And not just "This please... cheers" with someone at a checkout, a proper exchange with someone you've never met before.

I walked into a pub last week and was waiting for a friend when a middle aged woman came up to me and said with an American accent: "Excuse me, but are you reading Ethan Frome?" I was a bit confused, but I realised I had the book in my pocket with the top sticking out and the title showing. Anyway, it turned out that was her favourite book, and she had studied it at school in the States (it's set in New England), but had lived in the UK for 20 years and never met anyone who'd read it. So we had a little chat about it before my friend arrived, and we both said goodbye feeling slightly more pleased about the world we lived in.

Of course, for everyone of them, there's a mental on a bus. Swings and roundabouts.