Some days you need lovely pictures of anything pure and good because the dirt (not good gardening dirt but the other kind) has rubbed off on you...

My partner/fiance/carer and I went to a coffee morning for people interested in public open spaces this morning. Braving the rain, we went to a local beauty spot to meet with like-minded people. It was great: most are friends of parks groups, or allotment enthusiasts, all helping make Birmingham - a city we love - a more beautiful and friendly place.

We got on a bus and stopped off for a bit of food shopping on the way back. Then my noble Terry said he'd put me on the bus for the remainder of the journey (a couple of stops) and carry the shopping up the road. The shopping bags might be a problem for other passengers if the bus was crowded - simpler to walk. He'd meet me when I got off. Bus travel can be a BIG trigger for bipolar episodes, when unpleasant things happen, but what difficulties could I possibly get into during such a short journey???

Well, I'll tell you. When I got on, the disabled spaces were full. Normal. I was wobbling - my bad leg was struggling. I needed to sit down as soon as I could. The seat where the rear-facing wheelchair space is was empty. I gratefully flopped down, and smiled at the nice woman I'd been chatting to at the stop, who'd also managed to find herself a seat. I looked forward to a nice cup of tea when I got home, and doing some work towards the Social Inclusion Project we've started on our council estate: a monthly curry club we're organising, a poster to design, a few emails to write, photos to post here and there - relaxing things...

That's until a cross-looking woman (about my own age I think) got on, bustling down the aisle and announcing to everyone in a loud voice, 'There are buggies coming onto the bus!' A lot of us glanced round - we're like that here, most of us - to make sure there would be room. Two tip-up seats vacant, and the other half of the ample space I was occupying. No worries. Young Mum No.1 gets onto the bus. Apparently I'm a problem and terribly in her way. I indicate to her the empty space where the tip-up seats are, and the other half of the space I'm in. Not good enough, apparently. I'm meant to play at 'Worship the mother and child' and give up my seat. Except I'm in pain (arthritis, bad knee, sore hip) and don't see what the problem is. Young Mum No.1 proceeds to yell at me and accuse me of being rude and call me names. Enter Young Mum No. 2 who has not heard the conversation but feels obliged to back up her friend. Yells right into my face, telling me to move.

I'm proud that I kept my cool and behaved in a civilised way. I pointed out that that there was plenty of room for everyone. I pointed out that it was unfair to behave thus towards me. I suggested that when she got to my age, she might be on the receiving end of similar unfair and discriminatory treatment and might live to regret her attitude. I suggested that I was simply sticking up for myself. RESULT: she deliberately rammed me with her push-chair, hard into my bad knee, causing me to yelp loudly. She laughed...

Other people on the bus either turned their faces away or looked sympathetically at me. Bless them - I guess they were scared.

Fortunately there was only a short distance to go. I was ordered off the bus by the 2nd Young Mum. 'This conversation ends here!' she yelled into my shocked face, 'Go! Go! Go away!' I could have pointed out that I'd arrived at my stop, but she might have given me a shove in the back as well...

My partner/fiance/carer caught me as I fell off the bus into his arms and burst into sobs. He sat me down with a coffee in the pub garden between the bus-stop and our estate. It's a cruel cut to be treated like that - and, for some reason, especially by younger women. I once watched a crowd of young women laugh their heads off at an elderly woman who was standing on the bus (they were all seated) and wobbling and nearly falling over every time the driver applied the brakes...

The police are coming to see me tomorrow about the incident, but I'm not hopeful. The tired-sounding officer who rang me back did the usual: asked to speak to my carer, suggested to him I might have been imagining... 'An accidental collision, was it?' he suggested... In other words... Well, complete the sentence for yourselves - I'm sure you can.

SOOOOO... I needed flower photos. Maybe you've had a not-so-nice- day too. If so, just look at them for as long as you need. They've helped me anyway.

Best wishes to all

Jan