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.

This is so stupid it makes me cringe. Two years ago there was freak snow and black ice overnight. I walk to work, and usually cut down the side of the primary school at the end of our road. As I started down the steps, I found myself stranded on a patch of ice, and not able to walk onwards, or step back off - a guy walking down the road with those ice guard track things on his boots spotted me panicking. He took my hand and helped me off. I was SO grateful, but really felt like an idiot. I actually had flat DM boots on, not daft slippy shoes, it was just absolutely sheer.

As a kid, my dad was forever either losing his car keys, or locking them in the car. One year we were on holiday in Cornwall, and he and I went off to the beach, without my mum who had the spare keys. Of course he locked the keys in the car, and this was the 80s, so no mobile phones. A kind couple who were local took us to their house, let my dad phone a lock person, gave us drinks, and let me play with their dog. My dad made me promise not to tell my mum, which was very annoying, because playing with the dog was the highlight of my entire holiday.

I was once in a small independent cafe for lunch with DS aged about 2 at the time. He was really hungry and starting to kick off as we were ordering. It was the kind of place where you pay when you place order and I tried to pay with my card when they told me that the card machine was broken and it was cash only.

The nearest cash machine was about half a mile away and I knew it would be a real battle to get a hungry and tired DS there and back.

Seeing my face drop, the person in the cafe said not to worry and I could pay them back another time. It wasn’t a big order or a lot of money, but the didn’t know me and they really didn’t need to be so kind.

DS was happy with his sandwich and I went back the following day and paid, with a big tip!

I now go there as often as I can and recommend them to everyone.

@RubyWho

And finally - I’ve shared this in classics - related to first said baby. Lovely nurse in the huge postnatal ward held DS whilst I went and had a hot shower (first in my four day labour and c section) and then when I got back, waited whilst I gave him a feed, settled him in his cot and then tucked me up in bed. It may have been the most comforting thing anyone’s ever done for me to be honest.

If this sounds like the sort of thing a nice 1950s nurse would have done in a maternity home, you’d be right, but this was in 2009...

That is lovely Ruby. Its good to hear that staff are still sometimes able to give such lovely personal care. It reminded me of when DH dropped into the hospital with DD the morning after her little brother had been born. They let her in for a flying visit en route to school. After a couple of minutes one of the midwives came over and whispered to me "Where's your hairbrush?" She then undid DD's very messy plaits (still not sure if DH had done them or she'd tried herself!) and expertly put in beautifully neat french plaits. DD left for school beaming with pride - more about her fancy hair do than her new brother I think!

Oh another one!

I travelled on the train with 3 year old DS and 1 year old DS2 to visit family. I had a sling and a buggy.

On the way there got talking to a lovely man who insisted on carrying DS1 off the train and the folded pushchair!

On the train home I'd bought DS1 a train from the railway museum... again getting on the train the gap was huge and someone picked ds1 up to help him on.. he dropped his train onto the tracks!

He was gutted but anyway nothing I could do.. ended up settling the 3 of us in our one seat (hadn't realised children travelling free dont actually get a seat..) the conductor took us into empty first class, gave us drinks and biscuits and a full table! Ds1 was still sad about his train but was so brave, telling me "I'm so sad but I'm not crying!".

I posted on Facebook just saying how proud I was that DS1 hasn't made a mega fuss (he's autistic) an acquaintance happened to work at the train station., had someone retrieve the train and posted it back to us! How amazing!!

A stranger saved me from drowning when I was a kid. The lifeguard didn't see me and some guy pulled me out of the pool. I think about it a lot. I was unconscious so I didn't see them and they were gone when I woke up.

I tend to avoid strangers because of my anxiety but it's really nice to hear some of the stories here.

I've been a kind stranger once or twice.
Me and my DP went to an arcade for our first date and so we go back occasionally and on one of our arcade dates we noticed that they now all had ticket machines. We played a lot of games (and we're pretty good) and got loads of tickets. We almost couldn't carry them all.
When it came time to leave we wanted to do a nice thing and give the tickets away. We didn't want to approach any kids so we looked for parents who were with their kids. I approached a lady and asked if her son would like our tickets. Her reaction was so lovely, she got choked up and told me that it was her son's birthday. Even though it was a small thing, I'm glad I was able to make her kid happy on his birthday.

Got a phone call DH was on his way to A&E after a fall at work. Rushed up to hospital to meet him, thankfully minor injury that just needed stitches. Went to get him a coffee and realised I’d left my wallet behind. Very kind lady in the queue behind me paid for the drink I’d ordered.

A lady had a fall outside a supermarket and landed awkwardly, half under the trolley bay. We insisted she wait for paramedics as she’d clearly hit her head and, as the attending first aided, I was concerned about the way her leg had twisted. She became quite distressed as she’d been on her way to collect her daughter. A passing customer not only gave me his phone to call 999 but called the daughter on her mums phone then hopped back in his car to fetch her. Luckily she wasn’t far away so they were back before the ambulance left to take the lady to hospital.

Several years ago my Nan has a fall outside Boots in town. Within minutes the security guard and two members of staff emerged to help, offering a chair and first aid. A group of teenage lads stopped and offered up mobile phones to call an ambulance (she had a head wound that was bleeding quite badly) and another passerby offered a lift to A&E

Good people still exist, they’re just a bit harder to find because all the bad stuff drowns them out.

The one that I think will stick with me forever is when I was getting off a train. I had been to help my grandmother; my grandad had dementia and had tried to kill her. I had kept my shit together to deal with the police, and the doctor and social services and the local nursing team. By the time I was half way home I was just in a total state and couldn't stop crying. Someone gave me a packet of tissues and got me to stand on the station when the train next stopped to get some fresh air. When I got off the train I had got my act together, but I must have still looked like crap. A homeless man stopped me to ask me if I was okay, then when I instantly burst into tears, gave me a massive hug, offered to buy me a hot drink and when I explained I had called a friend to drive me home, insisted on walking me all the way over to where she was waiting.

@RubyWho

You may have come across this, but I discovered recently that if you order more than 13 prescriptions a year you can get a prescription prepayment certificate to cap the amount you pay at about £10 a month. I have about a zillion prescriptions, so it's a handy one.

I’ve had a few...
Was driving to my sisters with young children and a car followed me for several miles along the motorway flashing at me. They overtook me and came back in front and slowed right down and put their hazards on so I got off at the next services to realise that I had no rear lights. By this time it was about 22:00 and the kids were tired and very little. I went inside the services to take them to the loo and saw an rac van fixing another car so I spoke to him and asked if there was any way he would be able to see to me after this car was fixed. He explained that he wasn’t allowed to order his work that way and that I had to call in to the office but to tell them that he was already there and they would sort the fastest person. They had recently started prioritising woman and women with children.
I rang in and they said they would get someone to us ASAP. He then appeared about half an hour later with his van and asked me if I had had the call to say someone was on their way (which I hadn’t).
He then rang the office, told them he was done and asked if it was ok for him to do me so they added me to his list and he started looking. It turned out that my rear electrics had failed so he ended up running a new wire all the way through the car as it couldn’t be repaired any other way and I couldn’t go back out with no lights. Bless his soul.

Another time, when I was at school. We used to walk and I was walking alone in the snow with my PE kit. Two of the “hard” girls were behind me and I was on edge in case they decided to start making fun of me. Then I slipped over and fell hard onto the ground.
Both of them came sliding over as fast as they could calling out to see if I was ok and to help me up. They were very concerned that I had hit my head as I had gone sideways and winded myself. Luckily my PE bag had flung up sideways as I fell and my head had hit that so I wasn’t too hurt, just shaken and bruised.

Another one from my school days. I was thrown out of my home 2 days before my 16th birthday, weeks before starting GCSEs. I only had the clothes I was standing in and it had been a non school uniform day so I had no uniform. Deputy head opened the pursers office to get me a uniform jumper out and not one teacher breathed a word about me wearing jeans. The following day when I turned up to school on my birthday, many, many people had brought me gifts. One girl handed me a package and had bought me a couple of t-shirts and a multi pack of socks. She actually said “I hope you don’t mind and I know it’s not very exciting but my parents thought we should get you something useful”. Charlotte, if you read this, that was a very thoughtful gift. I only had 1 pair of socks to my name. I have never got over the kindness. There were some tough kids in our school but over the last couple of weeks of school, each and every one of them had a word of kindness for me.

A lovely stranger on our first holiday abroad stopped my oldest ds from drowning he had got his bum stuck in the jacuzzi filter as the cover had come lose and as my stbxh ran from the pool and my DM was trying to pull my ds free he just grabbed him under the arms and he came out with a huge pop ,by the time I'd fastened my youngest ds in his pushchair and got my DD from the pool lifeguard the nan had disappeared so I never got to thank him
When my DD was born she got into difficulty and the room became full of people nobody telling me what was happening until the fantastic student midwife came to the top of the bed held my hand and explained what they were going to do , I've never forget her she was called Claire and had beautiful long red hair

When I was a kid we were pretty poor but would daytrip once a year to a local seaside resort that had a permanent Fair. All the rides took tokens. We’d have enough for about 3 rides then pennies for the slots. Anyway, I was about 10 and DSis 6 and we were debating about which ride we could do with our last tokens. This tough looking Older teen boy and his girl walked up to us and asked if we were staying a while, so we said yes til our tokens ran out and he gave us the biggest smile and gave me a little money bag and ‘said, here have these. We’re leaving’ it was full of tokens for rides and coppers for the machines.
We got about 5 more ride each and there were enough coppers to get candy floss.
Made our year!

It’s the wrong time of the month for me to be reading these stories 😭 people can be really really lovely

I was on a train with my DC when they were little...one pre school age, one was a toddler. A woman was sat opposite us and before she got off the train she told me what a lovely mum I was...made my day!

I remember having a tough day and having to nip to the shop quite late at night in the pouring rain after finishing work to go home where I was caring for a bed bound relative. I’d only went in for some milk as ours had turned bad. A man and I reached for the last bottle at the exact same moment and he got it first. I had that moment of thinking, “awww shit, I really don’t want to have to go and look for another shop at this time, I’m knackered, I’ve been on my feet for hours and I just want a cup of tea and my bed.” I know it sounds pathetic but it was just one of those days where something like that takes the biscuit and you feel like bursting into tears even though it’s not that big a deal.

I just quietly turned around straight away to leave the shop and look for another shop to go to and I heard this voice saying “Excuse me?”. I didn’t realise he was talking to me and he repeated it and I turned around and there was the man holding the milk out to me. He said “Here, I think you should have it.” I told him that honestly it was ok and that he had got it “fair and square” and he said “please will you just take it? You’ve clearly just come in specially for some milk and I was just picking some extra up while I was in, we don’t actually need it. I want you to have it. I’ll feel like a dick otherwise!”

Honestly, he was so lovely and I explained that he’d actually really helped out and that I’d had a hard day looking after children with disabilities and I was going home to look after a relative that was disabled and that this gesture meant a lot.

I’ve had so many experiences of strange
men being the exact opposite of this that it restored my faith that there are still some good ones out there. I’m pretty sure he was lying about not needing the milk too! I’ve never forgot that little kindness.

I normally lurk and never post. But I love this thread. So many acts of kindness. And such small things that can make huge differences to how people feel.

@Iminaglasscaseofemotion

Ok only once that I can remember. On the train and the step from the train to platform was about 50 cms off the ground (it has been fixed now. The conductors just used to watch people struggle off with prams and give them "tips" in how to do it properly 🙄. One day a girl, who was at the other end of the carriage and got off at a different door, walked down to my door just to help me off the train with the buggy! I was so grateful. On the flipside, I got a train to a rough area to visit a friend with 5 year old ds1 and tiny baby ds2. The station we got off at didn't have a lift and I was faced with a flight of about 80 steps (very small in width so I couldn't even bump the pram up because I was to scared I would drop it) they were split into 2. I had to take baby D's put the pram get ds 5 to hold him half way up the steps till I carted the pram up, and then do the same for the next half. About 30 people got off that train and just walked passed me.

One of the best things about where I live (in Scotland) is that people are practically pushing each other out the way to help people with buggies and Prams at the train station. It’s just a thing that is accepted as something you do. It always makes me smile. That and everybody thanking the driver when they get off the bus - literally 6 or 7 people getting off at my stop all saying “thanks driver” and him saying okay/cheers/have a good day etc

I was the helper. Driving home from work and came to a busy roundabout that was in utter chaos. An older lady had broken down while trying to turn right and blocked the road. It was winter and properly miserable and no one was helping her.

I had a big old estate but no tow strap. I blocked the road with it and pushed her car around the corner into a car park (luckily it was only a C1). She had no phone so I left mine with her so she could ring her husband and went to retrieve my car.
I waited until her husband came and followed them home (he towed the car, we were behind to give her some protection)

I had my (very obvious) work uniform on and the next time I was in work, there was a box of chocolates and a beautiful hand made card waiting for me. I still have it now.

What a lovely thread.

When DH and I were young, we were really skint. We managed our money very carefully, until one time when we were going through the checkout at the supermarket we realised we'd miscalculated and didn't have enough money. We were embarrassed and started taking things out of our basket to get the cost down. A couple behind us in the queue told us to keep the extra things and they would pay for them for us. It was only about £2 but I was quite tearful. The woman said "listen pet, as long as you've got love that's all the riches you'll ever need!". She's right, near 40 years later and we still feel "rich".

A few years after that, my first car had a really weird intermittent fault, which meant that it could be absolutely fine for ages but then just cut out and refuse to start. The first time it happened I had to go in to a newsagents shop (pre mobile phones) and ask to use their phone to call the AA. I was really shaken as I'd only recently passed my test, and the couple running the shop brought me a chair to sit on beside the counter, let me choose a magazine from the shelf, and brought me a hot chocolate!

Finally, when we moved in to our current house about 10 years ago, I went in to a shop to have a look for some new pictures for the living room. I couldn't decide between two, and the lady in the shop insisted that I took them both home - without paying - so that I could see how they went in the room. I actually ended up buying both pictures when I went back the next day, because the other one was perfect for the hall.

This thread is really making me smile.

So many of these.

In Paris we were lost and a lovely couple walked us to the right bus stop.
In NY a man befriended me on the subway and walked me to Times Sq.
A nurse stopped to help me when I broke my nose.
Old ladies used to regularly give my son 20p for being such a good boy (never had it happen with my other son, bless him )
I was given a free fast pass at Alton towers by a lovely guy

Loads more but can’t think!

I definitely believe in kindness karma... the amount of times I've been lucky enough for people to help me when I've needed it (dropped car keys down a drain, some workmen fished them out with a magnetic...dropped my house keys on the street, someone handed them in at the newsagents...tarmacking a peace of pavement for me on the side of another job) I now try and pay it forward....most recently helping a lady at the petrol station as she didn't know we whether her hire car took petrol or diesel.

I had fortnightly Chemo for four months which definitely gave me Chemo brain. I went food shopping one day in a large shopping centre and just couldn't remember where I parked my car. I stood by the lifts clearly on the verge of tears and a lovely lady came along, gently talked to me about which entrance I had come in, which lot of lifts I had used etc. and pushed my trolly until I eventually found my car. I was so grateful for her kindness.

These posts are so lovely, it really restores your faith in people.

I was at a supermarket a few years back and had a pound coin in my hand ready to put in a trolley when a man came up to me and gave me his empty trolley, I offered him my pound and he told me to keep it and have a nice day. Inside the supermarket I put my pound in a charity box, such a lovely gesture from that man that I was then able to pay forward too

I was in Lille in France with a friend. I love Lille but find it very hard to navigate. It was dark and raining and we were hopelessly lost. We asked a woman for directions and she pointed us in the direction of our hotel. Five minutes later she pulled up next to us in her car and drove us to the hotel herself.

I was recently at a busy airport with my (very stroppy, very petite) student daughter. An old man in front of us was struggling down a long flight of stairs with what seemed to be a very heavy suitcase. He put it down for a second and stroppy student daughter gave him a beaming smile, whisked it up and carried it down the stairs, chatting to him as they went. I have never, ever been as proud of her as I was at that moment.

I once received a brand new serger machine in the mail from a lady I spoke to occasionally on facebook. We met when I was told on a facebook sew n vac page that I had won a prize for me and a froend to go to some quilting event and see Eleanor Burns speak. I was grateful for the prize, but I had only really entered to try to win a sewing machine, and I had no idea about quilting or this woman speaking, so I posted underneath offering my prize to the lady underneath who said she wished she could meet this woman. Well, the sew n vac shop told the lady that she shouldn't accept my prize offer as they had lied about what I won, and wanted to surprise me with the sewing machine on stage at the event. So she said no, I really must attend and I figured something must be up so I went. After that she chatted to me and treated me like an online daughter because her own kids weren't interested in sewing. When she noticed I was spending 6 hours on each dress I made to zigzag the edges on my regular machine, she remembered how useful her serger had been to her when she used to sew for kids, and she went to her local store and ordered a machine to be sent to me.

It was a total surprise and so sweet. And it really did help my sewing improve drastically.

I try to pay things forward if good things happen to me. So I try to make something each year to donate to someone else that might need a smile. I made this quilt for a stranger online who was having a much wanted rainbow baby after a loss. There is just as much pleasure in doing the kind thing as there is in receiving it. Maybe more.

Oh, and another truly movely thing a stranger did for me. One year I ran a free toy giveaway where I spent a few weeks collecting gently used toys from people in my neighbourhood and cleaned upand fixed them, made into sets etc and gift wrapped in celophane bags with bows on so it was like picking out new gifts. I invited the people beggong for help near to xmas on my local craigslist, they could come along and fill stockings I provided with the smaller cars and play figures, and choose a few larger gifts too. I used the event to give up my much treasured yet ridiculously huge Happyland collection that I couldn't justify keeping once the kids outgrew it.

Anyhow, a few strangers offered to help me. Some offered giftcards of itunes or game store credit for older teens in the family that wouldn't want toys. One man bought food for some of the families. He also gave me a box after the event which he said was for my own kids.

We opened it, and it was full of hallmark xmas ornaments. All of them were carefully stored in their original boxes, must have been 100 or more, all little animals and kids on sleds and barbie princesses etc etc. They were the most intricate deocratuons I had ever seen, we always just used dollar trew baubles on our tree so it was magical for my kids to open each one and enjoy the cute details. My favourites were a little mouse sat on a chocolate chip cookie, and a walnut shell you could open to see a little xmas village inside. There were also a decades worth of best teacher ornaments. He told me it had been his own family's tradition to get a few new ornaments each year, and now they had all moved on and no longer put up a tree in his house so he wanted other kids to enjoy it as much as his kids had.

It was the best gift ever. And the next year when my son had a few weeks in hospital for a horrible double pneumonia, the nurses allowed us to bring in a small tree which we decorated in all those precious ornaments. We filled the area underneath the tree with british treats like monce pies and bakewell tarts that my mum brought over for us whe. She thought my son might not make it. All the doctors and nurses would stop by briefly on their shift and enjoy the xmas cheer and have a snack. Our main doctor was also British and I think it really made his rotation away from his familly a bit brighter too. Funny how kind acts ripple out.

Went to a very expensive event while on holiday dh had organised it both girls aged 8 and 10 we were all dressed up. Arrived - our tickets were for the night before! It was fully booked. We were crestfallen. As we went to leave a staff member called us back. Much whispering among staff when one beckoned and led us up and down stairs and then to the directors box! It was our error they didn’t have to do that.