TW was awake at 01:30 this morning, which was a miracle in itself (since no alcohol was involved), but actually she had set the alarm and intended to be awake at that time. We are taking in students who are visiting the UK to learn English, and she had agreed to take in a Chinese boy. Unfortunately we were expected to collect him from Worthing Station at 23:30.
Why set the alarm for 01:30 instead, then? I hear you ask... Well, at about 23:00 we got a text message advising that our visitor was delayed, and not expected into Worthing until 01:30. Up until that point, I was going to collect him, but at that point TW told me to go to bed and get some sleep, and she would collect the new arrival. So she set her alarm for 01:00 or 01:10, and dressed and set off to the station.
She was a few minutes early, our arriving student had not yet arrived, so she busied herself surveying the scene. She noticed a young woman who appeared to be visibly upset talking to a member of the station staff. The young woman ended the conversation and was crying. TW, being the person she is, wandered over and asked the woman what was the matter.
It turned out that she was a Mexican lady travelling to Milan, and she had been in London, intending to get to Gatwick. She had boarded the last train out of London Victoria, which as any fule kno runs fast to Brighton and then along the coast to Worthing. Unfortunately not every Mexican fule kno that though... She had spoken to the taxi drivers at the station, and they wanted £100 to drive her to Gatwick; she only had £13 about her person. So that was a no-go. And her flight was at 06:00. TW took control of the situation, told her not to worry, explained why she was loitering at the train station at that time in the morning (I would have been a bit suspicious myself) and promised to get the girl to Gatwick.
So TW collected the student and brought the student and the young woman back to our house, settled the student, came and woke me up and told me what she was up to (not that I took it in at the time, apparently I mostly blinked and looked dazed), and set off driving the girl to Gatwick. TW got back about 03:30 and slept.
I made sandwiches for the students when I got up, and a neighbour offered to take the girls to school, and I left for work.
Speaking to TW in the evening, she said that she hadn't done anything special, that anyone would have done the same thing and that she hoped that if she or any of our daughters were in that situation, that someone would have helped in a similar way.
I beg to differ though; I think that what she did was extraordinary, and it's not something that "anyone else would have done". TW is extremely empathic, and she helps people wherever she can. This was an extreme example of the sort of thing that she does every day.
In a world where people are getting shot while they sunbathe, and state support is being taken away from those most in need, and where all our heroes have turned out to be grubby self-interested child-molesters, this is the sort of act which restores my faith in humanity and reaffirms the fact that I've got the best wife in the world.
I hope others can appreciate that a little help here and there makes the world a better place.
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