Kindness of strangers: I was stranded, dressed as a flapper, on a freezing night. Then a cheerful taxi driver pulled over

My tyre was blown so he changed it for me. When I offered payment, he said ‘Don’t be ridiculous love’

- Read more in the kindness of strangers series

I had to fight not to lose control of the car. I was in my early 20s and driving home from a fancy dress party when bang – my tyre suddenly blew. I managed to wrestle my Toyota Corolla to a stop without crashing and sat there, heart pounding, as I wondered what to do next.

It was 1982 in Canberra; a foggy, bitterly cold night in the middle of winter. I was wearing a silly flapper dress and high heels – I’m not sure I’d even packed a jacket! I had a spare tyre in the back, but little idea how to change it. My options were to make the one hour walk home alone or wait to see if another car passed and could offer me a ride. For 30 minutes I sat in the driver’s seat helplessly, unsure what to do.

Continue reading...