Rescued Today By a Man. Feeling very grateful

[NeverGoingToBeThinAgain]

I have a reliable little car (had for 7 years old) and it has never given me any trouble. A few weeks ago I thought it was taking longer to start than usual and thought I better take it into kwik fit to get checked but then it seemed to be starting fine again and I have to admit it slipped down my priority list.

Today the battery died on me while I was out with the dog and had a full shop in the boot (with frozen stuff). In the interest of cutting costs/saving money I cancelled my green flag membership a few years ago. Mainly because I only drive about in our local town and hardly ever do long journeys now and also because up to now I've never had a days bother with my car.

Obviously I was regretting that today. I was sitting in my car helplessly trying to start it for 5 mins and coming to the conclusion I was probably going to have to phone up the AA and get charged a huge fee to join and get jump started.

I then realised the man at the next car along was talking to the shop worker and asking if he had jump leads to try and help me. I was so touched to realise this complete stranger was taking it upon himself to help me when I hadn't even asked.

Anyway shop worker said they weren't allowed to give us jump leads due to insurance but they sold them in shop. Shit - I had no money with me as I had just popped down to collect shopping (done online all paid for). Stranger Man was on phone to his mum asking how much jump leads were in Tesco and they were £15. He then went into shop and bought jump leads and insisted I take them home with me. That was after he used them to start my car. He had already diagnosed the problem while we were waiting.

I came home and cried because I couldn't believe how kind this man had been (I'm in my fifties and overweight, so not some hot young thing).

So if you are married to a train driver from Fife who shops at Tesco (his wife was a train driver too he said) your husband was my hero today. I'm back home now and of course will be taking out an AA membership before driving anywhere and also going to kwik fit to get the battery changed asap.

The man was also with his two young children and so it was not convenient for him to help me as he had to look after them and he had just collected his own shop too.

We read on here bad things about people all the time and I have to say I never expect kindness from strangers. So for all those that have lost faith in men (or people) this is my story for you.

Meanwhile I pledge to play it forward and help out someone just for the sake of it.

So Mr Train Driver from Fife. At Tesco's today at 4pm - thank you very much.

Anyone else like to share a nice story about help from a stranger

thanks for your reply. I honestly can't remember if it has been changed since I got the car so I have booked it into Kwik Fit tomorrow to get a new one fitted.

Also took out AA cover today which covers me from tomorrow in case the car won't start. (got a good price being a new customer and all and I didn't tick the autorenewal box so i can haggle next year). Don't think i will ever be stupid enough not to have breakdown cover again. It was too stressful.

I always find it more shocking when woman do aggressive or rude things on the road. I don't know why but I do. She should be in alot of trouble. I am glad you are okay. Hopefully she gets punished.

My OP has 362 likes/flowers now. So nice to see us celebrating good men using our voting buttons. The world feels like a better place today.
Hooray for all the good men in the world.

I'm from the East Neuk, left for uni in 2002 and I still follow Fife jammer. It can be an absolute riot sometimes.

I did have a wee peek at it last night and it was full of someone about to jump off the railway bridge and the police had blocked off the road. If that wasn't bad enough someone had posted a comment saying 'jump'. Course they could be posting from anywhere but still not impressed at someone thinking this was appropriate to post. Anyhoo back to the posts about lovely, kind men........

Oh and the East Neuk is lovely. I used to go up there with my parents as they got older and take a walk and of course no trip is complete without the famous fish and chips and icecream. RIP mum and dad.

Agree I love stories that remind us that there are decent people out there who will just take time out of their day to help someone else

I wouldn't bother with jump leads as you obviously need a second car.

Just get a jump starter battery pack. They are so easy to use and can obviously charge your phone too if you every run out of juice.

Please check Green Flag out rather than AA. They're usually cheaper and having used them twice in the last 12 months - once for DHs car when we had to come home on a town truck from 3 hours away and the other for DS's car when he managed to limp her after his gear cable snapped and they took him home on a tow truck too, I can only say that the service has been excellent. I've heard many recent horror stories about the big 2 recovery firms.

Also try and avoid Kwik Fit. They have a reputation for telling you that you need things that aren't necessary - especially if you're a lone woman. A local garage will be able to fit a battery for you or failing that, Halfords did mine on the driveway.

OP says she's used Green Flag before. GEM is another option.

❤️

You should post this on Fife Jammers page on Facebook. Someone will know him.

Such a lovely story!

Lovely tale, thank you for taking the time to share. All you have to do now (apart from getting a new battery) is stick to your pledge and look out for opportunities to do someone a good turn. Money makes the world go round … but it’s love which oils the wheels.

I love Fife. I’m from Dundee originally but my pil lived in Wormit and we lived in Newburgh for a while before moving to England. Also got married in St Andrews.

That man deserves a fudge do’nut or 2 from Fisher & Donaldsons!

You don’t use online banking or have Apple/Googlepay? You could have transferred him the money.

What a ⭐. There's great people out there

My son carries jump leads and a tool kit, he has a big reliable car but takes them in case he has to help anyone else.
He is a health care worker in a remote mountainous location and he has used them loads. (Dead proud mum).

Really,? I'm shocked about Kwik Fit, the crew in our town are fabulous and have often told me I don't need work doing.

There are indeed some lovely, kind people 😊

It was Christmas Day in New Zealand about 40 years, ago in the days when shops and service stations were shut on weekends and public holidays. A kind (but absent-minded) academic colleague of my husband’s had lent us his car for a couple of weeks. He had not filled it with petrol. We drove all the way to the airport with the needle on empty to pick up my brother. Halfway back the car finally ran out of petrol. We knocked on someone’s door to ring a taxi (no cellphones back then!) and the lovely man interrupted his Christmas dinner to siphon off petrol from his car and put it in ours. Did I mention we had our two small children with us? We were blown away by his kindness. (But in a way not surprised - we had already found Dunedin people to be amazingly kind and helpful to strangers). I have never forgotten our Christmas Day Good Samaritan.

To MNs there are so decent men, not all men are bad contrary to your belief.

I was at the tip once and stupidly left my keys on the ledge of the boot while I was unloading stuff to throw away, in an absent minded moment I slammed the boot with just the tip of the keys protruding from the boot and and the car automatically locked itself. Man next door to me, took it upon himself to spend the next 40 mins figuring out how to salvage said keys, I was ready to give up and pay for a professional and he only went and got them out by taking off the plastic cover on the boot and wedging the boot just a fraction to release the keys!!! Couldn't believe his determination and perseverance! I was extremely grateful for his selflessness 🥲

It’s so good to hear stories like this, sometimes you think the world is a dark place, but kindness still exists. My daughter had a similar experience recently- and a kind lady had one of these in her car, which I have now purchased for her. Worked a treat! https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0F1SWLT89?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title

Hello OP I hope you find your “man”. A long time ago I helped a young lady who had forgotten her purse and parking meter only took cash, she was going for a job interview and was upset, I put my arm round her (I am female) and said don’t worry we will sort it out, I gave her the money plus extra in case she needed it, she wanted to send me a cheque when she got home but I told her “repay me by getting that job”. A couple of weeks later I had a bouquet delivered and in the envelope was a note saying “I got the job thanks to you, God Bless, I will never forget you and your kindness” plus the money. I hadn’t given her an address or phone number so how did she manage to find me it could only have been through my car number. Life moves in mysterious ways.