So it's Christmas, and a bit of a weird one, so I want to tell you about a surprise Christmas present and the kindness of Twitter and total strangers on the other side of Europe that helped make it happen.

Ten years ago, as relative newly weds, my wife and I had a lovely holiday in Croatia.

During that, we visited an amazing small museum (I do love a small museum): The Museum of Ancient Glass.

Amazing displays and THEY STILL MADE GLASSWARE THE OLD WAY!

We bought two glasses.

Now over the years, they got chipped and broken.

So I decided, as a present for my wife, to order some news ones for Christmas.

This turned out to be somewhat harder than expected.

Because: small museum.

No English website.

No online shop.

I did find contact details on Facebook. So I reached out on Twitter to find a Croatian speaker.

This is hard without giving the game away when your wife FOLLOWS you (hello wife!).

Step forward our first hero: @djulo

I'd hoped for help writing an email. He offered to call them.

YAY! He helpfully explained the situation to the museum, who were keen to help.

But... More problems. They had no way of taking payments over the phone, or online, or really... Well, doing anything other than onsite sales during opening hours.

And Đulijano doesn't live in Zadar

Enter our second, unnamed hero. A friend of Đulijano who lived in Zadar.

Someone who agreed to help an utterly random man in a country the other side of Europe buy some wine glasses.

Our unnamed hero took time one day, after work, to rush over to the museum before it closes. Got photos of the stock, sent them to Đulijano, who sent them to me.

I confirmed the choice, and then he went back the next day and bought them.

WITH HIS OWN MONEY

FOR A STRANGER

I'd offered to send cash in advance. They said not to worry. Sort it at the end.

And despite pressures of life and work and pandemics and everything, they got the wine glasses, packaged them up carefully and posted then off.

Then gave me the receipts and I paid.

And then the wait began.

And it was a long wait. Because COVID. And borders. And busy postal services.

And I worried.

I thought they wouldn't get here.

AND THEN THEY ARRIVED ON THE 23RD DECEMBER!

And they were intact, because of the loving care with which they were packed.

So this thread is a public thank you to Đulijano and our unnamed hero, for helping make a Christmas where we're trapped in London a bit special.

But I also wanted to do it because, especially right now, it is easy to think that Twitter is always terrible. That people are rubbish more often than they are not.

But it's not true. Because bad is loud, and good is quiet.

Don't ever forget that.

Merry Christmas everyone

UPDATE:

Đulijano has confirmed our unknown hero is called Patrik, so happy to name him now! https://www.twitter.com/djulo/status/1342476825658798082