I may have found a body in lock 87 on the Rochdale 9.

[Guest]

 

We are all different, what affects you may not affect me. I take the statement "Because I can do it - you can" with a big pinch of salt.

 

I have seen a few dead bodies, two of whom have been my late wives, who died at the ages of 47 and 53, I would not wish that on anyone. Please have a bit of tolerance as I said you may be able to, others can't.

 

Well said that man.

[Alastair]

I've seen one - a 9-year old boy, held in the arms of his father. Hit by a car, right in front of his parents. I was 15.

 

The expression on his father's face haunts me to this day. Unimaginable despair and horror. The family moved away from the house (next to the road, right where the accident happened). Nobody lived in the house again; it was bulldozed down in the end.

 

The effects of a fatality can be very deep.

[Chop!]

In the space of three days I've had breakdowns, been attacked in my bus by a Glasgow junkie (I chased him with a lump hammer Grrr) then my bus caught fire and in putting it out breathed a lot of poisonous fumes, I thought 'what next?' I went for a walk along the Tyne to clear my head & lungs and came across the emergency services pulling the body of a man who'd jumped from the bridge a few days earlier.

Suddenly my problems seemed very small.

[mrsmelly]

After reading some of these posts I guess people must have different reactions to seeing dead bodies. I've seen a few including watching one being pulled out of a river outside my flat in Tokyo after 2 months hidden under the weeds (winter in Japan is cold so it wasn't that badly decomposed). But I don't recall any post traumatic effects and seeing it didn't bother me at all. Nobody wants to find a dead body but unfortunately death is part of life. When you think about how many people live on this planet, it's actually a bit odd how rarely most of us see dead bodies.

I think it depends on the circumstances greatly. As I have previously stated i have seen many dead bodies and found some in the river which does not affect me at all but without going into details in 1982 I was the frist Bobby to attend a 999 call to a certain house on a bright sunny morning in june. I can remember every detail down to the wallpaper and everything I found in the house including the beautiful 28 year old lady that had just killed her two young children and tried to kill herself and all that that entailed. I was unfortunate enough only six days later to be driving my Panda car along a road when I saw a few people accumulating some way ahead of me . To cut the story short as I pulled up at the scene a 9 year old girl lay dead at the side of the road totaly unmarked and the guy who hit her in the Ford cortina was uncosolable and a few seconds later her mother ran towards me screaming as she came. I am crying now, this was all over 30 years ago and its fair to say I dealt very well with it at the time but on occasion now it does get to me.

 

Tim

[Guest]

I used my last greenie up so have a virtual one Tim...

[Alastair]

Much sympathy, Tim. Coppers have a rotten job of it, dealing with that sort of thing.

[Barry]

I was holding off from saying anything but Tim's post above has prompted me to.

 

There are many problems around processing traumatic incidents. What is known is that there are no rules around how people respond to this kind of traumatic stress. Everyone responds differently. Some can cope fairly easily. Some can find it hard. Also any one person's response to traumatic incidents is not constant. Stress response can change over time (perhaps depending on life experience) and can also vary depending on personal circumstances at the time.

 

It is also known that difficulty in dealing with a traumatic incident may be increased depending on the shock factor. The more outside a person's world view the incident is the more it may be hard to process. The higher the element of surprise the more it may be hard to process. The more meaning the incident, or elements of it, has for the observer the more difficult it may be to process.

 

So a negative reaction to a traumatic incident is normal and not surprising. In the natural course of events the negative reaction will begin to fade in a few days. If after a few days the negative reaction has not begun to fade then that is the time to seek help.

 

It is also not unusual to keep the memories of these incidents for many years, sometimes in vivid detail as Tim has related.

 

As an example I was once working with a group of firefighters who were having trouble dealing with a series of nasty incidents in quick succession. Quite naturally the discussion turned to incidents from the past and one chap asked "Does anyone else carry photographs of these incidents in their heads?". It was a brilliant way to put it and the majority of the group agreed that that is exactly how it is. We discussed it further and I consulted with my colleagues in the group I work within later. The conclusion we came to is that it would not be surprising if people carried strong vivid memories of tough stuff.

 

The key is; when these pictures pop into your head can you put them away again after a little while with relative ease? If you can then you have done a reasonable job of processing the traumatic incident. If those memory images interfere with your life, making it difficult, then help may be needed to process that incident in your mind.

Edited October 8, 2013 by Bazza2

[DeanS]

Thanks Bazza.

 

So far, I find I'm able to keep putting the image of a face staring back at me from under the lock water, back in it's place relatively quickly with no (seemingly) lasting effects, except I find that instead of getting on with stuff I would normally be getting on with, I find I'm rethinking about it...and have to mentally decide to leave it be. I'm not a nervous wreck by any means, but having not experiencing anything like it before up close...of that nature...I'm also quite interested in how I'm reacting to it.

 

All good so far.

[churchward]

Thanks Bazza.

 

So far, I find I'm able to keep putting the image of a face staring back at me from under the lock water, back in it's place relatively quickly with no (seemingly) lasting effects, except I find that instead of getting on with stuff I would normally be getting on with, I find I'm rethinking about it...and have to mentally decide to leave it be. I'm not a nervous wreck by any means, but having not experiencing anything like it before up close...of that nature...I'm also quite interested in how I'm reacting to it.

 

All good so far.

Good for you. I think it is natural to have many thoughts and images from such an event. It sounds like you have it in perspective and under control. Your mind is sorting it all out and time will give you some distance from it all.

[Cheshire cat]

The body has now been identified as that of a 39 year old local man. He was last seen on 2nd October according to the BBC website.

[blackrose]

 

We are all different, what affects you may not affect me. I take the statement "Because I can do it - you can" with a big pinch of salt.

 

I have seen a few dead bodies, two of whom have been my late wives, who died at the ages of 47 and 53, I would not wish that on anyone. Please have a bit of tolerance as I said you may be able to, others can't.

 

Fine, except that I never made that statement, nor intended that to be the implication! I appreciate that your experiences may have been difficult and even traumatic, but please don't attribute things to me that I didn't say.

 

In fact I said we all react differently, so I think it should be fairly obvious that my tolerance of other's reactions is inherent in that statement.

Edited October 8, 2013 by blackrose

[system 4-50]

You need to keep a sense of proportion. There are more serious problems in the world. For example, my father-in-law has just rung up to say that his shoe laces are too long. This is serious. (He is 90 years old....)

[Doorman]

You need to keep a sense of proportion. There are more serious problems in the world. For example, my father-in-law has just rung up to say that his shoe laces are too long. This is serious. (He is 90 years old....)

I know exactly what you mean. My mum is 84 years old and I took her to see a top Opthalmic surgeon last week to ascertain what type of eye surgery is most suitable for lady of her age, who also suffers with dementia - apparently some anaesthetics have a detrimental effect on dementia sufferers -

 

After waiting for over three hours to see this extremely busy man, mum complained that she'd lost a day's pay in being there and it was all very well for him, being a well paid DENTIST he could afford days off! We left the room of two top surgeons, a lady doctor and her assistant, all in fits of laughter at this frail old dear admonishing a man at the top of his game for being so much in demand!

 

That's my mum all over.

[DeanS]

The body has now been identified as that of a 39 year old local man. He was last seen on 2nd October according to the BBC website.

 

In incidents of this nature, we're finding that it's much worse when you find out something about the person, like their name etc. I hope he's now resting in peace, the poor lad. I'm glad we found him, and he can be laid to rest. So young too. Life is truly fragile. We should all make the most of the days we have left.

[Doorman]

Life is truly fragile. We should all make the most of the days we have left.

That sentiment should be etched onto our foreheads in reverse layout at birth. That way, when we looked into the mirror each morning, we would be reminded of the fact!

[lynalldisocvery]

I think it depends on the circumstances greatly. As I have previously stated i have seen many dead bodies and found some in the river which does not affect me at all but without going into details in 1982 I was the frist Bobby to attend a 999 call to a certain house on a bright sunny morning in june. I can remember every detail down to the wallpaper and everything I found in the house including the beautiful 28 year old lady that had just killed her two young children and tried to kill herself and all that that entailed. I was unfortunate enough only six days later to be driving my Panda car along a road when I saw a few people accumulating some way ahead of me . To cut the story short as I pulled up at the scene a 9 year old girl lay dead at the side of the road totaly unmarked and the guy who hit her in the Ford cortina was uncosolable and a few seconds later her mother ran towards me screaming as she came. I am crying now, this was all over 30 years ago and its fair to say I dealt very well with it at the time but on occasion now it does get to me.

 

Tim

If thats driver is still alive, i bet he sees that kids face every day.

 

 

Lynall

[mrsmelly]

If thats driver is still alive, i bet he sees that kids face every day.

 

 

Lynall

Hi

 

Yes I strongly suspect you are right. I remember him vividly. He was driving his company car the cortina much like someone today in a mondeo. I breathalised him at the scene as he had been for lunch as people did in those days, he was not over the limit. It was also proven that he was driving within the speed limit and stopped within only 3 or 4 feet of hitting the child, he and she were very unlucky with the outcome.

When I interviewed him and obtained his statement he was a great bloke he looked at me and said he had had one pint of beer with his lunch and did I think that if he hadnt had the one pint he may have stopped before hitting the child. The expression on his face was of genuine concern. I told him that he was not over the limit and I was not qualified to give him the correct answer to his question, I also advised him not to think like that as it was a pure accident ( The child had run out of Grannies gate straight into his path ) He was not prosecuted quite rightly in my opinion. I have over the years wondered if he ever realy got over the incident which I doubt.

 

Tim

[Ray T]

"Them" have just caught up:

 

http://www.narrowboatworld.com/index.php/leatest/6258-boaters-find-body

 

Spot the mistakes?

[John Holden]

"Them" have just caught up:

 

http://www.narrowboatworld.com/index.php/leatest/6258-boaters-find-body

 

Spot the mistakes?

 

That is even worse than the Manchester Evening News reporting! And that's saying something.

[Guest]

'The homosexual part of the city'

 

Classic.....

 

Presumably the other parts are either bi or straight.

[Doorman]

I think the worst mistake was the phrase 'homo sexual' to describe the Gay Village area besides the canal. I'm not PC by any means but that term is so 'last season'.

 

Damn, you beat me by two minutes Martin.

Edited October 9, 2013 by Doorman

[John Holden]

I think the worst mistake was the phrase 'homo sexual' to describe the Gay Village area besides the canal. I'm not PC by any means but that term is so 'last season'.

 

Damn, you beat me by two minutes Martin.

 

Mind you how does that compare with the MENs Gay Village canal?

[Doorman]

Mind you how does that compare with the MENs Gay Village canal?

Sorry John, but I'm not sure what you meant there.

[Starcoaster]

"The homosexual part of the city."

 

 

 

 

Ok, that's enough.

 

 

 

Wait, no it's not.

Edited October 9, 2013 by Starcoaster

[DeanS]

"Them" have just caught up:

 

http://www.narrowboatworld.com/index.php/leatest/6258-boaters-find-body

 

Spot the mistakes?

 

I found 5 errors in their facts. ..and it wasn't a very long article.