Can we share the happier stories?

There’s a line of poetry by Wordsworth I think - something about small unremembered acts of kindness and of love which your post brought to mind - I’ll try and find it. I live in a lovely community which is always there for us all but Covid has taken it to a whole new level - the daily acts of kindness and love, the care and consideration of each for the other are just part of our everyday lives. I know this has been replicated in communities up and down the country.
It’s good to reflect on this as sometimes you can end up taking it a bit for granted. On Tuesday, one of our oldest residents died and although we can’t get together physically we have texted/phoned/emailed each other to share memories of her and be sad together. Thanks for your post

I've still got lots of summer flowers blooming in my garden in November!!!! I was out deheading them yesterday and noticed lots of new buds.

I like the saying' No act of kindness, however small, is ever wasted'.

mumofmadboys

I like the saying' No act of kindness, however small, is ever wasted'.

I live in a block of seven apartments with residents ranging in age from 3 to 70+. We have young couples, a single Mum to two daughters, professional people and retirees. In May, I was 70 but lockdown prevented the usual celebrations. Nevertheless, we all gathered outside in the warm evening sunshine for (socially distanced) fizz and nibbles and chocolate cake, baked by the other retiree, a lovely chap. Everyone gets along and I’m regularly asked if I need any shopping.

When on a cycling holiday in France, we asked a woman for directions. She said it was complicated, so told us to follow her in her car, and she drove very slowly for about 20 minutes to get us exactly where we needed to be.

Last year, someone in the village where my son lives had accidentally ended up with two surplus tickets to a Billy Joel performance at Wembley. When she couldn't sell them, she offered them free to my son, who she barely knew, and even said he could travel in her car with her and her partner.
This was late morning on the day of the show, and as my dil already had commitments for that evening, son rang me to see if I would like to go with him instead. Thanks to that generous lady, I had the experience of a lifetime

There was a young woman in Newcastle who saw us scratting around trying to find change for a ticket machine for the Metro, and came over and handed us what we needed. In the end, we found enough ourselves so went and gave it back to her, but the kindness was still there.

Thanks to the woman who stopped to offer help when I was stranded on a narrow country lane with 18 month old dgd last Feb when the clutch on my car went. She lived nearby, and gave me her phone number in case I needed help after she had gone.
(But no thanks to the well-known breakdown service who left me there for over three hours, and who then took another 5 days getting my car to the garage it should have gone to the day I broke down, if only it hadn't been too late by the time I was recovered!)

Those are just the first few that have come to mind, but there are many more.

I could fill a book with kindnesses I've received over the years but the funniest one was decades ago when we lived near a rural train station. I caught the train every morning to work. If I was running late and the train was already pulling out the driver would stop and reverse it back into the station for me. Ha, as if that would happen now!!!!!!

I do love this thread! Even the little events make my day, like the kind man seeing me struggle to find a £1 coin for the supermarket trolley and insist I take his, still with the coin inside.

That’s very true Applegran and many people seem to get obsessed and ‘bogged down’ by watching tv news all the time into thinking negative thoughts about almost everything.
There is much good in the world, from our own small corner to any country you can think of, where good kind acts are taking place every day. The ‘kindness of strangers’ is always there, and we mustn’t forget it.Even small acts, like chatting at the bus stop or a smile and a hello to someone when out for a walk can lift the spirits.?

Good people outweigh the bad. It's just that doom and gloom and horror stories sell newspapers. When our Close ended the NHS clapping we decided to take on helping our local food bank. Every Saturday morning we spread out in the Close and have a catch-up chat and bring our donations for those who have very little, usually through no fault of their own. Just smiling and saying thank you when someone has opened a door costs nothing.

After starting this thread I keep remembering more and more acts of kindness I've received! Here is another one - we were in a foreign coutry and struggling to find our way through a huge and complicated railway station to our platform - and we couldn't read the signs to help get us there. An elderly man asked if he could help - and then walked all the way with us to the right platform. I of course thanked him and also commented how excellent his English was and asked if he'd spent time in the UK. He said "No, but I grew up with Peter Rabbit!"

This was years ago but I'll never forget it.
I was out in the car with my 3 young children, in the country lanes of E. Yorks. Got a flat tyre .
I had no idea how to mend/change it.
A gang of Hells Angels came zooming past on their bikes and I was scared. but they stopped and soon had that wheel changed .
And that changed my mind about Hell's Angels.

It’s particularly nice to see this idea on the Politics section as it’s so often dominated by those determined to find something to be angry or outraged at.

Yes I agree that it’s often just the small acts of kindness or politeness which can make our day.
When driving, if I flash a car to go first, invariably their hand will come up in acknowledgement. Such a small thing but all these little token happenings add up, don’t they?

‘It’s particularly nice to see this idea on the Politics section as it’s so often dominated by those determined to find something to be angry or outraged at’

W3ll done JE that comment was completely uncalled for and a good e amp,e of what you are complaining about. Thanks a bunch. Congratulations. Super. Smashing.

so many lovely stories to tell, but no time right now. Shouldn't this be in 'chat' though, rather than 'news and politics'?

Biba - yes! On reflection I should have put this on Chat. Not sure if it is possible to move it. It would be good, when you have time, to see one or two of your lovely stories!

But regardless of where a lovely thread like this is posted, it’s no excuse for the nasty comment.

It’s like that lovely section I. Radio 4 Saturday live the thank you bit.often has me in tears

Ooh, yes Lucca. Is that still on? I haven't listened to it for years, but it always made me want to phone in with thanks for the kindnesses that others had shown me

My youngest grandson just turned 8 a couple of weeks ago. He has very fractured and disordered speech. Along with his older brother he is receiving intensive speech therapy (at last)!
The happy news is that he is making incredible progress, and at last I can understand most of what he says. Well done that boy.

MamaCaz

Ooh, yes Lucca. Is that still on? I haven't listened to it for years, but it always made me want to phone in with thanks for the kindnesses that others had shown me

Yes it is!

suziewoozie

But regardless of where a lovely thread like this is posted, it’s no excuse for the nasty comment.

Agree but best to ignore!

I love this story that I saw on the BBC website yesterday. Blake Durham was ordering breakfast at the fast food chain in Stockton-on-Tees when he told his mum he wanted to "do something kind". He told his server he would buy food for the man in the car behind. The youngster's act of kindness then spread - with car after car paying for the meal of those next in line. Blake said he had wanted to make the first recipient "happy and let them have a good day."

Full story here. www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tees-54902008

Many years ago I was travelling alone in France and my purse was stolen. I still had my return train ticket to where I was staying, so on the way back, in an old fashioned carriage with 6 seats, everyone was chatting, and I told my story. One kind lady gave me enough money to get the bus from the station back to my “ digs” where I had more cash, so the rest of my trip was not spoilt. It was not a lot of money but saved me a long walk. I was very grateful.
Another bonus was that I was able to put into practice the scenarios I was teaching my pupils for their French GCSE- reporting a loss to the police, describing lost property, and asking for ( and following) directions to the police station. When I recounted my experience to my class, they realised that they were learning useful French which they might actually need one day.

I let a car out at a busy junction and the driver didn't acknowledge me. When he was in front a red light came on in his rear window which said 'Thank You'. Still makes me smile.