I HAVE just this minute finished speaking to a Samaritan,who was both very helpful and understanding.The Sam,who is based in Colchester,is a Scotsman and comes from the formerly very tough city of Glasgow.Although I'm in the Black Abyss,and feel and look far more dead than alive,I could not resist the temptation to slowly morph into my very convincing Scottish accent!Of all the dozen Sams I have spoken to during the past few months,he is the only one who originates North of the Border.Like all Samaritan Volunteers,he refused to talk about himself,which is fair enough.He,J,has some knowledge of Bipolar Disorder,which is more than can be said for the other volunteers with whom I have spoken.A nice guy.I actually told him my real name- I ALWAYS say my name is Leo...I doubt whether there are many people called Leonardo in this country.In Italy,perhaps,but not the UK,and certainly not in Wacko Clacko!As I have commented in an earlier Blog post,I have never had to wait more than 15 seconds before hearing the familiar words,"The Samaritans,how can I help you?"And calls cost less than 1.5 Pence a minute after 7.0PM.Despite the rather petty rules and regulations governing volunteers total anonymity,The Samaritans are an absolute god-send,a god-send peculiar to the UK only.