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and little things you do that makes the world a nicer place.
Everything is a bit doom and gloom right now ( in my head anyway). so how about letting us / me know the little things you do that make the world a nicer place or a random act of kindness you were on the receiving end of?
I'm thinking things like the poster who litter picks ( sorry dude - forgot your name)
So if you are the doer please blow your trumpet a bit and if you are a recipient then lets hear how someone made your day.
Dunno about random but as part of Cubs inspection every week we give them a point for saying how they helped someone that day (linked to the Promise and Law). Some of them are very sweet like 'Mum wasn't feeling great so I made dinner' while others are more 'I didn't hit my sister when she annoyed me'. Lots of being helpful at school.
Lots of little kindnesses on Ride to the Sun last night too including the chap who rode to catch me up after I dropped my sunglasses bag. Cheers bloke. Regular ones for me include picking up unsightly rubbish, cutting the communal grass, and not hitting my sister when she annoys me.
Got up real early today, filled my bialetti, grabbed a stove, stopped at the bakery and picked up a croissant. Rode to one of my favourite spots on the river that flows through Munich only to find it strewn with bottles, plastic and other crap that some degenerates had left behind.
Rather than get wound up I spent ten minutes clearing it all and now the spot is spotless.
I'll take the plastic and other crap with me and leave the bottles in the hope that someone else has space to take them. Bottles in Germany have a deposit and ate worth up to 25c. There are some folks who (sadly) have to left bottles to top up their pension. I've left the bottles next to the path to make it easier for them to collect.
I’m thinking things like the poster who litter picks ( sorry dude – forgot your name)
👋
I litter pick because I'm out with my dog so why not? I started posting about it on here to hopefully influence other people to do the same as unfortunately there is a lot of litter out there. I don't do it for any recognition or praise.
MrsRNP started a community kitchen during lockdown - it now feeds between 50-80people a week. Again she isn't looking for recognition - she just does it.
https://singletrackmag.com/forum/topic/spring-clean/
https://www.inyourarea.co.uk/news/shining-a-light-on-rossendale-group-helping-those-in-need/
So many. The time I was climbing a long hot dry hill in California. A car stopped. The elderly driver gave me a bottle of water and topped up the bike bottle I was drinking from. After a chat I got back on the bike and waved for him to head of in front of me. Then he told me he was heading back the way he came. He lived in a house back downhill. He had seen my going very slowly past and had jumped in his car just to come and give me water.
A few times in diners I've gone to pay my bill and been told a local I had been talking to had already paid it as they left.
One of the best things about touring is realising the world is full of good people.
On my bike tour last year passing thru a nice wee touristy town a young couple called over to me and asked if I was bike touring ( yes duh!) - they then insisted on buying me lunch stating they had had folk buy them lunch when bike touring.
Gave me a lovely fuzzy feeling and one day I too will pay that forward
I don’t do it for any recognition or praise.
Of course you don't - but little things like that make a difference to everyone's lives and its a nice feel good story. sorry I forgot who it was 🙂
Popped into lidl the other day and there was a young lad on a Trek DJ type bike who had black hands and looked like he was struggling a bit, thought he'll sort it, came out 10 mins later, hands now black as coal and going no where fast.
I said give me a look and I'll sort it, he'd done that thing with the chain where it loops over itself (twice!) In a way you'd think a chain never could without actually taking the thing apart and putting together the wrong way, soon as I saw it I though oh F, I'm in over my head here but a minute later he was on his way and I was wiping my hands in the grass to clean them.
Ohh there was a time last December, I live on a steep hill and the path had totally frozen, I woke up at 1am to hear groaning outside, I thought they were just pissed, it carried on and I looked out the window, an old chap in his 80s had slipped and got himself wedged under the car out front, I went down to get him out but couldnt shift him, called the ambulance but while on the phone he'd freed himself and I'd got him up onto two legs, cancelled ambulance, phoned police to find next of kin, the old feller couldn't remember his name, or where he lived but the police tracked him down somehow and called his daughter, she came out after we'd stood in the road for 30mins with his dog after him saying he lived around the corner (he didn't), barely a thank you at pick up but glad he got back safe, he'd never have lasted the night, it was -4/5c so at least.
A few times in diners I’ve gone to pay my bill and been told a local I had been talking to had already paid it as they left.
there’s a old guy in kilmarnock who anonymously pays for someone’s dinner every night in a fish and chip restaurant there. Gets dinner for himself and pays for someone else’s as he’s leaving.
I’ve given cycle tourists bits of my bike to get them back on the road ( not while I’m riding but if I’ve had my bike with me when driving)
came across a couple in Harris on hired bikes from somewhere else in the Hebrides absolutely covered in black cruddy oil that had been hiding a terribly worn and now broken chain and a chaiset that was practically toothless. I was heading to the ferry home anyway and had my fun so just gave them the parts off my bike and left them with tools to get them back on their way.
Not me, but my friend told me this:
His daughter is in the local football team, and parents watch from the sidelines. After a while an old lady started attending, bringing her folding chair. It turned out she wasn't a grandmother, but a neighbour of one of the girls, whose parents suggested she might like to come and watch, which she did quite consistently.
Fast forward 18 months or so, and the football team were fundraising for a trip to a tournament in Sweden. A donation of £3000 lands in the fund. When asked, the old lady just said "Well, I enjoy watching the girls so thought I'd help out"
Bike touring on North Uist last week, long way to the shops and not very nice weather, chap offers to get us any shopping we needed. Didn't need a lot, but he bought us two of what we asked for and then wouldn't take any money for it.
So thanks to Brookes Graham if by chance you are reading this! Definitely cheered us up and again we'll pay it forward when the chance occurs.
Plenty of people have done random nice things for me. As I mentioned on the thread about this place from long ago, a bloke I'd hardly met offered to lend me a bike for a while. Other people have gone out of their way to give me lifts places, or even lent me their car for a day.
I do the usual sorts of small things, try to take opportunities to do a good turn here and there. Generally not in the same league as some on here. I guess I did once give a car to a young lad at work. We were going to get rid of it, was only worth a few hundred quid. Frankly didn't want to sell it to this guy in case something went wrong with it, and it would have seemed a bit crappy to ask him for money anyway given our relative positions so I just thought "why the hell not just give it to him?".
I still remember bonking on a ride when I was just starting out and some Surrey Uni mtbers bailed me out with some energy gel donations. I always carry spares on a ride now, and have often paid that one back.
I'll sometimes ask if buying a coffee if I can buy a second for someone that needs it - in Italy a 'sospeso'. <span style="font-size: 0.8rem;">I wouldn't buy for someone already in the queue, it feels a bit embarrassing, I have very occasionally for a public service worker like police or ambulance in appreciation though.</span>
When we got our Gov heating allowances - I thought that was very poor, giving it to folks that didn't need it instead of means testing or increasing the amount to those on benefits. It still rankles that there were folk on here boasting about the free money. So I spent it by proxy on putting stuff into the supermarket food bank donation instead.
I litter pick because I’m out with my dog so why not?
I've recently bought myself a litter picking stick and am (sadly?) really looking forward to using it.... When we park up in the van I usually spend 15-30 minutes clearing the spot and filling a black bag or two.
Annoyingly for the GF in the van I usually slow down and make sure bike tourers have got enough water and bananas. Have done a fair bit of touring, guiding and following tours in a support vehicle.
Lost count of the number of times I've helped riders out over the last six months. Last one was a Spanish couple..... They parked next to us and set off. Ten minutes later they come back and the lady is scooting along without a chain. Split the chain, gave them a quick link and they went off. Guy insisted on giving me a bottle of red when he got back.
It's not too hard to be nice.
*feels warm and fuzzy*
Like many of us I guess I have helped out a fair few cyclists over the years. Last summer i was also the recipient having punctured for the 3rd time in 2 days and thus having run out of tubes. Nice chap gave me a tube
last year on crete. rainy days so we visited a lovely little village, then an archaelogical site, then the heavens opened again. in the middle of nowhere we went past a family of 4 adults with 2 young kids on their shoulders in the p1ssing rain. initially drove past thinking ah well, they must know where theyre going, but decided id better check.
drove back up the hill to them, turns out they were a belgium family that had been walking a gorge, got lost, were soaking, had no idea where they were, didnt know where their car was nor could they explain where they left it. they also had no water left.
we came up with a plan where id drop the missus off under shelter with half the party, then drive a few of them around for a while until they recognised where the car was. worked a treat, so dropped them off, went back for the other half of the family plus my wife and took them to be re-united with the car.
i think they realised how close to something serious had just happened, it had just been an adventure with the kids that theyd under-estimated.
tried to pay me for our help but i explained there was no way i was going to make a bad day even worse by taking their holiday money off them too 😀 told them to just buy the poor drenched kids a nice treat with it.
I've unofficially adopted the strip of soil next to a local alleyway. All that used to happen was that one of the neighbours would complain that it was overgrown then the council would put weedkiller down. I've done my best to plant some insect friendly native flowers and stick to things that work in the local climate rather than having to use yet more water. I've tried not to spend too much on it, relocating things that weren't right in my garden or perhaps getting the bigger bag of bulbs than I otherwise would and splitting them between garden and alleyway
Need to find something that will fill in now the poppies are fading for next year.
Everyone. Thank you, and a big thank you to TJ for starting the thread. It has done to me what you were looking for. So I'll take that as an act of random kindness to me. Needed to hear some hope. Been a right rough 3 years or so and I'm just exhausted of it all, reading about other beings being good to other beings has helped today. I'll be sure to pass it on.
About 18 years ago touring in Slovenia I came across and old lady with a flat tyre on her car, which was stuck in a big traffic jam, swapped it over for the spare for her. She was rabbiting away in Sloviienian but I didn't speak a word so just nodded and smiled and jumped back on my bike. Half an hour later a Police car pulled me over and the copper handed me 50 euros and kept saying tyre tyre, he wouldn't take it back. That was at least three days worth of holiday money for me..
I donated about 100 used tennis balls to the local dog walkers yesterday. Didn't cost me anything as I even walked there and cleared some of my garage clutter. A guy there said they will be gone by the end of the weekend, hopefully not all to the same person !!
A few years ago an elderly neighbor died and her bungalow was left empty for a while.
We got a knock on the door one morning, CID asking if we’d heard anything as the bungalow had been burgled. We hadn’t heard anything and when I went to look, the window had been broken and the door frame was broken when they’d forced the door.
I offered to secure the property and change the lock and told the Police to inform the family that they could get the new key when they needed to.
Later that day, the daughter turned up and I gave her the keys, she was very grateful that I done what I did and offered to pay me, I flatly refused saying it was a neighbourly gesture.
Two weeks later I received a letter from the family thanking me for everything and a £200 Rapha voucher which was very thoughtful!
Reap what you sow, what goes around comes around, or Karma. Call it what you like but I firmly believe in it.
So nice things I've done...
* Donated a bike to gnusmas for his daughter
* Gave away my old Specialized hard rock frame to someone who was probably on here. Got a couple of bottles of wine for that
* Generally give all the old stuff the kids have grown out of to charity, including toys.
* Helped some old guy get in his house on the way back from a ride whilst I was cold and piss wet through. Poor sod was sat on his doorstep and his legs were buggered. Although that may have been more to do with the booze 😄
People have done loads of nice things for me as well.
As someone said above, it's not hard to be nice.
Gave a poor lass my waterproof at Llandegla a few years back. Crashed on the blue, first hill and put her bars into her abdomen. Neither she or partner had any appropriate clothing (t shirts). It was freezing waiting round for an hour directing bikes.
Didn't expect to get it back, but got a call from the centre just as I was leaving.
I now carry spare space blankets with me always (including road bike), and if its out in the wilds, a rescue sleeping bag thing. You never know when someone may need it.
I’ve just bought the local football club 2 sets of water bottles, after they asked for sponsorship for their equipment needs on FB. Never had any interaction with them, as they have only set up this spring, but, if they can get the local kids off the streets, its got to be worth my £50. Come on Eaglesfield Thistle FC!
This thread has reminded me to set up a standing order to our local food bank. I went off Trussell Trust when I realised how much they spent on lobbying without making it clear that that was where a chunk of their funds go, and wanted to support a food bank that actually feeds people…
Tj I heard of someone who donated their tandem to the local charity that takes blind people out for rides. I was very impressed by that!
My daughter pilots for this group and that makes me proud.
My wife does quite a lot of volunteering. She’s currently baking, which she does each week, for a local group which she helps out at. They have a group of people suffering with dementia come along for some fun and singing etc.
They’re not unique, there are loads of people who do selfless things for others. They appear far happier and more content than most.
I often wonder how Boris Johnson and the like would respond to “what was your last random act of kindness?”.
My daughter pilots for this group and that makes me proud.
good for her. I will too one day when I pluck up the courage
My daughter pilots for this group and that makes me proud.
good for her. I will too one day when I pluck up the courage
you should- she loves it. The group seems to be going from strength to strength.
A couple of weeks ago I was walking into town and saw a dog about to walk off the Stray (in Harrogate) onto the busy road. A girl just in front of me grabbed the dog (which had no collar or ID) but wasn’t a dog person so I helped out, called my wife who came down with a collar and lead then called around to try to find out what to do with it. Turns out that 7pm on a Friday night is not a good time to find a dog - the warden didn’t re-open until Monday am. So anyway, after about an hour on social media we managed to find the (pissed up) owner who had somehow forgotten she had been walking her dog!
That takes our tally of found dogs to four now 😹
I was in B&Q the other day buying bits for a job in the plumbing section.....old fella comes up asking advice about was valve to buy (turns out he needed a ball valve for his water storage in the loft)...so I told which part he might need.....he seemed like a nice bloke so I said are you local...
Turns out he lived in the next road down....so I said give me your address and I'll fitted part for free as I knew my next job would not take more than a hour...he was ever so grateful....must admit, I did feel warm.....im forever doing random stuff for peeps...mainly neighbours...so take the pee....but they can only do it once with me...co z ill know
Pay it forward people...make the world a better place
….must admit, I did feel warm….
.so you should - its perfectly normal to do so
I do not believe in altruism. I believe its enlightened self interest. We do nice things because it makes us feel good
Mugseys m8 - the whole point of this. I was feeling a bit blue and everything looking a bit black
Today stopped in car to let an old bloke cross the road. He seemed to be struggling for a decent gap in the traffic so I made sure to slow down, which allowed him to take advantage of a gap in the other direction.
Yesterday at a local fete my daughter was doing a dance show thing with the dance class she goes too.
I went to get my Dad a Coke from the bar & the woman serving drinks had some very cool see-through nail decorations with flowers on them. As I walked off I told her that I thought her nails were very cool and she absolutely beamed 😁.
A few months ago there was a bloke near where I meet my lift-share colleague struggling with the rear tyre on his Holdsworth gravel bike.
Once I'd dropped my colleague off. I asked if he was OK.
He basically had a tubeless puncture that wouldn't seal, no tube and only CO2 which he'd used up.
I offered to give him a lift to a bike shop so he could get sorted out.
Ended up taking a 20min detour to a nearby shop with his bike in the boot so he could get sorted. Funnily, he was a bit ungrateful about the whole thing - almost like he expected it, but hey ho, I'd do it again.
Ive got my big 8mm allen key out on a bike ride when I saw someone stranded as the shock thier cheap FS had departed from the frame... fixed him enough to gently pedal home but the bike was a wreck.
Equally first aid kits, came across a guy with a bad pedal strike on his leg, but he was bleeding quite well as he was on blood thinners. Cleaned him up with some saline solution, strapped him up with some dental pads, the kind you get when you have a tooth extraction and electrical tape. And he was good to get back, to better sort his injury out.
Annoyingly my mate lambasted me for my ghetto first aid kit, until I asked him what first aid he was carrying.. the answer was none.
Been out on the bike yesterday for an hour and a half. Got back and MrsF was cursing one of her overlockers. Wasn't sewing properly with the four threads, even tried different coloured thread to find the culprit.
I said have you changed the needles (bit like brake and gear cables TBH). Nope. I then rummaged in my bike tool box for a 1.5mm hex key for her. Changed needles, guess what, worked perfectly.
Some cracking and uplifting ones on here.
My most recent one is a bit dull, but the cafe at work had it's card machine go down just as the lady in front of me was trying to pay. It had happened a few times and the staff said it would be an hour or two till they got it fixed via the card company so cash only.
Lady in front of me had no cash and was getting flustered with not being able to pay for her coffee and some weird guilt that she was holding up the queue - I just paid for hers and mine, and when she offered to pay me back the next day I just told her to pay it forward to someone else - which was what I was doing, having been helped out before when stuck with no cash
Today I stopped all traffic to let 4 ducks crossing the road back to their pond.
Just recently on a flight, upon boarding, a guy was sat in my seat... after a short conversation I agreed to swap seats with him, as they were both aisle seats and I'm quite tall, and he wanted to sit with his wife/girlfriend. A bit presumptuous I thought...
After checking with the flight attendant, they said its fine if i'm happy. I was travelling alone so it's no skin off my nose as long as it was still an aisle seat.
Luck was in my favour as my new seat, the middle one was unoccupied (there were very few empty seats on this flight), so me and some other person who had the window seat, had lots of extra space.
It was also the extra leg room emergency exit seat, so double bonus!
Winner winner chicken dinner! Sometimes it's nice to be nice.
Today I stopped all traffic to let 4 ducks crossing the road back to their pond.
Awwwwwwwwwwwwwww
Little things, pick up litter in the park, give stuff away I no longer need, tents, tools, plus donate chain links and tubes to people in need.
Big things, pulled woman out of sinking car who had driven off a cliff in an attempt to kill herself. Talked to her about her life until helicopter and rnli arrived. Couple of years later pulled a different woman out a boat cabin which had overturned in surf. Big outboard on the back had pulled the stern down and she was trapped on the forward cabin.
But the thing I try to do constantly is smile at people, talk to them and say thank you. Like to think my momma raised me right.
Driving home the other afternoon we saw a couple with big rucksacks looking a bit desperate/ hitchhiking on a hot day in the back of beyond. Turns out they were paraglider pilots who had flown cross country from the hill near our house. So we had a nice chat on the drive back and they bought us an ice-cream from a farm we passed. Everyone a winner! 🙂
In the last mile we scooped up another paraglider - he had done rather a long walk by that point and we didn't tell him about missing out on ice cream....
not hitting my sister when she annoys me.
We’ve got that covered - she’s been in Spain for nearly 40 years, much more suited to her temperament.
Years ago, whilst riding to work I stopped to help an old guy with a flat. Gave him my spare tube, sorted it for him and went on my way.
A few weeks later, had a flat and predictably had not replaced the tube. No patches, and was a few miles in either direction from work or home.
Within minutes, a pick up pulled over, youngish guy asked me if I needed any help. We flung my bike into the truck and he took me to work - where I could pick up a tube from the Sainsbury's.
As we were driving I asked him why he stopped. He said that a few weeks ago his dad had a puncture and a cyclist stopped to help, he said that next time he saw a cyclist in trouble he would stop an help.
I felt like I was in a ****ing romcom 🤣
Riding home a couple of days ago and just caught a glimpse of something glinting in the undergrowth by the side of the road. Just a bit of rubbish I thought but stopped and had a look anyway. A nice crisp £20 note was smiling back at me. Got back on the bike and immediately spotted another and then another. All deep in the undergrowth. Thought then I'd better have a proper rummage around and a few yards down found a wallet, drivers license, credit cards and all sorts. The elderly owner lived nearby so managed to returned it all. That felt quite good. Don't leave your wallet on the car roof folks! 😁
Our scout groups cub packs were on camp this weekend. One of the scout leaders and I went to help pack up & take kit back to the hut as the cub leaders don’t tend to get much sleep with cubs compared to when we camp with scouts.
Brilliant sc xc - what goes around comes around
I believe its enlightened self interest. We do nice things because it makes us feel good
Partly mine but especially MrsRNP reason's for doing stuff is that mother nature decided that children weren't for us. The love that she would have put into ours now gets shared out to the community instead! Mine gets shared out to our dog!
To mugsy and anyone else - MrsRNP set up a community kitchen during Covid. She commandeered the local church as it had a commercial grade kitchen.
We collect fresh produce on a Sunday evening from a local supermarket that has very short dates (and flowers/plants that need a bit of TLC).
MrsRNP and a team cook up a 3course meal on Monday with the donations (usually adding fresh meat/veg from the local butcher etc) and then everyone all sits down and eats together at 5:30. There's between 50-80 people from all walks of life. Its not religious - it just happens to be in a church with good kitchen equipment.
Honestly it's great. Xmas was especially good.
There are also food hampers for anyone who needs anything.
Any leftovers I take to another community kitchen/centre on Tuesday mornings on my way to work.
Anything they have left over goes in the composter - that then goes to CivicPride (more about these later).
Groups like this are all over the country.
Tonight's donations.
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Regarding CivicPride that I mentioned.
Its a local community group that has been going 20+ years. It was set up by a local business owner giving back to the community.
Its gone from strength to strength - any piece of unused/derelict land and they are on it, flower beds get built, railings painted, pavements weeded, litter picked.
It was seeing these guys out and about that made me want to start litter picking when I first became Berts guardian (our dog).
Rawtenstall is representing The North in the upcoming Britain in Bloom competition. The whole town is a flurry of flower beds, tidying, shop displays etc. Even if we don't win the town still benefits. This was a broken former north of England mill town.
Again there will be a local group near you.
A few years ago I was driving North towards Durness when I picked up a couple of hitch-hikers at Perth. They were Slovaks and had hitched all the way over. They were headed for Ullapool and were delighted when I said I could take them all the way there. As we were driving up the A9, they asked if we passed Loch Ness. Turns out they had a "map" of Scotland torn out of a small diary. I explained that we didn't pass Loch Ness but asked if they'd be happy with a detour. We went Dalwhinnie - Spean Bridge - Fort Augustus and were even happier when I dropped them off at Urquhart Castle for a wee wander around and photos before resuming our journey.
I stuck an ad on the STW classifiedf a few montha back looking for an Alpkit drybag (they were out of stock) I subsequently received one from a couple of STWers free of charge as "repayment" for advice I'd previously given. I've since given bits away too.
there is a bit of scrap land near me that has been made into a garden. At first it was unofficial but they managed to make it official recently. Stuff like this is good.
Forgot to say - there's no charge for MrsRNP community kitchen. Its free, donations are welcome and the LBC and small local businesses contribute so it's self funding with a very small float.
Was sat in a pub beer garden in Eskdale a few weeks back, a young couple and their daughter walked in and the dad made a bee-line for me and asked if he could buy a ciggie off me. Gave him one and he explained they’d come camping and not realised there was no shop and he’d gone a day without. As we were heading out I gave him the rest of the pack.
Sorry for keeping you unhealthy young man! 🙃
RM.
Earlier this year I had the pleasure of a Saturday luggage transfer from one of the local hotels back to base. Heading back and one of the Autostrasse Saturday ride chaps had been abandoned after a tubeless puncture and was attempting a repair. I pulled up and offered the use of the track pump when he needed it.
When it was obvious that a) the tyre wasn't coming off and b)there were no plugs in the kit to effect the repair I offered to take bike and rider back to base where he could catch the train home or rustle up a sag wagon. Had a nice chat for the trip back which was a nice change.
When doing the Danish part of the North Sea cycle route, one day we had torrential rain and we arrived at campsite looking like drowned rats, when trying to book in with our little tent, the whole family running the campsite was at reception and they looked at eachother and agreed we could not have a tent spot and gave us one of their log cabins at same price as 2 man tent, was amazing.
At the moment i am bringing joy by taking my 12 week old Labrador puppy out and about, no one can see her and not smile 🙂
Back in the 80s two friends and I ended up at Mallaig with the idea of getting the estate ferry to Inverie the heading to Sourlies. We hadn't booked and it was full. The skipper of the ferry said he might have an idea. He got on the radio and a couple of hours later we were on a small private ferry being driven by ex SAS Tom McClean, the first guy to row the Atlantic solo west to east. At the time he had an outdoors place in Knoydart. He was picking up supplies in Mallaig and dropped us off at Tarbert Loch Nevis. There was nobody else but him and us on board so I even got a shot at steering while he made a brew. I had no idea who he was at the time but saw him on TV later for various things . I think it was the year after he got the record for the smallest boat to sail the Atlantic.
Gave away a pile of Crud mudguards and a few control tech bars to my local bike charity. Who did the usual when decent kit is provided by a member of the public.
Yup, they rake through it all like vultures over the latest carcass.
And it looks like I've convinced an old school friend to go Electric(bike) Bumped into him today and lo and behold he'd seen me on mine and obviously got the idea for one of the same, and opted for Bosch, his reasoning was my recommendation 🙂
Gifted him a Karrimor bar bag- the type with the klikfix mount.
Couple of good turns done by me 🙂
I think there are more acts of kindness happening right now, and now, and again, and every second of the day, than there are any other kind of act.
Every day it is someone's birthday, it is the day after something terrible has happened but they survived, it is the anniversary of someone you loved so much, it is the morning they wake up with the person they will spend the rest of their life with - every day is full of these moments, some fleeting, some that will mean nothing is ever the same again.
People are, on the whole, actually quite lovely, really.
We gave a fold down sofabed/futon thing away via Freegle a couple of weeks ago. The lady that had it was genuinely down on her uppers, you could tell it was a story of a shit life with mental illness, depression, divorce, she'd just been through the wringer lately. So we threw in some sheets, pillowcases, towels, a duvet and a bedside light with the futon. Felt good to help her be in a position where her daughter could come and stay over at the flat once in a while.
All the usual stuff, used to litterpick locally when still in the UK, no need to here in rural France.
About 8 years ago, wife and I had parked a few miles out of Bagneres de Bigorre to go and watch the end of a tour stage. We rode back to the car and were putting bikes on the rack when a rather overweight chap on a city bike struggled past, with a further 8 or 9 miles and several hundred feet of climbing to his destination. He paused for a break so I had a chat with him, a belgian chap in his 50s who had brought his aging mother to Lourdes and thought he'd take one of the hotel bikes to go watch the stage finish....he had bitten off way more than he could chew. We gave him a lift back to Lourdes but he was insistant on being dropped off just out of town and tried valiantly to drop a 20 euro note on us. (we told him to drop it in a charity pot). His mum will have seen her son set out and return on two wheels.....
Been in the privileged position of being able to give a lot of my mates stuff to friends in need, homeless charities & charity shops over the last few months, much more rewarding than getting a house clearance co in, but quite emotional when I'd finished the job.
Years ago, as poor students my ex wife & I popped down to the shops, both assuming the other had money, when it came to paying we couldn't but the person behind paid for us which was very unexpected - I'm still waiting to be able to pay that one back, doesn't help doing internet shopping 🤔
Amazing how much you can fit in a Mk1 Berlingo!
Ready for MrsRNP and her team of volunteers to work their magic tomorrow for the FOC community kitchen, anyone welcome.
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had someone walk by my front window a couple of weeks ago pushing their bike while it was raining so there was a good chance they had a puncture. I ran after them and sure enough they were miles from home with nothing to fix it. As soon as we got the tube out it was clear the hole was too big to patch and a look at the tyre showed that it had a massive hole so patching the tube wouldn't have worked. Fortunately i throw little out so I had an almost new tyre that I had taken off a bike years ago and I had just bought some new inner tubes the day before so all way good in no time at all. It always feels great to be able to send someone off on a bike working better than when you got it. It was all I could do not to go and fix all the other problems with it at the same time 🙂
This one felt a bit funny as it was a young woman and it was raining so I did the work in my garage but I always kept the garage door fully open to the road and never got between her and the door. You shouldn't really have to think about these things but they don't know you and the idea is to remove stress rather than add it.
Two weeks later I received a letter from the family thanking me for everything and a £200 Rapha voucher which was very thoughtful!
Did you get the left or the right sock?
I volunteered to do shopping for 4 pensioners during COVID, sadly 2 of them have passed away in last couple of years, but still go every Saturday afternoon for my neighbour Ronald, poor guy lost his wife during first lockdown, and couldn't bury her for months, and he had never ever cooked before and he is 96!
I enjoy it, as he lived an interesting life, a military policeman during Suez crisis and carried on living out there and travelling africa in the 50-60's, we tend to cook a roast or similar on a sunday too and take a plate round, as he is too frail to even travel the 3 doors down to me.
But it is no act of kindness as i genuinely enjoy his company, even had his first beer in 20 years the other week for his birthday sat on his patio.
‘People are, on the whole, actually quite lovely, really’
this +1
i ran out of petrol a few years ago, on my motorbike.
called the wife, she arranged a mate to bring me some.
took an hour or so, i was thoroughly shocked at the number of people who stopped to ask if i was ok.
Ray is a local character in our small town. He's old and bent over, and you often see him shuffling along excruciatingly slowly on his decorated zimmer frame. His kind happy manner and decades as a binman make him a well-known and well-liked person in the town. He shuffles to his favourite pub every day for a pint and a chat.
Recently, the pub started a fundraiser to get him a mobility buggy. The target £2k was raised very quickly, and they held a surprise presentation party in the beer garden. Ray cried.
Living in rural Aberdeenshire there are plenty of opportunities to help out folk.
In the way home one January I passed a car that had been in a smash. I spoke to the young Corsican couple to see if they were okay and they said the tow truck was coming. Her Indoors came home about an hour later & she stopped too and they were still waiting for the tow truck. It was dark now & very cold.
We took a flask of coffee and went back to check on them. Turned out they were on the first day of their first ever holiday together & were touring distilleries & staying in nice hotels every night.
Then the cops & an ambulance turned up. Some (unhelpful) passer by hadn't stopped but had called 999. Anyway, Her Indoors translated the French for the cops & ambulance til they were satisfied. Then I called the car rental firm to discover the tow truck was two hours away & that they couldn't get a replacement car until the next day.
We took them back to ours for dinner and invited them to stay the night as their hotel was down in Perthshire that night.
In the morning I took them to Aberdeen (45 minutes away) to get a replacement car. I harangued the car hire firm for their shoddy treatment & got them a massively upgraded car for the rest of their trip for no extra charge.
When I bade them farewell the girl had tears in her eyes and offered me a handful of cash as thanks. I told them they'd be better off spending the cash on their holiday.
They wrote us a lovely letter when they got home saying we'd made their holiday. 😁
Things like the story above make me so happy. As we argue on another thread about why we even need to put signs up asking people not to be horrible arses to the staff, it's just great that someone's holiday has been resurrected by being nice and going that bit further.
Like others on here, plenty while out on the bike, always carry a couple of inner tubes if i am taking a pack even though i run tubeless these have helped many a people out through the years, loan of tools, gifting of quick links etc.
Little while ago a kid was obviously told to buy his lunch on the way to school in the shop where i was grabbing some milk, he wasnt given enough money and i overheard him talking to the lady in the shop asking what he can get for the couple of quid he had on him. He must've only been about 8 or 9, i just told him to grab what he needed and ill sort it. Was only a few quid and ensures he gets fed at lunch, least i could do.
The wife is a paramedic and she has a fair few people who buy her a drink or pay for her lunch etc. Last time, someone left a tenner under the wiper of the ambulance with a note saying "treat yourself".
Driving through Innerleithen earlier in the year and as I got to the crossroads where the cafe is there was a blind chap (dog & stick) trying to cross the road. No one was even slowing down, so I just stopped on the opposite side blocking my side and got out. Stopped the traffic on the other side and walked him across.
Luckily for those stopped no one complained, and I got the thumbs up from the driver behind me.
Was surfing in Messanges and a lad got into difficulty in the rip and flipped a bit. I got him on my mal and paddled him in. En route I noticed a big kerfuffle on the beach, a path cleared and a Poncin buggy with life savers hurtled through, wtf?, and they saved the lad as we got onto the beach.
Was in Toxteth and was going to meet the Mrs who was giving a lecture a few miles out. Asked two ladies chatting for directions, 'its quite a way, how you getting there?'
'walking'
She stuck her hand in her pocket to give me the bus fare. Charming. I've only ever had a good time in Liverpool.
I sent a Garmin watch for a chap to try off of here, he was asking what the wrist heart rate thing was like. He kept it.
This is a bad example isn’t it.
Well, I lost my phone this morning and someone helpfully picked it up and gave it me back. That was very nice I thought. Refused any kind of reward as well.
Just spent 2 hours fixing up an old bike being thrown out by a neighbour for someone else who'd had theirs nicked. Feels good.
I offered to repaint the walls in a displaced refugee children's centre, and it seems now everyone thinks I'm a ****.
Yours,
Bob
In 1993, I was 22 years old and on a boys holiday to Kos with two pals. We got friendly with a family with three young teen boys. We looked after the boys in the hotel to give Mum and Dad a few hours to themselves before we went out, kept them busy at the pool or at the beach. That sort of thing.
Typically, we completely messed up our timings and on the last day, all three of us were skint and the bus to the airport was at daft-o-clock the next morning.
The Mum and Dad supplied us with food, drink and a few beers through out the day!!!
We thanked them greatly and I asked why they had been so generous?
The Mum answered that she would like to think that maybe someone, in the future, would do the same for her kids.
Stayed with me for over 30 years now.
I like this thread a lot.