There are those who say Northern folk are stingy. I disagree with that notion.

I think they are very stingy and I am as Northern as the weather itself. The problem is you have to differentiate between stingy and just being greedy.

Being stingy means you just want to save a quick penny. Being greedy is having something and not sharing with other people.

And then there are those who take the whole thing to a new level.

I have a work friend who this week wanted to borrow my car to pick something up from Accrington. His own ‘£12 grand’ motor was parked up.

I notified him that yes you can borrow the car but the petrol light is showing as I haven’t had time to pop over to the petrol station.

At this point a man with any sense of decency would simply take the keys and put a couple of pounds of diesel in and return a happy chap.

It would be the honourable thing to do.

But no. This guy said I should give him a fiver so he could put some diesel in. So, you want to borrow my car and pay for the diesel too?

‘Yes’ came the reply as it was my car after all. And anyway ‘You are going to have to put diesel in later anyway, so I’m doing you a favour’.

Indeed.

There must be more to life than having conversations like this?

After having come to the conclusion that this fellow was in a class of his own I politely refused to lend him my car. To which he replied I wasn’t a good person and should be ashamed of myself.

‘Anyway, what’s wrong with your own car?’ I asked.

Apparently, he couldn’t take his ‘£12 grand’ vehicle as it looked too expensive and if he goes to pick-up the part from the garage the owner will automatically charge him more.

Not your average Northern bloke I guess.