Now for the good news! Random acts of kindness bloom in Britain
IT IS Flower Power – but with a bit of a twist.
For while the children of the 1960s wore blooms in their hair to promote peace and love, now it is all about random acts of kindness.
In an emerging trend, people are leaving bouquets in public places to be picked up by passing strangers. It appears to have started in London, but has spread to other places across the country, such as Cirencester in Gloucestershire.
Jenny Webster set up the Cirencester Kindness Project after her sister Claire, a surgeon at Queen Mary’s Hospital in South-West London, came upon a bunch of flowers in the street.
Jenny, a 30-year-old circus performer, said: ‘The flowers were just perfect because she has been working really hard. She was really tearful when she received them and was really touched.’
Impressed by how happy the experience made her sister, Ms Webster decided to do the same in Cirencester and left a note with the first bouquet that read: ‘Hello stranger! If you find these flowers they were meant for you. Please take them home and enjoy them, you deserve it.’
Local firms and residents started donating to the project and Jenny set up a Facebook page so recipients could share their experiences.
She told The Times: ‘A lady called Margaret received the second bunch. Passers-by found them and gave them to her as she was going past on a mobility scooter. She was just beaming from ear to ear in the photograph they sent. It’s so lovely. Her daughter and granddaughter… have bought flowers for us and are paying it forward in other ways, which is how the project should go ahead.’
Young mum Laura Date was walking on a river path in Cirencester when she found a bouquet on a bench. She has now ordered Christmas decorations to hang in public places for passers-by to take home.
The founder of the London Kindness Project began leaving flowers in public after work. The 24-year-old unnamed woman said: ‘I was going through some things in my life and thought, “You never know what people around you are going through.” It would be great if it was done across the country. It doesn’t have to be flowers. It could just be a nice note.’