There's that old cautionary tale of people anxious to be of assistance to others, in their interpretation of how best to give aid, doing anything but.

The example often given of a blind man carefully making his way across a busy intersection, then standing to rest briefly after his successful crossing before carrying on. A pedestrian, seeing the man hesitate at the crossing, with the light turned green, swiftly took charge of the situation, informing the blind man, as he firmly tucked his arm under his own, not to be concerned, he would guide him safely across the street.

Leaving the blind man after the crossing, with a cheery "have a good day", back where he had started. At the very side of the intersection that he had begun his unassisted crossing from, and now facing the need to repeat the feat.

Yesterday, while shopping at one of our local supermarkets, I felt just a little bit like that blind man. Nothing wrong with my eyesight, nor anything else about me. I am perfectly competent, physically active and cerebrally functional.

Yet a young woman, before me in the line-up awaiting service at the cash-out desk, smiled at me, then manoeuvred my full shopping cart into a position directly behind her own, at an angle I felt awkward and would never have done myself. Because for some reason it was particularly busy, the persons behind me moved their own shopping cart directly behind my own and more or less boxed me in.

I found myself in an awkward situation, standing beside my canted cart, and having to lean over the width of the cart to withdraw the food I had filled it with, to place it on the moving conveyor belt for cash-out.

The women behind me insinuated herself bodily on the opposite side of the cart, suggesting that she could make my efforts less difficult, by handing food items out of my cart to me to place on the conveyor belt, a gracious gesture for which I thanked her for her kind consideration, but was able quickly to demonstrate to her it was a gesture that was unneeded, if I could just move my cart back to a more accessible position other than where the initially-helpful shopper had moved it without my consent, but making herself immensely pleased with her thoughtfulness.