A Whole Year

Well, I have been in Newport for a year now, and to say it has been a good year would be an outright lie. The first few months were great. I loved my new home, although it was on the small and pokey side, it was perfect for me, and I made it mine. Just before Christmas however, the problems began. The neighbour above me obviously has some mental issues, but because I asked her to keep the noise down, once, she made me a target and enlisted the help of her family and friends to harass me in any way possible.

The last year has been a never ending culmination of having to report threats of violence to the police, her friends and her family abusing me outside my home, in the street, even yelling at my flat, attacks on my car, multiple false police reports made by her, calling solicitors/citizens advice/the council for help, taxi's and pizza deliveries being sent to my address...the list goes on.

At one stage she even convinced her friends that I had threatened her with a knife in my flat and encouraged them to call the police. Three armed police officers knocked on my door. What they were expecting, I don't know, but thankfully I had been in bed and it quickly became obvious to them that her friends had made a false report. Since she has never stepped foot in my flat, I have no idea how I was supposed to have threated her with anything.

The last straw was when my car was vadalised. One of her friends attempted to puncture the petrol tank on my car. It was 1.30am and I was in bed and woke with a leg cramp, looked out the window and caught him in the act. He saw me and legged it. I turned my lights off and called the police. The numpty must have thought I had gone back to bed and all was forgotten, because he came back and had another go at my car. He got the shock of his life when the police officer and pulled up with his police dog and and wanted to know what the hell he was playing at. I went out and tore into him, and the police officer let me. He was sorry, not for what he had done, but for getting caught. It was nothing short of a miracle that he hadn't actually done any serious damage, but he was given an £80 fine anyway.

So after the year from hell, I have decided to move back to Dorset. The reason I moved to Wales in the first place was to distance myself from everything that has happened in the last few years and regain my independance, but I guess the grass isn't always greener on the other side. However, I am sure there were kinder ways of teaching me that lesson than this awful experience.

I have given my landlord notice that I will be leaving, now I just have to break the news to my boss. Oh well, another chapter over and done with, and best forgotten.

Track Day

My brother bought a motorbike last year and it didn't take long for it to take over his life. He had been thinking about getting one for a while and after he returned from his stitnt in Iraq as a civi he bought a Honda CBR, took his test and he hasn't looked back. From time to time he goes on track days and they take photos of you as you go round as souvinirs. I thought I'd share as he does look pretty cool.