Roxburgh

March

A great Season so far except of course for one little hiccup with the majority of our Moorpark apricots being stolen during the dead of the night back in January.

We let a few folk into the block the day before PYO, of this variety, commenced; the alarm bells rang when they came back with a good pick but mentioned there wasn’t a lot left!!!!

The Moorpark block had been well and truly picked over in the middle, leaving the perimeter intact. Our neighbours below the River block, heard nothing so it looks like it would have been an early morning raid.

As the ladders had been strategically placed throughout the block for PYO, and the gate opened, the thief and his off-sider must have had smiles a mile wide!

I have a fair idea who it is but as I have no proof at this stage, nothing can be done.

 

Moorparks are a sought after variety of apricot, especially now Annabel Langbein has spoken so highly of them on her TV programme.

 

Sadly this wasn’t our very first brush with theft; a few weeks after the death of Alex; our Haven Peaches were pinched during the dead of night.

Since then, each and every Season, we’ve had trees stripped but nothing as grand as this.

 

Our Orchard security cameras are used in another area for an entirely different reason so it looks like we will be forking out for a few more.

This is our third Season hosting Wwoofers and what a great bunch we’ve had once again. Fine young folk from all around the World.

 

The starling and magpies have been up to their old tricks once again.

Big Bertha (bird cannon/scarer) is our very effective bird control method. She works, without complaint, through the daylight hours.

She managed to fit in a wee holiday after the pears finished but is now back in action as the apple crop is being hammered.

 

Hercules Flat is a great area to live in, with many wonderful ex-city folk; a wonderful diverse bunch; taking up residence here.

They recognize the need for bird scarers, sprayers, frost-fighting pumps, tractors and any other machinery associated with the running of the Orchard or else there wouldn’t be an ounce of fruit on the property.

 

Further north there are lifestylers moaning to the media and their respective Councils demanding/lobbying changes be made to the District Plan rules in a hope they will drive the Orchardists out of business because they “are sick of the noise.” This happened to a friend of mine a few years ago. He couldn’t handle the stress and sold to a lifestyler as they just wore him down.

 

Thankfully these moaners are only a minority.

There are many fine folk who move to the country who embrace country living and are appalled by the shenanigans of a minority.

 

We ourselves had a shock a couple of months ago when a couple contacted the Police complaining we were using Big Bertha to harass them!!!

What!!!!!!

Obviously nothing came of it but what a cheek to make a false complaint!

They know fully well Bertha is used for bird control and furthermore is permitted under the Central Otago District Plan rules.

Our Orchard is only 17.5 acres and makes a ‘little toot’ sound compared with the larger Orchards.

I bet my bottom dollar they wouldn’t have taken them on!!!!!

The silly thing is, Bertha had been going for two months at that stage during daylight hours so somebody must have had a bad day and needed a bit of attention!!! Or a hug!

Now they have taken their nonsense into the public arena once again; they have inadvertently shown another one of their bullying tactics.

This is our livelihood; it’s not a hobby/lifestyle Orchard and it supports all of us so we won’t be driven out!

And as they had referred to Bertha as a shotgun many times in the past; it was such a relief to have them confirm her true identity to the Police so something positive came out it.

But Bertha is still very annoyed with them.

She’ll get used to them; we have.

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Update: 1st May

Further to my post in the above blog where I describe how a false complaint was made to the Police about our ‘Bird Scarer’; well it now turns out the middle-aged couple forgot which story they were spinning and lodged a ‘Tractor Noise Complaint’ with the Council four days later, on 14 January!!

We only found out about the Complaint two days ago.

Even though the Complaint has been recorded on Council documents, thankfully we weren’t contacted as we were in the midst of a drought, our Moorparks had been stolen and we were busy picking, packing and selling our fruit varieties as they ripened!

Spare time is something we don’t have any of during the Fruit Season.

The bullies picked the best time of the year to try and disrupt us.

The ‘Award for Cleverness’ goes to them!!!

We now understand why they have been more creative in their harassment since then.

As there is never any need for us to go into this particular Council website, we would have been in the dark if it wasn’t for a certain gentleman, whom we had never met, perusing this site for information on a property along Teviot Road, when he put in our Rapid Number by mistake, as the numbers were similar, and low and behold, up popped our details.

He was going to click out but noticed the words “noise complaint” which aroused his interest.

He was shocked as it went on to say, “ Noise complaint regarding use of tractor to pump irrigation.”

He knows a bit about Orcharding so knew this was a malicious complaint as unbeknown to us, he knew of the ‘games’ the bullies had played with our livelihood both before and after Alex died.

Furthermore he knew of how they showed false concern after his death but couldn’t sustain this emotion for more than a few weeks before reversing back to their old sabotage ways, but this time they were caught by a third party.

They blamed us for their exposure and declared War!

They wouldn’t have tried this if Alex was alive!

Yesterday I told a group of supporters as to what happened back in January and was surprised to hear they all knew!

They were trying to protect us and had decided that we were to be told at the end of the Fruit Season.

They are wonderful kind folk as is our new-found friend.

We have the deepest respect for you all.

LiarPants

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Feedback

Hi Sandra

Thanks for putting me onto The Bully, The Bullied and the Bystander by Barbara Coloroso.

Even though I have been reading your bully blogs this book gave me an added awakening and also to have a New Zealand connection in the book was a bit of a reality check.

My son has finished school and is in the workforce yet he is being bullied. I always assumed it was a kid’s thing so he was on his own with this for a year.

Your blogs show it’s not and so does all the other websites I’ve been on. Thanks for the links.

We finally validated our son’s feelings of despair last night which was long overdue, in a meeting which involved his Employer who thought something was wrong at work but was waiting for our son to talk to him. Thankfully, in this case, he had never been fooled by the Bully but knew he had a following in the workplace and was ostracizing our son but was not aware of the severity. In our case the situation is manageable, as it’s been brought to his attention.

Thanks again for your help.

You have my permission to include this in your blog.

V.M.

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Ask Aunty S

askauntys2

Dear Aunty S

My daughter’s work colleagues are mainly middle-aged women, and are bullying her.

Every night my daughter is in tears and tells me she wants to quit but I have insisted on her returning as she worked hard for the position she is in. To see her go from a confident young woman to an emotional wreck is hard to watch.

One of the women was passed over for her job, which is why they taunt, tease and threaten her on a daily basis. They say it’s only a matter of time before she is fired.

Her doctor has put on Prozac for the short term and says she needs to see a Counsellor to help empower her.

I have always said it was a bad idea but now I realize how desperate she is.

I don’t know how to help her and feel I have let her down.

What do you think?

 

Aunty S responds

Don’t be too hard on yourself my dear; you are obviously a caring and concerned Mum or you wouldn’t have written to me.

Your daughter’s Doctor is a wise man; he is handling the situation correctly as Prozac should only ever be used as a short-term fix, never as a way of life.

I’m afraid these dreadful women (bullies) have tipped your daughter over the edge, but she will gain the confidence to regain control of her life, with the assistance of a good Counsellor and the love and support of her family.

Personally I would rather work with a pack of wolves than a bunch of vicious middle-aged women.

Listen to your daughter, validate her feelings and support whatever decisions she makes.

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How to combat a Bully

First off there is no magic wand, which can be waved in the direction of a bully to make them disappear.

So totally unfair!! 

But trust me you can shut a bully down; it just takes time.

First off, you must have a sense of humour to survive the ordeal.

 

As the bully’s main aim is to discredit and humiliate you, you mustn’t isolate yourself; you will need support from time to time.

Inform a few close friends, neighbours as to what is going on.

As many are reluctant to admit they are being bullied out of embarrassment and shame, you must remember at all times this isn’t your shame; it is the shame of the bullies.

If the bullies come onto your property to intimidate, contact the Police and have a Trespass Order placed on them.

Be prepared for the bullies to respond by having one placed back on you!

This sounds bizarre but it is a common bully tactic.

Document everything. If you are being cyber-bullied as well, print out all correspondence and keep it in a file.

This includes emails, voice messages, txt messages, etc.…

Remember you can fight back without coming into contact with the bully.

Never engage with the bully.

Totally blank them.

They will try everything in their power to goad you, as they desperately need a reaction for their own sick gratification.

Give them nothing.

The old adage, ‘Sticks and stones will break my bones, but names will never hurt me’ is not relevant when dealing with a bully.

This is such a silly saying as words destroy people’s lives.

Furthermore intimidation and broken bones are a Police and Court matter.

With lies and harassment, it’s only a Civil matter.

As bullies lack a mature conscience, and seem only to be restrained by fear of being exposed or of damage to their projected reputation, it is vital their lies are countered, and countered they will be.

It takes time to unravel a bully but it can be done and it is the actions of the bully themselves, which creates their downfall.

This is where ‘evidence ‘ comes in to play.

 

As bullies use stand-over tactics, stalking, lying, harassing, intimidation, discrediting, innuendo, chicken on the road, cyber bullying, to name a few; you have three lines of defence in combating them.

Security cameras, Voice Activated Pocket Notetaker and a Go Pro camera.
An example of when a Go Pro is used:

A friend of mine was being bullied and ‘his bully’ would ride along the perimeter of his property which bordered my friends land; on a regular basis; so as to goad my friend by intimidating, screaming abuse, and continually using vulgar gestures; never for a minute realizing the contraption on my friend’s head was a Go Pro.

The bullies (there were two) were shocked when they finally worked out it was a Go Pro video camera with audio.

Two of the bullies’ bystanders were invited to a video evening, which my friend set up, to show those interested, what the bullies were up too. As they had been cleverly manipulated, he felt no anger towards them.

It was a night of revelations and apologies as a Go Pro and Security Cameras definitely show the true character of a bully.

The bullies have now retreated but when they resurface my friend and I will be ready for them! I doubt there will be any bystanders next time as they have well and truly cooked their goose.

You may wonder why the bullies targeted my friend.

They were caught thieving and vandalizing my friend’s property by a third party so in their wisdom, blamed my friend for the third party finding out!!

The bullies knew they would lose credibility in their community so without a rational thought between them; they attacked my friend and his family.

As is the case with most bullies, they had a ‘bullying history’ and more and more folk came out of the woodwork with their own personal stories of being bullied by them.

Only one thing worse than a young bully is an old bully as they have experience on their side.

This is one example of a bully in action and the strength of a man and his family in exposing them as the liars and bullies they were.

 

Now more on the other two lines of defence:
A voice activated Pocket Notetaker is used to record any rant from the bully whether it be in person, over the phone or over the fence.

Slip it in your pocket or just hold it in your hand; if the bully is in full flight, he won’t even notice it.

Just remember to push record.

And don’t engage with them; let them rant!

Your silence will show their true colours.

 

Security cameras are used to record your bully trespassing or committing acts of vandalism on your property.

They also record any stalking and indecent gestures.

 

I have hundreds of stories of folk being bullied on my computer files and every single one is devastating.

Some folk have lost everything, some have lost jobs, some have lost spouses, some have been driven into deep depression as they simply saw no way of stopping the bully/bullies.

I can assist you in working out a non-violent plan to shut down a bully.

So give me a ring or flick me an email and we’ll get the ball rolling.

You are not alone.

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More on Bullying – 18 March

Bullying is a form of abuse.

The bully’s main aim is to intimidate, humiliate and discredit their target/victim.

Bullies rely on character assassination, outright lies, rumours and innuendo to isolate and destroy their target/victim’s credibility and this is where the bystanders/followers fit into their game plan.

Bullies must have followers, so they deliberately cultivate people in their community who, in their eyes, are easy to manipulate. Folk who will readily accept what is said with out question; there is a prerequisite though; they must have the ability to gossip and lie.

The bully then sits back and gains gratification from seeing them do some of his dirty work.

The anger of a bully is very apparent when they try and manipulate the wrong person; who challenges what they say. Panic sets in. They will bluster even to the extent of having tears well up, to try and sway the doubter. They must preserve their image no matter what.

Being exposed is what they fear the most and will often add onto the original lie to shock folk.

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Bullies are opportunists; they tend to prey on people who they perceive as a threat, dislike, or are jealous of.

Bullies also target people who are popular, hard working and well liked. The more well liked and competent they are, the bigger the threat they perceive them to be.

Bullies also target people with differences from themselves, especially those who have high morals and integrity as a bully has neither of these attributes.

Bullies are often racist and have a dislike for the handicapped members of society even though they will, in the public arena, pretend they are fine with them. Behind closed doors it’s a different matter entirely.

More on the traits of a bully next time.

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ChangeBystanderIntoWitness

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Roy

This morning our friend Roy died at the grand old age of 95 years. Way too soon for me. We had agreed on 105!

What a wonderful friend he was!

Sam and Ruby have grown up with his words of wisdom, stories of his childhood, his quick mind and his gift of repartee.

A nickname we had for him was “Firecracker Fred” aptly named after a minor fire that occurred in his home. His witty account of how it came about had us in hysterics!!!

He had a solution to our ‘bullying’ problem. So blunt, so funny, so illegal! All said tongue in cheek or was it! Oh how we loved this man and we will miss him dreadfully.

Roy and Mum

 

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Quotes

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Ask Aunty S

askauntys2

 

Dear Aunty S
My best friend is having an affair and expects me to cover for her when she meets up with him, which I do.

Her husband is really nice and is being driven mad with worry that she is cheating again.
He came round the other night crying asking if she is having another affair.
She promised last time she would never do it again.
I lied to him but my husband caught on I was lying.

He is now furious with me as my friend’s husband is his best friend.

He says if I don’t tell him the truth, he will.

What do I do?

 

Aunty S responds

It was bound to end in tears my dear.

Your friend should never have put you in this position so the answer is quite simple, tell her to come clean or you will.

Yes your friendship will probably be over but who needs a friend like that.

If she runs away with this new boyfriend, make sure you help your husband look after her husband as he obviously is in a lot of emotional pain.

Over and out.

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Ruby’s 20th

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My gorgeous daughter Ruby turned twenty on Saturday and my MacBook crashed the same day hence I haven’t been online to tell the world how proud I am of the young woman she has become.

We had a wonderful day of celebration even though the cherries wouldn’t stop the ripening process hence it was still a work day, which made Ruby happy as it was a distraction from the reality that her Dad wasn’t here to celebrate this milestone with her.

Birthday Wishes came in all day from home and all around the world for my ‘under five foot’ darling.
The phone calls, txt messages, emails, E-cards, Facebook messages, all completed her special day.

The night before Ruby’s birthday, under the cover of darkness, our lovely friend Kirsten popped a pressie in the letterbox before decorating it as well as the fence.
What a wonderful surprise for Ruby when she went down the drive with Sam at 6am the next morning to turn the bird cannon on.

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ruby birthday

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Family and Friends

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More on Bullying

Even though ‘bullying’ is discussed more and more these days I’m afraid there is still a minority who assume it will never affect them or their families.

A very sad father, who rang me during the weekend, admitted he was part of this minority until recently when his son revealed to him that he was being bullied by a work colleague whom he had caught stealing.

Over a period of days it escalated, with the bully intimidating and lying about his son so as to counter the truth should the young man report him to Management.

The bully went, as far to tell the young man, even his own father wouldn’t believe him by the time he had finished with him. His threats were frightening.

Thankfully he recorded this on his cell phone.

As a bully will always try and isolate his or her victims, this cell phone recording gave him the courage to approach his Dad for help as he had started to doubt whether anyone would believe him.

To cut a very long story short this situation will be sorted within the next day or two.

Many folk assume, bullying is a young person’s game.

How wrong they are.

Older bullies have power because of their age, as they are more likely to be believed.

One must tread very carefully to expose the older bully/bullies as they usually have quite a history of bullying under their belts and are well and truly experienced in the art of lying and manipulating the truth.

But it can be done, trust me.

We all must take a stand against bullies regardless of their age or social status.

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