Here's a tip

The Number 2 was peeling off the table, but the coffee was good, and the scrambled eggs on toast: a nourishing meal for £3.50. I gave a 50p tip. I was going to say 'of course', but there's no 'of course' about it; you give a tip if you feel the service has been good - well, I do. Some people don't give tips; they reason that if they don't get tipped in their job, why should waitresses, barmaids, hairdressers get tips. When I was a college lecturer, I would occasionally get a bottle of wine, or a case of beer, at Christmas, and it made me feel good, appreciated.

There is an old story about the vagrant who stops a passer-by and says, 'Could you spare me a fiver for a cup of coffee?'

'A fiver!' exclaims the man, 'for a cup of coffee?'

The vagrant shrugs, 'Well, I like to tip.'

Now that's style.