Well, it’s been a quiet one. And it’s been absolutely amazing.
The week started off well last week. I had someone come and make a start on clearing my veg patch, which I now call the nature garden as nature certainly took hold once Chris and I abandoned it in favour of going out to play in the real world.
Don’t get me wrong, that garden was a godsend during all the lockdowns. But now the world is back open? No thank you.
Anyway, because he gave it a good start I felt inclined to go potter about out there myself.
My garden session confirming why I very much dislike gardening. I was scratched to buggery from clearing brambles, the bramble thorns pierced at least three holes in my colostomy bag.
Oh yes, that really added to the ambiance and fun of gardening.
It’s happened before so as soon as I started getting wafts of bag content I knew exactly what happened.
So off I went indoors to change my now holey bag.
I came back out to finish off gardening. Only for exactly the same thing to happen again!
It was during one of these fun sessions that I was bitten by insect of unknown origin, on my bum, well, technically just under my bum cheek! You remember the bee sting? Well I don’t do too well with bites either (don’t worry, I’m not about to show you my poor bottom). Suffice to say, I’m done with gardening. Stinky bags and bum bites is my absolute limit.
I don’t know how anyone can find peace and solace in gardening. It’s brutal out there! Haha
I’ve got a chap starting this week hopefully to do it for me. Fingers crossed that he turns up. :)
I volunteered at the vaccine centre on Thursday, a perfectly lovely session apart from the fact that I didn’t dress for the weather. It was so cold by 7pm when it was time to go home.
I dress beautifully, even if I do say so myself. But misjudging the weather is apparently my forte. I expect to misjudge it come September/ October time, but I should be safe to dress for summer in August for goodness sake.
I’m beginning to wonder if being outside is a good idea at all for me!? ;)
Dress from Ghost, Shoes from Valentino Rockstuds
I had a great session. Everyone was upbeat and happy to be getting done.
Friday came and we had a big task ahead. Do you remember our big marquee we put up in April, when outside gatherings were allowed? Well, we loved that marquee. We loved everything about it.
But sadly it was ravaged by the elements and was ripped to shreds.
I was really gutted. It had been so nice to dine outside, inside, outside. :)
So my lovely husband bought the biggest summer house he could afford. And the weekend was spent building it.
Chris spent Friday digging out the area for the base. I spent the day admiring his digging. ;)
Saturday came and brought an army of our amazing friends, to help with the build.
I am so very very grateful. I feel very lucky that we have such amazing friends.
It was a mammoth task, and we were only able to do it because of our friends giving up their time. So I’d like to thank Chris, obviously. But also James, James, Matt, Michael, George, Ben, Ally, Kaitlyn ~ huge thank you to all…and just to be clear, I did some painting too. :)
Amazing effort all round. Can’t wait get the most out of it.
The garden is a bit of a mess as out lawnmower is broken again. But I have ordered a new one to try and keep on top of it.
Anyway, on Sunday, whilst the gang were working on the summerhouse I was volunteering at the vaccine centre.
This session was a bit of a shocker.
A gentleman shouted at me because he felt I was blocking the pavement/sidewalk. I was just letting a lady who had pulled in with her car know that we didn’t have any parking available, when the man walked up and started shouting at me.
I did try and bite my tongue, but I did have explain that I wasn’t actually in the car that was blocking the footpath. I rolled my eyes and walked away.
Anyway about 10 minutes after that interaction I greeted a lady who walked up to where I was standing to check people in for a jab.
I said “have you come got your vaccine?” Big smiley face like a air hostess.
BIG mistake, she then proceeded to launch an expletive laden verbal attack on me for about 10-15 minutes.
I can’t remember everything she said, because there was a lot, a lot a lot, but some of the highlights were;
She felt I was the fu***** devil, doing the fu***** devils work fu***** injecting poison into children.
And that I was ‘coming for the children’
She was very keen for me to understand that I am fu***** evil.
She name checked Porten Down (a government research laboratory facility). She said her brother in law was tested on there against his will.
I have since Googled a lot of what she said.
The only reference to bad things happening there was a poor chap - Leading Aircraftman Ronald George Maddison (23 January 1933 – 6 May 1953) was a twenty-year-old Royal Air Force engineer who died as the result of exposure to nerve agents while acting as a voluntary test subject at Porton Down, in Wiltshire, England.
A lot of the gibberish she claimed made me question the validity of her argument, (well that and the nasty, vindictive screaming at me, which was more like a game of “anti vaxxer statement bingo” than anything else). Was she indeed suggesting that her husband’s brother died there in 1953? How old is her husband one wonders? And how likely was her story.
I knew enough about everything she said to counter argue it but you can’t argue with stupid.
There’s a wonderful saying that I love;
“Never wrestle with pigs, you both get dirty and the pig likes it”.
I smiled sweetly, I told her that I thought it was wonderful that we live in a country where she was free to have her opinion and I was free to have mine.
I did laugh out loud at some of her bilge spewing.
She said I was a fu***** do gooder!! And followed that up with “you’re such a fu***** do gooder, you probably run a Brownie group!!!”
I absolutely cracked up! That is a savage burn! What an insult. Hahahahaha
I don’t think laughing at her inadvertent, unintentional one liners helped the situation much. It did seem to spur her on.
At the point she said that I was fu***** corrupt and injecting people with cancer. I did feel the need to counter this “fact”.
I said, “no I have to stop you there, cancer is cancer. This is a vaccine.”
She then said “I know all about cancer, my daughter died of cancer!!”
I said that I was very sorry for her loss, but out of curiosity if there had been a vaccine available that would have prevented her dying would she have taken it?
It was a low blow on my part, but I felt it was a point worth making. This vaccine was developed so people aren’t ripped away from their families.
I explained that I had had cancer, my son had had cancer, my dad had had cancer. I know cancer when I see it. So don’t be silly.
Anyway she was too busy screaming at me about it changing DNA, and that there were tanks and soldiers on the streets in Australia (there aren’t) and the army were forcibly making people take the vaccine (they’re not). In fact the friend in Australia I spoke to this morning said their government hadn’t ordered enough doses so there’s literally no forcing going on as they don’t have the capability to do so, even if they wanted to.
I did point out to anti vaxxer crone that it really wasn’t a problem as she didn’t live in Australia.
She told me I was, and everyone that had the vaccine was going to be dead in 2 years, and wasn’t I worried about that?!?
I said “why would I be worried about it?”
She was a bit taken aback “and said “why aren’t you worried?”
I explained that everyone that I know and love has had the vaccine too. So we’ll all be dead together.
She stood there astounded “but don’t you care you’ll all be dead?!?”
“How could I be worried by it? I’d be dead? That is the definition of literally not having to worry anymore, the dead are free of worries” I replied.
She was borderline screaming at me at this point.
I let her vent (why didn’t I bite back? Well, two reasons really, like I said you can’t argue with blind stupidity, and secondly, I didn’t swear at her so I could use her swearing at me against her).
After another few minutes of her f bombing like a gooden. I very calmly said to her “are you aware you’ve been very foul mouthed and revolting?”
”yes I am!! Because I’m fu***** disgusted at you!!” She replied.
I said that I thought any argument that involved that much swearing at someone is lost.
She shouted at me “you’re not going to change your mind are you!?!?!?!”
I said “are you?”
”no I’m not!!” She said.
“Ditto” I replied.
I then said “I think it’s time for you to leave, I gave your a fair hearing”.
To which she replied “yes, if you’re not changing your mind, and by the way I’m glad you recovered from cancer”
I said “thank you, so am I, you have a nice day now”
”you too” she says.
Before saying that she’ll ‘campaign’ (not sure it’s classed as campaigning to just scream at volunteers showing people the way into the vaccine centre. But anyway).
“I’ll be campaigning against the vaccine till I die!!”
“hopefully not of covid!” I replied.
Hahahahaha
After she left I was shaking like a leaf. You never know what an agitated, somewhat off balance person is capable of.
Luckily all I had to put up with was her screaming like a banshee and covering me in spital and spite from her vitriol.
I went round the back to tell the others what had happened.
They said why didn’t you come and get us. Never would I have let her come near any of the team or the people waiting.
I think I was also shaking from having to keep all my favourite expletives inside. I am a swearer. I enjoy it very much. Nothing hammers a point home like an F or a C bomb.
But actually choosing to represent The Royal Voluntary Service and the clinic I volunteer at with class and dignity seemed more important to me in that moment.
Had I been on my own time things would have been different. The fact she was 70 something wouldn’t have bothered me. She felt free enough to give it out. She should be able to take it.
A friend said I should have removed my volunteer’s high Viz, dramatically laid it on the ground and responded in kind. Maybe next time. :) hahahahaha
Top from Jigsaw, Jeans from Topshop, Shoes Yezeey’s , volunteer’s high viz from The Fu***** devil.
Keep well xx