Little kindnesses remembered after decades - thank you craft fayre man!

[BorrowedThyme]

I was about 12 when I attended a craft fayre with a school friend and no adults. I stood by one stall of polished stones with my friend, and we went through little gifts we had brought for our parents and siblings. I had nothing for my mum, and only about 30p left, and was in despair about finding something nice, when the man behind the stall handed me a green polished stone, and said, "This is free, and I think your mum would like this" - and she did!

I still remember his kindness, 45 years later.

Anyone else?

Many years ago my car broke down on a windy back road on my way to a weekend stay with friends. It was getting dark, misty and freezing fog. The spot I pulled over into was the top end of a long track to a large house at the bottom throwing some small orange glows from window lights. A man walked up the track to ask if I wanted to wait inside their house while waiting for the RAC. It was Nigel Lawson.

Not that long ago I went to a swimming pool and had only brought a tankini top as I thought it was a swimsuit (same colour)

Kind lady had a spare swim suit and lent it to me

I was a new mum out for the first time with my newborn I got into a stressed faff as my car seat didn't do what I wanted it to do a kind lady in Costa just held my baby for me cooed them and let me sort it didn't give an air of judgement it was so lovely.

I went to a car boot with Dd when Dd was a baby. An older guy was selling some good quality second hand garden tools, about £8 each. I bought a spade, a rake and a fork and was just chatting saying we’d just bought our first house with a garden and he said it was £10 for all three as a job lot and then carried them back to my car for me. I hadn’t asked for discount! He said he remembered it was tough when you were just setting up.

Was in supermarket loos changing dc, they'd just had EXPLOSIVE poonami, then while changing, another one over spare outfit, as my stress levels increased as the poo increased a woman came in and berated me for the mess 'disgusting' was the comment. Next woman to come in, checked all was OK, then left and came back with a new babygro and pack of wipes.

Another one I remember was a small harbourside restaurant in South Wales when our first born was only a few months. It was out of season and so quiet. We were the only diners all evening.

The staff fell in love with him and took it in turns to hold him and talk to him across the other side of the restaurant while we ate our meal and watched the sunset in peace. It was a win for everybody as even our son could be heard babbling excitedly as he gleefully kicked his legs out with all the fun. At the end of the meal the owner said she had taken care of the bill and gave us a bottle of wine to enjoy when we got home. We did not ask for any of this, but the whole restaurant team gave us a lovely evening.

Back in the late 80's. 17 years old and pff to my first works Christmas do in our city.

Got on the bus and realised I had forgotten my bus pass, lowest note was a twenty. Bus driver said to ask if anyone has change.

No one did, but at this point he had driven 2 more stops, then insisted I get off.
I would now have a 10 minute walk back in heels part of which had factories on one side and a park on the other in the dark.
An older and rather drunk guy walked down and paid my fare.

I've never forgotten the relief I felt and over the years have looked to help people out in similar circumstances, before I'd even heard the phrase pay it forward lol.

A few months after I was widowed with young children, my sons, then 10 and 7, wanted to buy me a mother's day gift. I sat in the car while they walked into Waitrose with a tenner I'd had to give them myself. I was on the edge of tears. They took ages and when they came out they said they had been standing for ages debating about whether to get chocolate or flowers and hadn't got enough money for both. Then an older couple came up to them and gave them a couple of quid so they could get both. I've always wanted to be able to thank them for that kindness. It got me through that day and gave me hope and a connectedness that I needed in that moment, even though I never even laid eyes on them.

some lovely stories here

@TreesWelliesKnees thats so nice of them. Bet your boys were made up!

Same thing happened in a restaurant we went to, in Corfu some years ago, a couple came in with their baby, the staff whisked him away and the couple had their meal in peace.
The baby was perfectly happy being passed around between the owner and the waiting staff - win, win! Such a lovely gesture.

Dh is a road cyclist (yes who everyone hates but he is very precious to me!). His bike broke and he was very cold he was too cold to fix it. A lady in a small beat up car stopped established what was happening said stay there! Whizzed off returned with her boyfriend and his van put Dh and bike in van and drove him to the nearest bike shop. Lovely people.

They were. We were all really touched.

I'd nearly died after having dd , lost an awful amount of blood , and I can remember feeling so so sick but I had the worst thirst ever , I asked the nurse if I could have a drink but for some reason I couldn't stomach the thought of water , I asked if they had any diluted juice/ orange . She ignored me but the young girl who was called in to mop up my blood snuck down to the staff canteen and got my a huge glass of juice with ice . I could have cried with happiness , I gulped it down and I've never forgotten that one kind gesture .

I always remember about 30 years ago I'd just passed my driving test and stalled my little banger at a set of traffic lights in the town centre. It wouldn't start and other cars were beeping and overtaking me. No mobile phone I didn't know what to do.

A tap at the window and an old man told me to get out, he swapped with me and told me I'd flooded the engine, showed me what to do if it happened again. He was so kind! I can still picture his face.

Being about four or five and being at some Christmas Fundraiser. There was a raffle and one of the prizes was a really beautiful doll. A man won it and gave it to me. My parents nor I had ever met him before.

I worked in a department store years ago. The staff were very cliquey and tended to sit together by department. There were only three staff in my department and we had to take staggered lunches, wo we couldn't go to lunch at the same time. I felt very conspicuous sitting on my own but the odd time I tried to join another table, they didn't make me feel very welcome. One day I was preparing to eat another solo lunch when one of the catering staff invited me to sit with her at the catering table. I still remember her kind, welcoming smile after all these years.

I had just started a completely new role and moved to China for it completely by myself. 2 days later it was my birthday, I never mentioned it as I didn't really know anyone and comms were tricky. At 4pm in the afternoon everyone trooped in singing the Chinese version of happy birthday with a huge cake. The secretary who processed my work permit had told everyone my birthday as she saw it on the paperwork. It was so lovely!

I will never forget nearly 20 years ago when I was 25 years old on a night bus. My phone was constantly ringing by a man who was stalking me. I was very distressed. A young male sitting next to me (who was about 15 years old) grabbed my phone and told the stalker to f*@# off and said that he was my boyfriend. I never heard from the stalker ever again. I will never forget the courage, bravery and kindness from that young teenager.

When I was about 10 and my sister about 7, DDad was working in the USA, and we went out go visit for a few weeks. We'd saved our pocket money and our grandparents had given us some spending money and DM took us to the bank to change our £ to $. We didn't know about bank charges! As the bank teller was explaining how little we'd have left, the man in the queue behind us stepped in and changed our money with his, and absorbed all the charges for us.

About 15 years later.....

DDad died just before Christmas. DSis, DM and I were going to friends a few hours drive away for Christmas. We were on the m11 out of London on the evening of Christmas Eve and the car broke down. AA unable to get it going. It's now 8pm, pouring with rain and we're facing the prospect of being towed home to a completely empty house - no tree, no food, no decs... nothing. Meanwhile, the lovely AA guy is on the phone to his boss saying "Mrs X and her children...,, really need to get to xxxx tonight." Ah Italian AA Orlando's boss was our Christmas Angel and upgraded DM's membership for nothing, enabled us to spend Christmas with our friends, and then we were picked up and towed home a few days later.

I am loving these stories

I was invited to a party in a slightly dodgy part of London and got lost in the dark in a maze of unlit alleyways, feeling quite scared. This years before mobile phones and google maps. I saw a taxi company light and went to ask directions. A cabbie insisted on driving me to the party as it was a rough area, even though I had no money to pay him. He told me to call him for a lift back to the station when i wanted to go home, too, but there was no phone at the party house. i never forgot his kindness.

I hadn't got my predicted grades in my A Levels and had to go through clearing. This meant travelling alone on the train to an interview at a university - I live in a small rural town and was terrified at the thought of going alone to this city. This was pre internet and mobile phones so it was a case of getting on the train and heading off.

A young man got on and sat opposite me - he asked where I was going we chatted and he told me which bus to catch and where to get off for my interview. He also practiced interview questions with me and calmed me down.
He was so matter of fact and approached the whole situation with the conviction that I was going to be fine that it calmed me down.

It was fine.

When the first Indiana Jones movie came out my brother and his friends were taking me to the cinema to watch it, once we were on the bus I realised I'd lost the £1 I needed to buy the cinema ticket, my brother was teasing me saying I'd have to sit on the steps outside and wait while they watched the film without me, an elderly couple heard me crying and asked why, when I told them they gave me the £1.

I was about 11 and me and my friend were standing outside an ice cream shop trying to scrape together enough loose change to buy an ice cream. A lady who had just been served must have seen and gave us her 20p change as she walked past. A small act of kindness but it gave us enough to buy an ice cream each. I didn't have much as a child and it meant a lot.