h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

We were on the Green near the river and a car had been going round and round the road. Once we were on the Green though, he left the road, mounted the kerb and came straight for us. Me with my walking stick ran for it, and boy am I paying for that right now. Moonglum went into fight mode and stood upto the car, which skidded at 30 miles per hour in wet grass and luckily missed him.

I was so angry, we stood in the pouring rain for a while, waiting for the police. In the end we went round the corner and found the car!

So we came home and rung the police again and are waiting for them to come round.

I don't get it though, we saw the car go round maybe 5/6 times, but only once we were on the Green did it also go on the Green. Was it deliberate? That thought freaks me.

Alternating between anger and tears right now.

I think it has shocked my depression away, hows everyone else?

Just gone 2am, been waiting from 11.15pm.

I am so sore, I have pain killers which will knock me out, but no point taking them if the police are about to arrive, or are they?!

Nearly 3am, so tired and so sore.

Wish I could take painkiller and goto bed.

Turns out that the phrase 'we would like to come and talk to you' doesn't actually mean that they will. Its mized up right now, but maybe the phone call we had back from them, was them coming and talking to us. Will Moonglum to follow up later.

At least I finally got to take my painkiller and goto bed. Very sore today though, I would be better than this if I could have taken my pain killer earlier though.

When we heard the car behind us, I made a comment that I hoped he had not mounted the kerb. To look behind and see that he had and was very close and coming straight for us, is something I cannot get out of my mind right now.

My first thought was that this was gonna hurt, maybe kill us and that I had to get away. We were so lucky.

Moonglum thinks today, now that he is a bit calmer, that because of the speed he was doing, he had already committed to going on the Green. When he did and saw us, I hoped it scared the life out of him, it sure did for me. However its a better thought that he mounted the kerb only because he saw us.

Considering it is only 3 months since I was verbally threatened for being disabled and Moonglum was beaten up for trying to protect me against someone else who threatened violence because I was slow and disabled, this is turning out to be such a pleasant place.

What a ghastly fright for you!

At that time of night, it sounds like joyriding kids losing control of the car.

Hi Snailrind
just had a phone call from the police, sorry for not getting back to us earlier etc etc. Initially they said that to further it, Moonglum would have to goto the station, so I said I would like to further it and I am disabled. We can ring to get more information later, the investigating officer works nights.

Can you imagine if you were a very busy person and you could only follow up a crime at night? Its pathetic!

Anyway, I have no faith in them actually accomplishing anything. This idiot will feel free to continue endangering lives by driving onto the Green. We will follow it up tonight with the police but fully expect to be taking matters into our own hands. If nothing else we will get photographic evidence of the idiot driving on the Green.

When I was younger I used to respect the police and say hello whenever I saw an officer. Up here though they glare at you if you say hello. They don't understand you are trying to make contact, to garner community feeling, they just think you are trying to be funny. I have gradually lost all respect for the police, all due to events that they could have pursued differently or not even bothered to pursue at all.

I still think we should report crimes, but they really make it difficult to these days. What does it mean when you have lost all faith in the people who are meant to look after us? When you fully believe that they make reporting small crimes difficult on purpose, so that you won't bother?

Anyway, how was your trip?

We are going to go through their complaints procedure. If I could have taken a painkiller and gone to bed at midnight, I would be better off than I am now. They said they wanted to come round and talk to us, we stayed up till 3am, when Moonglum tried to be helpful and let them know we were going to bed, he got attitude.

Why could they not let us know they were not going to make it round. How come one minute its so important to come round and talk to us, and the next morning they are saying that if we want to discuss the case we will need to visit the station, which is a taxi ride away for us.

When I asked this morning if they would keep us up-to-date, they couldn't even say they would. It was bad enough running for my life last night, without it being compounded afterwards with having to wait for non-existant visits, when I should have been in bed.

I am very tearful today, and its hardly surprising having to stay awake for 3 hours, whilst in a lot of pain and very very tired, after a traumatic incident.

I am utterly fed-up.

I havn't felt this vulnerable since...

I am panicking very badly and there is noone here.

HELP

Hi, Kaz.

Dewimorgan was saying on LJ that the guy who runs the corner shop near him got robbed at gunpoint, so he called the police and they turned up three days later!

The keenness followed by apathy reminds me of my experience of the Dyfed-Powys police after getting assaulted walking home one night. A neighbour heard me scream and called them, and they came round to my house next day, asking me to visit the station for statements and items of clothing and photofits etc; I wanted to just forget about it, but they guilt-tripped me by saying he might do it again to some other girl. Anyway, when I got to the station they'd forgotten I was due. I did the photofit and had to return for the statement, and then return again to be driven around the local pubs looking for the bastard, which was the last thing I wanted to do. By the third day, they were sick of the sight of me. The woman due to drive me around was off duty and drunk, so she had to sit in the cop car while her friend drove; and she told me some horrible stories about other women she was very busy trying to deal with, who had experienced far worse things than I had - with the implication that I shouldn't be complaining. Sheesh.

Meeting some members of that same police force socially on an unrelated occasion, I asked them why they had joined. "To help people," they said, and added glumly that this desire was not being fulfilled, partly because the force was so drastically undermanned, and partly because these days they are given so much paperwork that actually going out to help people gets very difficult, to the point where they have to judge how much paperwork a job will require before they can decide whether they can devote time to it (unofficially, of course). It's frustrating for them and it's frustrating for the victims of crimes.

Something the police didn't tell me about, but which I could really have done with knowing about, was that there is a group set up to counsel victims of crime. In Wales, they have a phoneline, or they send a volunteer round to the victim's house to listen and talk. Perhaps there's something like that round your way.

That sounds about right, you had a rotten experience with them, I am sorry to hear that. They really mess you around. I have got over the worst of my panic attack and am now just very anxious. I really really don't want to go out.

It just is too much at times, trying to deal with the pain, depression and difficulties walking, and then this on top. I am sure you must feel the same. We had a very hectic and stressful weekend last weekend, and I was looking forward to a better one this time, but it never lets up does it?

Is it necessary for you to go out today? Sound like you could do with a nice bit of R&R.

It helps ease the stiffness in my muscles. Living in only one room, means I don't move around much at home, so a daily walk helps a lot with pain.

Of course, I wasn't thinking. I suppose it would help drain some of the adrenaline, too. You've said before that yoga helps a bit, though I appreciate one needs to be in the mood for that...

On a completely different note, did you see the lunar eclipse last week?

Completely missed it, I was quite miffed.

Not been doing much yoga since this got worse, some stretches though.

Sorry to learn you missed it! I took some photos, but couldn't prevent camera shake. I'll try to post them up on the Internet soon, so you can have a look.

Have you decided whether you will be going outside today, or just knocking back the painkillers?

No idea.

How are you feeling today?