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What are you doing this weekend?


annaliesey

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I have to say am getting less and less sympathetic to people who commit such a public suicide by jumping onto railway lines ....even though I'm sure they've all got some good reason or other. I had some quite evil thoughts I must say which won't air here but this seems to be happening more and more often and causes at the least very annoying and sometimes more serious disruption to people's plans for the day.

 

Well, I'm sure the majority of people in this situation are "not in their right mind" even if in context of what they are doing, they are thinking and planning very clearly.

 

You know who I *really* have no sympathy with? People who end up getting hit by trains through sheer stupidity.  Drivers that get stuck on level crossings because they just didn't think is was an issue to make a dash for it as the barriers come down.  Or, as once happened somewhere further down the line when I was travelling from Waterloo to Guildford to see my newborn nephew in hospital, some berk who dropped their mobile phone on the track, decided to climb down to retrieve it, and got hit by a train.  They survived, too. Here was I thinking that's the sort of thing that evolution takes care of by weeding complete idiots out of the gene pool.

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Yes I do realise that people committing suicide are not in their right mind at that moment and used to feel much more sorry about such people and why they didn't seem to be able to get the help they obviously needed......just glad not to,be in their position

 

It probably depends just how much you travel by train anyway.....I do a lot!

It's also the overall combination especially in the winter of the general disruption to travel for one reason or another with trains being cancelled.....not very nice at Victoria station if it's at 10,30 at night time and you are on your own missing the last bus the other end and having to fork out over £17 in taxi fare ( I live 5 miles outside of Brighton)

So when it's announced a fatality on the line one tends to think 'not again" as it is definitely more frequent now.....once a rare occurrence but when it starts happening twice a month it does make you less sympathetic even though it may seem a bit heartless to some. Certainly fellow travellers I've spoken too feel very similarly about it to myself.....no excuse of course but just the reality of how it feels at the time.

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Lin I've tried hard to ignore your two posts about this but have failed. I've had journeys that have been disrupted by those commiting suicide and once the misfortune to be on a train that actually hit a person. Yes my journey and day was disrupted but for some family out there their life will never be the same again.

The person who took their life that day had probably tried to access mental health support and been failed by the system. Probably on a waiting list for a phone call from a CPN who will try to call them in a few months to suggest they read a self help book or contact a charity for support. The family and friends have to live with the knowledge that maybe they should have tried harder to have their concerns listened to by the medics, they shouldn't have popped to the shops, gone to sleep or whatever that morning leaving their vulnerable adult alone long enough to commit suicide and disrupt your train journey.

Yes I'm glad you are not in that position but sadly an increasing number of our society are with no support.

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Very well said, Jane. I have no doubt I would find such a delay inconvenient - and physically extremely painful - but good grief, that is nothing when you think about the utterly desperate frame of mind of someone who can see no way forward other than suicide, and the horror felt by the victim's family and friends.

 

Spare a thought too for the poor train driver - and the Emergency Services who have to attend the scene, and break the news to the victim's next of kin.

 

If I ever feel anything less than horror and deep sympathy on hearing such an announcement, I will wonder what has happened to my empathy for my fellow man (or woman).

 

Let us please remember that this is a completely public forum, and we may have readers - whether members or not - whose lives have been touched by suicide, attempted suicide, and mental health issues.

 

If we could get back on topic too, I would be grateful.

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I think a good few of you on here know that my son`s father committed suicide when our son was 10 . Not on a railway track,thank goodness. I walked into his house ,as no-one had seen or heard from him for a few days,and found him . He was 52. That was ,or will be,nine years ago in July. He had attempted suicide many,many times previously. I personally do NOT get in the slightest bit upset at the talk of it, but I am conscious of the fact there may be others on the Forum who do ,so I agree that we really need to exercise caution around such a sensitive subject. I`ll say no more.Thanks.

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Apologies to anyone I've offended.

 

I was just trying to be honest about how I felt at the time of the announcement. And of course one of the things first brought up,by a few of us chatting is the poor train driver when this happens!

 

Of course I also am aware of what a terrible situation people must be in when this happens especially as in the past have worked for a number of years for a scheme to directly help and support people at risk of this,

 

But to pretend it is not annoying for your possible whole day planned for months with others to be ruined is also disingenuous.

 

But maybe as this is a public forum there are some things that it's best not to mention and should only be for private discussion with friends who are well aware of your real humanity.

 

This is on topic though as it's about what you did / happened at the weekend

 

 

Lisa I'm very sorry to hear about your sons father and particularly apologise to you if have caused any offence.

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Watching both DS' on iplayer - stagemanager DS is involved in the Stratford Shakespeare celebrations, and dancing DS is performing in the Glasgow celebration.  

Wish I could go to either, particularly Glasgow as it is a piece he choregraphed himself,  but the bishop is coming to our church to take communion Sunday morning and I'm the organist!

So also practice, practice, practice ...

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My weekend will consist of spending tomorrow evening with the children at dance, Saturday all day with the children doing (between them all) various dances and stage school)9.15 - 6.30 and Sunday will be my first day off from taking them anywhere since the 29th March so I'm going to make the most of it.  However I should be writing/finishing my dissertation. 

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Extremely cross with dancing son, for underplaying his role in Dream on!  and telling me not to bother going to see it.  Very proud parent.

 

Stage manager son has been feeding a running commentary on Shakespeare Live!  Very funny but probably libellous if I published.  By 5.30 it was  ".. fourth set of police dogs arriving now .."

 

Practice?  Bishop?  pretending they are not happening.

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Lisa - thanks for asking about the dog show. Just an "open" show so small classes, but it was my puppy's first show and he came 2nd in his class (as did the other one) and behaved impeccably. More exciting is that I took the day off on Friday to go to a "championship" show and got another couple of 2nds in bigger classes which means they've both qualified for Crufts next year :-)

 

This is all a welcome relief from other family stuff as my dad had been in hospital for 3+ weeks with a sudden worsening of probable Alzheimer's (that, although I suspected, we didn't actually know he had). He won't be able to go back to his flat (he moved to be near us last year) and we've had to find a care home for him. All been quite challenging, and I find enjoying activities with my dogs a welcome relief.

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The like is for your dogs Julie.

 

Sorry to hear about your dad it's a nightmare deciding on the right place .....went through this a few years ago but my dad died suddenly in the end before he had to move in .....and I was dreading him having to face this move as had lived in the same house for over 40 years at the time.

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Well my weekend has started today!  We are staying overnight at the very wonderful Blakeney Hotel before going bird watching in Cley tomorrow and onwards to Norwich for Northern Ballet's Swan Lake (natch!).

 

 

My loooong weekend was utterly fabulous!!!  Apart from seeing NB's wonderful Swan Lake a major highlight was seeing the Peregrines that perch on the spire of Norwich Cathedral.  In the hour we spent looking through the scopes set up by the Hawk and Owl Trust we saw Mum then Dad preening and swapping places on the nest.  You can't see the nest but there is a live webcam at the moment.  There are four eggs and they will hopefully hatch this week:

 

Link for the webcam:  http://upp.hawkandowl.org/norwich-peregrines/norwich-cathedral-peregrine-live-web-cam-2016/

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My loooong weekend was utterly fabulous!!!  Apart from seeing NB's wonderful Swan Lake a major highlight was seeing the Peregrines that perch on the spire of Norwich Cathedral.  In the hour we spent looking through the scopes set up by the Hawk and Owl Trust we saw Mum then Dad preening and swapping places on the nest.  You can't see the nest but there is a live webcam at the moment.  There are four eggs and they will hopefully hatch this week:

 

Link for the webcam:  http://upp.hawkandowl.org/norwich-peregrines/norwich-cathedral-peregrine-live-web-cam-2016/

 

It'll be fabulous once they are hatched, watching them at feeding time, seeing them grow up, observing them in their first short flights. I got hooked last summer following a weekend visit to Norwich.

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Thanks everyone. We're lucky that my sister-in-law's dad was in a lovely home near them a while ago, they specialise in dementia, and because they remembered her and her family, he made his way up the waiting list rapidly.

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Thanks everyone. We're lucky that my sister-in-law's dad was in a lovely home near them a while ago, they specialise in dementia, and because they remembered her and her family, he made his way up the waiting list rapidly.

I`m so sorry to hear about your dad,Julie. It must be a very stressful time for you all. But what fab news regarding your dogs.!!

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Another good "dog day" today. Local fair type event on with a companion dog show. Jiffy won the AV Pedigree Puppy and overall Best Puppy In Show prize , and we came 2nd in the Brace class (2 dogs together) even though Tartu just wanted to sniff the ground.

 

In-laws visiting tomorrow (they don't venture out to us often) and my 3 children are all coming home - the lure of pork belly with crackling did it I think (daughter's visit is a surprise for everyone else as she's at uni a long distance from us).

 

Then Monday I'm moving my dad out of hospital to a care home near where my my brother and his family live. Must go and do some packing....

 

It's all go

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