What’s the nicest thing a stranger has ever done for you?

[Queijo]

I have two, but I can’t choose.

Once when I’d just been diagnosed with epilepsy I had a seizure out of the blue on a bus alone with Dd and a woman jumped out of her seat, sat with Dd and sang with her whilst making sure I was ok and making sure Dd wasn’t panicking.

Second when Dd was days old I’d taken her out for the first time on my own, and we went to cafe for coffee and I was breastfeeding Dd. A woman came over and said you’re doing great. It was a second of interaction but to a first time mum I felt incredible after that.

Also anyone who waves to dd from a bus/tractor/train/bike!

Years ago I was travelling with my husband in Bolivia. I got horrific food poisoning, which kicked in while waiting at the station for a 15 hour bus journey. A stranger saw me lying on the bench and brought me a drink… just handed it to me, smiled and walked away. When I admitted there was no way I could make the journey, some other travellers carried all our bags back to a hostel, risking missing the only bus (my husband is disabled and couldn’t carry our stuff himself). The hostel owners not only made my husband (and once I was ready, me) food for the next couple of days, they also went and got the town doctor to make a visit to me, who then got the pharmacy to open (it was a Sunday, and so closed), and brought me the medicine I needed. Such enormous kindness from so many people made the absolute world of difference. We have met so so many kind people on our travels and try to pay it forward where we can.

When I was about 20 I was on a night out and my drink got spiked, I'd only had one WKD! Anyway I vaguely remember passing out in the toilet, the bouncer chucked/carried me out. A stranger, he must have been a similar age to me left his friends. Took my phone called my mum and carried me to her car to meet her leaving his friends.

I got his number in my phone but I dropped it in the hospital and broke it loosing the number, 13 years I'm still sad I never got to thank him.

A woman crossed the road and hugged me when my autistic toddler was having a meltdown in the street making me late to collect an older child on the last day of term before Xmas.

I had to drive from Gloucestershire to London for a job interview. My ex-h only told me as I set off that my car was making a strange noise and not to drive it over 50mph. (turns out he had been driving it like a twunt and damaged it speeding over a speed bump and not told me 😬).

I was on the M4 and I saw smoke in the wing mirror (roadster car, engine in the boot). I pulled onto the hard shoulder just as I saw flames licking the side of the car.

I was faffing to get my stuff out of the passenger seat when a HGV swerved in to the hard shoulder, the driver jumped out, ran over, flung open the door and dragged me out and up the bank, just as the back exploded into flames.

He took me to his cab, and radioed for any other driver available to park behind my car at a safe distance and assist.

Then he poured me a cup of tea, offered me a Welsh cake or a cigarette and held my hand while the other driver pulled in and called the police. I was covered in black soot sobbing (my DC was only 16 weeks old and the reality of what had happened was sinking in.)

They both stayed until the police and fire brigade arrived, and then I sat in the back of the police car waiting for my ex and dc to arrive in his car.

Absolute angels. I didn't even catch their names as when I got into the police car they jumped back into their lorries and left.

I was 7 or 8 months pregnant and standing in a queue in Tesco one evening, rubbing my lower back because of sciatica and also a pulled groin muscle. The man behind me offered to help pack my groceries and help bring them to my car. It was so kind of him

I cracked my head open in Whitechapel after a bad bike collision and a kind lady sat patiently with me until the ambulance came and gave me all her baby wet wipes. I still think of her with so much gratitude. It changed everything ❤️

Two incidents stand out for me:

• one was years ago when I was 18 and trying to get home from a badly organised airline in an undeveloped country. They'd overbooked the plane heavily, and there wasn't going to be another one for 3 days. I was starting uni in 2 days, so was desperate to get back to the UK. The lady on the desk called out that 1 last passenger could get on the plane, but only if they had no luggage. I got to the front and onto the plane leaving my 2 x 23kg suitcases with a random man (he wasn't official as he didn't have the airline uniform on), and 3 days later I received my fully intact suitcase which the random man had put on the next plane.

• the other was more recent, when I had a horrendous miscarriage during the last throes of my dying relationship. EXDP refused to take me to the hospital, so I'd rushed to maternity, only to be told to go to A&E (across the road), though there was an internal connecting tunnel below ground. As I got lost on my way out, I felt a "surge" and began crying/howling as I just knew. A random nurse on her lunch break suddenly appeared and hugged/held me for what felt like hours, but was probably 10 minutes, then led me a back way to A&E, and the next thing I was with a doctor, and she wafted away. I'll never forget her kindness in looking after me that day when I was feeling so utterly destroyed.

I think I might have posted this on here before.
Many years ago I was walking along the South Bank in London when there was a sort of temporary metal walkway structure in place. I tripped and fell all the way down a big flight of stairs and literally landed on a homeless man at the bottom. I was shocked but not badly hurt and gladly accepted his offer of a few drags on his cigarette and a slug of his beer.
He was SO kind, and took me to the reception desk at the Festival Hall, where I was checked over by one of their first aiders.
His name was David and I will never forget him. And sometimes wonder how his life panned out for him.

I’ve had a few… When I was swimming about 4/5 years old, I got stuck upside down in my rubber ring, a stranger turned me the right way up. My parents were crap and hadn’t seen me and no one else had noticed and I was there long enough I remember being panicked and remember it to this day.

I got lost when I was 4 at a caravan park (again I had crap parents). A kind couple found me wandering alone at night in a car park and took me back to the bar, they were so kind and friendly, I was pretty scared.

I accidentally put my wallet on top of my car at a service station. A lovely guy found it, and sent it to me, for free, refused any cash to pay for postage and every penny was left in. I’m ex armed forces and my ID card was in there, he added in extra money to thank me for my service (how American, but much appreciated.)

I was breast feeding in M and S cafe once and had my hands really full, the lovely waitress told me to go and sit down, and brought my coffee and cake over to me. She also kept bringing me water and held the baby when I was getting ready to leave, she was so lovely.

Took my dd down to meet my mum in London when she was nigh on 5 months old during the first break of Lockdown. Had a horrendous time as, instead of supporting me, my mum once again pandered to my sister so instead of finally being able to show off my baby I had to hang around for my sister. I was in tears many times that week.

One day, having been allowed to go out for an hour, I was walking down the road to a cafe with my baby in her carrier to meet a friend when I tripped. Dd was fine but I badly grazed my knees. A wonderful woman who I'd smiled at moments before came running over and offered to help me to my feet (which was amazing, since we were still all in "lets keep our distance" mode). She then suggested I went to her house (not the direction she was going in, but nearby) and when I refused, insisted on walking with me. Her young lad spent the next ten minutes telling me all about his life which took my mind off the fact my knees were throbbing.

She asked where was I meeting my friend, and said she'd meet me there with supplies (as by this time I was running late and really didn't want to lose any time with my pal). Five minutes after I'd got there she turned up with plasters and an antibac spray to clean the wounds, and wouldn't take any money for them.

I'm sorry to say I don't remember her name but I'll always remember her. She was the highlight in a dreadful week.

Twice complete strangers have taken me to their homes overnight when I have been stranded with nowhere to go.
One was the landlady of a guest house in Bournemouth, who found me trying to sleep on the floor of a ladies loo on the seafront.
The other was a Somali lady, who came along around 2.30 am, when I was sitting outside a flat in London on a freezing winter night, having got the date wrong so the people I was staying with weren't there.

DH and I were in a Portuguese restaurant near Vauxhall and a man paid for and sent to our table a bottle of wine.

DH and I arrived at a rather remote train station to attend a festival. We asked for directions and someone gave us a lift. This was before Ubers.

What a nice thread. Sometimes simple gestures at the right time, other times people really going out of their way for strangers.

I was working in London one day and had to get the train back to Liverpool. It was the last train home that night and I was sat opposite a bloke who I didn’t speak to and instead I was focused on trying not to happy cry whilst reading my phone as I’d just had a massive piece of work published in the guardian.

We got to Crewe and I went to the toilet. Came back and he had a 3/4 bottle of red wine open that the guard has given him as it would have gone to waste otherwise, he’d got us both glasses and asked if I fancied sharing.

We got absolutely wasted on shit wine between Crewe and Liverpool Lime St. lovely conversation, nothing weird at all. Great craic.

I was so drunk I lost my phone in a taxi on the way home, but was totally worth it.

A lovely lady from Mumsnet helped me fill out all the forms to get a non molestation order against my abusive ex. She was so kind and non Judgemental which gave me the strength to go to court on my own and get it done.

The unknown stranger who donated the blood that helped save my life when I was a sick baby.

An absolute angel lady who offered to jiggle my baby-who-had-no-intention-of-ever-sleeping on a long haul flight for a few hours to let me have some sleep. I am still eternally grateful to her 17 years later.

I've mentioned mine before. I was in my early 20s travelling across America on my own and I was in a beat up old car that was suddenly going no more than 30mph on an interstate. A semi started following me and I was intimidated by him but had to turnoff at one of those lonely state run highway rest stops. Truck driver pulled in too and I was scared. I'll never forget him. His name was Rusty, he drove a purple cab, he identified the problem, drove on to get what was needed, came back, fixed my car, and left. I'm forever hopeful I'll someday be able to thank him, but this was 30 years ago so the chance is waning!

I got lost trying to find my friend at an airport in a scary part of South America. I'd never even been out of the UK properly before and I was about the most scared I'd ever been in my life. I was actually whimpering at one point.

This darling woman who didn't speak any English came and gave me a massive hug. She rang a friend of hers so he could ask me why I was crying. When I explained, she had her friend find my friend while she sat with me for about an hour nattering away in Spanish to me, not minding a bit that I couldn't really answer unless she called her friend to pass on information to me.

She wrote down her address and all her contact details for me and insisted that I come and stay with her if they couldn't find my friend.

They found my friend for me eventually, which was honestly one of the most relieved to see anyone I'd ever been in my life.

I've never ever forgotten her. She was an absolute angel on earth for me that day.

This is so lovely. I was heartbroken after the end of a 4 year relationship. Had been out for drinks with him and poured my heart out and begged him to have me back. He made it seem like we could give it a try and said I could go back to his, then suddenly changed his mind on the tube platform and got on the train without me. I was a sobbing mess on my tube home. One lady just put her arm round me and hugged me for a couple of stops and as she got off, just said “whoever he is, he’s not worth it”
Then more recently, DD had had a rejection for a job. For some reason it really got to me and I sat in my car in a supermarket car park having a cry. A lady knocked on the window and asked if I was ok.

Aw I absolutely love threads like these. I have loads of stories of people helping me but I particularly remember this one from years ago. I was in LA the last night of a backpacking trip. Early flight the next day, which I intended just waiting at LAX for, but I missed the bus. Completely skint, I was going to have to hang around for hours with a massive, heavy, rucksack.

I asked a young woman (similar age to me) in the nearest hotel if I could leave my rucksack in their storage room and she took pity on me and said Yes I could. The hotel was the Beverly Wiltshire - probably no need for a ticket as I bet mine was the only backpack in the Concierge's room.

I had hours to kill and was just wandering the shops in Westwood Village. I somehow got talking to this woman in a bookshop. When she realised I didn't have anywhere to stay she invited me over to her apartment to sleep on her sofa.

Neither of us slept much because we were total strangers to eachother - I still remember lying there pretending to be asleep fully aware that she was doing the same - but it was a lovely thing for her to do. Two very kind women on the same night.

@dudsville that must have been terrifying, being followed.

The Beast from the East hit the NE of the UK and my car skidded on ice and just stopped in the middle of a road. About 5 cars mounted the pavement to gey round me as I'm stood by the car. 3 guys appeared and pushed my car to the side.
May sound trival but my mum had died 2 months before, my partner left me at the same time and I had no one to call as all my family were in Manchester

18 months ago I was having pre op checks in hospital (cancer scare) and was mid an awful divorce which had floored me. I had a panic attack in the room while they were doing blood pressure and other checks. I broke down and told them my situation and they were so so kind, holding my hands and telling me that I would be ok.
The nurse calmed me down and finished the checks and said if I went to my car and didn’t feel like I could drive to come back inside and ask for her by name and she’d look after me as she didn’t want me to be sitting in the car on my own feeling awful. I will never forget her kindness that day, even writing this has made me cry as people have been so kind when they knew my situation.

Near miss accident on a busy local road in rush hour meant my car was stranded with hazards on, waiting for the police. By the time they arrived my dodgy battery had given out so they stopped the traffic and a bunch of people helped us push the car onto the hard shoulder, where I waited for the AA. A bloke in a white van saw the car had no lights in the dark, stopped to help, and jump started the car. Little thing but I was so grateful.