When buying lunch from the Albany Kiosk in Town yesterday, Clive White was delighted to be told that his food had been pre-paid by someone unknown to him. In the nearby Tuck Shop, someone had put money behind the counter to pay in advance for some children to enjoy their sweets for free.
Last weekend, student nurse Courtney Mollet was having lunch at Muse in Town with a friend, Daisy Kershaw, when they were told that their meal had been paid for by someone else.
Ms Mollet said the random act of kindness came as a complete surprise and made her and Ms Kershaw smile.
“[Daisy is] studying law in Bournemouth and she’s come back to Guernsey for Christmas,” said Ms Mollet. “I went to secondary school with her and we’ve been really good friends for years so we were meeting for a catch-up.
“We were both really shocked and warmed by it, but also gutted because we didn’t know who the gentleman was to personally thank him. So I went to Guernsey People Have Your Say [on Facebook] to try and thank him.”
Similar random acts of kindness have been reported at The Queens in St Martin’s and Dix-Neuf in Town.
One lady said her bill for brunch for five people was paid for by someone else in advance, which she described as “such a kind thing to do”.
The random acts of kindness have come to the attention of the States.
Pictured: The States’ communications team took a few moments out to celebrate an outbreak of random acts of kindness across the island.
This is not the first outbreak of such random acts of kindness.
Previously, Sure shared goodwill with members of the public across the Channel Islands by giving away treats ranging from a bar of chocolate to a restaurant meal.
The charitable foundation Smile for Georgie has also carried out numerous random acts of kindness since it was launched following the tragic death of Georgie Le Prevost and her boyfriend in a car accident in 2017.
That random act of kindness coincided with World Smile Day.
Pictured: The Smile for Georgie Foundation is known for committing random acts of kindness similar to several reported across the island in the past few days.
World Smile Day was 1 October this year. In the UK, the organisation known as Random Acts of Kindness is arranging a week of such events in mid-February 2022 with Random Acts of Kindness Day scheduled for 17 February next year.
It is not yet known who is behind the current surge in random acts of kindness in Guernsey, but judging by the number of smiles they are putting on people’s faces it is already a great success.
Pictured top: Muse was one location where an anonymous person carried out a random act of kindness over the past few days.