Fuck off daily mail parasites.
I'm currently sitting cuddling my 7 year old, who is very upset and unable to settle to sleep. As a single mum I don't have anyone here to talk to, so please hear me out.
We go to the local pool for swimming lessons, and tonight another mum behaved appallingly in the changing rooms. She banged on the door of our changing room, and accused me of removing her kids stuff out of it - it certainly had been removed but not by me (it is against centre rules to reserve changing rooms by leaving belongings so I assume staff cleared it). I told her I hadn't removed her stuff, but that the staff most likely had so she should go and find them. She started screaming and shouting at me that if she found out I'd removed them she would "twat me silly fucking slag". This is in a changing room - in front of kids (mine and all the others!). At that point I sternly told her to go away from me and do not speak to me again.
Then, she did that awful chest bump thing where people puff their chest up and do that awful agressive dance almost. Her teenage daughter then shoved me using her body in the same manner. At that point I started shouting for help and for someone to get the staff. Out of all the adults, only one man stepped in and got me a clear safe space to move and slam the door shut and lock it. Everyone else just stared.
So me and my children were left shaking, in a cubical. No staff came - despite later being informed one of them did hear the commotion. The changing room was empty when we got out of the cubical. I didn't want to walk through the other changing room alone with my children (the family changing which we were in is at the back of the centre - you walk through the other changing area to exit). I went towards the pool in the hope if finding someone to help. It was closed. So I had no choice but to go through the other changing room (there isn't even any mobile reception so I couldn't call the main desk). As soon as I rounded the corner to the main reception area, the awful woman was there with her teenager (and her own 2 children). I stopped dead and called over to the reception that I needed to see a manager immeadiately and that I had been threatened and assaulted by these women. The receptionist, to my absolute horror, said "it's nothing to do with us - the two of you have to sort it by yourself". I could not believe what I was hearing. I shouted louder as there were more staff there, that I wanted to see a manager right away. The manager heard me at that point, and did come to speak to me.
Luckily at that point she was horrrified by what I told her. Lord only knows what this other woman was spouting as she said she had heard something had happened. She seemed reasonable and understanding. She agreed with me that the receptionist should not have said what she did. I asked why no one came to speak to me if (as she had told me) a member of staff had heard the commotion. She couldn't answer that. She said they would look in to the points I raised (telling people not to leave stuff in changing rooms, and then telling them if they remove it so other parents don't get the abuse, having a member of staff around at the start and end of lessons, and the fact that there is no way to get help if you need it) and also that the receptionist needs training on what the appropriate response is in this situation.
My poor son is still awake, I started writing this 45 minutes ago. He has autism and adhd so this has affected him quite significantly. It will be something he will always remember and will now be added to his repertoire of events that he talks about over and over. I am trying to cheer him up, reassure him and make light of the situation, but as anyone knows - trying to stop a child with autism repeating things is basically impossible.
I will now be cancelling my children's lessons, but in order for them to continue elsewhere, will now have to pay double for the privlige. All because some woman with an attitude problem wanted to kick off and intimidate because she was essentially called out on her poor changing room etiquette by the staff.