A couple of days ago I asked our PA Kirsty to tape an EU flag I’d picked up at a protest to the headrest of my powerchair. I decided it was time to be more overt in my opposition to what is going on in this country. The snow thawing, this afternoon was the first time I managed to go out with the flag on. It started well enough: first we rolled over to the park for a coffee, and everything was fine. They know us there, the people are open and friendly, and nobody said anything.

However, leaving Paul to go home, L and I went to get groceries from Sainsburies on Greenwich Peninsula. As we rolled down the hill, truth be told I began to feel pretty nervous. Were people staring at me (more than normal, I mean)? Was I attracting hostility? What if I was shouted at, or even attacked? That road goes quite close to thee valley, Charlton’s football stadium, and – not wanting to resort to stereotype – I know what football fans can be like. Being open about my politics is all very good, but knowing how worked up everyone is getting about this issue, was I doing the right thing?

I was probably just being paranoid. In the end nobody said anything about the flag, although I may have received one or two angry looks. Yet I know that, as strongly as I feel about staying part of the EU, others feel just as passionately about leaving it. What if I encountered one of those people, who objected to me carrying the EU flag so openly? I felt genuinely nervous this afternoon, and I’m in two minds about leaving the flag attached, although I’m determined to stay true to my convictions. Yet surely this goes to show what damage this wretched referendum has done to the atmosphere in this country.