Every now and again in amongst the darkness of wars that have nothing to do with us and general doom and gloom that is fed to us 24 hours a day by our Mainstream Media, a little chink of light appears and a miraculous thing happens. A good news story makes it onto the News.
I'm not saying that what happened to the elderly gentleman pictured above is good news but what came of his ordeal was just wonderful. Alan Barnes, a disabled pensioner was mugged right outside his house in Gateshead. He was thrown to the ground and broke his collar bone. After his ordeal, he was terrified to stay in his own house and went to his sister's house to recover. In the meantime, a young woman called Katy Cutler heard what happened to Alan and decided to set up an online donation page to raise money to help him move to another house. She initially intended to raise £500 to help him buy carpets and curtains for a new home but the donation page went viral (as they say in social network circles) and as of today's date, the amount of money raised for Alan is now standing at £300,000. That is more than enough money for Alan to buy his own house. What a fantastic happy ending!
Some people are complete and utter b****rds.What a wonderful girl. Thank goodness for people with light in their hearts.
ReplyDeleteI thought she was wonderful too CT.
DeleteSuch a lot of kindness.
ReplyDeleteJean
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I think there is more good than bad in the world Jean but we mostly hear about the doom and gloom.
DeleteHow could anybody mug a guy like that? Well done to Katy Cutler - much more than a beautician.
ReplyDeleteHow could anybody mug a guy like that? Well done to Katy Cutler - much more than a beautician.
ReplyDeleteI know, it's sickening but there are desperate people out there who will mug someone for a couple of pounds. Glad so much good came out of it though.
DeleteI understand that Alan himself requested the fund be closed yesterday, standing at £329,000. I wonder if he feels a tad embarrassed by it all, a very private man this can't have been comfortable for him, thrust into the spotlight. But it's another of those random acts of kindness that makes you feel there is hope for the human race after all! And to add to this, another lady who was touched by Katy's act of kindness, set up a fund for her, to raise enough money to send her and her family on a holiday, a way of thanking her for what she has done for Alan Barnes.
ReplyDeleteI do worry though, that this will have made him more of a target in some way..... but really hope he gets his new home, somewhere safe, and is able to, allowed to, live out his life in his own quiet way, which I am sure would be more to his liking than the media attention he's had.
Hi Edwina. I was hoping Alan would find some sheltered accommodation where there are wardens to look after the old people and help them to feel safe.
DeleteMe too, though I have heard of the occasional incident where even these weren't totally safe. It's worrying, as you get older, safety. Something you never think about when you're bringing up a family and so on.
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