god, my wife is quite upset. Please give me a fistful of money so I can give it to her.’
And that night, he had an interesting dream.
A divine voice told him to go to London. “Go and wait on London Bridge.”
He woke up with a smile. He had direction.
Packing his bag, he left home. Almost.
“Where are you off to so early?” his wife asked.
“I’m going to London.”
“London! Why?”
“To get money.”
His wife had learned to ignore his idiosyncrasies. She let him go.
John took his best friend – his dog along with him.
Together, they set off to London.
Since they had no money, they traveled on foot.
3-4 days later, they reached London, hungry and thirsty.
Not knowing what to do next, John went to London Bridge and sat on the streetside.
People came and went. Vehicles passed.
No one acknowledged their presence, let alone helped or gave them money.
A shopkeeper on the opposite side of the street was observing them.
Seeing them pass the day without food and water for a day, he signaled to John to come over.
Will this shopkeeper be John’s benefactor?
Will John even get the money he’d traveled for?
What will eventually happen when he gets back home?
Have a little faith and patience.
We’ll find out next week.
