A Presumption of Innocence

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Every now and again a Gangster Granny makes front page headlines when she's caught dealing in drugs. HM Prison Holloway isn't where I want to spend my retirement but obviously there is a small minority that thinks differently. 

During lockdown we have been surrounded by neighbours with not only courier deliveries but also collections. Laughingly Mister E and I have come to the rather comic conclusion that it must be opiates. Were you to meet these upstanding members of our community, you would understand how ridiculous the notion is.

Sadly, however, if they could see the contents of the parcels I have handled of late, they might be forgiven for assuming my own guilt. 

A few days ago I despatched a DNA test. Tracking down my ancestors has reached the stage where the need to mix spittle and stabilising fluid has overridden the long and desperate wait for the reopening of the County Records office. Honestly it felt truly odd posting a phial containing that blend off to a laboratory for analysis.

However, it must have inspired something because I have since taken delivery of my first weekly package of lateral flow tests. Of course it is possible that I have met my match this time; with so many bits and pieces in the box to acquaint myself with, a 20 page instruction leaflet, hardly any cases being recorded in our district and everyone keeping their distance, it almost seems pointless, not to mention complex, to start using them.

Then this morning there were sleeves rolled up, syringes and needles in abundance, but the only injecting taking place at the vaccination hub I attended (solely as a companion for my mother) was intramuscular with the Astra Zeneca vaccine. 

None of which beats the guilt weighing down on me for buying 4 boxes of Ibuprofen to help counter Mister E's inflammatory response to what I'm told was an arduous bike ride. 

In fact anyone tailing me might have wondered why my only other trip out this week has been to the pharmacy where I came out laden with prescribed medication. "It was for distribution within the village, Your Honour," sounds like a weak defence when, truly, I was collecting for those less mobile than myself.

 



 


Comments

Royce Shook said…
My brother and my wife used a DNA kit to track down relatives. In my brothers and my case, we found that we had a half-brother who was born in England during the war, about 4 years before I came into the picture. Needless to say, it was a surprise to him and to us. We have over the years got to know him and he is nice, and living in the United States. My wife found a half-sister who was born about 5 years after she was born. My wife's father was still married to her mother at the time my wife's half-sister was born, and the half-sister did not know it until the DNA test and subsequent discussions. It was a surprise to both my wife and her half-sister but they are getting to know each other. My advice is if you go this route be prepared for a surprise as in our case, but the surprises so far have been pleasant.
16 April 2021 at 04:48
Caree Risover said…
Now there’s an outcome I hadn’t even considered, as I’m hoping it will simply help to exclude some potential links going back a couple of hundred years. I’m glad that it has turned out so well for your family though.
16 April 2021 at 07:25
Treaders said…
In reference to what Royce just posted, my sister once told me that mom always had a strange feeling that there just might be a half sibling out there for us, conceived during the war when dad was in Belgium. I don't know what made her think that, nor do I want to find out but I guess there might be many more than we imagine!
16 April 2021 at 17:20
Caree Risover said…
I think it’s as well I got the sample into the post before I published this blog entry, otherwise I might be having second thoughts.
16 April 2021 at 17:30
Royce Shook said…
I was surprised, but over time got over the shock of not being the eldest and it was/is interesting to hear the stories, both of my new half-brother and my new half-sister inlaw. They had good lives and are I am proud to have them in my life. Both my parents are dead as are my half-brother's parents so we cannot get the full story. However, my wife's new sister confronted her mom but her mom denied it until the DNA test and then told her the truth. My half-sister has 7 other brothers and sisters who all accept the new person (my wife) into their family. The surprise was a good one but it took a bit of time to realize that.
16 April 2021 at 20:38
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