As 1997 began, I was in the grip of my deep interest in the weather, and weather records. Before I started keeping records of the weather in August 1997, from Wednesday, 1st January 1997, I made notes of the weather, but didn't record the temperature, or sunshine or rainfall. I noted the weather each day and wrote about it at the end of the month.
I didn't possess a weather kit at this moment, so I was unable to keep full weather records, but I solved this problem by purchasing a amateur weather kit in mid-July 1997 and I maintained daily weather records, almost without fail, apart from for two weeks in September 2003 when I was in abroad on holiday, until the end of March 2004. I dismantled the kit on Friday 27th August 2004. It was also too much trouble to keep it up on a constant basis. However, whilst my interest has faded slightly since then, I still have a keen interest in the subject.
In the summer of 1997, I kept asking for Whitaker's Almanacks in my town's central library, to see what the weather was like for years gone by, and to see if any patterns occurred. I must have asked for a lot, and this annoyed certain staff members. Notably years records I asked to look at, which stick in my mind, were 1910, 1911, 1913, 1914, 1920, 1921 (The driest year of the 20th Century), 1922 and the war years, but I asked for them for all sorts of years, from 1883 onwards to the early 1990's. They obviously were fed up of me continually asking for them.
I also asked to look at the "Times" on CD-ROM, a great deal, for years which included the late/early 1990's. On Friday, 25th July, 1997, I asked a Librarian "Can I look at the Times for 1991 on CD-ROM please?". Whilst I accept my behaviour wasn't exemplary or sterling, when using the Library services in 1996 and 1997, the librarian, over that request, acted in a provacative manner and reminded me in an officious voice, "Excuse me, PLEASE".
It was obvious she was out to obtain or provoke a reaction, and she certainly got one. I immediately growled "F**k off" but said it quietly so she wouldn't be able to hear, but I obviously didn't growl quietly enough, because she heard it. Her reaction was to look at me, then look away.
This person left the library and moved away at the end of 1999. I hope it was on a one-way ticket to Siberia or Northern Canada!
Four days later, I received a letter from them, warning me about my conduct. This is the warning letter. I was accused of "Swearing at staff", (I did swear at a staff member. I have just described an incident when I did, even though I was goaded beforehand), of "Deliberately attempting to trigger the security alarm", (Which was absolute lies. They or someone else made that up). "Asking staff to repeatedly check the same information or booklist", (That was true. They probably were referring to the Whitaker's Almanack's I kept asking for). "Passing notes to staff asking for items to fetched from the stack without showing any consideration for other users waiting in a queue". (That is true. I did jump queues. I don't deny or dispute that. I hate queues. They make me panic and feel agitated) and finally, "Approaching female borrowers".
Perhaps I had taken a liking to a library user, and ineptly, had tried to chat her up, and had said the wrong thing at the wrong time, and she took offence, and reported me. If I had, it wouldn't have been the first time, or as events would prove, last time I have done this.
The inevitable occurred. On Wednesday 17th, September, 1997, I received a letter from them informing me that I was banned from using the public Library, and all the libraries in the area, for three months. Here is the letter which confirmed my ban.
It was because "One member of the public was very distressed by the incident she witnessed". I can neither confirm or deny that. To this day I have no idea what the incident was or who the member of public was. If I was aware of it, I would apologise, but how can I when I don't even know what I did? I think they were annoyed with me, for my behaviour and over the library cards, but that wasn't quite enough to ban me, so they or someone with a grudge, doctored, or invented a fictitious reason or incident, so they could ban me from using the town's library facilities.
I was allowed back in the Library again on Monday 22nd December 1997, but I was not back in for long, as events would show in March 1998.
There used to be a store where I live called Dunne's. That in turn was replaced by Pioneer, which closed in 2003. It was a nice store, and I was sorry to see it ago. I was in there, reading the newspapers, on Monday 29th, September 1997, when this man with ginger hair came up to me. I asked him if he wanted the newspaper, because I had nearly done with it. He replied that he didn't. I asked what he wanted. He was with a female, and inquired to me if I liked her.
Baffled, I replied, "Well I don't know her. But if you are talking about looks, yes, she's alright, why are you asking me?". He said, "She said that you were talking to her last week". I replied, "I've never seen her before in my life". He asserted again, "She says that you have". I answered, "Look, I don't know her.....", and before I could finish off, he interjected with "YOU FRIGHTENED HER.... if it happens again, that's it".
Perhaps again, I had ineptly tried to chat her up, but I couldn't even remember seeing her.
In early October 1997, I was feeling low and depressed, and thought about suicide, though not seriously, and not as strongly as I did two-and-a-half years later. Even in early 2000, I never tried it. I don't think I was in a major depression, but I was feeling low. Those feelings evaporated two weeks later, when someone told me that I had AS, and it was the start of that journey. I am not one too use analogies, cliches or metaphors, because they are meaningless, but you can liken my life to being in a dark tunnel, and someone telling me that I had AS was, if you like, a glimpse of the light.
