I’m not exactly a trendsetter nor a dedicated follower of fashion, and Tuesday morning wasn’t the first time it happened.

I had to wear odd socks.

I was rushing to get dressed for work – as I always am – and couldn’t find a matching clean pair. The only clean ones weren’t identical twins.

However one was navy blue and the other was black, so I figured they weren’t miles apart and no-one would notice.

Besides, how often does anyone look at someone else’s socks, unless they work in a shoe shop?

Later that day, I discovered, I was exactly on trend. November 12 was Odd Socks Day.

Odd Socks Day is a fixture of Anti-Bullying Week, which ran from Monday until today. Like everything else these days, it “aims to raise awareness” – and give parents, teachers and young people the information and advice they need to tackle bullying where it arises.

Odd Socks Day is one of the initiatives. Victims of bullying are often those who seem different from the majority, and wearing odd socks was deemed a way to encourage people to express themselves and celebrate their individuality.

Maybe so. But expressing myself and celebrating my individuality are never my top priorities at 8.30am in the morning.

It’s supposed to have been a positive week this week. While we were highlighting the evil of bullying we’re also supposed to be celebrating acts of kindness.

It was World Kindness Day on Wednesday. Participants play their small part in making the world a better place by celebrating and promoting good deeds and pledging acts of kindness.

Kindness is topical at the moment. Last month US Democrat politician Elijah Cummings died, and in his eulogy former president Barack Obama said: “Being a strong man includes being kind. There’s nothing weak about kindness and compassion.”

Unkindness is equally topical. We live in an unkind age. The conflict between people of different political or religious beliefs seems more bitter and nasty than it’s ever been.

And the anonymity of the internet allows people to be ruder and more unkind than they would ever be in person. I’m always glad to find feedback on these columns, and those who take issue with them like to post their complaints on the website.

Last week someone who evidently hadn’t understood it wrote: “Let’s crowdfund and send him to his natural home, the SNP. Good riddance!” Yet none of these regular complainants dare to give their names.

Kindness is supposed to be thoughts, feelings and behaviour to benefit others, where benefitting others is an end in itself, not a means to an end.

But there could be some self-interest to it. According to American researchers, being kind might possibly extend your life.

When people see kind acts, they are inspired to replicate those acts. In other words, the kinder you are, the kinder other people are. And psychologists have found that high kindness levels improve the mood and reduce depression symptoms.

Kelli Harding, a doctor at Columbia University, has been examining kindness and finds: “It helps the immune system, blood pressure, it helps people to live longer and better.

“It’s pretty amazing. You can’t overdose on it.

“There’s a free supply. It’s right there.”

And it’s my belief that most of us are inherently kind. I suspect that some of those who say unkind things about me would hold a door open if I was struggling with shopping bags, or help me up if I tripped in the street.

The 1980s “greed is good” philosophy is largely discredited now. Other people matter to most of us.

Margaret Thatcher notoriously stated: “Society? There is no such thing. There are individual men and women and there are families.”

But the next two Conservative prime ministers disagreed. John Major wanted “a classless society” while David Cameron espoused “the big society”.

I’ve no idea what that was, and suspect nobody did. But it wasn’t no society.

Christmas is supposed to be “the most wonderful time of the year”. People wish each other well. Children tend to be kinder, in case they end up in Santa’s bad books.

It’s less than six weeks before he sets off.

But we don’t have to wait until then to do good deeds or condemn the bullies.

Can’t every day can be World Kindness Day?