Day 1 - 5th March 2014

I begin - somewhat ironically - with a confession. I am not a Christian, but I'm more than happy to participate in the Christian festivals. Especially those where food is concerned. So I celebrate Christmas with turkey and all the trimmings, Easter with chocolate, I spoil my Mum on mothering sunday and I'm partial to a pancake or two on Shrove Tuesday. But then there's Lent. Abstinence doesn't come naturally to me (I'm more of a hedonist by nature) and I find it hard to give anything up without purpose, and without belief in a deity that requires an act of penitence Lent seems ultimately pointless. I manage to exist happily on £1 a day for Live Below the Line week, but that's because it creates a pot of cash I can donate to those less fortunate. And that, combined with the lovely work done by the Random Acts of Kindness Foundation, Suspended Coffee movement and others, is what led to this idea.

During Lent, I won't deny myself anything - but I'm going to try and give to others instead. I've set myself the challenge of performing a different generous or helpful act every day and recording it here. Some may be planned, others may be spontaneous, some may be for friends or neighbours, others may be for strangers, in some cases I'll give money, other I'll give time, or advice or goods. Whatever. The important thing is that somebody other than me will feel the benefit.

Day 1 began with this half-formed idea and an opportunity to realise it occurred surprisingly quickly. A fellow passenger on the bus unfortunately suffered an epileptic seizure. Fortunately another passenger who has the same condition immediately realised what was happening. We'd already stopped the bus, and she moved quickly into action, placing the woman in the recovery position and looking in her bag in case she carried a card with information about her seizures. She did. The driver was already on the phone to the ambulance service, but I offered to contact the people listed on the emergency card. The first number I tried didn't work, but I managed to get through to the woman's husband and let him know that she'd had a seizure and was beginning to recover. I passed on to the driver information about the drugs she takes for the ambulance service and made arrangements that her husband should be notified if the ambulance took her to hospital, since by now he was on his way to her side.

I don't want to give the impression that I was saving the day - others were helping the woman recover, reassuring her and keeping her safe. I was genuinely touched by the level of concern all the passengers showed to a stranger in trouble. But I hope my one small, practical act helped her and her husband to overcome the challenge of her seizure that day.