to ask if a stranger has ever been kind to you?

[Penguinsarethebestest]

On the back of the negative thread of 'nasty to you'

Standing at the toilets at a station, bursting, no coins on me, about put a £20 note in the change machine that would had given me £19.70 all in coins. Nice random bloke pays the 30p for me to use the loo...

Student, broke, knackered, walking home up a big hill after a shift in late night takeaway 3 am, Cabbie stops, insists on giving me a free ride home the last mile and waits til I'm safely in door.

Yes, dd was about 6 months old and in a terrible mood. Myself, partner and dd were on daytrip to Salisbury. The trains home were completely messed up, hardly any running, we had to let one go past as just couldn't get on it. Forced our way onto the extremely crowded next train, someone gave me their seat in the middle of the carriage. My partner had to stand way away from us at the end of the carriage. Dd was crying and frazzled. My partner had the bag with her bottle and dummy in so I had to pass a message along a line of strangers to ask partner to give me bag. Line of strangers then passed bag back along to me. Gave daughter milk, still very moody and crying in the crowded carriage. The lady in the seat next to me seemed to sense I needed help so proceeded to entertain my dd all the way home (around an hour). My dd loved her, as did I. That journey could have been so much worse but for the kindness of strangers.

Also, a bus driver gave me an eclair sweet when I was about 18 and crying at having broken up with my boyfriend.

I once got on an escalator when out with my 4/5 yr old DD but just as I stepped on she panicked and wriggled out of my hand. I was on my way up and she was stranded. A man saw what happened, took her hand and brought her up to me. In this world of stranger danger he just did the most natural thing and was so smiley and gentle she was fine. Never forget him.

Aww, what a lovely thread. So nice to read about kindness for others, and of course it spreads as we are more likely to do the same for others in our turn.

The kind stranger who paid for me to get to Birmingham eye hospital after being told at local one nothing they can do, cash machine down there you’ll have to get a taxi, He heard this and got an Uber car straight away.

I'd just picked the kids up from school and was parked at the side of the road. The lady in the car in front of me pulled off and stalled the car. The hazards came on and she couldn't get it started. She was literally stuck in the middle of the road.I was still parked, but other cars had pulled up behind her and we're coming towards her and started blasting their horns. Nobody helped her. I told the kids to stay in the car, got out, walked past the cars who were honking their horns at her (glaring at them as I went), and asked her if she was ok. Poor woman had 2 small children in the car and she was in tears- it was a new car ,which had all cut out because she'd stalled it,and she was frantically trying to call her husband so he could tell her what to do. Luckily,it was the same car as my husband's motobility car, so I told her how to restart it and off she went.
Then I told the bloke in the car behind her that maybe he'd have been better helping her than leaning on his fucking horn!

ginghamstarfish

That is the loveliest story. Proper tears in my eyes at that blessing.

I’ll always be grateful to the lady who helped me in a supermarket when my DC were tiny. I had the newborn in a sling and my toddler threw the biggest tantrum he ever had. I had a basket full of shopping and burst into tears myself. I was exhausted and couldn’t work out what to do with the basket, or how I was going to get DS1 back o the car safely while carrying the baby. A very kind lady came up to me, reassured me that every mother has been there, spoke to screaming toddler and reassured me that she would deal with the basket, and asked if I needed help getting everyone back to the car. I politely declined in the latter and thanked her for taking the basket from me. Five minutes later, I was still trying to get my children into the car, feeling so grateful for her help in my moment of crisis when she appeared again. She lifted a carrier bag out of her trolley and announced that it was my shopping. She refused to accept any money and reassured me that things would get better and one day I could repay the favour for someone else.

This thread has me in tears. @FanOfKindness what a gem you found!

Lots but one that stood out was we when we went out for a meal when my baby was about 4 months old and she moaned every time we put her down. A lady noticed and rocked her for about 45 minutes to give us a chance to eat in peace. It felt like a lovely treat.

How could I forget this one? I was on my way to a work training course at a hotel in the countryside. It was before mobile phones and sat navs. I was driving down deserted road when I realised I’d taken a ring turn so attempted a 3 point turn. Only the grass between the road and the hedge was not level and was in fact a 3ft trench which my rear far side tyre went down, leaving me off the ground in the driver’s seat. I sat there with no clue what to do and no phone, now very late for my course. A man drove by then reversed, told me he’d be back in 5 with his truck and he was true to his word and came back and pulled me out. What a saint!

*wrong turn

This is a story for both threads really, but when my youngest son was 2 we were in a large charity shop and he was having a strop because I wouldn’t buy him a toy he wanted because it was broken. I was ignoring him but a bloke was staring and tutting and muttering so I asked him if he’d like to take him if he thought he could do a better job. He was awful started saying well I couldn’t do much worse, you’re disgusting etc etc.

I was so upset that the charity shop staff took us in the back and just as I’d calmed down, another customer who had witnessed what happened came to me with a bunch of flowers, she’d been to the supermarket next door ❤️ It set me off crying again but I’ll never forget it, she was lovely ❤️

Several years ago I bought a daybed on eBay for our spare room. I was supposed to collect it but had to keep postponing as I was in and out of hospital with pregnancy complications. I eventually had to message the guy selling it and explain that our baby had been stillborn.

He asked for our address and not only delivered the daybed but put it together in our spare room.

I will never forget what a difference that kindness made in such a dark time.

Many years ago now and we were on a day out, my DD had multiple food allergies, some as yet unknown and unexpectedly started being sick. A woman near by had a hand towel in her bag and gave it to us to help clean her up.

My DD was taken to A&E by ambulance while I was at work. I drove to the city centre hospital and after a big stress finally found on street parking. I didn't have the correct change (in a panic so don't know why I was so worried about paying). I asked a passing man for change and he just simply popped his money in to pay for my ticket while I was in floods of tears. Just a simple gesture which meant so much at a deeply stressful moment.

Once when I'd split up from a long term partner I was at the train station sitting with tears streaming down my face. An older woman came and sat by me and asked me if I wanted to talk about it. I said no but I'd like to talk about something else and so she took me off to the station bar and bought me a gin and told me all about her chickens and horses and other stuff. She was so so kind.

Couple of years ago broke down in an old classic car on traffic lights on a bank holiday Monday. During the 5 hours we waited for the rac the man whose house we were outside bought us chairs. Cups of coffee and cutlery for us to eat our Chinese.

Walking along the South Bank when my new fella and I were 17 and 19, new enough to not even know whether to hold hands, an old fella sitting on a bench called us over and passed us a brown paper bag.

I was reluctant to take it (not being a Londoner I'd been warned) but he insisted and explained a couple he'd seen leave had forgotten the parcel.

It was a cheap orange pottery owl. He said it was for us, as a young couple, to remember the day.

I kept that cheap owl. Wish I'd kept the boyfriend too.

A good few years back we were due to close on our house sale, we just had enough for the down payment balance leaving us with less than $1 in the bank. When I got to the bank they charged $7 for processing the bankers draft. A really sweet guy in the queue gave me the money to cover it & a little more so we could get wine & take away to celebrate.

Years ago when my dds were toddlers and my nephew a small baby SIL and I took them on a day out. She had a large-ish pram and I had a pushchair.
We got the train and when we arrived at the little station at the park we were visiting we realised the only way of crossing the tracks was over a foot bridge with a lot of steps.
We were standing trying to figure out how to best get us all across when some teenage boys came and volunteered to help. We carried our kids and they carried everything else. They were so helpful and polite. It was lovely.

Many pram lifters on the underground and trains. Always grateful for that.

DD was having a paddy once in a shopping centre, and I was trying to wrestle her in our flimsy stroller. Lady walked behind the pram without saying a word, held it steady whilst I strapped DD in and walked off giving a wink.

Loads of lovely examples when BF DD when she has tiny.
Lady serving in a small cafe offering to cut my sandwich up smaller so I can grab it easier. Another lady working in M&S cafe, saw me feeding and just brought me a glass of water and an extra biscuit. All very appreciated as a new mum, feeling anxious feeding in public.

The one I remember most though is 20 year old me, working behind the till in a supermarket whilst I was suffering with depression and bursting in to tears because of an argument I'd had with then BF. An elderly lady came to my till, held my hand and told me "whatever it was, it will all get better".... that always stuck with me and she was right... it all did get better.

This thread has really cheered me up, lovely.

Ooooh forgot a recent one.....

Back in Feb, I was on the tube and it stopped underground due to an incident. The train was packed and it was very hot, and we had no idea how long we'd be there for.

I started to have a panic attack and was so thankfully for the help of four lovely ladies, one offered up their seat, one tried to fan me to cool me down, one lady kept me up dated and ensured I was able to get off the train as soon as the doors opened.

The thing that helped the most though was the lady who knelt next to me and did a mindful exercise with me to help getting breathing under control. I wish I had asked her name as she really did stop me from spiralling and I was extremely grateful.

Last year, my 4 month old son had an awful cold and when I took him to the GP, she immediately called an ambulance and put him on oxygen - as it turned out he had bronchiolitis. I was all alone at the hospital, and my son was understandably very distressed. I was trying to keep him calm whilst also keep control of all our bags and his buggy. I was getting increasingly stressed and upset and was trying and failing not to cry. I could see a woman staring at me across the waiting room and I could feel myself getting even more anxious that she was judging me. She leaves the waiting room, then 10 minutes later, comes up to me and hands me a cup of coffee and a gingerbread man that she has just been and bought for me, and says "we've all been there". I burst into tears, and even now it makes me emotional thinking about it. I've sworn to do the same for the next struggling new mum I see. I will never forget it!