Diary, 50 cents

We all like to be treated like royalty now and then. My boyfriend is treated like royalty whenever he drops in on his old cricket club during a home game. I am treated like royalty whenever I am the first customer of the day at one of the cafés at which I am a regular. And everyone is treated like royalty at the Blood Bank.  

The royalty treatment starts even before you’ve entered the building. That’s right - free city parking. Then, each step of the way, you’re thanked for coming in. Quite often, just before the needle is put into your arm, the nurse might even say something like, “I just want you to know that you’re saving three lives today.” Fifteen minutes later, you're enjoying a free milkshake, party pie and slice of  fruit cake in the cafeteria.

Then, just as you're starting to think that maybe Kate Middleton ought to be envying you, you realise you don't have to feel like a fraud if you find a Blood Donor Diary in an op shop and decide you could do with it. Talk about the gift that keeps on giving!