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

someone puked on the train platform late friday even and I gave them a pack of tissues and a bottle of water

I find the tube is where I am most kind, as really noone else is!!!

When I was travelling I met a lady on a sleeper train. She didn't speak any English, but I was put on the phone to her grandchild and he asked me to make sure she had a safe journey. Had some fun learning her language and vice versa.

At the end of the journey we queued at a taxi rank. I started to feel unwell and nearly passed out. The lady dragged me to the front of the line. She then safely took me to my hostel and left me her phone number for if I needed anything. I will never forget her kindness. I only realised later she had paid for the taxi, really generous and lovely act to a complete stranger.

i went into theatre to have a d&c after a miscarriage and woke up to a nurse holding my hand & crying. she gave me a big hug & told me how sorry she was.

i used to work in a nursing home & grew very close to a few residents without families. i would sit & chat to them. when the time came i sat by their bed & held their hand when the past away as i didnt want them to be scared and alone. i was well after my shifts ended but i pitched up tent for the night.

That makes me cry my eyes out every time, Plomino

The best act of kindness I've ever seen actually changed the life of the person who did it , just as much as I believe it saved someone else's life . I've told this story at least once before , so it'll be familiar to some .

I work as a response PC in a London borough that is particularly financially poor in places. One morning , some years ago now , a young lad of about 16 was going down the road , when he went past a house that had a load of milk outside as well as a few newspapers . He walked to the end of the road , but something about it worried him , so he decided to go back and check . He called through the letterbox , only to hear a faint faint cry for help . He rang 999 , and we turned up along with the ambulance , to put the door in . When we do , we find a 90 odd year old lady collapsed on the floor , having been there for about 2 days following a fall . She is very very poorly , but gets taken to hospital and subsequently makes a full recovery . I have no doubt that him ringing us saves her life .

However , the sight of her so ill , makes him quite upset , so I take him home . When we get there , Dad opens the door , takes one look at his son standing next to a police officer , and absolutely hits the roof , because he thinks his son's done wrong . When I finally manage to get a word in edgeways ( and it took a while !) I explain to him exactly how well their son had done , and how fantastic he was . By the end , mum was in tears , Dad was in tears , and I wasn't far off . It seems the lad had been getting into a bit of trouble with the wrong friends , and failing at school . I tell him 'well done ' again and carry on with the rest of the shift .

About 4 years or so later , I'm on the same road , doing a bit of road sweeping after an accident , when all of a sudden I'm grabbed from behind and lifted clean off my feet in a bear hug, much to the amusement (and consternation !) of my colleagues . It's the same young man . He told me that because of the belief in him and my praise for his actions , he'd begun to believe in himself , and had not only completed his a levels with decent passes , but had a steady apprenticeship with a very reputable firm . It was the first time that someone had had faith in him as a person , and had done wonders for his self esteem . I told him it was all his own work .

On my first day back in UK I got lost going to the supermarket and forgot my money. The lady at the til kept the basket for 2 hours while I walked back to get my money. On my way back, I met a lovely lady who drove me to the supermarket and then invited me to lunch. In tve afternoon she took me to the RNIB and walked through the rooms with me, showing me what products were available. We went for coffee too.

Last year, i was given 2 nights of free accomodation at a hotel in Nha Trang.

A few years ago, I was at Vietnamese embassy and the ambassador came out to thank me for my work. He also gave me my visa for free.

So many things.

So many...

The lovely men who gave me a loft back to my flat when I was broke, alone and missed my train in London. I said, "no way" and they pointed out that they were a gay couple and wouldn't touch me with someone else's barge pole. Lovely blokes.

The Ugandan man who blazed a trail through a crowd so weeing could happen in an African bus station.

The guys in Viet Nam who went and got a bag for my friend. Her bag went missing on a bus and they found it.

The homeless men who pushed my car out of a snow drift. No home and they got me home.

I hope I reciprocate. I try whenever there is an opportunity.

After uni a friend and I were travelling in South America. My friends passport and money were stolen while we were on a bus to Lima. We realised when we arrived at the bus station. She had all the cash, so we only gad a very small amount between us. It was a Saturday, late and no money exchanges were open (back in the days of travellers cheques). We had just about enough to get a cab to the consulate - but the cab driver got it wrong and dropped us in a random business district no where near the consulate. We stood outside this building trying not to panic and work out what to do when some people came out. It was a firm of lawyers - they took us in and gave us a drink, then talked amongst themselves... One of them took us home with her to her parents house, where we stayed the whole weekend. Her brother drove us to the consulate and we stayed with them for another few days until the new passport was ready. The family took us sightseeingm fed us, watered us, we didn't pay for anything. The elderly parents spoke no English and my Spanish wasn't up to much. They asked us about food in England and we told them about fry ups, on our last day when the mother was making breakfast, she fried some eggs and ham and told us "fry ups!". They were so very very kind, I really don't know what we would have done if they hadn't taken us in. To my deep shame we didn't keep in touch, but I am eternally grateful to them.

One that sticks in my head was an elderly man. Freezing cold December, was on a night out with friends. He was homeless, and at the end of the night we walked past him as he was trying to get food out of a rubbish bin. Couldn't stand the thought, that could be someone's grandad and he had nothing
Took him to the late night chippy, paid for a meal and tea and left him all my money out my purse (about £50)
He just sat there and looked at me, I don't think he could speak. He was hiding the money in his sock so nobody could steal it when I left him
One of my friends said I was a mug, but nobody roots through bins on a freezing cold night to eat pizza crusts unless they have to

Another forum (trying not to out self!). My friend had an accident and was left with concussion. She couldn't look after her animals that day. A woman from the forum turned up and helped all day, and we've been friends ever since

I parked the car, 2 small children with me, one crying the wee song, had no change for the meter, asked a passerby if they could change my note and the man insisted I simply have the money for the car park.

He said he didn't need it as much as I did and one day I would see someone else in a similar situation, I could help them to pay him back!

At the time I was utterly skint. I was so grateful!

And thank you, iFad ( I could have just googled it I suppose)! :)

When I was a teenager, I had been to visit family and was heading back to the station to get my train home. It was tipping down, and I was pushing my bike and laden panniers up a 1 in 4 hill, with another 9 miles to go after that. A man with a truck stopped to offer me a lift - my bike went in the back, and I went in the cab with him, and he took me the 3 miles up the hill to the junction with the main road. It was still raining, but not as hard, and although there were still some minor uphill bits, it was mostly downhill from that point, and I was warmer. It really meant a lot to me.

A year or so back, I was in the queue at the petrol station, and a woman ahead of me had forgotten her purse, which she hadn't realised. The station staff were threatening to phone the police, even though she offered to leave her car there, and walk back home to collect it (which it turned out was only a couple of miles away.) They weren't happy with that, so I asked if she was local, and after I paid for mine, gave her and her daughter a lift back home and then back to the petrol station. I don't honestly see what difference it was me giving a lift compared with them walking, other than it was a bit quicker, but it kept the station staff happy, and stopped the situation turning nasty.

When I was selling my house a year or so ago, I had a terrible time! My lodger flooded the house (fell asleep in the sodding bath) TWO weeks before exchange of contracts. I had an influx of tradesmen, one of whom was a partner of a 'friend', let me down, do shoddy jobs, not turn up repeatedly. The council didn't turn up to take my old furniture...The new owners wanted to come and view and I had to put them off. The flood had caused the boiler to stop working, the hot water to stop working, the lights to not work...NIGHTMARE!

I was having a rant to a friend and she said her brother (whom I had never met!) was painfully shy, had just lost his job and was very depressed, and she'd have a word as she thought he would like to help me. He came around that evening, moved LOADS of junk/rubbish/old furniture to the tip for me, helped me clear things out and pack, looked at the boiler and diagnosed the problem (which obviously made it easier for me when trying to find a new boiler repair man, I actually knew what the F was wrong this time)!
He helped me clean up (the cleaner I had booked let me down too I forgot to mention that, last minute too!) and seemed so so happy to be assisting someone-he'd probably been feeling completely useless I guess.
Between him and my OH (who took loads of time off work to break under the floorboards and diagnose the electrics for when a competent electrician actually would turn up!) and my friend's brother, the nightmare got sorted.
I was soooo grateful. I gave him some money (not enough!) for helping but he was very reluctant to take it although I could tell he really must have needed it by how grateful he was once I insisted.
Not seen him since, but after being let down by so many people, he made things so much better. Bless him.

Helping out at random is a good feeling. Happened upon some folk with a flat tyre and a flat spare this evening. Had my footpump in the van. Five minutes out of my day, and they can get home to get their tyres fixed. That's me in a good mood for a fair old while.

oh, and my DP. Who took me in when I had nowhere to run.

I haven't thought about this for years but this thread has reminded me. When I discovered I was pregnant with DD I was 20 and living miles away from home at University. I was a bit scared and reactions from other people weren't exactly positive!

I had a PT job in the Uni office and an older lady who worked there asked me why I seemed so glum. I told her I was pregnant and she too seemed sad for me - BUT as soon as she realised I was planning to keep the baby she said 'wait there!'. She came back about an hour later with a little pile of baby clothes that she had dashed out and bought in a local charity shop and a cake to celebrate!

I was so touched, it was the first time anyone had treated my pregnancy as something joyful as opposed to something that would ruin my life and we became very close after that.

Not really the kindest as i cant really recall anything where a random stranger has done anything for me except once i used a cash machine and walked away without my cash and the lady behind me called me back and gave me it - she could have taken it herself but she didnt.

two strangers have greatly helped me - random kindness and always grateful

Kind things for me:

My midwife saved my life (I know its her job, but she went well and truly beyond duty). I had a rough time after I gave birth and had she not listened to me when I said I wasn't feeling "right", I may very well have died. She stayed with me the entire time through surgery, and right until I got transferred to ITU later on that evening- she came and visited me the next day. Every other midwife that attended me the next day told me I had scared the life out of her!
I wrote her a card and bought some flowers, but it won't ever be enough to repay her. She told me she doesn't want me next time

My neighbour cleared all the snow off our steps, and put grit on them last year- 4 weeks after having DD. In fact he cleared the entire road! but it meant such a lot to me- he could see that we had had a rough time.

Kind things I have done:

Today I held a door open for a man who was struggling to get into a shop with his wheels (you know those trolley things, a walking aid if you like). Everyone had walked past and he was really struggling. He was so thankful it was lovely!

When working at my previous job I started doing an old mans shopping for him every Saturday. He was irish and stubborn, but his family had left him to die in a residential home with no help. For three years I did that and it became the most wonderful friendship- He died last month and I am still devastated.

After reading this thread I am weeping a bit but I am vowing to do an act of kindness every day. You guys are so wonderful

When I had just had DD2 and was still in hospital, the heating in our house broke down (it was a blizzardy new year in north yorkshire) . When I got back from the hospital, the hallway was full of electric heaters of all shapes and sizes with notes of good luck attached from people I never even knew but who had obviously heard of our problem. We managed to stay warm until the boiler could get fxed.

Standing in front of a bank teller who told me that my bank account had been cleared out ( bastard ex ) and I wasn't eligible for an over draft. I stood with tears pouring down my face and DD saying don't cry mummy .As I walked out of the bank she came after me and gave me £10 which I know was from her own purse.

Recently a colleague has organised a Christmas party for staff children. She asked senior( very very very well paid) members of staff if they would put a bit of money in each (£5) for a present for each child from Father Christmas . They declined. So I stuck £50 in an envelope , wrote 'love from Father Christmas ' on it and left it on her desk.

Nine years ago (two days before Christmas!) I was delivering a Christmas card to some friends who lived down a country lane. No street lighting and hardly any other cottages. They were out. As I walked down their path my right leg slipped away from me. I heard a ripping sound and I had to sit down only to see my foot almost dangling off (I was told later it was floating free from my leg - ouch!). I sat there wondering what to do - the car radio was blaring and I had three small children sitting in it (aged 1-7) and the place was deserted. Luckily I had my mobile phone on me so I dialled 999. As I was waiting for the ambulance the neighbours who lived in the attached cottage arrived back from a shopping trip. They immediately took out the brand new duvet they had just bought from its box and put it over me. I often think how kind that was and whether they ever got the wet slush off it!