What's the kindest thing a stranger has done for you?

My knee gave way and I fell over in the supermarket. One woman ran around picking up my shopping and put it all back in the basket and another helped me get up. Both of them waved away my words of thanks.

A couple of years ago I was driving home from where I then worked and saw a a woman fall after getting off a bus which pulled away leaving her there. I pulled over and went to help her up and quickly realised she'd broken an ankle. I supported her as she hopped to my car, took her home to pick up her teenage son and drove them to A&E.

I try to carry out little acts of kindness whenever I can.

My DS fell in a freezing lake and a complete stranger who was standing slightly closer to him than DH leapt in after him. Amazing!
I've been rescued when trying to pay for parking without enough change in a hospital car park by a stranger - I try and pass that one one whenever I can.

Did some shopping in town and was at the end of my tether, had 3 whinging kids under 4 and needed to feed baby. Got to car park pay machine and it wouldn't take a card, which meant getting back in the lift then walking to the cash machine, when the guy behind reached past and paid the fee. It was very kind and made a lot of difference to me. That was over 2 years ago now but I still think about it and makes me try and be kind to others.

This is such a lovely thread, but you've almost got me blubbing at college! I'm a pregnant emotional mess as it is!

Yesterday I was standing on the packed tube, super hot with all my bags and just panicked, could feel myself welling up and the lady next to me asked if I was ok, helped me get my coat and bag off and asked if I needed a seat etc. I said I was ok, but clearly I wasn't, by this time I was almost sobbing I was such a mess! She asked someone to let me sit down and made sure I was ok before she got off the train- I was so grateful She made me realise that it's ok to ask for a seat in future if no one stands up!

Made me a map for idiots when I got hopelessly lost picking my husband up from a course and my phone was dead and my satnav couldn't find the place because it wasn't updated. She actually let her meal go cold while she carefully made sure I knew where to go. I was four hours from home with 3 kids and very upset. She even let me use her phone to ring my husband and let him know what was happening because I was 2 hours late picking him up. Thankfully the map was perfect and I found him in under 20 minutes. Never been so grateful for anything in my life. Super lady

I took my DS, nearly 3 at the time, into to town to open a bank account.

He was in a grumpy mood. He kicked his welies off every time i put them on. It was raining he had to have them on to walk. He would not keep them on. With rising stress levels and that 'panic' when you feel you cannot get a grip of a situation and people are starting to stare....

I sat down on some cafe pavement chairs and I remember a couple of mums walking past looking and smiling, one said 'oh we've been there' as I wrestled on/off with the wellies.

I gave up and carried a heavy DS like a roll of carpet to the carpark. I needed to pay the ticket at the machine. I got there and I was short. i bust into tears. The women behind gave the £1 I needed to pay and get DS into car.

Rainy, wet, screamig and crying I was overcome with gratitude to the kind stranger.

When at the supermarket and I have my full shop to put on the belt, there was a lady with I think a max of 5 things I let her go before me, I swear I seen a teAr with her gratitude !

Some lovely gestures in here :-)

puts hand up

This has to beat them all - this morning I discovered a dead magotty mouse in the washing machine cupboard next to the washing machine. I was being very brave dealing it it - the shell was horrendous.

I dismantled the kick board and was really from the smell just about holding myself together when the doorbell rang - it was the plumber (who was due to call).

I burst out crying - felt rather stupid about that - he was so sweet and just took over and dealt with it got me. Even to the point of using own Hoover. Pulled everything out to check nothing rise there.

So very very kind.

I went to visit a friend who was living in Paris for part of her degree, and was there for the end of her trip. She lived in a little apartment block which had a big heavy security door just inside the front door, but there was one apartment which was in front of it, so not as secure as the rest. My friend's DM had spoken a bit to the lady who lived there (she spoke a little bit of English) when she had visited and had found out that she had 4 children. Friend's DM rang and suggested we gathered all the toiletries and tinned food we had left (there was quite a lot!) and take it down to her instead of wasting it all and throwing it away. My friend was quite shy when it came to speaking to strangers so I agreed to take it down. I explained in rather nervous French that we were students who we're going back to England and asked if she would be able to make use of our leftover things. She looked so so grateful and I still remember her smile as I gave her the bag.

On the same day two very kind men came back up and carried the two suitcases I was wrestling down the mahoosive staircase at the Metro, it genuinely made such a difference, and probably stopped us missing the train to the airport. A small gesture can often make such a huge difference!

When I was 14 years old, a friend of mine used to babysit for a couple's 3 young children. One night they'd asked her to but she couldn't, so my friend asked me if I would do it,saying I'd earn £20 (quite a lot of money even now to a 14 year old!) and the guy would give me a lift home afterwards.. and I did. I was shocked at the state of the house, and how dirty the children were, and how the couple seemed to be really a bit strange, but that was that, I tried not to judge. After that I babysat for them again. The third time I did it, the Father gave me a lift home as usual but said he was going to drive a different way. Red flag to me immediately, I was 14 but I was damned if I was stupid!Lol.

I knew not to act as if I knew something was up, and when he went down a remote, dirty track type of road he pulled up and said he was just going to stop and talk to me. I cannot remember what I said, but it was to the lines that he was scaring me and I was leaving. I leapt out of the car and ran and ran.He chased. I was in the middle of nowhere, NO idea where I was. I jumped over a field gate and he caught my wrist. I calmed him by saying if he let go of my wrist I would get back in the car with him and not tell anybody. He let go.

I ran and ran again, and saw a light in the distance, got to a large farmhouse and rammed on the door so hard I'm surprised I didn't break it.

An old lady came to the patio doors. Now if that was me, or many other people-seeing a teenager on their doorstep they would have been wary in the middle of the night. I screamed to please let me in a man was chasing me, and she did. Hell knows what would have happened to me if she hadn't have. She could have put herself in danger of him, as well.

She let me call my parents, and the police. My parents sent her a box of chocolates, but it wasn't enough-I wish I had have done more for her or could see her again.

On the bus bursting for a wee. Thought I was going to wet myself. Got to the bus station and the loos were 20p. I only had a tenner on me and the girl in the shop had no 20p pieces. A bus driver standing nearby gave me the money and I ran off as fast as I could. It was the longest and most satisfying wee of my life

I always try to do little acts of kindness where I can - though I often feel I'm not doing enough!

I will never forget my new next door neighbour who heard my collicky DS1 screaming for hours and came over and made me a cup of tea. She stood in my living room for over an hour, rocking DS until he went to sleep, and chatting to me about all kinds of inane rubbish. I had PND and was at the end of my tether. She really rescued me that day!

The one that will always stand out for me was the day I saw an elderly lady fall during a nasty winter storm (gale force wind, sleet, icy patches) and lose her shopping. I was about 300 yards down the street but was the first one to stop ( ). A man coming from the other direction went and rounded up her shopping while I sat with her. She'd broken her wrist and (though we didn't realise it then) fractured her hip. We sat with her until the paramedics came. She got really cross with me when I insisted she put my coat on in addition to her own, but I was worried about her getting cold. The man lent me his phone so I could call work and explain why I was late. My boss told me not to come in; he said when I was done I should go home and get warm. He still paid me for my shift. My mum ended up being her physio and when she saw my photo on the office wall said "That's one of my angels". She turned up for her next appointment with a scarf and gloves she'd knitted for me so I would always be warm when I gave a frozen lady my coat. We all gave and received kindness in equal share that winter - lots of little thing adding up to a lot of good

When I was about 17 and on a late night train back from a strange place after being dumped by my 'boyfriend' - who was just a lad I'd met one day in London, and we had had a few phone calls, but I thought he was great and suddenly found out he wasn't - I was sobbing quietly and really upset, and I went to sleep sort of and when I opened my eyes, there was a crumpled up bit of paper stuffed down the side of my seat - I opened it and it was a long, long message written by the guy opposite me, who had now got off the train.

It was in faint blue biro on a typed letter about something else - he had written all round the edges and on the back and so on. I couldn't make out that it was written to me, for a few minutes.

But it was. It was all about how I would be Ok, and that life is really shit sometimes but everything would be alright and that even though I felt so hurt now, I would get past it.

It was such a lovely thing of him to do that and he was obviously embarrassed about it and not sure if it would help - but it did. He must have been about 25 I suppose.

Whoever you were, thankyou.

When I was heavily pg with one of my DDs, I ran into the back of another car. Didn't do much damage to the other car but knackered the radiator in my own. Sat waiting for the pick-up truck to arrive, bloody hormones meant I couldn't stop crying. Pick-up truck arrives, driver gets out and I get out of my car. The big burly driver takes one look at me and says 'Oh sweetheart, it's only a car. As long as you and the baby are OK, then that's all that matters.' And he got me into the cab of the truck, gave me a tissue and a bottle of water before he started getting the car onto the back of the truck.

He was so sweet and kind - he said to me that he had a 6-month old baby and he'd like to think people would be kind if it was his wife who'd crashed her car.

stars yes it is the little things that mount up ,

I always help pushchairs off trains as I have been in that sitution with no help

Seen a few car bumps and always help Last one poor girl was shaken so much she couldnt use her phone so I called her mum it was her mums car and was saying oh God they going be so cross I just kept saying they wont and they be worriedabout you and a bit of metal

On a packed train a lady got a phone call became upset call ended I offered my packet of tissues sometimes its the very little things that count

Whenever I take dd out in her wheelchair so many people help me lift her over tricky bits etc and I appreciate every single one of them, it means so much to see them getting to grips with big dirty heavy muddy wheels.

I also remember the anaesthetist who sat by me throughout the twins being born by emergency section - it was chaos and such a worrying time and as well as whispering reassuring words she stroked my hair and congratulated me as each baby was delivered.

My dd took ill on holiday we were in orlando I was in the tolet with her this lovely woman took over helped me with her and diagnosed heat stroke went to get her some water and just generally was great she was a nurse DD was fine one minute and looked awful the next ,

I open doors and stuff I do little random acts of Kindness not anything huge that i can think of,

I think all the help I had when my pigging useless Peugeot broke down on the motorway when it was just me and 4-month old DS on the way to my mum and dad's. Two motorists stopped when they saw us on the hard shoulder, and offered to make phone calls for us. And the RAC man took me all the way to mum and dad's, despite my only having 'roadside' cover. I've driven crap cars for years, and was well used to breakdowns (and could fix a lot at the roadside). But as a new mum with a tiny baby, I was so grateful for people's compassion and help.

I'm sure I've done nice things, but can't think of a specific just now.

The kindest thing that someone else has done for me that always comes first to mind is in the days after DM was diagnosed with terminal illness, with weeks to live, myself and DB found ourselves in a Maggie's Centre. I know it is what the staff are paid for, but they gave us home made cakes, and coffee, and sat with us till we got allowances and benefits, and a blue badge sorted out for DB, to allow him to live with, and care for DM till she died. It was the first nice thing to happen to us for a long while, and it gave us the space and strength to keep going. I will always be grateful.

Not me, but some strangers were so kind to my nan and I'm so grateful. Last year she was in town on her own on a really windy day. A gust of wind took her off her feet and she was clinging to a road barrier to try and stay up but she fell. Loads of people walked past her, but a group of teenage boys (who she described as having 'all kinds of funny holes in their ears') stopped to help her. They walked her to the bus stop and tried to pay her bus fare (obviously she has a bus pass).

I'm so grateful to those boys and so was my nan. Their mums must be so proud of them.

Random man took me across LA from the greyhound bus station to the airport. And paid the $2 fare. Thank you kind sir.

What a lovely lovely thread. I must admit reading the posts made me well up. I used to do lots of acts of random kindness until a few years ago when a 'friend' let me down in a bad way. Since then I have become much more careful and more aware of people taking advantage of kindness. i guess i've become a bit cynical .

I can't think of any good examples right now but this thread has inspired me to go out and be a kind stranger. However without being a pushover.

Oh and the man who returned my IPhone 4. They were brand new and just out. I dropped it on a London street. He rang the last number dialled, which was ex H's number who arranged to go and pick it up. Wouldn't accept a reward and had to be begged to accept half a shandy (they met up in a pub).