I am going to put this in one of the chapters of the book I am writing:
Pat was sitting quietly at home very recently when the peace was invaded, and it felt like an invasion of her privacy as well. A nearby conversation could be heard:
Male voice in one vicinity: It is hardly the crime of the century, is it?
Female voice: The police are saying that because she found some pennies she could be capable of a major crime now, 46 years later.
Comment: There’s something not right about such profiling. Young female voice at another location, also nearby: She took pennies and now she is frightened of being caught.
Facts: No case to answer for from something that happened in 1970/71 as the matter was dropped very early on.A male voice. Seemingly level headed man enters flat. I have just heard her have a heart to heart with her man, and she explained to him about the phone box. She found the pennies and thought she would buy some sweets.
Young female voice: That is no excuse.
Slightly older female official voice: Have a heart, just imagine if you were going to school worrying about your mother all day due to the domestic situation. The family were struggling financially by all accounts.
These were not the exact words though but they convey the meaning. This was most upsetting for Pat to hear about the couple's separation discussed many years later, and she knows what was said. Pat knows how certain people's minds' work though and it is not pleasant. Whoever you are, Pat is thinking, you have no right whatsoever to divulge such personal information to neighbours or anyone. She knows it is inappropriate, against the law, and irrelevant.Slightly older official female voice: Look she turned her life around and her mother and herself moved. She went to a good school then, and she used her experiences to help people. At some place she lived fairly recently, most of the community liked her as she didn’t judge some of the people.
Pat is thinking that whoever the female official is she does not have the right to refer to a time 46 years ago, an event about pennies found. There is the Breach of Data Protection Act for a start and some other law too but the matter was dropped in any case. A former friend appears to have been contacted and she might have had a conversation with an official. She, Pat believes, had the best of intentions but thinks her former friend has been betrayed. Someone is clutching at straws.
Sometime later, one of the voices connected with these people, said words to the effect, ‘I did not know she was going to be angry about all of this. The police said she was shy’. Pat is thinking that you thought because a person is described as shy that you could get away with all of this. There was also talk on one occasion from a female officially sounding voice conveying information about Pat’s relationship with her male friend, some jobs, and how she is a strong person underneath all that.
Pat made you aware she knew of that particular conversation as she spoke in an audible voice in her own home. Pat knows that you advised the female official concerned that she knew about this, and you were worried about Pat's reaction, plus you were most embarrassed that she had heard this particular conversation. The female official advised you, words to the effect 'Do not worry about it. She will just write to a few people to get it out of her system'. Pat thinks that due to this unprofessional response that you think it is a 'cop out'. Pat has drawn her own conclusions about someone or a few more clutching at straws, as well as an issue with some job she had last year.
The people who are causing all these problems for Pat have not ever introduced themselves. Understandably Pat does not wish to engage with such people.Pat has concluded that it is a smear campaign because you could not find anything else on herself. What next? Maybe make something of nothing out of liking reggae music? Make something of nothing about liking Les Dawson and Ken Dodd?
Pat knows the above happened, and she has not been watching too many Columbo episodes.
That’s about it really for part of that chapter. Can anyone recommend a publisher as I am more than half way through a book? I am just going to catch up with local and worldwide news.
Blessings and love to B’ham.