In a bid to counter fear in London after the terrorist attacks of July, Dominic Nelder has donned a bowler hat and suit and spends all day travelling around the tube network saying hello to people.
In a truly sweet campaign, the history teacher from Mill Hill County School in North London plans to travel on the tube from seven in the morning to seven at night throughout the month of August. He explains that the inspiration for his campaign came from an article in The Guardian about a woman finding it difficult to get back on the tube after the bombings:
On one occasion she completely broke down in the middle of a busy carriage and only one person went to comfort her. I thought it would be beneficial to do something that would make us notice and care about our fellow passengers a little more, the idea being that we make each other feel a little safer … My main aim though is for people to acknowledge fellow passengers, remain alert to unusual packages and incidents and generally take on a sense of ownership for the underground, which many of us depend upon each day. By doing so I feel that we can increase safety on public transport to a degree.
Dominic carries a counter with him to record how many people have waved back - so far 11,000 have done so. He is giving out a handwritten card to every hundredth person with a message thanking them for saying hello and wishing them a good day.
The only publicity he has done so far is with the Teacher Support site and is keen to stress that he is not interested in raising his personal profile. His campaign is testament though - in its small way - to the power of one.
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