Wednesday, July 05, 2006

Update on Roundabout Lady


I forgot to mention - I DID go back to visit the 'lady on the roundabout' at her makeshift camp the day after I posted. It was pissing down with rain so I figured she'd be in the tent. But no! Moved on. Everything gone, freshly mowed and all tidied up. So I forgot all about it until last Friday I took a shortcut through a local churchyard as I was in a hurry to get somewhere. It was a bit quiet and eery. Basically, you have to walk down a nasty thin alley between two buildings which brings you out to the side of the churchyard. As I entered the churchyard a really pungent smell hit me - not good - kind of B.O. and strong sweaty feet smell all mixed together with mouldy damp. Not that great on a hot day. Then I saw alot of belongings on a bench generating this horrid stink. A mouldy tent, the side table with troll, bags and bags of clothes and lots of litter. As I turned out of the churchyard I suddenly saw a very angry person lumbering up the road ripping at a packet of fags, chucking the plastic covering everywhere and kicking bollards. It was the Roundabout Lady. She is very imposing - big, butch and has ginger hair which is shaved very close to her head. So there she was stomping up the road back to her new home in the churchyard scary as hell, very aggressive. I thought about going back through the church yard but common sense for once kicked in (must be getting old). In hindsight, I think I would have had an interesting reception had I gone to talk to her in the tent originally but slightly relieved I didn't now. Despite that, she shouldn't be on the streets - no one should. I wonder where she will move to next.

3 Comments:

Blogger FirstNations said...

over here, unless a person is violent, they have to let them wander at will. without family to commit them thats the only option in the land o' the free.
funny, isnt it.
i used to run into these folks when i was cleaning rental properties. there wasnt a one of them that fit the 'wandering philosopher' notion...they were all schizophrenic and barely capable of taking care of themselves. i stopped calling the police after hearing 'what do you expect us to do about it?' one too many times.

10:23 pm  
Blogger rockmother said...

Hhm..kind of the same here. We have something called Care In the Community which as far as I can see further alienates vulnerable people from society leaving them to fend for themselves when they actually do need care/supervision to cope with daily life! Ooh - don't get me started. It's all Thatcher's fault - she started it by shutting down all the geriatric and mental wards/institutions instead of improving them. Blair has just taken up the mantle and shoved it firmly uup the arse of society as we know it. You see - I really should stop now!

9:58 am  
Blogger Istvanski said...

That's what happens when you leave women in charge of running the country...ooops! Sorry, I've been reading those radical feminist blogs again...

12:50 pm  

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