Acts of kindness

DS4215

About 20 years ago I worked in a bar in town and one winters night it was snowing on and off so I went on the bus. I left early to catch the last bus to my village only for the driver to shut the door in my face and drive off. The only other bus that ran went to a village about 2-3miles away and I got off this bus at about 11:30 on a Sunday night in a blizzard...

I wasn't dressed properly for the weather conditions, but had to set off walking. Luckily someone driving past pulled over and offered me a lift so I made it home without hypothermia.

If the driver is reading this. Thank you

Hermia

Once I was on holiday and I visited a town and parked my car in one of the town's many car parks. I happily set off and spent 6 hours sight-seeing, but then realised I had absolutely no idea where I parked my car. I walked around a few car parks, but none looked familiar. I asked a woman for help and she took me to every car park in the town until we found my car. It took an hour and the poor woman had just come out of work!

It is quite scary offering help though because you never know how people will react. I always cut out money-off coupons from magazines and keep them in my purse. If I see someone in front of me in a shop queue who is buying the item I will often offer them the voucher. I reckon a third of people thank me, a third look at me as if I am a loony and a third just snatch it off me. It's a tad disheartening at times.

sexymouse

I recently was offered lots of fruit on freecycle from a disabled man who couldn't pick it. I made a crumble with some of the fruit and took it round to them to say thank you. It was much appreciated.

MrsTUS

Only this year, I took my son swimming to our local council-run pool. I have a gym membership, so I was free to enter and my son has a card whereby children get free entry into the pool throughout school and public holidays.

Well, husband dropped me and my son off at the pool - I took no money as we had free entry and I didn't take my mobile. Get to the kiosk and suddenly my sons card only works on a Tuesday and Thursday evening throughout school holidays now - a recent change, of course they negated to tell a soul.

I ran outside to try and catch my husband pulling off in the car - he was gone.

My son was absolutely gutted when I told him he couldn't go as I hadn't brought money with me - our options were wait 2 hours for my husband to come and pick us up at the agreed time, or start the 5 mile walk home.

A lovely lady who was coming out of the complex heard me as I explained the predicament to my son and suddenly came over and said she'd give my son £5 in exchange for a smile... well, she got a hug off him!

I was so grateful and I asked for her address so I could send her her cash back in the post but she absolutely refused and said it was her pleasure..

Lirin

I stopped to help a lady last year who'd broken down in the middle of the road- she'd run out of petrol. I knocked on a nearby door and the family came out and helped us push her car to the kerb. I waited with her car while she went to get petrol- she arrived back with chocolates for myself and the family who helped! Very unnecessary, but nice!

bobble_hat

I was on a 4-day fair for work in Northumbria. I, unknowingly, chose the wrong station for my destination.

When I alighted, I was in a station in the middle of nowhere with no village in sight, just the office, unmanned.

2 people had alighted with me and their friend had arrived to pick them up, they were work colleagues of old, on a jolly, one had a bunch of flowers for the drivers wife. I had asked one of the fellow travellers about taxis and he said there were none really, then the driver offered me a lift. I was going in the opposite direction, and they were all men, so I was very scared but they made silly jokes about their wives and mentioned the flowers and really put me at my ease.

I really don't know what I would have done if no-one else had got off at the same station, or if these men had not been super kind.

missladyannie

What a lovely thread

I found a really fancy phone in Morrisons carpark last year just before xmas, and yes, I was tempted to keep it, but it had photos of kiddies on the front etc, and so I did the right thing and phoned 'mum' on the phone and asked them to call back the mobile.

The elderly sounding mother phoned back and said it was her daughter phone and put her on, she was so grateful and said that her 10yr old daughter had been playing with it and dropped it in the carpark.

They came round to collect it and said I had saved her daughters xmas as she was in so much trouble for losing it! they gave me a bottle of wine and a big tin of sweets!

On the other hand, during a bleak period of my life I had absolutely no cash to my name, only a £1.50 tesco voucher which I went to use on catfood. The lady at the desk refused to take it because the catfood was less than the £1.50 voucher and she said she couldnt put it though. I was in a right state (also dealing with the early effects of morning sickness) and so the man behind me in the queue put the catfood through with his shopping in exchange for the voucher - I could have cried!!

Careful_with_that_Axe

I am a firm believer of Karma and believe in paying it forward.
At times when I have been extremely hard up, people hae been very kind to me. A couple of friends of my late Mum in particular. One used to send me down bags of clothes that she had cleared from her wardrobe (she was my size) and another one used to send me £5 every so often to "feed the cat". So kind.

I feel it is my "duty" to repay these so will always try to help those in trouble. Once paid for a lad's lunch in Tesco's Cafe as he had no cash and the card machine was broken. Cost me maybe £3 but the feeling of warmth it gave me and his gratefulness made it more than worthwhile.
If I can though I prefer to give time or actual help as giving of yourself I prize more highly than giving money.

jeanniebeanie_2

My parents bought a small old terrace house in North Wales which needed a total refurb. In the end house lived a very elderly, frail Welsh lady who always dressed all in black and wore the traditional Welsh hat. She had no electricity, just an outside loo, used too make a fire for warmth and cook on an old black range. She was very reserved and too proud to accept help, but every morning she would discover a box of veg, eggs, milk, bread, firewood etc on her doorstep which all of us on the little street would contribute to. For the times we weren't there we left cash with another neighbour to contribute for us. This continued daily until the lady sadly passed away. She never discovered where the boxes came from.

Just had to edit when I realised my last post was about a stranger spitting at me in the street! Karma, what Karma!

Kei

Please keep these coming! These stories are all so heart warming I could read them all day!