I was fortunate enough this weekend, to meet the former Mayor of Llandudno.
I was in a restaurant where she was sat on an adjacent table. After finishing her starter she got up and wandered over to our table.
“Are you visiting our town?” she said. “Thank you for coming to Llandudno”.
We started to chat to her and she was genuinely interested in where we were from, why we had chosen to come to Llandudno, and whether we were spending money locally, helping to support the local economy.
She was proud of the town and wanted to do her best to promote it to everyone she could.
Talking later to her son, who she was dining with, we discovered that she is now in her early 80s and hadn’t been Mayor for some years, but she still felt she needed to use every opportunity to talk to people she met and promote the town.
That, is a life of service.
She didn’t expect anything from us; she certainly wasn’t expecting any freebies and definitely no recognition. If I wasn’t writing this blog then no one other than her family and me would know that this even happened. She just wanted to promote Llandudno. It was in her nature to do it, even though it was no longer her role or responsibility.
So, when you hear politicians talk about a life of service or a government of service, remember this lovely ex-Mayor. She exemplifies the difference between ‘people’ politicians who do it for their local community, and ‘career’ politicians who do it for altogether different reasons.
When you next hear anyone in the political sphere talking about ‘service’ ask yourself whether you think the service is for the community or for themselves. If what they are saying and doing are the same thing, and their actions really are consistent with a life of service and a life well spent then support and congratulate them. If, however, you feel that you are hearing weasel words, then feel free to call them out.