Strangers you remember fondly

[Conkernudge]

Thought it would be nice to have a thread talking about strangers who have touched your life, or who you remember for a good reason.

Mine:
My DH and I were heading up a long flight of stairs at a train station when suddenly we saw a frail old man overbalance near the top and start falling. My husband dived sideways and managed to catch him before he went head over heels. As the man was falling the lady he was with shouted “Stanley!” crossly. I’m sure she was terrified, rather than cross, but she gave him a bit of a telling off when she caught up with him, despite holding his hand tightly. They were obviously married or partners and he’d given her the shock of her life.

Now whenever I criticise my husband for something minor he goes “Stanley!” as though i’m telling him off for something unreasonable and we laugh.

The fall happened probably about 12 years ago now and it’s just stuck with us. We hope we’ll grow old together like they did.

So, which stranger do you remember and why?

Years ago I was on a train on my way to sit a uni exam. Was studying and feeling convinced I'd fail it. A man next to me noticed how stressed I was and asked what was the matter.

I told him all about the exam, what subject it was, how I thought I'd fail etc. He took the time to reassure me, said I'd be fine, would pass.

Leaving the train, he said in passing that he was speaking as someone whose profession was in the very subject of the exam I was about to sit.

I did pass the exam and still remember his kindness in taking the time to calm a distressed student!

Over 20 years ago when I was 19yo I was walking down a street in York wearing a new dress on a sunny day and feeling very foxy. Some good looking guy crossed the street told me I looked amazing and asked me out. Sadly I had to decline as I had a boyfriend but only time it’s ever happened and was a confident boost I guess.

When I was 13yo I caught a bus to Lyon from London on my own. There was a very lovely Chinese lady in the seat behind me who chatted to me and gave me sweets.

Just noticed how many of these random acts of kindness occurred on or around trains/stations !!

This is a lovely thread

Ds2 and I had not been long out of hospital and out of danger , ds1 had been through hell poor thing not knowing what was going on, so I was determined we all went to a fete that we went to every year. I had nasty PND and my marriage was slowly disintegrating so to say I was feeling low was an understatement

Anyway Exdh says he is going to the loo and as was his per he took forever and I was stood waiting with ds2 in the buggy and ds1 holding my hand (he was 3) and all of a sudden ,has never done it before.. took off hell for leather...so I run as fast as I can not tipping the buggy and the little bugger ran past the queue and into the ladies loos

In desperation I yelled "please stop him" because I knew I couldn't get the buggy in there

All the women just looked at me blankly and stood past to let him go (not their fault they shouldn't have to parent someone else's kid)

I could see him but not get to him and was faced with leaving ds2 alone in his buggy in a place I would be be able to see him or leave ds1 who had started to panic surrounded by strangers

All if a sudden this lovely woman who hasn't been in the queue grabbed the buggy handle and said "go go , I've got the pram and I'll keep it where you can turn around and see him I promise"

I tried to dash into the loos to grab ds1 but the women at the end had apparently ignored the whole debacle and for some reason thought I was cutting in so refused to let me pass...i started pushing through but one pushed me back

By now ds1 was screaming as he was out of his depth and panicked ,I started crying in panic and frustration (nasty pnd)

Thus woman...with one hand still on ds2 buggy in the poshest voice in the world roundly berated these women...i can't remember precisely what she said but it was a long the lines of "shame on you get out of her way before I make you"

Finally the women moved I got ds1

Came back to the buggy checked ds2 was ok and promptly dissolved again and sobbed "I'm so sorry" to her and the DC

I was managing to say thank you over and over

She gave me a hard hug and said " I know that look...youre doing a great job and so was I when I felt like that...please make sure you talk to someone"

I could only nod and off she strode with a final disgusted glare at the other women

It sounds so so silly that I panicked but we had honestly been through months of he'll and Ds2 and I were really close to not making it and leaving ds1...that the incident had pushed me over the edge and this kind stranger stepped in and held us up

The loveliest and at the same time sad thing about this thread is that the people who have touched the lives of others and in some cases made a massive difference will have no idea.

I wonder if somewhere there is someone who remembers me fondly for some small kindness I’ve shown them? I’d like to think so.

I was out for the day with my mum in her wheelchair when suddenly the tire just popped off one of the back wheels. We were stumped. We were on a narrow bit of pavement in a busy seaside town and I couldn't move the chair. I couldn't move mum because there was nowhere for her to sit and it would be ages before my dad joined us.

Then a group of two men and a woman crossed the road and asked if they could help. The lady helped me get mum to her feet and helped me keep her upright while the two men turned the chair over and put the tyre back on.

It wasn't an easy job and required a tool that one of them happened to have on a chain on his belt. It transpired that they were holiday makers who all worked together in a prison workshop where the primary job was refurbishing wheelchairs!

I've just remembered another one. I was walking through the park towards the hospital, when a Rastafarian cycled past me. Something made me stop and turn around to look at him. When I did, he was staring at me with a massive smile on his face. He said, "Hello mother. You going to have two boys. They're going to be big and strong and they're going to be fine.' Then he cycled off. I was in my fifth round of IVF at the time, stomach flat as a pancake. But he was right. And when DS2 was dangerously ill for the first few years of his life I used to remember that man's smile and him saying they were going to be big, strong and fine.

The older lady who came up to me while I was waiting on my mum picking me up after chemo. I was 21, she said “I know you’re right in the middle of this right now, but there is another side and you’ll get there. I just feel I need to tell you this.”

I’ve never forgotten her, I say the same words to other people now. It was exactly what I needed to hear, she was right.

Several years ago I was leaving work early due to snow. I couldn't get the car onto the main road, the traffic one way O the main road was at a stand still. The other was doing ok.

Two men jumped out and stopped the traffic. The shoved me out and on my way. I couldn't stop to thank them.

This thread is one of the best things I've read on mumsnet in years. @mnhq, please put it in classics.

It’s a trivial one but I once ran out of petrol in the middle of a traffic light controlled junction in the rush hour.

There was a petrol station about 300 yards away .

Seemingly from nowhere a group of about 5 Eastern European workmen appeared and pushed my car into the petrol station.

They then just slipped away into the ether !

The policeman who talked to me - complete nonsense inc silly jokes - while I was removed from my car after a serious accident. I was terrified and he had a really soothing demeanour which was just what I needed that day, but which wasn't "there there" he sort of jollied me along, saying daft things.

The "city gent" in a very expensive suit who helped me with dd's buggy onto a train in London. He ripped his jacket helping me and brushed it off 'not at all, it's only a jacket, happy to have been of use' in a very RP accent. Summeriscum - maybe it was the same gent and this is just a thing he does?

@mnhq definitely worthy of classics

The poor sod who's car I rear ended. It was the first time I'd driven on my own and I badly misjudged. We both got out and I burst in to tears. He calmed me down, gave me a cigarette, sorted out as much with the insurance people for me as he could and then waited with me while someone came to collect me. Spent half an hour reasurimg me it was ok, worse had happned to him and that I mustn't stop driving. He was so lovely. I think it made me feel even worse.

So many...

The man who asked if I was OK after a particularly hasty street harassment. It was such a fleeting thing for him but he restored my faith that not all men are like that. I hope he lives a happy life.

The Tanzanian man who looked after us on a bus on its way to Kenya. Showed us the loos and kept us safe.

The lovely, lovely Tube drivers who gave me a lift home when I was stranded in London. Right to my door and so safe.

I have always depended on the kindness of strangers.

Also a homeless lady I met and spent some time chatting to. She was ex army, had left due to being shot in the knee and the spine, ended up loosing her home and children. I kept looking out for her, I saw her a month later at a bus stop to get to london where she'd been offered help by a military charity. She was in full uniform and looked so proud and happy. I gave her a massive hug and wished her well, offered to buy her lunch to eat on the way which she wouldn't accept. I think about her often.

What a fabulous thread!

I was walking down some busy London street, I don't recall which one, when I suddenly felt very faint, and dropped down on a bench, trying to keep it together.

A security guard from a nearby store instantly appeared from nowhere with a glass of iced water on a silver tray. He'd spotted me from the window and thought I could do with a bit of help.

What a thoughtful, kind thing to do for a complete stranger, just passing by.

Quilliam I was brought up to stop when a funeral procession went past, it's a sign of respect for those who've passed over. Men should remove their hats, too.

When DS was about 5 he had been scared of heights but then suddenly got the courage to climb to the top of the climbing frame. So proud of himself then shouted Mummy I need you to climb up here and get me down (about 7 foot up).

Thankfully a man about 7 foot tall appeared just when I needed one and said shall I get him down and said yes please and he just reached up his arms and took DS and gave him to me.

Bloody hayfever.

《Wipes eyes》

The other thing I’m enjoying about this thread is the number of gentlemen offering help with no agenda and no expectations.
My son has done this sort of thing on numerous occasions, he is large and usually monosyllabic. However, one aspect of his HFA is that it is illogical to him to stand by if someone needs help he can give.
So he does.

I had 3 in one day.

As context I was in Spain, I’d injured my leg, I could just about walk short distances (later found out it was broken), travel insurance meant to repatriate had failed spectacularly. Oh and I had 14 month old DS with me.

First was the taxi driver. He came to take me to the airport but no one told him I would need a car seat for DS. He said if I could borrow one from friend I was staying with he would return it back to her, out of his way, free of charge. Arriving at the airport, he found a wheelchair pushed me and DS to the assistance point and explained in Spanish what had happened and how insurance had ducked up so I could be helped. Total gentleman

Next was the chap next to us on the plane. He was early 20s, hipster. I had DS on my lap crying. He took him off me and played with him for half the flight. So so kind

Final one was the lady who insisted I come on her assistance golf cart at Gatwick. Made sure they took me to meet with the taxi this end.

They all made a nightmare journey so much better

This thread has me in bits.
It's going to take me days to read because my specs keep steaming up.

I'd gone to London Christmas shopping with DH and I wasn't very well at all. We were in Camden Market and I just couldn't take the crowds any more so I went to sit on a step in a little stairwell, put my head down and closed my eyes for a few minutes. When I looked up, there was this huge guy with a blue mohican, covered in tattoos and piercings but with the kindest eyes imaginable, just sitting a little way away from me. He said 'Are you all right now? I was just keeping an eye on you and your bags' and when I nodded he got up and left.

Another time, also in London but when I was much younger, I'd got on the wrong train and had to come back and get across London on my own quite late at night. As I was standing on a tube platform trying to work out what the heck I was supposed to do, a homeless guy came over and asked if I needed help, and then walked me all through a load of underground corridors to the right platform and waited with me until my train came. I tried to give him some money but he refused.

I've thought of another one. I'd gone to a gig with friends and we had stupidly got ourselves in the front row, right in front of the stage. The band came on and everyone surged forwards. I started panicking and looking for a way out, but didn't want to be separated from my friends. Suddenly this huge biker shouldered his way in behind me, put an arm either side of me on the barrier, braced himself against the crowd and basically created a safe space for me - he had the most incredibly long arms! He shouted in my ear 'Is this all right?' and when I nodded he stayed there for the whole of the two-hour concert and then melted into the crowd at the end.

Driving in France the drive shaft broke on my car, it went one way, caravan another!!
In the middle of a busy crossroads!
Dd's A level French all forgotten- we were buggared!!
Until a biker pulled up, spoke in French (?) then disappeared.. Returning with a 4x4 and hitching up the caravan!! 2 cars joined him and bundled in my dc!! I tried to put an older one with a young one, fearful of wtf I was doing! Fast forward an hourish, after showing the drivers our campsite booking out caravan was set up, car in the garage and dc in the amusements with some French dc!!
An American man with a pick up went off and came back with groceries and some cold drinks! And insisted he take me shopping whenever I needed anything until we got the car back!!
Amazing!!