Brenda Smith's hospitality¹²

On November 14th, the day after we inaugurated the meditation at the British Parliament, I went to visit Jim Smith, the Registrar of Records for the British Amateur Weight Lifters’ Association. He lives about an hour and a half from London on a farm.

When I first arrived, Jim Smith’s wife, Brenda, did not want to shake hands with me. She said her hands were dirty because she had been baking. Finally, she said, “Do you mind if I shake hands with my left hand?”

She is very simple, with a good heart. She had all kinds of refreshments for us, plus four or five kinds of tea. Since I do not drink tea any more, I asked for hot chocolate and she was miserable that she did not have it. So I had orange juice.

After I drank a second orange juice, I put the glass on the floor. Then, while I was talking, I accidentally kicked the glass. Fortunately, I had already drunk the juice. I apologised profusely, but Brenda said, “Oh, never mind. There was nothing inside.”

Before we left, Brenda gave gifts to everyone — a tie or a muffler made from their own sheep’s wool. She gave me a beautiful brown and white sheepskin which she said I should stand on while I do my lifting.