I’ve been away from the village I live in now for a few weeks and being away has made me realise I need to get some shit off my chest in relation to where I live affect my mental health.
That’s whats happened in the past, my mental state, and the my need to be me!
The Past
First off, I want to talk about the mental block I’ve always had in the past when there is a problem or confronted with a physical or verbal problem. In the past it’s been a problem as when I was confronted with anger, shouting, or violence I would tend to clam up as I had to understand what was being said, what I wanted to say in reply, and then process this into a coherent verbal communication.
I’ve not only got massively better at this but I have also swung right over to the other side and have recently punched someone in the face for the way they spoke to me. No communication straight outpunched his lights out.
This has got me in as much trouble as the former problem of overthinking things.
I’ve even stood on the street I live on and shouted really aggressively at neighbors and strangers alike. I don’t care about things as much as I would have done in the past and am no longer the peacemaker.
Homophobia
Secondly, let’s address the massive homophobic/transphobic elephant in the room in my life, that is the place I live, Mow Cop!
Surely a lovely place to live? I hear you cry!
A small village, on the top of a hill with wonderful views over the surrounding countryside.
But, Er, No!
The thing with villages is they have idiots and this place has its fair share!
Now, I am not saying everyone I have met since living here has been vile but there have been some really awful things said about me and that have happened in the last 18 months to me and my housemate.
I am sure those of you who have visited Mow Cop Castle will say, “Oh, it looks like such a lovely place to live” and it probably is unless you’re on the LGBTQ+ spectrum.
When I first moved here I was fighting with my own sexuality and had started to present as female and had admitted I was Transgender.
Unfortunately, this didn’t go down well with some of the locals in what is a deeply religious and conservative village!
Here’s are some of the things which have happened to me and my housemate since I moved there in 2020.
Religious incident #1
The first time I was aware that there were problems with me in the village was when I was out walking my dog at Mow Cop Castle one weekend morning. It was mildly busy up there and there were maybe two dozen people visiting.
A tall skinny man, with glasses, approached me and without provocation said to me “What you’re doing is wrong and you’ll burn in hell for your sins”.
With that, he walked off followed by his wife and three children.
It took me a few seconds to process what he’d just said to me before my brain went “What, what did he just say? He just insulted you!” and I set off in hot pursuit and chased after him. Catching him up, I tried to stop him, shouting “What did you just say?” and “You need to explain what you’ve just said!”.
He wouldn’t even look at me and carried on walking to the point where he was almost running, his wife is behind me shouting “Leave him alone!” and “Please go away!”.
I shouted back at her “He needs to explain to me what he’s just said! He needs to explain himself!”
We left her and their kids trailing in our wake as he raced down the hill with me in hot pursuit.
I admit I did chase after him for 5 minutes and he ran into his house. His wife arrived a minute later and as she went into the back garden she said: “I’ve phoned the police”.
It was at that point something inside me that went, “You know what, it’s not worth it!”. So, I went back to the castle to my mate who was waiting with my dog!
She was pretty angry as well!
I reported this incident to the police myself but might as well have shouted it from the top of the hill as they said there was nothing they could do and didn’t even give me a crime number!
This man lives at the opposite end of my street!!!
Religious incident #2
Standing in my front garden and having the words “We don’t need your type in our village” shouted at me from the Church car park.
This made me very angry and the person involved got both barrels.
“What do you mean, MY TYPE? and since when did it become YOUR village?”
Again this was met with the attitude, I’ve said my piece and now I’m not going to listen to you and ignore you.
So, I went over and asked again “If you’re going to shout something like that then firstly expect a reaction and secondly, explain what you mean. MY TYPE and YOUR VILLAGE”
No response and I was asked to leave the church property or the police would be called.
Religious incident #3
Don’t park your Gay Car in our car park!
Someone actually put a piece of paper with this written on it, on my car windscreen.
I had a talk with my car and when I asked her if she was gay I got no response. So how did whoever placed the note know?
Religious incident #4
“What are you doing? God made you a man, why can’t you be a man!”
Shouted at me from one of my neighbor’s gardens.
My reply was “God loves everyone, why can’t you. I suggest you get your book of god out and read proverbs 10:12”
For those that haven’t read the bible (that’s usually most churchgoers), that’s, “Hatred stirs up conflict, but love covers over all wrongs.”
I could quote other bible passages but what’s the point. Most religious people haven’t read the book they profess to love.
Religious incident #5
Yes, number 5.
During Pride month in 2020, I put a small Pride flag and a trans flag up in the window and someone posted a note through my letterbox saying “Please take those flags down as they are offensive to the people in the village and to god”
I admit I laughed quite a lot after reading this and then thought “right you bastards”, got online and ordered the biggest flag I could find with quick delivery. I then put this up outside the house.
I then left it up for over 2 months.
This year I went one better because we had scaffolding up to repair the roof and gable end of the house.
I attached a pole to the top of the scaffolding and put my flag on to this. You could then see the flag from Scholar Green but funnily enough no note through the door this year!
So that’s the religious-themed abuse, lets now look at the other things leveled at me after moving to Mow Cop.
Name-calling
These are always said behind my back, here’s a few examples.
Nonce
The worst one was “Nonce” by one of the old boys who live at the bottom of the street and drives round in one of those stupidly large 4x4s!
I am told he’s an ex-police officer!
Puff
Again local but said behind my back.
Weirdo
Said by a group of men outside the local pub.
Speaking of which, you know in those TV programs where the strangers walk into the local pub and all the locals stop talking.
Yep, that’s the pubs up here!
Accusations
Number #1 : Your dogs shitting everywhere
I’d only lived up here a few weeks and I was stopped by one of the people from the local chapel who said “Please can you stop letting your dog shit everywhere”.
Those who know me know I always have doggie poo bags with me and always pick up after my dog.
On asking him to show me one of these dog turds he pointed out something which was way too big to have come out of my dog’s arse!
“Where else?” I asked.
“Well, the church garden.”
I’ve never been in the church garden with my dog and she’s never been out of the yard without me.
He turned and walked away!
Number #2 : Your dogs shit on my drive
I’m walking to the shop one day and in one of the houses near the shop a woman comes out and starts shouting at me, “your dog’s had a shit on my drive on Sunday and I’ve got it on CCTV and I’m going to report you to the police”
Sorry, but no she didn’t, she wasn’t even here on Sunday. She was with the dog sitter as I was away!
“Oh well it must have been Monday then”
Well then love, I’ll tell you what. Take your CCTV and call the police, but you are going to look bloody stupid when I tell them the address of my dog sitter and where I was all last week.
“Well it was definitely you because, well look at you!”
I called her a “C*nt” and walked off!
Parking Issues
#1
Your car is blocking the road and the bin lorry cant get round the corner/down the street and we didn’t get our bins emptied!
This has been leveled at me and my housemate.
If you weren’t all so inconsiderate and parked your cars in your fucking drives and garages then maybe we could get our cars on our drive and wouldn’t have to park them on the street.
Funny though how I live on the same street and have never once not had my bins emptied.
#2
You can’t park your car there!
I used to try park my car so it wasn’t obstructing the footpath or the single track road.
I now think, Fuck it.
I’ll park it where I live. Its taxed, Mot’ed and insured.
If its causing a nuisance then tough!
Being me
Why shouldn’t I be who I want to be?
I spend a lot of time all over the UK and i get very little shit apart from in the village I own a house. I say own a house, because this isn’t my home and never will be. Its somewhere I reside.
All the shit I get about being me and living my life is from this small village with a population of less than 2,000 which is split into 2 half’s. Cheshire on the west face and Staffordshire on the East. I’ve only ever had crap off the locals on the Cheshire side who are slightly older with larger houses.
Addendum
Since I wrote this in early 2022, I haven’t had a single issue with the village.
Maybe because I’ve spent the last year working away a lot, maybe because they’ve got used to me or maybe some other reason. I care not.