I sat and watched from my seat in a street caf' on London's Oxford Street as a young man pleaded for loose change from passers by.

Most pretended to be oblivious to the young man's plight and continued their way along one of London's busiest and thriving shopping streets.

Several minutes passed before an elegantly dressed woman took pity on the youth. Digging deep into her pockets she produced a couple of coins and offered them to the poor guy.

As I sipped my coffee and observed the exchange, it puzzled me how two human beings could take such radically different paths on their journey through life.

At what stage of life do some people make the wrong choice and set off on the road to oblivion.

Or maybe our ultimate destiny is already decided and fate has made our decisions for us.

Whatever the truth, the two exchanged smiles as the woman made her merry way and entered a nearby store.

Oxford Street is the shopping hub of London, a wealth of designer stores that can damage even the most affluent of credit cards.

The cosmopolitan capital city of England, London simply oozes history and culture on virtually every street corner.

Its vast multi-ethnic population makes for a tremendously diverse range of shops, bars and restaurants to cover the tastes of most visiting palettes.

London's recent history has been dominated by the suicide bombings during the summer of 2005 and the devastating effects suffered by so many families and friends of the innocent victims.

If any good came from these tragic events it was the show of strength from the communities, how people bonded together and formed lasting friendships.

But the events demonstrated how vulnerable we all are, even somewhere as prosperous as London.

In today's world where more and more becomes affordable to so many, it's important to remember those not as fortunate as ourselves.