I'm sure everyone here who has ever been involved in a service industry has
their own horror stories to tell but my personal nastiest happened a couple
of days ago. Ray and I were walking down one of the paths when our dogs
raced off, round a corner and started a lot of barking and general hurling
of abuse. Sure enough, someone had brought a dog in. We decided to ignore
it 'just this once' until we realised that the dog was off the lead and by
now causing something of a ruckus with ours. Both of us politely pointed
out to this great slob of a yob and his vacuously grinning wife and child
that there was a notice up saying "no dogs". They answered that they had
come in via the churchyard where there is no notice because it's rarely
used. Fair enough. So again, very nicely, I said to the man "I'm sorry but
we don't allow dogs in the nursery, please would you put yours back in your
car". He muttered something at me which I didn't hear and when I asked him
to repeat it, he turned and walked off back towards the church. I'd noticed
their dog was absolutely soaking wet but hadn't thought much of it until we
walked up past the fishpond and noticed huge puddles of water lying all
around it, over the flagstones. I pointed this out to Ray and for the first
time in 5 years I saw my husband thoroughly lose his temper - he is the most
equable of men. He stormed after slob-yob and castigated him for so
mistreating our home and thicko replied that the dog had really enjoyed its
swim, had probably eaten a couple of the goldfish, asked Ray how long he's
had the nursery because 'it's really gone downhill since the last bloke
left' (R has been here nearly 23 years and it wasn't a garden plant
nursery!) He told Ray that I'd sworn at him - and honest, gentle reader I
didn't - though now I wish I'd let fly with all the words I know and a few
I'd made up and then, for some bizarre reason, aggressively asked Ray
"wherejoo tek yer O levels then". Ray's answer was something to the effect
that this would have been in the Parachute Regiment, where he also learned a
lot about the effects of granite headstones on peoples' faces. Slob-yob and
family did a hasty about turn and beat it to their car.
I've only just stopped seething about this and Ray still has the odd dark
mutter - but I cannot begin to imagine what gets into people or where their
wits are, if they think this is any way to behave *anywhere*, let alone in
someone else's garden! For a moment we were looking for the Candid Camera,
so astonished were we at this outrageous behaviour. Luckily, it's the only
time anything *quite* as nasty as this has happened and I hope it's the
last!
--

Sacha
(remove the weeds to email me)