The kindness of strangers: I thought I’d lost my flute for ever, then a chance to play Greensleeves returned it to me

I had no ID to show the station guards. Desperate and scrambling, I said: ‘What if I play you a tune?’

Read more in the kindness of strangers series

I was 21, living in Sydney, working as a glassie at a local pub and feeling a bit lost. I didn’t know what to do in life – the one thing I had going for me was playing the flute.

I’d saved for two years to buy my flute when I was 16 and earning $2.35 an hour at the supermarket. Every day I would come home and play it. It would help me process my emotions.

Topics

After my wife died, I joined a community choir. It gave me respite from my private grief | David Sornig

When Toni fell ill I stopped playing music entirely. Yet every so often I felt the urge to return . The first person who spoke to me on the first day of choir was a woman who’d sat beside me in the ...
The Guardian - 22h
I adore my children. I’m also scared that one day my son will kill me

In the UK, more than 170 women have been murdered by their sons in the past 15 years. An anonymous mother reveals what it is like to be frightened of your child while desperately wanting to support ...
The Guardian - Mar. 8
Every Move I Make, She’ll Be Watching Me

At 50, am I too old to be sharing my location with my mother?
The New York Times - Mar. 7
Australian beach culture used to feel off limits to me. This summer I claimed the beach as my own

I was a non-swimmer, living miles away from Sydney’s glittering water belt. Taking up ocean racing felt like a badge of not only belonging to, but thriving in, this city of water. It’s 7:45 am on a ...
The Guardian - 1d
My phone knows what I want before I do. That should be worrying – but it’s oddly comforting | Emma Beddington

On the downside, all my personal data is being harvested by faceless corporations. On the up, I’ve got a little parent in my pocket, anticipating my every need. I awoke recently to one of those ...
The Guardian - 6d
What I Found on the 365-Mile Trail of a Lost Folk Hero

The Old Leatherman, a sort of real-life Northeastern Sasquatch, gave me an excuse to step outside my own life.
The New York Times - Mar. 9
The one change that worked: I committed to therapy – and began to chip away at my grief and depression

When my mother died, my mental health fell into decline. I tried everything from CBT to mindfulness, until one day something finally shifted. I used to think I was great at therapy. From 17 to 23, ...
The Guardian - 6d
This is how we do it: ‘I’d distract myself to avoid climaxing – until the time I said out loud, “I need to take the bins out”’

Ana Sofía was coming out of a sexless relationship; Alfredo had never had a girlfriend. That made things ‘extremely exciting’ at first, but now they’re happy to slow it down How do you do it? ...
The Guardian - 1d
My petty gripe: people keep throwing food away without asking me if I want it. Of course I do!

What does it cost you to let others finish your bowl of chips at the pub? What do you gain by binning the soggy fruit salad?. Last week’s chicken too dry to finish off. A carrot so old it flops ...
The Guardian - 6d

The kindness of strangers: I thought I’d lost my flute for ever, then a chance to play Greensleeves returned it to me

Topics

Related

After my wife died, I joined a community choir. It gave me respite from my private grief | David Sornig

I adore my children. I’m also scared that one day my son will kill me

Every Move I Make, She’ll Be Watching Me

Australian beach culture used to feel off limits to me. This summer I claimed the beach as my own

My phone knows what I want before I do. That should be worrying – but it’s oddly comforting | Emma Beddington

What I Found on the 365-Mile Trail of a Lost Folk Hero

The one change that worked: I committed to therapy – and began to chip away at my grief and depression

This is how we do it: ‘I’d distract myself to avoid climaxing – until the time I said out loud, “I need to take the bins out”’

My petty gripe: people keep throwing food away without asking me if I want it. Of course I do!

More from The Guardian

North Macedonia mourns dead in nightclub fire as 15 people detained

US says airstrikes against Houthis in Yemen will continue indefinitely

Trump and Putin expected to speak this week about ceasefire terms, envoy says

Pope seen praying at hospital chapel in photo released by Vatican

Netanyahu says he will seek to dismiss head of Israel’s internal security service

More in World

Leicester v Manchester United: Premier League updates – live

Body found in NSW bushland believed to be missing six-year-old girl

Body found in NSW bushland believed to be missing six-year-old girl

Monday Briefing: U.S. Deports Hundreds in Face of a Court Order

Electricity gradually returns to Cuba after millions left in the dark