I had a bit of an accident yesterday. Marilyn was working at the local election booth and I was invited to help with the count in the afternoon and evening. It was held at a large building which was once the Coats Paton factory. In the 1920s the Scottish company was attracted to set up a new factory in Launceston by the availability of cheap hydro-electric power and hundreds of workers were brought here from the Paisley area. The factory closed many years ago and the building was bought by a church and renamed The Door of Hope.
We were set up in a large area which might once have had the spinning machines. I was told to come to the entrance which is at the southern end, so I parked close by. During the evening we were told that we would have to leave at the end of the day by the northern exit. This meant a long walk through the bowels of the building onto a side street, and an interminable walk along the front of the huge edifice to the unlit carpark.
My group didn't finish until 12.30am, and I set off to walk back to the car on my own. I was tired and I was struggling. When I, at last, reached the carpark I stumbled and fell. There was no one around. I was bleeding from the head and the hand but there was nothing for it but to drive home and sort myself out as best I could.
I went to Casualty this morning; there's no real damage but they weren't happy that I had left it for 9 hours before contacting them. I'm not happy with the electoral people; their OHS system leaves a lot to be desired. We should have been allowed to leave by the door we came in, not one which took us in the opposite direction and put us into a dangerous situation, and I'm going to follow it up.
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