Has a random act of kindness stayed in your memory forever?

{{{foxinsocks}}}

I have to post this now as I can't stop looking at this thread and it's doing my head in.

About 16 years ago, my dad couldn't cope with my mum (an alcoholic with mental health problems) any longer and sent her down to stay with me (I was 18/19) while he went away and did his own thing. I was trying to study - no-one asked me if she could stay - she just turned up on the doorstep in a pile.

The first night, I got called by the barman at the local pub to come and pick her up as she had passed out on the floor (I knew the barman from university). Second day, she woke up and downed a 5 litre box of wine.

So on the 3rd day, she told me about these tablets the doctor had given her called Antabuse that were supposed to stop her drinking. I thought this sounded brilliant but she didn't want to take them so I thought I'd be really clever and mix them in with her coffee so that when I came back that evening, she would be sober.

Except I came back and she was barely breathing . I didn't know what to do so called for an ambulance and they put me through to the National Poisons Line. I told them what I had done and the man on the other end was incredibly calm and just wonderful. He told me those pills were designed to make you incredibly ill when you drank, to the point that it could be very dangerous but that I didn't know this and I was only doing what I thought would work. Never once did he get cross (even though I had been incredibly stupid!) and he was the first person I had ever spoken to about the whole situation and he was reassuring and kind and compassionate . He told me he would speak to the ambulance people and tell them what to do and he would personally take charge of my mother's case once she got to hospital.

I know he was doing his job but it was the way and manner in which he did it. He didn't have to treat me so kindly - he would have been well within reason to tell me I was a prat but he didn't and I've never ever forgotten his kindness to me that day. I never met him. I never saw my mum in hospital that time but he's always remained in my mind.

11 yrs ago, was on holiday with dh and another couple in Venezuela - three of us were sick with a stomach thing, and our friend had it so badly we had got him checked out at an American Hosp in Caracas. Doctor had said he thought is was just regular travellers tummy, but did some tests just in case and told us to call in a couple of days for results. We travelled on way away from the city, took a day and a half to get to a v remote area. Stayed at a guesthouse owned by a lovely American lady, who helped us phone the doctor who told us that actually we all had something v nasty, a type of full-blown dysentery and MUST have antibiotics immediately. So lovely lady took us to the pharmacy, translated for us, got the right pills and when we realised we didn't have enough for the drugs, let alone the guesthouse bill, she loaned us the money and told us to send it when we got home. We did, of course, but bless her, what a chance to take with a bunch of smelly Brits.

Another one, which ajandjj's story has reminded me of ... and which I am not quite sure would happen nowadays -

Aged about 6 I found a pound note in a puddle on the way to school. Knowing it was precious I gave it to my teacher, who said she would hand it in to the police. Do you think that was the end of it?

No. Six months later (the formal "lost property" period) there was a knock on the classroom door. In came a huge huge policeman, and gave me my pound note.

Just imagine the levels of thoughtfulness behind that!

oooh welshmum, you've made me well up.

I was in New Zealand with dh and dd staying at his in-laws for Christmas. I was about 13 weeks pg and started to miscarry. It was so wierd being so far from my own family and friends and everyone there seemed to expect me to get on with it. I felt like I was somehow spoiling their Christmas.
I went to the GP a couple of times as the bleeding went on and on and they told me to let it take its course. The day before we were due to fly home and still losing loads of blood I took myself to the the local hospital and told my tale there.
They were so lovely to me especially the gynaecologist, a really sweet elderly asian man who shook his head and said 'oh no this shouldn't be happening' and whipped me into theatre. Just before I had anaethetic I remember asking him if I'd be able to have another baby, explaining that I'd had to have fertility treatment to get pg ' Of course, my dear' he said and stroked my forehead.
He was so wonderful - and right, ds arrived a year or so later

I was taken on a day trip to London when I was very small. I was waiting to hand over my 6d (yes, it was that long ago!) for a postcard at the Tower of London souvenir shop, when I was told that the man before had paid for it.

I'm sure loads of people have been kind to me over the years, but that one always stays in my mind.

In M&S cafe with a screaming tantuming ds (2), everyone looking daggers and disapproving so I left with him under one arm, pushing buggy one handed.

A lovely really old lady held the door for me, smiled sympathetically and said "Don't worry dear, they all do it sometimes". Her kindness made me cry and I've never forgotten her.

My car broke down on the motorway on the way to my parent's house - I was taking DS over there, he was 4 months old and it's a 1.5 hour journey. I parked up on the hard shoulder and phoned the RAC. As I was waiting (with DS in his big red sling on my chest) 2 people pulled up on the hard shoulder to ask if they could help, one of them offered me his mobile in case I wanted to make any calls.
Thank you van-man and 4*4 lady, I hope if I see someone in a fix like that I will think to stop too.

Then the RAC man arrived and couldn't fix the wretched car, so towed me to a service station and asked what I wanted to do next. I only had roadside cover. I was just biting the bullet to pay for a tow to mum and dads (well over £150, gulp) when he decided to break all the rules and tow me himself. For nothing. DS and I sat up in the front of the breakdown truck and we chatted all the way back. He was lovely, and he risked his job to help us out.

As a very homesick 18 year old student traveling from uni via London to home up North on a train.

Got to London to discover my ticket was no longer valid and I had no money, cheque book or anything and the train staff wouldn't let my parents pay over the phone for a ticket for me, as I had to had the bank card with me to pick up the sodding ticket. I just burst into tears in the middle of the station.

Kind stranger approached me, offered me the train fare £45 in cash for my ticket and said I could post it back to her when I got back home.

Bought me a cup of tea and a sticky bun at the train station cafe with her friend and cheered me up until the train arrived.

My parents managed to sort out the tickets long distance before the train arrived, so I could give this lady her money back straight away before I left London.

But how trusting and wonderful she was, she really made my day

By NutterlyUts on Mon 18-Feb-08 20:35:26
"Aged 11, lost at the big secondary school. A 6th former saw me looking like a rabbit in a headlights, stopped to ask if he could help, and directed me to the playground. Never forgotten that, even though it wasn't anything big."

Made me a bit teary, that one!

This is one of the few threads I'm reading thoroughly from start to finish, it's very interesting I think.

when I got on a york train instead of a liverpool train from preston last year, guard looked up the connections for me to get back, and didn't charge me extra for the wrong bit of journey.

oooh and the bus driver earlier in the week = I stupidly didn't hold my hand out, so he didn't stop at the stop, but when he realised what had happened by my frantic look, he whizzed round the bus station and came round to the sotp.

Lovely thread.

I've posted before about the darling little girl who saw dd (aged 6) wandering in the playground on dd's first day at a new school and said, "Would you like someone to play with?" Simple, but if only everyone in the world had just that touch.

(Actually, in the same vein I've always remembered Marina's son companionably taking his baked potato over to the 'allergy table' where a little boy was having to sit alone away from everyone else's fish.)

Am I allowed to do a domestic one? We had come home from holiday on a sleeper train. With horror I realised I'd forgotten my wedding & engagement rings - left them hanging on those neat little hooks by the bunk. Dh took ds, went to the station, found out which siding the train would have been sent on to, drove there, persuaded them to let him in, searched all the way down the coaches & came back with my rings.

I want to know about ghostys 'angel' too.

I had one last week actually.
We were in Disney paris and I had thought it would be nice to go up the davy crocket treehouse. ds loves treehouses. Anyway I didn't realise how high up it would be. I am scared of stairs. Not so much heights but stairs. As we're going up i start to panic and say I don't like it etc. dh is holding dd and ds is going up fine. Dh kept saying 'nearly at the top 'etc.
When I reached the top I just burst into tears and collapsed to the floor. I couldn't move.
A German couple came past and asked dh if we were ok. dh said 'oh she's fine, she'll be ok in a minute' typical!
But I wasn't and they said we'll help her down. They each took one of my hands in theirs and held my arms really tightly and led me down. All the way speaking sofly and saying, 'you're nearly there' etc.
I was crying all the way. I was so grateful to them as I was very frightened.

i was 18 and had gone out with friends to a different town, all in a cab discussing who had the fare,none of us had any cash. cab driver threw all 4 of us out in the middle of a really dodgy area.
we all had high heels and hardly any clothes on , it was in the days before mobiles and wondered how we would get home at 3am .
a police car drew up, ordered us in the back and dropped us all off at my parents, they put the blue lights on as we were pulling up.my mum woke up and wouldnt believe they had just given us a lift, we must have done something.
the police said they would rather take us home than finding us later.

I had a very positive experience two weeks ago with my ds, he's 11 with learning difficulties and deaf, he decided halfway through Moorgate tube Station that he needed the toilet! and the guard was lovely when i explained and let us use the staff toilet. Ds then shouted MAN MAN at him till he turned round and ds said ANK YOU!! Last year i missed my connecting train at L Street because of a delay on the tube, i was in tears because i thought id have to pay extra, the guard at L Street was lovely and said "Madam we will get you on the 6.30" he then got his colleague and said "you will walk this lady to the train, you will find the guard and explain and if there any problems you will telephone me and I will sort it out" Both of the above experiences had me writing thankyou letters to London Underground and One Railways!!

Ooh I'm in tears reading this thread too!

I remember walking home by myself late at night in tears, as a teenager, after argument with boyfriend of the time.

A car stopped and the driver said he was very worried about me walking back in the dark by myself so late and offered me a lift.

With "don't get into strangers cars" ringing in my head I politely refused.

So he said something like "Okay, I understand you don't know me and don't want to get in the car. Very sensible. But my little sister is about your age so would it be okay if I kept circling around until you get to the centre of town just to check on you? If you tell me in what rough section of the town you live and give me a thumbs up when you get near your house, I'll drive off when you're nearly home".

So I walked along with him circling from time to time, grinning at me. I gave him the thumbs up a few roads from my house at which point he waved and drove off. I never saw him again but thought it was such a lovely thing to do!

These are beautiful - have been sitting with a cup of tea and a box of tissues reading them all!!

My story takes me back to when I was 18 to the leaver's ball at school. I was all dressed up to the nines and my dad was driving me there when the car broke down. It was a remote country road, so he had to walk back home (fortunately not too far back, but even so would probably be a twenty minute/half hour walk) to get my mum and her car. I stayed with the broken down car.

About five minutes after he'd gone, a police car passed by and pulled over to check I was okay. One of the policemen stayed with me to make sure I was all right, while the other drove back to pick up my dad and give him a lift back.

Then they gave me a lift to the school in the police car - I made quite an entrance

I ran out of petrol on a busy road and had dd with me and no mobile phone.

Whilst I sat there flapping a woman pulled up behind me and said she had seen me on her way past and come back for me. She let me use her phone to call dp and then went off to get me petrol.

She came back with a brand new petrol cannister full of petrol and wouldnt take any money for it - just drove off!

I couldnt express my thanks enough to her - not one single other person stopped to see if I was ok and I still think about her.

Years ago an ex boyfriend and I were in Pahpos and having eaten at a restarant some nights before decided to go there again. We got there too late too lage but the waiters told us to come back in half an hour and then shared their own meal with us and would not take a penny for it. Meal was delicious too! Loving this thread x

mmmmm Montepulciano d'Abruzzo, one of the best wines ever.

(sorry)

Just remembered something that happened to us on our honeymoon.

We were in Montepulciano in Italy and found a lovely restaurant. The owner asked if we were on our honeymoon, don't know how he knew, we must have been looking particularly dopey.

He brought us a glass of prosecco each and took a hefty discount off our bill. Then when we were leaving he ran after us and gave us a bottle of red wine.

When dh and I were on our honeymoon we met an old couple who had been married 30yrs. One day they bought us lunch and said that when they were on their honeymoon an old couple had done the same for them so they were passing it in. It will stick with me because if we get the chance DH and I will do the same for someone else.