Don't worry, I wont waste the time, I'll do the post office trip while the battery is charging.
So, I blame Twitter and my iphone and applications called Fish Tycoon and Fantastic Contraption.
We've had a long a varied weekend. Films have been pouring in from all over the world to show at The KNIFTAs. Craig has done all the work on this project, I haven't done a thing, so I'm very excited to get to Sunday. It's going to be great.
A friend, who lives in the US, was in London this weekend so we saw a lot of him which was great. I've known him since I was a kid. We don't see much of each other because of the distance and it's great/weird to feel like a grownup and discuss how grown up our lives are. That is, until I fell down the stairs of a West End club - I swear it wasn't all the booze! It was the slippery stairs! I made a show of myself, as we'd say in Liverpool.
On the way home on Saturday night, as I say we are grown up now so it was only 11pm -ish, Craig and I were eating a doughnut near Trafalgar Square. We were merrily wandering home when a car, moving very slowly in traffic, wound down is window and a horrible little creep began to hurl homophobic abuse at us. I was mortified, but didn't stop eating my doughnut, and I have to admit we did a little shouting back!
We walked on but we were too incensed and I suggested we call the police as they are still stuck in the slow moving traffic. Craig agreed so I did. I called the police. I was a little sqiffy and told them I'd been homosexually abused by a thug in a car stuck in traffic. Craig screamed with laughter but I plodded on, correcting myself and walking back to the car. We found the car, windows rolled up. I asked the passenger why he'd been abusive (while on the phone to the police) and he said he hadn't and refused to get out of the car. Craig, meanwhile, was taking pictures of the car to get the registration.
I stood in front of the car and told the police the registration and make of the car and described the people in the car.
It was only the next day that I realised how bizarre the whole event was. The police came to see me at work today and took more details. I felt the need to apologise for calling them and acknowledged that I might have been a bit stupid to go after the car but I was so angry that some people think they can just treat people like shit and get away with it. We, not being shit or anything remotely similar, didn't let them get away with it.
The police said it was the right thing to call but the most that would happen, realistically, would be they would trace the driver and question him about it and ask who were the passengers. I was really happy with that, though. Imagine the driver's face when he gets the call about the hate crime he committed on St Valentines Day in central London!
Life can be very colourful.
I spent yesterday worrying that I would be in trouble with the police for wasting their time, and knitting a glove for the Old Vic's production of Dancing at Lughnasa.
It's not a great picture, sorry, it's from my phone.
Gxx
6 comments:
Hi, just wanted to say that I think the action you take with the homophobic little creep was great and I would love to have seen his face when the police turned up!
When I have been in town (St. Ives) and seen people drop litter I have been known to pick it up and say to them "Excuse me you have dropped something" and give it back to them. By the time they realise what has happened I am halfway down the road.
I'm so happy the police were understanding and that they followed up with the complaint. But please don't do this again. Too many times people let their hurtful words become damaging actions and I need you to be around the next time I come to London.
But BRAVO to you for standing up for yourself.
Good on you for reporting it and for challenging the abuser - nasty incidents like this should at the very least be recorded in the statistics. I also think it is very important to make such people aware that their behaviour is unacceptable - especially when it's directed at individuals in this way.
I'm really sorry you were harassed like that - good for you, calling the police! You took charge and dealt with it in just the right way - I hope the car driver gets a real fright when the police turn up on his doorstep...
Good on you, G!
I'm glad that you're safe and that there was no backlash from the small-minded little git in the car.
We have to stand up to homophobia and the way that people think they have the right to openly comment on your lifestyle and looks as if strangers have no feelings.
Go Gerard, go Gerard, go Gerard!
Good on you for calling the police. And good on them for taking it seriously. I'm not sure they would here in Sydney.
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