42 h. ago The kindness of strangers: stranded on a deserted back road, three bikies swapped my busted tyre

Just like in a movie, they pulled up around me, engines bubbling ominously, all leather and gang colours. I thought, ‘This is it – they’re gonna kill me’Read more in the kindness of strangers seriesIt was late, dark and a storm was brewing. I’d been helping a friend do some work at a property in the Colo valley, north-west of Sydney, and was heading home at about 11pm. As I was driving across the Colo River Bridge, there was a sudden, loud bang. I’d hit a pothole and my front driver’s side tyre had blown, just about swallowing my hatchback with it.It was 1988 and, in those days, the area around Colo was pretty rough. It was full of bikies – proper bikies, not the drug-running kind that don’t even have bikes nowadays. The back roads around there are mainly deserted and can be eerie at the best of times. Continue reading...

Transport

42 h. ago The kindness of strangers: when I was stranded on a deserted back road, three bikies changed my busted tyre

Just like in a movie, they pulled up around me, engines bubbling ominously, all leather and gang colours. I thought, ‘This is it – they’re gonna kill me’ Read more in the kindness of strangers seriesIt was late, dark and a storm was brewing. I’d been helping a friend do some work at a property in the Colo valley, north-west of Sydney, and was heading home about 11pm. As I was driving across the Colo River Bridge, there was a sudden, loud bang. I’d hit a pothole and my front driver’s side tyre had blown, just about swallowing my hatchback with it.It was 1988 and, in those days, the area around Colo was pretty rough. It was full of bikies – proper bikies, not the drug-running kind that don’t even have bikes nowadays. The back roads around there are mainly deserted and can be eerie at the best of times. Continue reading...

Transport

4 d. ago ‘We don’t want to stay here’: UN accused of abandoning refugees in Niger

The west African country seems to be a dumping ground for thousands of people pushed back from north Africa after trying to reach EuropeThere is no shade from the sun nor protection from sandstorms in the deserts of Niger and so, for almost 300 days, the refugees stranded there have stood in protest with a single message: “We don’t want to stay here.”About 15km (8 miles) from the nearest town of Agadez, the 2,000 refugees in the camp feel they have been isolated from the world, kept out of sight and earshot and abandoned by those they feel should be helping them – the Nigerien government, the EU and the UN’s refugee agency, UNHCR. Continue reading...

Events

7 d. ago Lanarkshire youngsters can feel safer over school summer holidays thanks to new Fearless campaign

Initiative focused on encouraging pro-social choices, preventing violence and raising awareness about the risks of illegal off-road biking.

Politics

8 d. ago The kindness of strangers: a gentle flight attendant made me feel I wasn’t alone

He didn’t try to tell me everything would be all right, because it wouldn’t have been. If he hadn’t been there, I would have been sobbing on my ownRead more in the kindness of strangers seriesI’d completely forgotten it was my little sister’s 40th birthday, so that morning I hurriedly arranged to send some flowers to her house. She died before she could receive them. My sister died at 11am and I got a text from the florist saying they’d delivered the flowers at 11.30am – how ridiculous. They must have sat on her doorstep for days.I got the call as I was walking through the doors at Emerald airport in Queensland, about to fly home to Brisbane. My stepdad rang me and said, “I need to talk to you about something – your sister’s died.” I was like, “What? What do you mean?” I told him I was about to hop on a plane home and that I’d call him when I got on the ground. I hung up, stunned. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago British man stranded in Israel considers desert escape after Iranian missile strikes

James Eden considering ‘risky’ journey through the desert to Egypt after outbound flights from Israel were suspended

Events

2 w. ago The kindness of strangers: when I left my card in an ATM in Argentina, a Dutch guy found it and saved my trip

I was travelling solo in 2009, carrying only one card with me. If Bart hadn’t helped, I would have been in a big messRead more in the kindness of strangers seriesI was towards the end of a nine-week trip, travelling solo around the world. After that long abroad, I was just exhausted. So when I went to the ATM to get money out, I made a critical mistake.At home in Australia, we take the card out and then we get our cash. In Argentina, where I was, it’s the reverse – first your cash comes out, then your card. So I put my card in, got my money and just walked away, leaving my card behind. Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago Woman tortured and raped by evil ex for 13 years finally escaped after meeting kind stranger

Michael Christie terrorised Emma Louise Goddard after meeting her when she was just 15-years-old.

Events

3 w. ago Kindness of strangers: a woman I’d never met heard we had flu and dropped a big pot of soup at our doorstep

We’d just moved to a small town and didn’t know a soul. Then we all got sick at the same time. That food saved usRead more in the kindness of strangers seriesIt was 1996 when my husband was transferred to the small rural town of Healesville for work. In inner-city Melbourne, where we’d been living, we had a support network of neighbours, friends and family. In Healesville we didn’t know a soul. It was just me and my husband, our two little kids and two dogs.We hadn’t been there long when we all came down with the flu. It wasn’t a cold, it was the flu – complete with aching, fevers and hallucinating. It was terrible. Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago The kindness of strangers: a woman I’d never met heard we had flu and dropped a big pot of soup at our doorstep

We’d just moved to a small town and didn’t know a soul. Then we all got sick at the same time. That food saved usRead more in the kindness of strangers seriesIt was 1996 when my husband was transferred to the small rural town of Healesville for work. In inner-city Melbourne, where we’d been living, we had a support network of neighbours, friends and family. In Healesville we didn’t know a soul. It was just me and my husband, our two little kids and two dogs.We hadn’t been there long when we all came down with the flu. It wasn’t a cold, it was the flu – complete with aching, fevers and hallucinating. It was terrible. Continue reading...

Politics

4 w. ago The kindness of strangers: when my period arrived, a lifeguard quietly put a towel around me

I was only 13 and he was young too, but he somehow knew not to make it a big deal. If he hadn’t helped, it likely would have destroyed my entire holidayRead more in the kindness of strangers seriesIt wasn’t my first period, but it was within the first year of getting my period. I was only 13 years old and, when you first start menstruating, you never know when your next period is going to arrive.I was away on holiday with my family, playing in the hotel pool with some new friends I’d just met. There was definitely a boy there I fancied. At one point, I hopped out of the pool and suddenly this lifeguard, who must have only been 15 or 16 himself, walked straight up, put a towel around me and said really quietly in my ear, “You need to go to the bathroom.” I looked down and realised why: my period had started. Continue reading...

Politics