Many years ago now, one Saturday afternoon, my mother and I drove to central London and I parked in Grosvenor Square, just behind John Lewis Oxford Street. As we were sitting in the cafe at John Lewis I looked out of the window and to my horror saw that my car had been clamped! I wasn’t sure what to do as I didn’t know how long it would take to sort out the problem and didn’t want to leave my elderly mother alone not knowing when I would be back. A lady sitting at a nearby table realised my plight and offered to stay with my mother until I returned. I readily accepted her offer.

In the event, I was gone for a couple of hours (or more?) as I had to go to the police car pound at Hyde Park corner, and then walk back to my car and wait for someone to come and release the wheel.

I was so very grateful to that lady, a total stranger, for giving up her afternoon to sit and chat with my mother, which gave me peace of mind in leaving her.

Angela

 

Artist’s response

When people talk about acts of kindness, they sometimes imagine big gestures or charitable acts. I like this story because it focuses on something so small as someone’s presence being the act of kindness. It is something anyone can do, it requires no prior knowledge, and no planning, however it can have such a big impact on the receiver that she remembered it for many years to come.

GERRY ORMANOVA

Gerry Ormanova is a graphic designer and lettering artist from Sofia (Bulgaria). She loves typography and all things letters, focusing on illustrative type and distortion. In her work she experiments with different mediums such as paper cut, embroidery, handcrafted letters, digital illustrations and stop motion.

Instagram: gerry.ormanova