What is the kindest thing a stanger has done for you?

[grannyinapram]

I'll start-

When I had my first baby I used to avoid going to my local shop because the door was really heavy and I always struggled to push the pram through it.
One night I was walking with the pram toward the big heavy door, then a little girl got out of a car in the car park and she ran over and opened the door for me. Then she ran back to the car! She wasn't close either, she came all the way Iver just for me.
Beautifully kind little girl.

Another time I was walking with my baby and my toddler in the rain, it came down heavy and we were all soaked (except baby with the rain cover)
someone stopped their car and offered me their umbrella. They couldn't tell because my face was soaked but I shed a tear. Wonderful lady.

Another time it was quite the opposite- it was a boiling hot summers day and I was walking with my then about 1 year old in the pram again. he was crying because it was hot. We walked past a hand car wash place and the man washing the car sprayed the hose into the air and gave us a lovely cooling down.

I'm sure I have many more but those are the ones I remember most.

I was breastfeeding my baby in a cafe (tiny newborn who was under my cardigan so you could see nothing) and was dealing with severe sleep deprivation and what I now realise as being PND.

A man near me starting being very very loud and obnoxious, making comments about his disgusting I was, his I should go 'to the fucking toilet as that's revolting' and all that stuff. He went over to complain to the cafe staff and on the way came right up to me and got right in my face and shouted at me (and was very aggressive).

I was so upset. My baby started crying and it was awful.

Then four ladies who had been having a coffee/chat nearby stood up and really had a go at him. Then a man joined it and then the cafe staff did too and kicked him out. I promptly really really burst into tears as it was all a bit much and everyone was so lovely. They looked after me and I'll never forget it.

I've just remembered another one. I was I hospital and reached to get something off my locker. I knocked my contact lens case off and it went under the bed. I lent to try and reach it and a chap who was visiting another patient came rushing over and said something to the effect of ' f*ck sake, what the fk are you doing? I'll get it. What the f*k is it your are looking for?' I don't think I have ever heard so much swearing in such a short period but this guy crawled right under my bed to retrieve my case. Much appreciated

One that springs to mind. Might not sound like a big deal but it was to me. (So might be an anti climax to read..)
I was out shopping with dd who was about 2 at the time, had been at work for two days and had just picked her up from her dads. Very stressed at the time, had a lot going on and was being bullied at work (which I'd just come back from) I just wanted to get a few bits from the shop to make dinner and go home.
Dd had a massive screaming tantrum in her pram on the way round the shop. One of those ones where their screaming almost bursts your ear drums and everyone looks on in pity/annoyance. Well, I had what I know now to be a panic attack in the middle of an aisle, my first ever one so didnt know what it was at the time. I just felt like I was going to pass out so I dropped the basket (dd still screaming bloody murder) and walked out the shop.
My friend was coming to pick us up so I had to wait at the doors just outside.
Dd still screaming and god knows what I looked like but I felt like I was going to faint.
Then this man walked over the car park. I just remember he had a really kind face, smartly dressed and I noticed an ID badge tied around his neck, so I thought maybe he was a social worker or something like that?? (Just thought that as he clearly saw me and dd in distress and knew something wasn't right. Most likely worrying why dd was wailing like that. Man she had a set of lungs on her ) all he said was "hi, are you ok? Do you need any help? " I cant remember what I said, something like "no thanks I'm fine, im just waiting for my friend to come and give us a lift" and he said something about dd giving me a hard time. Then walked off just as my friend pulled round the corner.
I dont know why it stuck with me so much but it did. In that moment I didnt feel so alone in it all and I just think it was really kind of him to ask/offer help.

Went to the cashpoint outside Asda before I did a bit of shopping- it was my last £ 20. Got to the till to pay and I couldn't find it. Started to get a bit upset because I obviously needed the food and the lady behind me paid for my shopping
I asked her for her number so I could arrange to repay her and she just told me to pay it forward, which I've been able to a couple of times

I'm very grateful when strangers help me when I'm having a seizure in public

For some reason, French people are often very kind to me. It started when I was about 19, and had decided to go on a cycle touring holiday on my own in France. Straight off the ferry at Calais and I realised I had a puncture which I couldn't fix. Went into a cycling shop and the owner fixed it for me, refused to take any money for doing so and when I tried to pay, produced a dust cap for the valve and added it with a flourish!

A French man carried my two suitcases wordlessly up two flight of stairs in a Paris railway station. People would just pick up my luggage and take it on and off trains for me in France. Garages have fixed minor problems for with my car on holiday for next to nothing and washed the car for free. Best of all, I was lent a luxury holiday apartment in the Alps for free plus use of a car by a Frenchman I met on a course. When I couldn't find the ferry port near Calais once, I went into a petrol station and a Frenchman who didn't speak any English told the attendant to translate for me that he would drive to the port and I could follow him. It was about 12km. An old woman on a bike once cycled about 5 miles with me to show me the way to the youth hostel and gave me a can of coke to drink!

By contrast, a lot of Scottish people (I'm not Scottish but live here) hate me. Many are nice but I've had more than a fair share of aggressive/unpleasant incidents. The last time I tried to get away for a few days camping, I asked if I could hire one of the cabins which were empty instead as it was cold, but the owner clearly couldn't be bothered and said no. So then I asked if there was a power socket in his office building that I could use to heat up a kettle up for my hot water bottle. He said no. So I went into a local shop to ask if they could do it but got shouted at as soon as I opened the door for some reason that remains unclear by the shop owner. I was so upset by that point, I gave up and drove the entire 4 hours journey home that night, arrived about 2am.

I have 2, one only happened on Friday night.

1- I dropped the toddler at the Childminders and was going shopping with my 2 other daughters (13 and 10 months at the time) We were driving along a 2 lane 30mph road, I was in the outside lane. Lights turned green and my car wouldn’t pull away, a man came and had a look and there was a problem with my front wheel meaning the car wouldn’t move at all. I got out and had to cross the very busy road. A couple came out of their house and offered to take my 2 daughters in with them. As my 13 year old is very sensible and great with the baby they went, the couple fed them and looked after them for an hour. They then had to go out, the police were with me waiting for the AA as I was causing an obstruction, a lady was moving into a house where I had broken down, I was in the way of her moving van etc but she took my kids in, gave them biscuits and entertained them until we were eventually on our way! Lovely people who helped me so much, I took them both chocolates and flowers a few days later.

Friday night- OH phoned me when I was at work. He had broken down (Different vehicle!) on the dual carriageway and couldn’t get the girls out safely. I left work and went to help him. A family came out of their house (We were near a farm) all put some hi-vis jackets on, stopped the traffic and pushed him to a safe place!

Reading this has made me feel pleased that there are so many lovely people. I will take any opportunity I have to be kind and offer help to someone as I know that even the little things can mean a lot.

One of my tyres blew out on the motorway on the way to work. I pulled over and called the breakdown people and started to wait for them to arrive. After 15 minutes a van pulls over and a guy gets out, changes the tyre and went on his way again. No fuss or hassle and I was able to get to work on time.

Only little things but they made all the difference at the time. The first was when I was much younger and commuting to work on the train. I left my purse at home - the conductor was really nice about it and started writing me a note for the ticket inspector at the other end, but a lady spoke up and paid for my ticket. I was so embarrassed but she was lovely about it and just told me to pay it forward.

I had to go into hospital a couple of years ago due to a post op bleed which was really scary. I ended up fainting and will never forget waking up and this really lovely junior doctor was sat on the floor with my head in her lap telling me it was all ok, stroking my hair to keep me calm. Apparently I kept apologising and fretting that I was taking up their time in A&E. I had emergency surgery and she came up to the ward after every shift to say hi and have a chat until I was discharged. I'll always remember her, she made me feel so cared for and not as alone despite being massively busy with much more important cases

Several years ago my husband passed out on a long haul BA flight to Heathrow. We were in economy. The staff located someone in business class whom they knew. This man and his partner swapped seats with us and went into economy for the last seven hours of the flight, so my husband could lie down. We wrote to BA to ask them to pass on our thanks, and have never forgotten their kindness.

I was on an exchange in Florence in 2001. I was in my late teens and decided to go out for a post-dinner walk. I was leaning on a bridge looking out at the Arno, all lost in romantic teenage daydreams when an Italian man came up behind me and trapped me inside his arms and started rubbing up against me, I tried to move away, not really sure what to do or even comprehending that I might be in real danger when a young American woman, walking with her boyfriend, called out to me as if she knew me and gently removed me from the situation and walked with me until we were away. I hope i thanked her properly because it's only now with the benefit of age, wisdom and hindsight that I have realised how much danger I might have been in and how grateful I should have been for her stepping in to help a stranger.

I'm only halfway through this LOVELY thread but I've had to take a break - I can't read because of my tears, and my mascara is stinging my eyes!

@MillieVanilla -- Do you ever think that woman might have been your guardian angel? I think she was.

When my DS was about 2, he fell out of a supermarket trolley, bumped his head, and was hysterical. I was crap - just crying, being helpless - and a woman suddenly appeared from out of nowhere. She took DS from me, talked to him, and just kept rubbing, rubbing, rubbing the back of his he'd where he'd hit it. Eventually she told me he'd be OK, but to take him to A&E just for reassurance. Then she vanished.

On my way out of the supermarket, something on the floor caught my eye. It was a shiny coin with an angel carved into it. Da-da-DA.

In A&E, they said he was fine and there wasn't even the tiniest bump on his head.

I really believe that woman was his guardian angel. I had the coin cast in silver and put on a chain, to protect him. :)

I have a lot of faith in humanity as a lot of people have been kind to me over the years.

A couple of examples that stick out are when I went to my first festival with my older sibling. I was about 13 and right before the headliner (The Prodigy) I got separated from my sibling. I was right at the front and I had no concept of how crazy the crowd would get. The first young man was very kind, told me to hold onto him tight and tried to look after me. I then was clearly freaking out and a different man who had clearly battled his way to be so close to the front saw me and immediately carried me right through the crowd all the way to the back, then stayed with me the whole time and helped me find sibling afterward.

Another time I was really struggling, I had DD quite young, was in temporary accommodation and was waiting for benefits to come through as I couldn't afford to go back to work yet and mat pay had finished. I had struggled all the way down to the large supermarket with my pushchair to get a few essentials thinking I had about £20 in my bank account but a bank charge had eaten it in the time it took me to get down. Someone paid for my shopping and I just burst into tears and the lady gave me a hug. I to this day still regularly think about it and now I'm so much more on an even keel I always low key look out for any opportunities to pass the favour on. It made such a difference to my life at that time.

Held me for ages when my boyfriend was killed in an accident. I'll never forget him and his kindness, he was only young.

DS was born and taken straight to NICU. I had to be on the ward overnight recovering from the C Section. The hell of being on that ward amongst screaming babies when yours might die at any moment... And then getting up and getting breakfast amongst all those exhausted but happy new Mom's, it's like invisible hell.

One actually stopped and and me if I was ok. She took 5 minutes from her own day to just say hi, listen, care. She passed on her number when she left via a nurse and it took me forever to call her. Kids just have been about 8 months. We didn't really click, and now see each other in passing very rarely and say hi etc but that's it. But her kindness in seeing me in that moment and extending her friendship at that dire moment meant a lot

I might have said it before on here but I was at the end of my second year uni in Scotland and I was moving with a friend from the uni halls to a rented flat. The halls were quite far away from the city. We had between us a lot of bags, a few trollers and a lot of boxes so when the taxi we ordered finally arrived, the driver told us there's no way he'll take us with all that crap.

A few meters away there were 3 couples with a van. They approached us and asked what happened and when we told them they offered to give us a ride. Then they loaded all the crap, gave us a ride, unloaded all the crap and even took it upstairs (3rd floor!) for us. I asked how much should we pay them and insisted, and the driver told me "not everything in life is about money".

I'll never forget it.

My first year, sorry*

Such a heartbreaking and heartwarming thread. My heart goes out to all those who have lost loved ones. Thankyou for sharing. A little moment I witnessed in a shop in between lockdowns, was a child of about 6 giving an older lady a bunch of roses, saying "happy flower day" I thought it was their grandmother, but no relation at all. It was such a lovely gesture. It brightened that day for all of us.

When I was a child - maybe 8 years old ish - I took the family dog to the park by my self. I took him up on the climbing frame and tied his choke lead to a bar. He jumped off the side and proceeded to hang himself.

I have never ever ever been as scared and horrified as then. A man saw us from the other side of a massive field and ran like the wind. He got there in time, scooped the dog up and back into his legs. Then left. The dog was fine.

He saved the dogs life that day. And saved me from a lifetime of grief and shame and guilt. And I never even said thank you. I was too shook up to.

tiersofaclown OMG!! Thank god for that man

Mine is northing compared to some but it meant so much.

I was flying for the first time ever, I was on my own. An absolutely lovely elderly lady was sat next to me. I got a bit stressed at take off. She have me a boiled sweet and held my hand until I felt OK. She also gave me some headphones as I hadn't thought to bring any.

Years ago I was on a train when I got a phone message that a friend's son had died after a long illness. A few minutes after that my daughter texted me and we had a normal text chat for a few minutes and then the enormity of it hit me that my friend would never be able to have that sort of casual loving contact with his son again and the tears started to silently flow. It was an absolute flood. I don't think I was just crying for my mates loss but for so many other losses. I tried to keep my head turned to the window but a lady sitting opposite eventually noticed. She came over, put a packet of tissues in my hand and put her arm around me until I stopped crying. Then she went back to her seat. Apart from me sobbing 'thank you' there were no other words exchanged but her spontaneous act of kindness will always stay with me.

The hourly bus broke down 30 mins from my destination. We all got off and I prepared for a long wait for the next one while the young man next to me got out his phone and booked a Uber to take him to his meeting. When it arrived he turned and asked me where I was heading and would I like a lift (I'm 68 so his granny's age!). He actually got the driver to carry on and drop me outside my daughter's door which was 10 mins past his office. Such kindness.

Such a lovely thread. I have a few, I've also been stopped and offered an umbrella in the rain :) one that really stuck with me was when i was out shopping with dd2 when she was a lot younger and was having a tantrum and didnt want to go any further sat down and wouldn't move i was trying to reason with her had dd1 and ds with me, must have looked flustered when this lady came over to me and grabbed my hand and said she will get over it, your a great mum and kept walking. It really made me feel so much better such a small act of kindness like that has stayed with me. Another was a midwife at the hospital when i had ds. We were all set to go home, all of the other mums that were with me had gone that day. They told me they were worried about ds blood sugars and needed to stay in another night at least, i just burst into tears and the lovely midwife went and got me a cup of tea and a cupcake and gave me a hug. She was such a sweetheart. :)