When I was younger and dating, hearing, "You're really nice, but..." was the kiss of death. It left me in somewhat of a quandary as I watched several women who said this go on to form relationships that they later had cause to regret, relationships with men who simply weren't nice, rather tough, rugged and uncompromising, or at least that's how they liked to think of themselves. Being nice as a man hasn't always been regarded as the ultimate fashion accessory, for some it can in fact be undesirable, a fault even.

But as you get older, things change. Nice holds far more promise than it once did. A mate of mine who was recently searching for a new partner, used to check out the singles column in the local paper and he would show me the ones that sounded interesting. What struck me was that invariably a majority of women would stipulate that they wanted a nice man...what a difference a few more years makes!

Nice has always been in style, it's just rather diaphanous and easy to miss, especially so, when contrasted against seething testosterone in full flight, like Gordon Ramsey for instance. It was amazing to watch several female food bloggers swooning over him on a recent visit to Australia, then, to watch him give it to some poor waiter or line cook in the neck. Every one of them defended him and said he was charming (read nice), but that's rather like a fox that has convinced the chickens he means no harm and is really a swell fellow; the real question is, does he behave charmingly all the time or only when it suits his purposes?

What has brought on this discourse about niceness, is a meme in which my friend mom-nos has been nominated as a nice person, and in turn has nominated me, which really chuffs me, especially coming from her. Mom-nos, like me, has a child with autism, so we are traveling a road somewhat different to the norm, which at times can be particularly taxing, even though it's so rewarding as well. It's not that important to me that people should see me as being nice, what gives me a kick is when people react to niceness as though it were so unexpected, which sadly these days, it seems to be. Being nice is far less of a drain on one's emotional resources than being angry for instance, and makes a difference to people around you, everyone gets a lift.

Nice matters!

This award is for those bloggers who are nice people; good blog friends and those who inspire good feelings and inspiration. Also for those who are a positive influence on our blogging world. Once you’ve been awarded, please pass it on to 7 others who you feel are deserving of this award.

Of course there are way to many nice bloggers that I'm pleased to know and it seems a little difficult to single out just seven bloggers, but the people I'd like to pass this award onto are:

Tanna from My Kitchen In Half Cups
Kalyn from Kalyn's Kitchen
Ellie from Kitchen Wench
Anh from Food Lover's Journey
Gigi from Lotus Martinis
Ed from Tomato
Lydia from The Perfect Pantry