Episode 12
Copperhead Road and St. Eustace? What do these two things have in common? Seemingly random as they are.
Between 1992 and 1994 these two things were the triggers that allegedly caused James to first knee Ruth in the stomach; and secondly throw three china plates at her head. In the first instances James had been drinking; on the second instance he had not.
On both occasions he returned to Lincoln Terrace from somewhere else.
Was it that Steve Earle had abused James as a child or that he was overcome by some religious fervour? Nothing so easy to explain away we're afraid.
The neighbour upstairs bloody loved a bit of Steve Earle, Christ yes he did. He loved it best about 2 O'clock in the morning.
The neighbour himself was a prick. No one could disagree that just when you have hit that dead zone of sleep where you want to stay; having some pissed wanker putting on Copperhead Road at full blast at 2.00 in the morning wouldn't be very annoying, very upsetting and extremely disruptive, not to mention rude.
It was James' reaction that Ruth disagreed with. Turning over in the bed and through gritted teeth, he hissed in her ear" Go up there and tell that cunt to shut the fuck up!"..." Or I’ll"
Now, inherently, if James wanted to confront this man, he really needed to do it himself. More over, if Ruth didn't do this for him, what did James intend to do?
The music came on almost every Thursday, Friday and Saturday night and was fairly intolerable.
James' first reaction was to say that Ruth had been the cause of him having to live there and suffer it. So quite calmly Ruth invited James to leave. He did not have to suffer it and he did not have to live there. Over some weeks of the noise, James went on to explain that if Ruth wasn't such a fucking useless twat, that they wouldn't have to live there.
Ruth shouted that if James was so unimpressed with her, he could leave. This went on until, the night he just rolled over on the first note from upstairs and kicked her.
Ruth ran upstairs in her nightie and knocked on the neighbour’s door. He was around 6 foot 3 and coked out of his head. Ruth asked him politely to turn his music down and then returned to her bed, James fast asleep in it.
The neighbour played his music again and Ruth went up every time after James told her to until one night, she asked that fateful question " why don't you go up and talk to him?"" I can't be bothered' she added.
James went silent and began to glare at her. " " You stupid bitch' …
Her Rage screamed at him in her nightie, get out of my house! Get out out out, get out of my fucking house, I fucking hate you! …
James just stood in front of her and stepped towards her with his fist rising and she ran (as well as a person with Cerebral Palsy can run) round him and out the door, out the front door and into the street.
It then dawned on her; she had no keys, no shoes no money, no nothing and he was still standing, quite still in her flat.
The plates? That happened about 16 months previously. Ruth and James had been at the local pub with James' friend Paul Cavannah. For whatever reason Ruth can't remember, James left and she sat chatting about this 'n that and generally having a nice time with Paul talking about amongst other things 'Ridley Walker' the book by Russel Hoban and The Eusa Story.
After leaving the pub that day, Paul had gone off on his own business while Ruth went back to start cooking a curry. James came in about half an hour later and immediately asked why the curry was not cooked, ready to eat, saying it should have been started 2 hours before.
Ruth explained that she and Paul had stayed in the pub chatting and had had a lovely time.
This enraged James and he began to explain to Ruth that Paul was his friend and she was a bitch. He said if Ruth wanted to fuck Paul, then she would be out of luck anyway because Paul thought she was a fat idiot anyhow.
James then went on to say how he felt Ruth was utterly useless and other such things; whereupon he swept his hand across the kitchen work surface knocking utensils, spices and sundries all over the floor before picking up the plate and hurling it Frisbee style at Ruth. It whizzed past her ear and landed unbroken beside her as he got another plate out of the cupboard then swept it and another plate on to the floor where they smashed. James stood still for a moment then walked towards Ruth. She ran.
She went running to Paul's flat, to try and ask him to help her explain that none of these things that James had said and thought were true.
Paul was not there, only his flat mate Grant, who invited her in gave her some tea and left her alone in the living room. She waited a while and then left.
Paul did actually come to find her later but he had been at the pub all evening and was pretty bladdered. He wouldn't have been able to help, had he not been.
Ruth was back in her flat and had had gone into a strange state of inertia. She hadn't had any keys or coat and it was her flat.
