The Look of Lost

There's a very distinct look to a lost tourist. It might be a map (or phone) in their hands, being pointed in one direction and then another and coupled with the facial expression that says, "that is North, right?". And while some of the less-geographically coordinated are happy to play it safe and ask a passerby or simple make a decision and stick to it, others will have a very identifiable expression akin to a deer caught in the headlights.

This was 100% me on my first trip to the UK. A 20-something year old Australian travelling along with my best friend, also a 20-something year old Australian with just a fraction more travelling experience than myself. It was, by every definition, the adventure of our dreams, which of course meant that when we discovered pop sensation One Direction would be touring while we were travelling it absolutely had to happen. Our plans were changed specifically to see the band, and honestly I have no regrets. We made our way to Nottingham by plane and then bus, not knowing exactly where the bus would be stopping. This made our plans to get to the accommodation a little daunting, especially at a time when we didn't have a cheap or reliable data plan for our phones. Queue the look, just like the one I have described. This was all over our faces as we stumbled off the bus into a street with absolutely no idea where to go next, with all of our belongings shoved haphazardly into two misshapen pieces of luggage.

I will always think about Nottingham fondly because of this trip, but only in part because of the concert (which was truly amazing, I will add). It was what happened at this bus stop that has stayed with me. A middle-aged man was also hopping off at this stop, he had with his a satchel of some type and a briefcase, and was wearing a blazer and slacks. He recognised the look straight away and asked if we needed directions. We were relieved at the offer, since we were already quite used to having to interrupt people if we were unsure. We told him the name of the road our hotel was on, but not the hotel of course (we still needed to be smart where we could to protect ourselves from the professionally dressed, middle-aged man from Nottingham, just in case).

He told us that he would be walking by the top of that street and he could help to show us the way. Now, as 20-something year old women, having grown up hearing the horror stories from the outback that all too often start this way, our faces probably changed from the "help, we're lost" look to the "we can't be sure you're not an axe-murderer and we feel somewhat awkward about this encounter now" look. He was picking up what we were putting down thankfully, and pulled up a map on his tablet to show us exactly where we were and which way we'd need to go to get there. My bestie and I shared that look with each other that said, "this guy seems legit, let's go". I mean, our other option was to find a nearby cafe and beg for the wifi password.

As we walked, the man started to talk about his life in Nottingham. He told us about his family, his work, how long he'd lived there and how much he loves it. We'd reached the point where we would take a different route to reach our accommodation and thanked the man for his kindness. He said that the hotel was about 300m on the right, and we learnt it was the only hotel on that street which is why he knew. He also told us that if we were going to get a nice meal we absolutely had to visit a restaurant nearby that was in a converted church. Trusting his opinion, we did visit that restaurant and it was just as amazing as he'd built it up to be.

So yes, the concert was great. We waited for the band to arrive at the back gates and it snowed on us the the few dozen other girls waiting for a glimpse, albeit we were probably about 5-10 years older than most of them. But when I think about our visit to Nottingham, I always remember the kindness of that one gentleman and think that it's not the attractions or events that make a place, it's the people. Ever since, I've tried to be one of those people in my city too and it's the easiest show kindness and bring humanity to a city that may otherwise feel like any other. I hope you will think of this story the next time you recognise that look, even if it's a long time from now.