Random Act of Kindness - to balance all the ranty threads, tell me of a random act of kindness that you have never forgotten.

I've had both an iPhone and a diamond ring returned by taxi drivers.

Also,

When DS2 was a toddler we were walking through a shoping centre when one of his shoes fell out and landed at the feet of a young man.

He bent down and picked it up and I expected him to hand the shoe to me to out back on DS's foot.

Instead, he bent right down to DS's level, carefully placed his little foot in the shoe and did up the laces for him.

When I thanked him he said 'It was a pleasure ma'am'. He was a young American tourist.

I hope he now has wonderful family of his own by now.

The Harvester manager who went the extra mile for us when DS was sick in her restaurant.

She not only helped us clear up and moved other diners who wanted to get away from the scene discreetly to other tables, but gave us an old t-shirt of her sons for DS to wear to get home so he didn't have to wear sicky clothes (was like a massive dress on him but still nice) and refused to take any money at all for our meals (not even a tenner!) as we had hardly started them.

Luckily we live quite local to the restaurant and so the next morning we were able to drop off a thank you card and a picture DS had drawn for her.

On holiday alone.

I was in Oporto, Portugal. There was a stall on the opposite side of busy road to me that was roasting chestnuts. Lots of smoke billowing from the stall and quite an unusual thing to see.

I got camera out and took a couple of photographs. The afternoon was overcast and drizzly so the flash activated.

The next thing, the chestnut seller, a small tough looking lady came running across the road towards me. I thought she was going to tell me off for taking a picture of her working at her stall.

Instead, she thrust a handful of roasted chestnuts into my hand, refused my attempt to pay her for them, then turned and walked straight back to her stall.

Will never forget that.

Years ago driving through central London one car towing another hit our car at some traffic lights, my exH got out and in trying dislodge the towed cars wing mirror from ours moved the towed car. There were a number of small children and babies and e male drivers of both cars got very angry with H. For some reason I got out of the car and H got in. The two drivers took out wrenches and crowbars from their car and started smashing at the windows to get to H. I have no doubt that they would have done him some serious damage, it was terrifying and horrific to see H trapped in the car. A stranger walking past somehow managed to pull the two drivers off and calm them down, the police arrived and apart from some scratches to the car everyone was ok.

In the confusion of the moment we didn't get an opportunity to thank that man, he just disappeared into the crowd. I've always deep,y regretted that we didn't get a chance to say thanks, he put himself at risk for us.

I was feeling dizzy in a restaurant and told a colleague that I needed to go out for some air. About half way towards the door, I fainted and almost immediately, I felt a jerk here and there and someone's hand on my pulse. Later I heard "It's alright, I'm a doctor" followed by giving advice to my colleague (who was also a doctor but Phd ).

A few:
When I was 8 and my younger DB was 5, we went out as a family to dinner in the evening in London and walked from Covent Garden to Leicester Square along Shaftsbury Avenue. It was dark and DB wasn't holding anyone's hand and of course got behind a bit. Parents then realised that he wasn't with us, panicked as we retraced our steps along Shaftsbury Avenue. We spotted a couple of young men who pointed at us with DB in tow. The immense relief we all felt when he was found and gratitude we felt towards them. We were extremely blessed.

More recently, DD and I were waiting at a bus stop. It was very cold and wet which DD doesn't cope well with. DD started wimpering and weeping because of this and I tried my best to reassure her that the bus was coming soon. Kind old lady offered DD a sweet to cheer her up and told me she hated seeing children cry.

..............I have not punched many people who have annoyed me over the years, I think thats pretty kind of me, they should be grateful.

I'm sure there have been others, but for some reason the one that really sticks in my mind is when DH proposed (in a restaurant) the couple at the next table, who were just finishing their meal, said "Congratulations!", paid their bill and left... Then the waiter came up to us with a really expensive bottle of champagne and said that it was from the couple who had just left, so we never got to thank them!!

I fainted on the tube when pregnant with DD1. Various people caught me and hauled carried me out of the train at the next station. A couple of peope then waited with me, one gave me his lucozade, until I felt a bit better.

Everyday, when people stop and help me with the buggy, especially on the tube.

[Londoners can be nice emoticon]

when I was pregnanct with my ds I had preeclampsia, I was in hospital and feeling really unwell and also worried as i was only 35 weeks. The consultant came around and told me i would be havign my baby in the next few hours since i was ill which upset me.
She went off to finish seeing other patients on the ward but 15 minutes later she came back with a nice drink for me and sat with me and just chatted and reasaured me until the midwives came to get me to take me to the labour ward. I know that she was at work doing her job etc but most consultants would have left me to it on my own not bothered to come back.

Trying to do the three peaks last summer. There was a HUGE charity group doing it too, and so they had check in points for their participants roundabout the place. I hobbled off the second peak, I really felt like I couldn't walk anymore, despairing because it was a zillion miles to civilisation, and we came across a check point with a van. They saw I was struggling, and even though we weren't with the charity group told us to hop in and gave us a lift to the village where our car was. I burst into tears in the van and made a donation the next day.

Was flying back from Israel as a youngster and this nice American couple shared their taxi to the airport with my friend and I and gave us money to get a sandwich.

People have also went out of their way to hand in lost purses and meet up to return mobile phones. I like doing stuff for folk as well though.