The Kindness of Strangers is a book I found in Browsers Bookshop in Hamilton. The shop and its wonderful array of books has now relocated to a rather tucked away location, diagonally away from the old spot. I’ve spent many moments chatting to the staff in my disguise as a harmless old man. Anyway, the book I bought was by an intrepid woman journalist called Kate Adie who has been to many places and seen many events over time and experienced kindness as well as anger.
My recent experience of the kindness of a stranger was when I ended up with my elderly car parked at the roadside between the deviation and Raglan. My nearest and dearest set off to find help. When she had been away for some time I started to get concerned. Maybe she had been kidnapped by a stranger. Then a stranger stopped. He was driving an old flat vehicle. The stranger then had a loom at my ailing old blue car and its overheated engine. Next he drove me off to look for Jill. She had set off in a different direction to the one I had supposed and had found a friendly farmer. So all’s well that ends well, though it’s a good ending if I get my car (that Jill calls a pile of old rubbish) back and fit for my needs.
P.S. It turns out that Jill was right. Colin reckons I can get into Raglan’s shops and back again provided I give the old rubbish a drink of half a litre of water leaving home and before returning from town. Bye-bye Hamilton.
Ian McKissak
Raglan
