6 h. ago The kindness of strangers: my melons went flying and a group of old ladies came to the rescue

White hair, head scarves and one with a walking stick – they looked like they had stepped out of the same babushka dollRead more in the Kindness of strangers seriesOne Saturday morning, I accompanied my mum to the local market to do our weekly fruit and veg shop. Mum was still looking around when I offered to take the shopping back to the car, which was stuffed into a little red trolley. It was like a Mary Poppins bag – quite a small thing, but it was surprising how much you could load it up. Or so we thought.With the trolley heaving under the weight of an already full load of groceries, my mum rested a box of honeydew melons on top. She warned me to be careful getting it back to the car. Continue reading...

Events

7 d. ago The kindness of strangers: a Los Angeles bus driver got everyone onboard to sing me happy birthday

The jolly driver had already done me a favour when I’d left my camera on board. Then he got on the microphone and said ‘Hey folks, it’s this guy’s birthday today’Read more in the Kindness of strangers seriesBack in my native Austria, people don’t even bother to lock their front doors. So when I set off in the 1980s to backpack through the US, I was warned about the country’s high crime rate and made to fear this big, scary place.I had my 21st birthday while I was in Los Angeles, and I’d been out having a few beers. Tired and ready to go home, I jumped on a public bus. The moment I stepped off I realised I’d left my camera on the seat – a disaster, as it was very precious to me. Continue reading...

Transport

1 week ago Please Don’t Feed the Children review – Destry Spielberg debut splices 1970s exploitation with YA fairytale

A band of roving, feral orphans – asymptomatic carriers of a plague that turns adults into cannibals – regret accepting a stranger’s act of apparent kindnessThis low-budget horror thriller comes with an almighty directorial last name, but Steven’s daughter Destry serves up precious little that is classically Spielbergian in her debut feature. Forget Dad’s signature childlike wonder; the youngsters in this post-apocalyptic outing – ostracised because minors are asymptomatic carriers of a plague that turns adults into cannibals – are completely feral, opportunistic and worryingly keen to kill. Spielberg’s film is a surprisingly nihilistic, if uneven, splicing of 21st-century young-adult and 1970s exploitation flicks.After making a break for the border, roving juvenile Mary (Zoe Colletti) takes up with a band of orphans squatting a nearby community centre. Leader Ben (Andrew Liner) is wounded during a botched armed robbery on a service station, so they take refuge in an isolated house....

Society

2 w. ago The kindness of strangers: a man let me share his hotel room when I was locked out in Paris

I was staying with a host family and they were asleep. The entrance code had changed and I was feeling stuck, hopeless – and quite hungryRead more in the Kindness of strangers seriesThe day hadn’t got off to a great start. I was flying back to France from the UK after a friend’s funeral. I’d been living in Paris doing a French-language course and living with a host family who, to be honest, weren’t particularly welcoming.It was late at night when I got back to the apartment, only to find the entrance code to the building had changed – something the host family had neglected to mention. They must have already been in bed, because nobody was answering my calls. Short of throwing rocks at the fourth-floor window to wake them up, I had no way of getting inside. Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago Bodybuilder almost dies after botched surgery as doctor told him to make 'final goodbye'

Jackson Peos has a new lease of life after he was saved thanks to the kindness of complete strangers following a botched surgery where he lost three litres of blood

Events

4 w. ago The kindness of strangers: a nurse saw me crying and asked if I wanted a hug

I had cancer and I was alone in hospital when it all suddenly hit me. I have never needed a hug more in my lifeRead more in the Kindness of strangers seriesIn 2024, I was unexpectedly diagnosed with leukaemia. I was 34. I had no symptoms (none!) and it came at the worst possible time, although there is never a good time.I am a musician and was one week away from flying to New Zealand to be in a show. I was extremely excited about the show and, to be organised, I thought I’d get a blood test to check my iron levels before I left the country for five weeks. Continue reading...

Politics

4 w. ago Woman reveals incredible way she survived serial killer in the desert after he took chunks out of her neck

Jennifer Asbenson was only 19 years old and working as a carer in Palm Springs, California , when 'kind stranger' Andrew Urdiales offered to drive her to work.

Events