as usual awake before 8 on a sat, never do get a proper lie in.

Pot of tea (made with real tea leaves, none of that world killing teabags stuff) steeping, in the quiet of the kitchen can hear a buzz – engine revving loudly and erratically outside.

Look down from my third floor and see a small silver hatchback being pushed along the main road by a young man and lady. Revving is coming from there.

Think ” not sure you need to push it if the engine can be revved” but what do I know.

Was a trifle disturbed when the hatchback came to a stop blocking the driveway to the road.

Wasn’t alarmed as I was fairly confident that by the time I left for the Saturday mooching or chores it would have gone.

Poured my tea, sat down to look at emails, read The Pool, etc.

Then the buzz started again, backed by another sound, a high pitched, squealing, well moaning, when I looked it was, well, basically an adult woman having a tantrum.

So much so, she was doing a good impression of having lost her mind. Hitting the car repeatedly on the bonnet, kicking it, and screaming in anger at every point.
Strangely enough – she seemed alone.
Oh no, she couldn’t be, someone was now sitting on the horn, and that was fairly annoying too.

So, pre-8am on a weekend morning, main road into town, big, detached houses opposite, what was the obvious next thing?

When the Police arrived they approached the car and I went back to my tea.
Thinking wow – maybe I won’t bother with my Car Breakdown Cover this year, and just throw a fit and honk on my horn and get the emergency services to rescue me instead.

Except – things changed.

After a long pause, the screaming started again. When I looked outside the woman was being restrained by both the female and male officers, quite a way from the car. She was still shouting, screaming, clearly not in her right mind.

Let me say that again “not in her right mind”.

In a moment my irritation at having my quiet Saturday morning interrupted had shifted to concern, and I thought – hmm – is there something else here?

As they ended up placing her on the floor and a second unit arrived with a van I heard them using her name, and thought, “ah – they know her.”

As I write the silver hatchback is still there, the police van has left, with this lady literally kicking off inside it, I could hear her kicking the sides and see the rocking of the van.

And I wonder, what possible support she will get. What are her issues? Why could she not handle a broken down car incident today? What could possibly be so overwhelming in her life that one incident can lead to her being arrested before breakfast on a Saturday morning in a Surrey town?

 

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Disclaimer: Eyewitness account, with no information. If the individual was under the influence of alcohol or other substances, my opinion may change.