A stranger offered me a seat on public transport – and it’s thrown me into crisis | Zoe Williams
Is my 51 years of age now old? Did he think I was pregnant? Or was I just staring at him too much?
I was minding my own business on the tube the other day, but that’s maybe not the most precise description of what I was up to. I’m curious on public transport; I like to check what other people are reading, smile at them while they do their makeup, eavesdrop if they’re with a friend, generally get in everyone’s business like a terrier. And while I was up to my antics, I made what I thought was a friendly expression at two young people sitting together, for no better reason than that they were making each other laugh and one of them had a scarf that looked a bit French, when one said: “Would you like to sit down?”
Would I like to sit down? What’s the minimum age to be asked that? Maybe 70? And even then only if they had a walking stick. How could I alert him to his astronomical misjudgment? Should I do a pull-up on the handrail? I cannot do a pull-up. All I could say was, “No, thank you.”
Continue reading...
Read more at The Guardian
-
The kindness of strangers: after a nasty bike accident in Turkey, a local dropped everything to care for me
I had no travel insurance and couldn’t walk. I was entirely dependent on him, but he never once made it awkward. Read more in the kindness of strangers series I was cycling in rural Turkey – I ...The Guardian - 15h -
The kindness of strangers: I pulled over in hysterics – then a passing driver saved me from the spider
After the huntsman raced across my windscreen, I had an arachnophobic meltdown on the side of the road. Then a well-coiffed vision in a Volvo rolled up her sleeves. • Read more in the kindness of ...The Guardian - 2d -
Thai authorities seek to ease air pollution in capital by offering free public transport
Thai authorities have made travel by public transport in Bangkok free for a week, the latest tactic to try to tackle soaring levels of air pollution that have already seen hundreds of schools ...ABC News - 4d -
Pollution-hit Bangkok closes hundreds of schools and offers free public transport
Government orders ban on burning of leftover crops and says train and bus services will be free from Saturday. Air pollution in Thailand’s capital forced the closure of more than 350 schools on ...The Guardian - 5d -
The great Harry and Meghan debate rages on – but I’m staying out of it | Zoe Williams
The exiled royals are caught between their need for attention and their disgust at the tabloid media crusade against them. I won’t pick a side in this tawdry culture war. It may have been straight ...The Guardian - Jan. 21 -
‘She is very manipulative and controlling’: My mother offered to buy me an apartment, but there are strings. Is it foolish to say no?
“My father is a selfish egomaniac.”MarketWatch - Jan. 20 -
The kindness of strangers: dazed, confused and far from home, a train worker offered me a place to stay
I was a sobbing country kid, stranded without luggage at a big-city train station, when a voice inquired: ‘Can I help you?’. Read more in the kindness of strangers series I grew up in Wagga ...The Guardian - Jan. 20 -
The kindness of strangers: it was the jacket of my dreams – then he offered it to me at a price I could afford
The Australian dollar-to-euro exchange rate meant I’d be forking out over a week’s wages. Then the Paris shop owner said simply: ‘That jacket was meant for you’. Read more in the kindness of ...The Guardian - Jan. 13 -
The kindness of strangers: I needed a place to take my burnout and my dog, then a woman I’d never met sent me an invitation
A woman related to my memoir so much, she offered to lend me her holiday shack. When we met in person, we couldn’t stop talking. Find the rest of our series of stories on the kindness of ...The Guardian - Jan. 6
More from The Guardian
-
Plane with 64 onboard crashes near Washington DC after collision with military helicopter – follow live
Rescuers search Potomac river after regional passenger jet operated by PSA Airlines collides midair with a military Black Hawk helicopter while approaching Ronald Reagan Washington national ...The Guardian - 11m -
US-born teenager murdered by father in Pakistan over TikTok content
Anwar ul-Haq confessed to shooting his 15-year-old daughter after she continued with her ‘objectionable’ posts. A man who had recently brought his family back to Pakistan from the United States has ...The Guardian - 13h -
Trump orders opening of migrant detention center at Guantánamo Bay
President signs executive order instructing preparation of facility to house 30,000 immigrants at US naval base in Cuba. US politics – live Donald Trump has signed an executive order to ...The Guardian - 7h -
Race to rescue driver trapped in Japan sinkhole for two days
Attempts in Japan to retrieve the man were temporarily halted early on Wednesday after a second sinkhole appeared. Rescue workers in Japan are battling water leaks, gas pipes and unstable ground ...The Guardian - 1h -
Taranaki Mounga, New Zealand’s second-highest mountain, granted same legal rights as a person
Second-highest peak in Aotearoa, formerly called Mount Egmont by European settlers, has its spiritual status formally recognised by government . New Zealand’s second-highest mountain and its ...The Guardian - 29m
More in World
-
Plane with 64 onboard crashes near Washington DC after collision with military helicopter – follow live
Rescuers search Potomac river after regional passenger jet operated by PSA Airlines collides midair with a military Black Hawk helicopter while approaching Ronald Reagan Washington national ...The Guardian - 11m -
Taranaki Mounga, New Zealand’s second-highest mountain, granted same legal rights as a person
Second-highest peak in Aotearoa, formerly called Mount Egmont by European settlers, has its spiritual status formally recognised by government . New Zealand’s second-highest mountain and its ...The Guardian - 29m -
Thursday Briefing
President Trump’s reversal on a spending freeze.The New York Times - 51m -
Mo season two review – one of the most hilarious, heart-rending shows on TV
The sidesplittingly funny yet dark return of Mo Amer’s Palestinian refugee comedy sees its lead stuck in Mexico. It tugs on your heartstrings, and finds lightness in even the most troubling ...The Guardian - 52m -
Ditch the soap! Dermatologists on 20 simple ways to love and protect your skin
Do you need a complicated skincare routine, or is a cleanser enough? And what about sugar, sleep, stress and smoking?. Our skin is ever-changing and there is so much you can do to look after it – ...The Guardian - 52m