Earlier this week, I wrote a blog post about my birth city of Salisbury, which has of late become the centre of a literal global diplomatic crisis. And, hey, why not. Not a lot else happens.
Well, update to anyone who's interested, a town in Dorset called Gillingham has now been caught up in this as the truck that took the ambulance away, which could've been contaminated with Novichok nerve agent, was found in Gillingham.
Now, Gillingham. If you're reading this blog at all often then you'll probably know where this is headed. For anyone local to my hometown, yep, Gillingham. Gillingham.
For anyone reading this who isn't local, I was born in Salisbury. But I went to high school in Gillingham.
Gillingham is a town in North Dorset which is a lot like Salisbury in the fact that nothing happens. In my previous post, McFallout, I explained that Salisbury had a bomb scare nearly 7 weeks ago that caused some excitement in the city.
The height of excitement in Gillingham is a new coffee shop opening. Not even joking.
Gillingham is a quintessential English train station town. Not a lot happens, it has a train station and it just kind of exists. Locally, it's known as the town of the supermarkets, (it has a Waitrose, an ASDA, a Lidl, a tiny Co-op and an Iceland. With potentially an Aldi coming?) and as, frankly, a bit of a dump.
I often make the joke to people that "Gillingham was bombed during the war. But no one noticed". Well, if people start dying of Novichok exposure, people MIGHT notice. Might. Not a guarantee.
So what does Gillingham have apart from multiple supermarkets?
Well...
...it has a secondary school that (somehow) ended up on the presitigious Tatler list and is over 500 years old...
...it has a library and a town museum in the same building...
...it has a few rivers that run through it...
...it has houses built on flood-plains...
...and it once flooded so much that I saw a park bench underwater.
I attended Gillingham School between 2005 and 2012 and, for the most part, I enjoyed it. But Gillingham as a town is just like any other. And, realistically, that's what makes this whole story both interesting and scary.
It could've happened anywhere.
Skripal could've been poisoned in Coventry, or Padstow, or Inverness. But he was poisoned in Salisbury.
The recovery vehicle that's been obtained is a local firm to here and has a wide operational area. It could've been found anywhere. It was found in Gillingham but, nearby, you have towns like Shaftesbury, Sturminster Newton, Blandford Forum, Wilton, Tisbury etc. But it was Gillingham. It could've been anywhere...
...but it was Gillingham.
And, so, the next town over from where I sit right now is now part of this international shit-show that is the Salisbury Incident. It's a small part, but it did get mentioned on BBC News. So it must be serious.
But how will the people of Gillingham react?
Well, knowing many of the residents, nothing will change.
Much like Salisbury, it will not faze anyone.
"There's that nerve agent in Gillingham? HAHAHA LOL!"
The school will still continue to school, Costa will continue to Costa fortune, ASDA will still...ASDA? Can ASDA be a verb?
It is for now.
Just as Salisbury will do what Salisbury does, Gillingham will take it up an extra level with a little bit of Dorset wisdom and grace. We'll keep swearing at it until it goes away.
Don't mess with Dorset folk. Because we have something Russia does not.
Knobs.
We have knobs.
Dorset Knobs.
We could probably develop 50 MegaKnob weapons to match those new super-sonic nukes Putin has.
But, seriously, who knows where this will end. Hopefully not in an all-out war but it will end. Hopefully it will end with justice. Batman style justice.
As for Gillingham? Don't worry about Gillingham. Gillingham will be fine. Besides, Gillingham is eclipsed by Salisbury and Salisbury is still a media circus. Gillingham will enjoy its newfound non-fame.
Well, update to anyone who's interested, a town in Dorset called Gillingham has now been caught up in this as the truck that took the ambulance away, which could've been contaminated with Novichok nerve agent, was found in Gillingham.
Now, Gillingham. If you're reading this blog at all often then you'll probably know where this is headed. For anyone local to my hometown, yep, Gillingham. Gillingham.
For anyone reading this who isn't local, I was born in Salisbury. But I went to high school in Gillingham.
Gillingham is a town in North Dorset which is a lot like Salisbury in the fact that nothing happens. In my previous post, McFallout, I explained that Salisbury had a bomb scare nearly 7 weeks ago that caused some excitement in the city.
The height of excitement in Gillingham is a new coffee shop opening. Not even joking.
Gillingham is a quintessential English train station town. Not a lot happens, it has a train station and it just kind of exists. Locally, it's known as the town of the supermarkets, (it has a Waitrose, an ASDA, a Lidl, a tiny Co-op and an Iceland. With potentially an Aldi coming?) and as, frankly, a bit of a dump.
I often make the joke to people that "Gillingham was bombed during the war. But no one noticed". Well, if people start dying of Novichok exposure, people MIGHT notice. Might. Not a guarantee.
So what does Gillingham have apart from multiple supermarkets?
Well...
...it has a secondary school that (somehow) ended up on the presitigious Tatler list and is over 500 years old...
...it has a library and a town museum in the same building...
...it has a few rivers that run through it...
...it has houses built on flood-plains...
...and it once flooded so much that I saw a park bench underwater.
I attended Gillingham School between 2005 and 2012 and, for the most part, I enjoyed it. But Gillingham as a town is just like any other. And, realistically, that's what makes this whole story both interesting and scary.
It could've happened anywhere.
Skripal could've been poisoned in Coventry, or Padstow, or Inverness. But he was poisoned in Salisbury.
The recovery vehicle that's been obtained is a local firm to here and has a wide operational area. It could've been found anywhere. It was found in Gillingham but, nearby, you have towns like Shaftesbury, Sturminster Newton, Blandford Forum, Wilton, Tisbury etc. But it was Gillingham. It could've been anywhere...
...but it was Gillingham.
And, so, the next town over from where I sit right now is now part of this international shit-show that is the Salisbury Incident. It's a small part, but it did get mentioned on BBC News. So it must be serious.
But how will the people of Gillingham react?
Well, knowing many of the residents, nothing will change.
Much like Salisbury, it will not faze anyone.
"There's that nerve agent in Gillingham? HAHAHA LOL!"
The school will still continue to school, Costa will continue to Costa fortune, ASDA will still...ASDA? Can ASDA be a verb?
It is for now.
Just as Salisbury will do what Salisbury does, Gillingham will take it up an extra level with a little bit of Dorset wisdom and grace. We'll keep swearing at it until it goes away.
Don't mess with Dorset folk. Because we have something Russia does not.
Knobs.
We have knobs.
Dorset Knobs.
We could probably develop 50 MegaKnob weapons to match those new super-sonic nukes Putin has.
But, seriously, who knows where this will end. Hopefully not in an all-out war but it will end. Hopefully it will end with justice. Batman style justice.
As for Gillingham? Don't worry about Gillingham. Gillingham will be fine. Besides, Gillingham is eclipsed by Salisbury and Salisbury is still a media circus. Gillingham will enjoy its newfound non-fame.
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