Fantastic news!
Saw H. (Injustice) yesterday afternoon. She had just had a visit from the police, at which her heart dropped. She felt she simply couldn’t face any more bad news. But it wasn’t bad news. The officer had called personally to say that the Crown Prosecution Service have thrown out the trumped-up case against H. on the grounds of insufficient evidence. Probably also swayed, according to the policeman, by testimonies from the school and the fact that this boy had previously accused another teacher in a similar way.
“And I suppose he gets away scot-free?” I asked, cynically.
But no. Now that he has made false accusations against two teachers, the school feels it would be untenable for him to continue there any longer, for every teacher would be terrified of being next. So he will have to leave and attend another school (what joy for them!) In my day it was called being expelled, but I don’t suppose that’s PC any more.
Anyway, I’m thrilled for H. and to know that the system does work, albeit after a huge amount of suffering and heartache. Still, hopefully the pain will soon be forgotten in the joy of the result – and the large glass of champagne to accompany it.
Rejoice with me!
Along with several members of the choir, went to the Cathedral yesterday afternoon. Once a year, the Cathedral invites all church choirs across the Diocese to participate in choral Evensong. The choirs have all the music in advance, there are three communal practices in different venues in the Diocese in the months before the service and the whole afternoon at the Cathedral is spent practising all together, with the support of the Cathedral choir (men and boys) and the Cathedral girls’ choir (girls, amazingly.)
It’s a fantastic experience to sing along with over two hundred other people. And the best thing is that it doesn’t really matter whether I’m confident with the notes (I’m not) because everyone else is. There’s a certain strength in numbers!
There were around forty altos – brilliant! Made it easy to sing even quite difficult pieces (we sang Haydn’s ‘Insanae et vanae curae’, which was easier than it looks as well as an introit and extroit [not sure there's such a word but if there isn't, there ought to be] and very different settings to the Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis etc.)
Managed to persuade Ed that he wanted to come and listen, and of course, he enjoyed it when he got there.
Nothing like a good sing to raise the spirits.
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Had a wonderful wedding yesterday which quite restored my faith in human nature. The bride looked stunning and was attended by a ‘best woman’ rather than any bridesmaids.
The bride’s family live in the big manor house right next door to the church, so can walk through the garden to the churchyard. Apparently, when they were small, the bride and her sister used to play at weddings and decided exactly how their future weddings would be. Each of them was going to have the other as bridesmaid. But the bride’s sister was killed last year in a horrific bus crash in Africa.
She had just qualified as a doctor and went out to Africa for a year to give something back to society following her training. While over there she used public transport to get about and was thrown from this particular bus when it crashed. She died immediately. I took the funeral, which is how I became acquainted with yesterday’s bride.
So it was a big occasion yesterday for all sorts of reasons. It needed to be a really happy occasion, but obviously there was sadness and regret in everybody’s mind, so that had to be addressed too.
In the end, I opted for a bit of fun – rehearsing the congregation for their one-liner in the service can be quite a fun time so I do that before the wedding starts, to set the mood – and included a rather good and very humorous wedding story in the short talk during the service. All went down well and got everyone really relaxed and laughing. Then, towards the end of the service, I included a prayer for ‘all those we love but see no longer, knowing that they are still with us.’ It seemed to be OK – at least, they all thanked me for a ‘lovely service’ on the way out.
They’d invited me back for a glass of champagne after the service, but since we’re in the middle of packing up the Rectory in order to move on, I declined. The bride’s father (whom I know quite well as he’s our Deanery treasurer) said he’d bring me over a glass instead. And sure enough, when they walked across the garden to the church for the start of the service, he was carrying a glass of champagne for me! I left it in the porch until after the service (well, I did have a quick slurp first, but don’t tell anyone) wondering whether it would still be there by the time everyone had departed.
It was! So I drank it all and then drove home – along very quiet back roads. Honestly.
I do hope this will be a new beginning for this lovely and tragic family.
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I visited H. yesterday. H. is a teacher at the local High School and also a young Mum, which is how I know her. She has two children at the local Primary School and serves as a fellow Governor of the school.
About a month ago her son came home on his bike one Sunday afternoon, bruised, shocked and crying. He had been set upon by three other lads, two of whom were bigger and older than him, knocked to the ground and kicked and punched. When she had patched him up and comforted him, H. cycled to the playing fields to confront the bullies, also on bikes. The youngest one fled as soon as he saw her coming., but H. yelled at the other two, giving them a furious telling-off.
Two days later, H. was arrested. Her fingerprints and photograph were taken and she was questioned for five hours at the police station. A day after the incident, the two bullies had produced a photo of red marks on the older boy’s neck, claiming that H. had grabbed his neck and punched him three times in the stomach. All nonsense, of course. The boy already has an ASBO and the entire community of kids is terrified of him.
H. has been suspended from her job and is presently waiting to see whether the Crown Prosecution Service thinks there is sufficient evidence to charge her. The younger boy (the one who fled) is backing up the story and saying he witnessed everything.
If the case goes to court (it looks as though it might) and H. wins, all her expenses will be paid (by the taxpayer) but nothing at all happens to the boys in question. If she loses, she will never teach again, will have to give up her voluntary positions as secretary of the local Scouts and as school governor and will never be able to work with children again, quite apart from the damage to her personal reputation. Worse case scenario – six months in jail.
The police are sympathetic but have to do their job. They admitted to H. that had she worked in Tesco rather than a school, they would simply have shrugged and ignored the complaint. But because she’s a teacher, they have to follow through any complaint, however false. And they told H. that it’s up to her to show contrary evidence proving that the boys are lying. So much for being innocent until proven guilty.
What has happened to our country when a good teacher’s entire life can be ruined by a couple of known bullies?
H. was even told that if she shouts too loudly at any children she can be accused of verbal abuse and investigated all over again. Now, even if she does return to teaching (she’s on tranquillisers since this episode), how will she keep control of the young thugs which every classroom has?
I’m deeply troubled by this gross injustice, but helpless. I’ve written to the CPS and H.’s school, offering a character reference and my support, but can’t do much else. But I really fear for our country when even in quiet rural communities kids can ruin adults’ lives and get away with it scot free.
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Ed took my car down to the garage today and they’ve just rung to say it’s fixed. So why do I feel so sceptical and think cynically to myself, ‘Huh! Oh yeah?’ It’s called lack of faith.
Had a phone call yesterday from the lady whose son had so tragically died. Apparently he’d suffered from depression all his life and took an overdose. Seemed to be recovering in hospital, but just as he was about to be discharged, inexplicably died. Terrible shock for them all, especially his wife of just two years.
His mother had wanted to see me to ask me to pray for him. So I am, for him and the whole family – your thoughts and prayers would be much appreciated.