Donationware and the good Samaritan

I like the concept of Donationware and extend it to other realms. Occasionally I have copied a CD for a fellow Marc Bolan fan or done some other favour. The hassle of currency exchange and postage for a couple of quid is just not worth it so when asked "How much do I owe you?" I reply "Stick a couple of dollars in the next charity box you see."

On Saturday taking our guests (Verginie, Orla and Megan) for a tour of the New Forest I had to turn the car round. Instead of doing an elegant three point turn on the road I did a U-turn and the - so I thought - nice green verge turned out to be a shallow mud bath. Result: much wheel-spinning and a sense of humour failure on the distaff side.

After failed "sticks under the wheel" and "jack it up and put a carpet underneath" I / we gave up and called the AA. Just then a local Good Samaritan with a chunky four wheel drive and a tow rope came to our rescue and towed us out of the slime. In the country those kind of vehicles do make sense!

He did not look like he needed financial assistance to buy a beer (or a gin and tonic) so "How much do I owe you?" seemed inappropriate; instead I asked him to nominate a charity. His answer Wessex Heartbeat. So that is my evening's task, as a matter of honour, to pop a cheque in the post.