I know I’m probably a great big hypocrite for accepting it, but at the end of the day a free meal is a free meal. I just got back from my daily trundle: today I thought I would check out how the Olympic park was coming along, before exploring a bit more of that area of East London. I was going along one of the fascinating, labrynthine streets of Tower Hamlets when I passed a man stood at a table wearing Islamic clothes. At first I assumed i would just cruise past him, but he asked me if I fancied something to eat. He was obviously participating in the kind of religious almsgiving event which I usually loathe. Yet it struck me as such a kind offer that I stopped and, out of curtesy, started to explain that I wouldn’t be able to feed it to myself.

He, however, wouldn’t take no for an answer and insisted that I accept the box of tasty-smelling food he was offering me, explaining that it could be easily reheated this evening when my Personal Assistant arrived. That, of course, eventually lead to me asking him to put the box in my bag. I know it was something to do with Islam, and that I staunchly oppose anything to do with religion and street preaching; but wouldn’t just flatly refusing his offer have just been rude? It was just a five minute interaction, and as I trundled on wondering what was actually in the box, I couldn’t help asking myself whether it would have had the same outcome had he been an Evangelical Christian.