Short Cuts is Josie Long's showcase for delightful and adventurous short documentaries. Each week join Josie as she dives into a world of true stories, brief encounters, radio adventures and found sound. Listen to the first episode of Short Cuts now
Tube hug
A couple of years ago I was having a very hard time. I was on the tube on my way to a gig and suddenly I found myself crying so hard that I couldn't stop. I got off the train flustered and embarrassed and on the platform something happened. A woman of about fifty ran over to me, actually ran, and asked if I was alright, and then because I couldn't really answer she just grabbed me and gave me a hug. She held onto me and said "it's ok, it's going to be ok". After what must have been a couple of minutes, which is no time at all and also all of the time in the world she said "do you need me to stay with you?" and I said no, thanks and that I was ok, and she got onto a train.
It was such a brief encounter, but it meant a lot to me. It is really unusual in London for someone to intervene like she did. Out of nowhere she was really kind to me, and full on, too. It was needed and it made me feel better. I never found out her name and I wouldn't recognise her if I saw her again.
I remembered this little meeting while I was thinking about how to describe Short Cuts. It was an unexpected thing on an otherwise normal day and it was a very fleeting thing, too. Sometimes very small things can take on a lot of significance.
Here's a taster from the latest series of Short Cuts - the games that teachers play...
Learn some surprising secrets about the games bored teachers play whilst invigilating.
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external websites
