ThE homeless are people you see in the street and walk by, thanking God it's not you.

It's more difficult when it's on your doorstep.

My doorbell rang just after midnight. A young man, probably about 30, apologised for bothering me. He was homeless and could I help?

He had probably chosen our house because the lights were on, the curtains open, and he could see somebody was in.

You don't invite strangers in, especially at that hour, and you don't offer shelter. Not unless you're the bishop in Les Miserables and don't mind being robbed by Jean Valjean.

The man was polite and well-spoken. No sign of damage by drink or drugs. Carrying his belongings in a small plastic bag. No supermarket trolley filled with unfeasibly large baggage, the sign of the long-term homeless.

He was reasonably well-dressed, but not for sleeping rough in the increasingly cold nights. He asked if I could give him "a cover, an old blanket or something".

For some reason I was intrigued by the fact he had an English accent. He was not from the poor north, but from somewhere near London.

Why was someone from the wealthy south wandering the streets of Glasgow? A refugee from the recession? Or victim of some personal tragedy?

I went in search of some suitable cover, leaving the door ajar but hoping he would not try to come in. He retreated respectfully back along the garden path.

I was going to hand over a venerable but still serviceable tweed coat purchased in Saks of New York. But it would have been far too big and really made him look homeless.

I found a tartan travel rug. It was brand new and very upmarket. A freebie I had got from the tourist train that takes extremely wealthy folk around Britain for a couple of thousand pounds a night.

He thanked me and left. I should have felt like the good Samaritan but I knew I had not done enough. I'm not talking offering B&B or a few quid to pay for a night in a hostel.

It was Her Indoors, asleep at that time of night, who the next morning pointed out where I went wrong. Why had I not made the man a cup of hot tea or coffee? With a sandwich and a few biscuits. And sat with him on the garden bench for a chat.