She's falling down the rabbit hole....

It's about time I updated you on the Hattie saga.  After we made up, she met a new guy through her friend Sherrie's brother.  Things started looking up for her, she was happy for the first time in ages.  Then in the new year, Hattie was out with Sherrie, and in their drunkardness, ended up in a huge fight, that turned to fisticuffs.  Sherrie walloped Hattie in the mouth, ripping half her gums away from a tooth.  Sherrie now refuses to have anything to do with Hattie, so her brother Liam stopped talking to her, and her boyf was stuck in the middle because of his friendship with Sherrie's brother.  Still following?

The boyf then sort of dumped Hattie (just before Valentines) and her birthday was coming up, and Hattie started spiralling out of control again.  She is an alcoholic and is also on antidepressants, hence these mood swings and paranoia.

Leading up to her birthday (a coupld of weeks ago) Hattie went on a bender, getting very drunk and crying.  Sherrie and her brother were going on holiday on her actual birthday.  Of course she believes they organised this on purpose.  It used to be Sherrie and Hattie going on holiday together this time of year.

The Wednesday night before her birthday, I was working in the Duck and Hattie was there when I arrived, very drunk.  A woman came into the pub with a friend, and Hattie informed me it was the 'black bitch' that she got into a fight with a few years ago in the local supermarket, who had pressed charges against Hattie.

This woman was just with a friend enjoying a quiet drink, while Hattie was telling anybody who listened the injustice this woman caused her.  I was watching Hattie like a hawk, not wanting any trouble to kick off.  She was getting louder and louder, telling crass jokes to the people she was with.  Even one of them said she had gone too far with one of the jokes.

I bumped into the woman in the toilet and she said to me 'that woman at the bar is a dick and she's telling racist jokes just to wind me up.  I would really like to tell her what for.'

This woman doesn't know I know Hattie and the history between them and I don't want her to know I know.  'She's drunk, please just ignore her, I don't want any trouble.'  The woman agreed and went back to her table.

Hattie then annoys some other punters in the pub, one of them is good friends with Sally, the owner.  He was with a business colleage and he played along with Hattie, but was rolling his eyes at me.  She was chatting to his colleage who was from Austria visiting.  He ended up leaving, forgetting to pay his bill, to get away from Hattie.

It came to closing time, and the woman and her friend had pre-ordered their drinks as paid on credit card, so were staying till the bitter end.  Hattie was finally leaving with another alcoholic friend. I was relieved to see her leave and was took the pre ordered drinks to the table of the woman and said Hattie had left.  As I returned to the bar, Hattie came bowling back in demanding to know why I had taken the drinks over to them!  I told Hattie just to go home now, which she did.  In her paranoia mind, she thought they wouldn't go to the bar to order because she was standing there.

It was Hattie's birthday the following Monday, and myself and Claire had organised a little surprise party for her at the pub as I was working. Hattie was thinking she was just meeting Claire for a drink.  I was planning to put up banners and balloons, Claire was making a birthday cake, and we invited others to come along.

On the Saturday night before her birthday, she was in the pub all afternoon while I was working, and I could see her going into a spiral of despair, which leads to arguments.  This was because she was on a downer with the split up of the guy, the fight with Sherrie, her birthday looming (hence why we wanted to do something nice for her), and she had also just been refused membership at the club, because Pat and a few other members had rejected her application.

When I finished my shift, I pulled her aside and warned her I saw her spinning out of control, and as a friend, wanted to let her know her behaviour on Wednesday night could of got her barred if it was another bartender who didn't know her.  She was adament she didn't do anything wrong, and asked why I would just bar her and not the other woman...'Because she didn't do anything wrong Hattie, you were the one doing the goading.'  Hattie said to me 'but you know what she did to me!'  I replied 'thats not the point Hattie, you were drunk and I could see trouble brewing, the woman didn't do or say anything in the pub to goad you.'

This conversation went on back and forth, she still adament she didn't misbehave.  I had her in tears, then in anger with me.  In the end I just walked away.  I was trying to be a good friend and tried to get her to see she is going to get herself into trouble again soon.  Hattie went back to the bar and was talking to another local and was crying on his shoulder.  Sally then went up to her and said she thought it was time she left, that she had too much to drink.  The local then stuck up for Hattie and said she was alright, was with him and to leave her alone.  I walked behind the bar to get my bag to leave, when Hattie  hissed at me....'did you say something to Sally????' 

'No! ' I replied.  I hadn't said a word to Sally about the Wednesday night.  As I retrieved my bag, I asked Sally if she had just asked Hattie to leave.  'Yeah, I know she's been on a bender again, I was told what happened on Wednesday night by my friend, how he wasn't impressed with Hattie the way she was talking to his work colleague, and they left because of her.'

So its not just me noticing it.

The next day, we were supposed to meet Hattie for pre birthday drinks on the Sunday afternoon in the pub (as she didn't know about the Monday celebration).  When I turned up to the pub, Sally asked if I had gotten texts from Hattie the night before.  I hadn't heard from her.  Apparantley she was bad mouthing me to Sally.  Sally really didn't want to listen to her, she's got enough going on with Al dying.  I text Hattie to see if she was coming down and got no reply for about an hour, then she text back to say she was chilling on the sofa and asked who was there. My reply was the people you arranged to have drinks with.  She didn't turn up.

So Monday was her actual birthday.  I spoke to Claire and she said she got a text on the Saturday night asking if they could change the venue for Monday lunch.  Claire ignored it till Sunday afternoon, and asked why, she said it was ok now, they would still meet in the Duck.

So I put up the balloons, banners and a bottle of bubbly all on the bar, Claire turned up with the cake, and half a dozen others showed up.  When Hattie walked in the door, she was totally surprised and embarrassed, and ended up having a lovely day, in tears again, but this time of joy.  She kept thanking me and Claire for organizing it. The day went off without a hitch...until the following weekend.  She then brought the subject up again the night we went bowling, I tried AGAIN to explain I was just trying to let her know how she came across when really drunk.  We eventually agreed to disagree, and I asked her to please drop it, it was well and truly over, and she said she would.

Well, Friday just gone, I got a text from her...she said she'd just spoken to Sally's friend and he said he absolutely had no problem with Hattie that night, dont know what she was talking about!!!  I dont know where that came from then, she text.  I replied 'from Sally.' She then text back that she had sorted things out with Sally also, it was now all settled.  I didn't answer that.

But I am really pissed off with the whole thing.  Hattie is the type of person who can't let things go, she thinks she is always right.  And she will confront anyone about it, and she comes across very intimidating.  She confronted the guy I said that she went too far with the racist joke....he said he wasn't offended.  I tried to tell her he didn't say he was offended, just she went a bit too far.

Now she's confronted Sally's friend.  He told Sally he left the bar because of Hattie.  Now Hattie has confronted him, he's back peddled, to keep the peace, and says he had no problem with her!!!!

Grow some fucking spines people!!!!!!  If you don't tell her she doesn't know!!!!!  I tried to help the girl, and all it's done is make me look like I made it all up!!!!

I don't know why I bother, and wont anymore.  I'll just watch her self destruct and hope to not get hit by the shrapnel....AGAIN!

She's mad as a Hatter!

...and that's why I call her Hattie.  Yes, I thought it was time I updated you on what Hattie has been up to the past year.  If you recall on the old blog, Hattie had grassed a guy up (Pat) for stealing from the post office. Go to that link to refresh your memory.

What was the outcome of that you wonder?  Well, we didn't hear anything for a couple of months. I kept my mouth shut about the phone call, but Hattie on that day had told a few people in the pub what she had done.  I didn't want to get involved.  Hattie was keeping a low profile anyway because she was on Barwatch and couldn't enter in any pubs in Blah for 6 months.  Hattie went off on holidays about mid June, when I heard through the grapevine, that Pat was suspened from his job with royal mail, was due to go to court, and he wasn't the only one. They had been watching them for quite awhile and would have been caught without Hattie's call, but of course, Pat and Tall Bird had heard Hattie had made the call, so were after her blood.  So the shit hit that fan, but Hattie wasn't around to hear about it.  By the time she got back, it was all over the town, and majority of people were against Hattie for grassing him up, as Pat had lost his job. I kept trying to tell people that it was going to happen anyway, that I didn't think the phone call had anything to do with it.  I was sticking up for her.  Mac wasn't actually in the pub that day, and asked me exactly what happened, I told him. Everybody knew anyway.  The next time he saw Hattie, he had a right go at her for doing what she did.  When she asked who told him that she made the phone call, Mac just said I did.  Next thing you know, I'm getting abusive messages from Hattie saying how I couldn't keep my big trap shut and I was the one telling everybody she grassed up Pat.  By this stage I had enough and told her where to go.  She was the stupid cow who told everybody in the pub that day!!!! I was sick of sticking up for her and getting a kick in the teeth with it!  Tall bird and Pat were happy with this as they now had me on their side.  It just made working with Tall Bird easier, even though I don't like Pat or what he did. 

So a big devision was created in the town...well, big on Pat's side, hardly anyone was talking to Hattie, she had pissed too many people off.  Pat went to court, lost his job, but just got community service. Bloody lucky, but he still hasn't got a job and that happened well over 6 months ago.   There were only a handful of people still talking to Hattie, and one of them was Claire (aka Jane).  She really felt like a piggy in the middle as we all used to meet up for lunch on a Friday.  Some days Claire would turn up knowing I was going to be there, and would just sit there and glare at me, but I wasn't going to stop seeing Claire at lunch. 

Then Hattie's bar watch finished and she started coming back in to the Duck.  When this first happened, myself, Tall bird and Milly were all working, and all 3 of us refused to serve her.  We just couldn't believe the balls she had showing up in the pub where she was hated the most.  The atmosphere could be cut with a knife.

This kept happening, one time I went to meet Claire after work to go out for a few drinks, and she turned up with Hattie.  I just sat down with them at the table outside, ignoring Hattie, then finished my drink said I was going back in for another, but snuck out the front and went home, telling Tall Bird to tell Claire I couldn't sit at the same table with Hattie.  Claire got the hint and didn't invite Hattie out while she was meeting me again, and said if she ever had to chose between the friendship she had with me or Hattie, she would chose me hands down.  She also told Hattie this.  I personally didn't want Claire have to do this.

A couple of months later it was Claire's birthday. She was having drinks about town and wanted myself and Hattie there.  I told her I wouldn't mind, I'd just ignore her as there were plenty of us.  Milly said she would do the same.  But on the night.  No matter how much we ignored Hattie, she kept on hanging around us.  The group then sort of split into two for a bit, and the group myself and Milly were in, left the cock to go to a restaurant for some cocktails telling the others (Claire/Hattie) we would meet us over there.  To our surprise, Hattie followed me and Milly to the restaurant, and she sat there, bold as brass, speaking to everyone.  I actually admired her guts.

When we all moved on to the CU, Hattie actually came up and spoke to me for the first time face to face about the situation.  Next thing you know, we are having a bit of a heated conversation over it, Milly having a right go at Hattie how I was the only one who stuck up for her at the time, and I  wasn't the one her spread it around, everyone already knew because of Hattie's own big mouth and shouldn't be blaming me for Hattie's own mistakes.  After about an hour of this argument (Hattie storming off halfway through going to the others who just all left her at the table and came to join me, which made me feel good) Hattie FINALLY apologised.  So Milly and I both decided to bury the hatchet, as life is too short to be constantly arguing with someone, and our town is so small, it's hard when there is segregation in the group.  The thing that was hardest was letting Tall Bird know we were back to talking to Hattie, as that relationship between Pat, Tall Bird and Hattie was irrepairable.

In fact....the little 'tit for tat' war between them is still going on, hence filling you in on the outcome of that post.  This post is long enough as it is, so I'll update you on what's happened in the last couple of weeks at a later date.