Well what a surprise , this is a bored 50 something house elf and carer actually looking at politics and giving a damn for the first time in years .
Now the Tom & Jerry show have arrived , for those of you overseas I will explain , in the UK we had 2 main parties for years , but somehow they all became liars cheats and PR company driven idiots, who we all loathed , they became one bland mass . So at the last election somehow the unexpected happened, the Conservatives ended up forming a majority government due somewhat to a particularly dire Labour Party election campaign and UKIP being voted for by the Daily Mail readers aka the likes of my mother .
Post election the Labour party decided to hack each other apart and blame everybody else but themselves for their failings , they just didnt grasp that we didnt want beige politics . Now the Labour Party have elected Jeremy Corbyn as leader , hes been lurking around parliament for donkeys years , putting the boot in here and there and annoying the beige element .
So here my review of him..lol
Hes been an excellent MP for his constituency in London but until no one had considered him as a leader material
He really does care , a little to the point of the ridiculous as only a hippy socialist can , not a bad thing
Hes been married lots and his kids adore him and obviously find him a huge embarrassment , always a sign that hes been a good dad .
Hes a vegetarian , sandal wearer .
He has no dress sense whatsoever , please let it stay that way , just make it clear that he doesnt employ a stylist and dresses himself in a morning .
As a party they need to beat out of him any tendency to call people comrade to their faces , we can handle Marxism .but we like it with a beige tinge chuck .
Then as his deputy hes got Tom Watson, well I admit to a weakness for chubby furry blokes , but this guy should be on the stage at Live from The Apollo , as a party for godsakes let him be funny , he will provide a welcome relief from the miserable situation this country is in . Hes as hard as nails so let him be .
The point is we have an excellent double act here , they can go far , the Labour Party can rebuild itself , if it goes back to being about the public and theyre needs
We live in interesting times folks , but none of us want to go back to the days of the miners strikes , its still not a good memory for many of us
Sunday, 13 September 2015
Monday, 7 September 2015
Kustom Kulture 2015
A thoroughly enjoyable weekend , never have I been more pleased than when i snuggled under my 70s charity shop blanket , it was bleak freezing and windy and a cripple and an old fat bird had a great time trying to put up a large tent in the wind..lol But we managed , im not sure it was one of his better ideas as were like a pair of cripples now .
The event however was amazing , brilliant music , fantastic stalls , I shant ask where the Psycho Juice lads got that crying boy picture from. Hicksville Bombers headlined Saturday , daughter and grandson had come up for the day he was in love with Sharna Mae and the Mayhems and his attempts at jiving were great to see .
Meanwhile Im so glad im skint , the man who has conceived a useful purpose for grey squirrels was plying his wares https://instagram.com/thetaxidermist/ modern taxidermy at its best , im sorry but they just appeal to my love of Victoriana and my love of different .
The cars were as ever amazing , it was just a completely pleasurable occasion , well organised , loads of variety , though Mr Bah Humbug was a little disappointed that he was to short to see the Gilded Merkin Burlesque Dancers . We also noticed a trend for balding blokes of a certain age wearing top hats , go figure? anythings better than baseball hats . There were tons of rockabilly dressed men and women , but also a huge variety of other genres , this seems to be the event for the misfits of every other individual with style .
We shant even go into a six year old boys fascination with body art and tattooing , but he made his mum stay till the final parade .
Meanwhile Im so glad im skint , the man who has conceived a useful purpose for grey squirrels was plying his wares https://instagram.com/thetaxidermist/ modern taxidermy at its best , im sorry but they just appeal to my love of Victoriana and my love of different .
The cars were as ever amazing , it was just a completely pleasurable occasion , well organised , loads of variety , though Mr Bah Humbug was a little disappointed that he was to short to see the Gilded Merkin Burlesque Dancers . We also noticed a trend for balding blokes of a certain age wearing top hats , go figure? anythings better than baseball hats . There were tons of rockabilly dressed men and women , but also a huge variety of other genres , this seems to be the event for the misfits of every other individual with style .
We shant even go into a six year old boys fascination with body art and tattooing , but he made his mum stay till the final parade .
Thursday, 3 September 2015
More War Graves
Went to work yesterday with Mr Bah Humbug in tow , he was having a "its only a flesh wound" kind of day , thats a challenge to find the quote for those into their movies .
So to be kind to him we didnt get much further than Lincoln, we ended up having a picnic outside Scampton Church , this has the biggest war graves cemetary in the area, in fact its still in use today . Its a tiny beautiful country church but as with all church yards it has its differences , at first glance I wondered why there were a couple of commercial wheelie bins parked by the front door , but on closer inspection they turned out to be tombs
Couldnt resist the pews dumped round the back , the timber has weathered wonderfully , havent a clue why they never gave it away or used it .
There are a large collection of war graves to the side of the church the WWII ones seem to be mainly Canadian with a smattering of New Zealand not many are older than 21 . Theres also the crew of a German Bomber that crashed in the road outside the church . They are still adding to the graves , there are many that are from obscure wars around the world
In the current times when many of us realise that a major war is brewing in the arab nations and the refugees are drowning in a sea of reporters ,it doesnt matter that we can sit at home and watch these terrible things from the safety of our living rooms it does effect us all and we have a duty to do something for the people who are fleeing. These are people not fleeing for economic gain , they are parents and grandparents fleeing to safety from a war they didnt create , once things stabilise, the vast majority will return to their Homelands and rebuild their country , the trouble is this is going to drag on for years , You cant reason with fanatics and its pointless pretending theres a negotiation ending to the story of Syria ,
How many of our young of every nationality will end up with a simple white headstone ?
So to be kind to him we didnt get much further than Lincoln, we ended up having a picnic outside Scampton Church , this has the biggest war graves cemetary in the area, in fact its still in use today . Its a tiny beautiful country church but as with all church yards it has its differences , at first glance I wondered why there were a couple of commercial wheelie bins parked by the front door , but on closer inspection they turned out to be tombs
Wednesday, 2 September 2015
£1 What can you get
So yesterday Mr Bah Humbug decided to come to work in Grimsby with me yesterday , well I actually asked him to because I can take advantage of his blue badge parking , after all there must be some advantages to living with a cripple .
We decided to splurge on groceries while we were there, so off to the Value for Money Stores in cleethorpes , they had these cheese and spinach tortellinis for 4 for a £1 , I did get a huge bag full , theyre a good store cupboard staple for the winter , loads of mackeral in mustard sauce, 39p each theyre usually around £1.20 Mr Bah Humbug likes these . Lots of rice , posh make arboria 4 for a £1 . In fact 8 bags later I was starting to feel guilty .
They still have a barrel grocers at Cleethorpes , so I stocked up on rolled oats for winter , and a huge bag of dried soup mix , they even have loads of spices , that came in at 50p for 100g .
Then on to Freeman Street Market , for a freezer full of meat , they still do bags of bones for stock at 25p for a carrier full , oops sorry they have to label them dog bones these days . we arent huge meat eaters , but they like the burgers and sausages , plus they do cooking bacon 800g for 99p .
The pie man was raided for steak and kidney puds 6 for a £1 and minced beef and onion pies 5 for a £1 .
But the best £1 of the day had to be this 70s blanket much brighter than the photograph and out drying ready for the weekend away . Rock Foundation , still the best charity shop on Grimsby high street .
If you wondering why we are suddenly rich , by our standards anyway weve risked some of the rent money we have been saving , it seems that after much arguing , eviction proceedings starting etc etc in 10 days theyre actually going to pay us housing benefit , our first proper scrounger benefit , cant you tell how proud I am? My mother will be overjoyed , we are now officially the family disgrace
We decided to splurge on groceries while we were there, so off to the Value for Money Stores in cleethorpes , they had these cheese and spinach tortellinis for 4 for a £1 , I did get a huge bag full , theyre a good store cupboard staple for the winter , loads of mackeral in mustard sauce, 39p each theyre usually around £1.20 Mr Bah Humbug likes these . Lots of rice , posh make arboria 4 for a £1 . In fact 8 bags later I was starting to feel guilty .
They still have a barrel grocers at Cleethorpes , so I stocked up on rolled oats for winter , and a huge bag of dried soup mix , they even have loads of spices , that came in at 50p for 100g .
Then on to Freeman Street Market , for a freezer full of meat , they still do bags of bones for stock at 25p for a carrier full , oops sorry they have to label them dog bones these days . we arent huge meat eaters , but they like the burgers and sausages , plus they do cooking bacon 800g for 99p .
The pie man was raided for steak and kidney puds 6 for a £1 and minced beef and onion pies 5 for a £1 .
But the best £1 of the day had to be this 70s blanket much brighter than the photograph and out drying ready for the weekend away . Rock Foundation , still the best charity shop on Grimsby high street .
If you wondering why we are suddenly rich , by our standards anyway weve risked some of the rent money we have been saving , it seems that after much arguing , eviction proceedings starting etc etc in 10 days theyre actually going to pay us housing benefit , our first proper scrounger benefit , cant you tell how proud I am? My mother will be overjoyed , we are now officially the family disgrace
Friday, 28 August 2015
Little Positives
Ive sat down today trying to dredge a few positives out of the current life situation ..lol
So here goes , me and Mr Bah Humbug get to spend a lot of time together , from help with toileting to getting dressed , to cutting up food . Hes now started forgetting where he is when hes driving , so i have to navigate , the doctor says hes fine to drive??
He hates every minute of it , so we bicker more . But it is just bickering and hes still my favourite cripple .
Our current financial situation appears to have frightened my son into getting a job , not much of a job hes doing something odd at the pig factory a couple of shifts this week , but its is first job since leaving college , hes deeply impressed at getting paid to sellotape boxes together and tread on Scotch Eggs . Nobody speaks English and the induction was held in Polish . Still it pays a few pounds more than his JSA and he wont have to do more unpaid work at Poundland .
My daughter seems to be going up the job ladder at work rather rapidly and working for the County is no bad thing as they pay for extra qualifications on top of her wage ( if we are lucky she may get far enough to fund her Masters )
Charlie Chainsaw the neighbour , has been at it solidly for 2 days hes cut down every tree in his garden and logged them for firewood , hes also sawed my tree down without asking and logged that !! , pointless saying anything he never replies , just stares blankly and gets another tinny . Plus point however is that he took up the barbed wire at the bottom of his garden because its dangerous for his kid and I had to stuff hankies in my mouth , as it obviously hasnt occured to him that its there for a reason . We have meadow behind us and in it is a very large bull and his girlfriends , im sure he will enjoy the visit from the furry beefburgers and also Bob the gun totting farmer who owns them . I may make a fortune on You Tube if I can film it .
So thats my little positives for today ...
So here goes , me and Mr Bah Humbug get to spend a lot of time together , from help with toileting to getting dressed , to cutting up food . Hes now started forgetting where he is when hes driving , so i have to navigate , the doctor says hes fine to drive??
He hates every minute of it , so we bicker more . But it is just bickering and hes still my favourite cripple .
My daughter seems to be going up the job ladder at work rather rapidly and working for the County is no bad thing as they pay for extra qualifications on top of her wage ( if we are lucky she may get far enough to fund her Masters )
So thats my little positives for today ...
Tuesday, 25 August 2015
The Little Irritations in Life
So I have a few wee gripes to get off my chest .
How come television is overflowing with "Benefits" programmes , theres tons of them all infested with the rejects from the Jeremy Kyle Show . I honestly dont think theres more scroungers or cheats than there has ever been , the dishonest have always been around , there are always those who will take advantage if they can . Isnt it time someone asked who is funding these Party Political Broadcasts on behalf of The Conservative Party , how much party funding goes to them and which MPs have declared interests in the TV companies involved . Oh I forgot you can apply for information from the government , but theyd sooner drag it to the High Court than give out data under the Freedom of Information Act . Take the application to find out how many have died after their ESA was stopped , theyve been blocking that since prior to the election and spending our money doing it http://www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/news/3100-esa-death-statistics-may-never-see-light-of-day.......STOP PRESS 2380 people have died since being declared fit for work
Next in a completely different vein . How come in the world of the internet , unless your playing a fantasy game where there is a witch , can you not have a fat avatar? All the games seem the same scrawny bobbleheads for the females . I want a fat bird avatar and not just a witch or a comedy friend . ggggrrrrrrrr
How come television is overflowing with "Benefits" programmes , theres tons of them all infested with the rejects from the Jeremy Kyle Show . I honestly dont think theres more scroungers or cheats than there has ever been , the dishonest have always been around , there are always those who will take advantage if they can . Isnt it time someone asked who is funding these Party Political Broadcasts on behalf of The Conservative Party , how much party funding goes to them and which MPs have declared interests in the TV companies involved . Oh I forgot you can apply for information from the government , but theyd sooner drag it to the High Court than give out data under the Freedom of Information Act . Take the application to find out how many have died after their ESA was stopped , theyve been blocking that since prior to the election and spending our money doing it http://www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/news/3100-esa-death-statistics-may-never-see-light-of-day.......STOP PRESS 2380 people have died since being declared fit for work
Next in a completely different vein . How come in the world of the internet , unless your playing a fantasy game where there is a witch , can you not have a fat avatar? All the games seem the same scrawny bobbleheads for the females . I want a fat bird avatar and not just a witch or a comedy friend . ggggrrrrrrrr
Sunday, 23 August 2015
Rain............
And finally after a scorchio weekend its raining a little , sheer bliss, its been far to warm to be pleasant and i slept really badly last night , so im sort of a brain dead child killer today.
On a plus point ive got the mountains of washing dry and started the pile up the bedding for winter sort out , I need a lot of bedding , this is a cold house and because i dont wash bedding till spring we needs loads , with no dryer its pointless in the house of mould .
I was dragged to Hemswell Car Boot and Market for 8am this morning , I think Mr Bah Humbug thought he'd treat me , but I knew he would struggle with walking so I did two rows and made excuses to call it a day , its all lumps of limestone and pot holes, so no good for him , plus it was really windy and thick dust . Hes now nuked full of pills and unable to get off the sofa .
What did I buy? A bag of sweet potatoes for £1 , a water melon and of all the strange things a bucket of Wholefoods peanut butter for £1 , well in date so I was well chuffed , it does keep well past its sell date anyway , but it wont be around for long come the toast season i'm sure.
There was tons of stalls selling boxes of china at any bit for £1 or 50p , gos to show how unfashionable Victorian China has become , some of it was beautiful , but not a chance with my other half , practical shopping only allowed ..
Started a sunny day project yesterday , the glue is dry in 15 minutes , this is a suitably gothic item to appeal to me, i had some wallpaper sample books kicking about , not sure about the lining , im sure something will catch my eye , lets hope this doesnt wait around for years
On a plus point ive got the mountains of washing dry and started the pile up the bedding for winter sort out , I need a lot of bedding , this is a cold house and because i dont wash bedding till spring we needs loads , with no dryer its pointless in the house of mould .
I was dragged to Hemswell Car Boot and Market for 8am this morning , I think Mr Bah Humbug thought he'd treat me , but I knew he would struggle with walking so I did two rows and made excuses to call it a day , its all lumps of limestone and pot holes, so no good for him , plus it was really windy and thick dust . Hes now nuked full of pills and unable to get off the sofa .
What did I buy? A bag of sweet potatoes for £1 , a water melon and of all the strange things a bucket of Wholefoods peanut butter for £1 , well in date so I was well chuffed , it does keep well past its sell date anyway , but it wont be around for long come the toast season i'm sure.
There was tons of stalls selling boxes of china at any bit for £1 or 50p , gos to show how unfashionable Victorian China has become , some of it was beautiful , but not a chance with my other half , practical shopping only allowed ..
Started a sunny day project yesterday , the glue is dry in 15 minutes , this is a suitably gothic item to appeal to me, i had some wallpaper sample books kicking about , not sure about the lining , im sure something will catch my eye , lets hope this doesnt wait around for years
Thursday, 20 August 2015
Ahhhhhh....Work Work Work Ruskington
Its been a funny old week , little time for anything but real world work and running around after other people , nothing new there .
Havent crafted, though had a couple of brainstorms about what i want to do next , how is it no matter how much stuff you packrat theres never exactly what you need . Im sure everyone else would have some orange string fruit bags to hand . Guess someone will have to eat a lot of oranges .
Did a massive failure of a car boot , brilliant sunshine , loads of stalls but no customers , I was so awkward that i just took 90% to various charity shops on the Monday , I need the space desperately .
I have listened to Mr Bah Humbug rabbit on for endless hours about his new hobby CB and Amateur Radio , I feel dreadful , ive no interest in it at all , i just dont get why anyone would do it when you can use the internet . So i'm not in good books , hes even more mardy that i can understand french , i can understand it, but i cant speak it...lol
Still awaiting the Housing Benefit descision .......................................
Stuck for 4 hours in Ruskington yesterday , pretty little place , hospice bookshop and hospice shop a coop , garden center and quite a few useful little shops . What else would I do but wander round the graveyard and church , im sure this is turning into my summer hobby , its free which is a huge plus point . Im sorry ive not a single exciting thing to tell you its just been a very boring week. Even the weekend doesnt look exciting I think im at work for most of it
point
Havent crafted, though had a couple of brainstorms about what i want to do next , how is it no matter how much stuff you packrat theres never exactly what you need . Im sure everyone else would have some orange string fruit bags to hand . Guess someone will have to eat a lot of oranges .
Did a massive failure of a car boot , brilliant sunshine , loads of stalls but no customers , I was so awkward that i just took 90% to various charity shops on the Monday , I need the space desperately .
I have listened to Mr Bah Humbug rabbit on for endless hours about his new hobby CB and Amateur Radio , I feel dreadful , ive no interest in it at all , i just dont get why anyone would do it when you can use the internet . So i'm not in good books , hes even more mardy that i can understand french , i can understand it, but i cant speak it...lol
Still awaiting the Housing Benefit descision .......................................
Stuck for 4 hours in Ruskington yesterday , pretty little place , hospice bookshop and hospice shop a coop , garden center and quite a few useful little shops . What else would I do but wander round the graveyard and church , im sure this is turning into my summer hobby , its free which is a huge plus point . Im sorry ive not a single exciting thing to tell you its just been a very boring week. Even the weekend doesnt look exciting I think im at work for most of it
point
Thursday, 13 August 2015
Benefits Land..... Lose the will to live Edition
Thankyou for your kind thoughts on my last post , positive thought is in short supply at the moment
Yesterday we had a possession order for non payment of rent popped through the letterbox , so I rang and spoke to a housing officer
He informed me that I dont live here and they have no knowledge of me being at the address , ive been here 9 years!!! and have spoke to them on numerous occassions and dealt with all manner of problems .
I explained that a housing benefit application is being processed , that my partner the tenant isnt capable of dealing with the matter and i was the point of contact
They cannot talk to housing benefit because its a different department .
Lose the will to live at this point as they are proceeding on with the possession order , despite my partner being disabled .
Then have to ring Housing Benefit to attempt to sort out the claim
Yes they have received the extra financial details they required
Is the claim progressing?
No you didnt answer question 4
you asked for the financial information you never mentioned question 4
Its not up to us to tell you that the form is incomplete
WHAT!!!
So if i dont ask you wont tell me and it just sits there
That is correct
Could i have the form to fill in question 4
We will send it to you , but it may now be past the completion date .
Cant make it up can you ?
Yesterday we had a possession order for non payment of rent popped through the letterbox , so I rang and spoke to a housing officer
He informed me that I dont live here and they have no knowledge of me being at the address , ive been here 9 years!!! and have spoke to them on numerous occassions and dealt with all manner of problems .
I explained that a housing benefit application is being processed , that my partner the tenant isnt capable of dealing with the matter and i was the point of contact
They cannot talk to housing benefit because its a different department .
Lose the will to live at this point as they are proceeding on with the possession order , despite my partner being disabled .
Then have to ring Housing Benefit to attempt to sort out the claim
Yes they have received the extra financial details they required
Is the claim progressing?
No you didnt answer question 4
you asked for the financial information you never mentioned question 4
Its not up to us to tell you that the form is incomplete
WHAT!!!
So if i dont ask you wont tell me and it just sits there
That is correct
Could i have the form to fill in question 4
We will send it to you , but it may now be past the completion date .
Cant make it up can you ?
Tuesday, 11 August 2015
Decisions ...Decisions
Just got up in one of those moods this morning , the Why am I such a mug ? mood .
This being a carer in all but name is damned hard work , Mr Bah Humbug is driving me steadily mad , hes now decided hes going to get into CB radio , more expense we cant afford , I know he needs the company but if we didnt live in the god forsaken armpit of nowhere we might actually see people . We need to move house but he wont listen , im going round the bend stuck at home , the munchkin and daughter have gone to Scotland on holiday and its just me, him and my totally useless son , who just spends his entire life avoiding doing anything and when he does do anything makes such a bad job he wont get asked again .
My lovely 86 year old neighbour told me this morning that hes got to move out out of the house hes lived in since 1955 to go into a bungalow because of the shop shutting and his brother being moved to a home several villages away . He will be sadly missed
This rural poverty lark is crap , ive got 2 days work this week so thats all im allowed out for , I have to steal Mr Bah Humbugs vehicle because mine is still off the road , he bought the parts this month , the work may get done next month and then taxed the month after that .
Cant ebay , because the housing benefit is still being calculated . Its true that once you get down to a certain level theres little point in even trying bcause your financially penalised every step of the way. I think it may have to be the end of the ebay business , its no longer viable without transport or a post office.
Ive spent the day making up packets of magazines and ephemera to take to the car boot , if it doesnt sell i will have to fill the recycling bin , its a shame but what else can you do with it ?
I think a lot of the stuff ive collected will end up just being given away or thrown in the bin , if we move the council will only let us go to somewhere smaller , some dreadful pensioners ghetto , they admit this house needs a shower and he cant manage the stairs for much longer so that will be the cheaper option for them, the rest of the family will just have to find somewhere to live under there own steam . Once again if we move there will be no help forthcoming from any of them , the, i'm allright jack bulk of the family .
Just to really add to the negativity I talked to my mother , she very generously told me how to murder Mr Bah Humbug and get away with it !! "You need to get on with your life and not be burdened with a scrounger" Bless Her , shes read far to much of the Daily Mail
Then a "friend " told me how i just needed to work harder and things would be easier !!
I feel like hunting all the negative naysayers down and shooting them , they should try being kept awake by someone whos in so much pain he isnt still for more than a couple of minutes every night , then having to get up to the mountains of washing he produces , then do a days work and everything around the house as well .
Its as if I no longer exist as a person and im just the house elf !!!
This being a carer in all but name is damned hard work , Mr Bah Humbug is driving me steadily mad , hes now decided hes going to get into CB radio , more expense we cant afford , I know he needs the company but if we didnt live in the god forsaken armpit of nowhere we might actually see people . We need to move house but he wont listen , im going round the bend stuck at home , the munchkin and daughter have gone to Scotland on holiday and its just me, him and my totally useless son , who just spends his entire life avoiding doing anything and when he does do anything makes such a bad job he wont get asked again .
My lovely 86 year old neighbour told me this morning that hes got to move out out of the house hes lived in since 1955 to go into a bungalow because of the shop shutting and his brother being moved to a home several villages away . He will be sadly missed
This rural poverty lark is crap , ive got 2 days work this week so thats all im allowed out for , I have to steal Mr Bah Humbugs vehicle because mine is still off the road , he bought the parts this month , the work may get done next month and then taxed the month after that .
Cant ebay , because the housing benefit is still being calculated . Its true that once you get down to a certain level theres little point in even trying bcause your financially penalised every step of the way. I think it may have to be the end of the ebay business , its no longer viable without transport or a post office.
I think a lot of the stuff ive collected will end up just being given away or thrown in the bin , if we move the council will only let us go to somewhere smaller , some dreadful pensioners ghetto , they admit this house needs a shower and he cant manage the stairs for much longer so that will be the cheaper option for them, the rest of the family will just have to find somewhere to live under there own steam . Once again if we move there will be no help forthcoming from any of them , the, i'm allright jack bulk of the family .
Just to really add to the negativity I talked to my mother , she very generously told me how to murder Mr Bah Humbug and get away with it !! "You need to get on with your life and not be burdened with a scrounger" Bless Her , shes read far to much of the Daily Mail
Then a "friend " told me how i just needed to work harder and things would be easier !!
I feel like hunting all the negative naysayers down and shooting them , they should try being kept awake by someone whos in so much pain he isnt still for more than a couple of minutes every night , then having to get up to the mountains of washing he produces , then do a days work and everything around the house as well .
Its as if I no longer exist as a person and im just the house elf !!!
Sunday, 9 August 2015
Crafty Finish
And finally , a finished crafting effort. Its only taken 18 months ..lol
My train case, vanity case that i covered with my childhood stamp collection has been waiting patiently for inspiration to strike , errr but it didnt .
Now I admit i have a problem with projects stalling but this has been a bad one , I just couldnt find a lining I liked , so in the end I had to bite the bullet and buy half a metre of fabric from China . this has grated , I like my crafty efforts to be of a recycled nature , the box only cost 50p , so spending £4 on fabric hurt . So I let it sit for over a year till I could bear to complete it .
Quite pleased at how it has turned out , postmark fabric worked quite well , it would have been better in blue tones but the fabric didnt have blue in the colours . Lined with black satin and wood floor liner , something that seems to have endless craft uses , including shoe liners when you lose them . I bought a box full for 50p at a car boot .
It will serve the purpose I had in Mind which is a storage box for my parents photograph collection and sit on a shelf gathering dust forever .
Ive just remembered I spent a whole £1 on another , almost identical case a few weeks ago ...AAARRGGGHHHHH it may well have my ashes stored in it before I get it Finished
My train case, vanity case that i covered with my childhood stamp collection has been waiting patiently for inspiration to strike , errr but it didnt .
Now I admit i have a problem with projects stalling but this has been a bad one , I just couldnt find a lining I liked , so in the end I had to bite the bullet and buy half a metre of fabric from China . this has grated , I like my crafty efforts to be of a recycled nature , the box only cost 50p , so spending £4 on fabric hurt . So I let it sit for over a year till I could bear to complete it .
It will serve the purpose I had in Mind which is a storage box for my parents photograph collection and sit on a shelf gathering dust forever .
Ive just remembered I spent a whole £1 on another , almost identical case a few weeks ago ...AAARRGGGHHHHH it may well have my ashes stored in it before I get it Finished
Tuesday, 4 August 2015
Death
Nope im not planning on going yet , despite my fascination with graveyards. Sometimes its the little things that start the blogging mind ticking http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3184727/Gill-said-never-grow-old-Partner-healthy-nurse-went-Swiss-clinic-die-says-preparing-death-years.html I read this and it brought up some thoughts , i've a great deal of admiration for this lady and her family . Now we can all go extreme Christian and hang on till the truly appaling end or we can go with some dignity . Ive witnessed my father and stepfather suffer dreadful endings , my stepfather had cancer that spread to his bones , my mother was a retired nurse so it was expected that she see to the bigger share of his care at home , which she managed admirably well , until on turning him in the night , his pelvis shattered , it took 3 hours for the ambulance to get there , he couldnt scream anymore by then and he never recovered conciousness , he died the next day .
My fathers death was dreadful he was 82 , he went for a day surgery and they decided to keep him in overnight he was still there 3 months later . He aquired a hospital related infection from the procedure , this meant he couldnt be moved to another ward and he was left alone for hours in a side ward , there was so few staff, that because they had to suit up to deal with him due to the infection risk, his care was pretty much left to family and visitors , they started to make him wear incontinence pants at night because there were no staff to help him get out in and out of bed and family had to leave at 9pm , he wasnt happy about this , and as he got weaker and weaker he eventually fell out of bed and died the next day . At which point we were inundated with calls from the hospital legal team .
Back in the 70s an aunty had advanced cancer , she came home from hospital to die , she saw all the family said her goodbyes and our Family Doctor took my Uncle to one side and asked if it was time for her to go , then he gave her an injection and she quietly passed away .
Now I know which I would prefer , and my mother always says that come the day she will go when she chooses , my grandmother took her own life when life had become unbearable , she had severe arthritis and could do very little for herself .
I dont think you can legislate for this , despite the assisted dying bill rattling through parliament in september ,surely it has little to do with the state wether you find your life unbearable , what about mental illness ? Medicine can extend life these days but at what cost ?
My fathers death was dreadful he was 82 , he went for a day surgery and they decided to keep him in overnight he was still there 3 months later . He aquired a hospital related infection from the procedure , this meant he couldnt be moved to another ward and he was left alone for hours in a side ward , there was so few staff, that because they had to suit up to deal with him due to the infection risk, his care was pretty much left to family and visitors , they started to make him wear incontinence pants at night because there were no staff to help him get out in and out of bed and family had to leave at 9pm , he wasnt happy about this , and as he got weaker and weaker he eventually fell out of bed and died the next day . At which point we were inundated with calls from the hospital legal team .
Back in the 70s an aunty had advanced cancer , she came home from hospital to die , she saw all the family said her goodbyes and our Family Doctor took my Uncle to one side and asked if it was time for her to go , then he gave her an injection and she quietly passed away .
Now I know which I would prefer , and my mother always says that come the day she will go when she chooses , my grandmother took her own life when life had become unbearable , she had severe arthritis and could do very little for herself .
I dont think you can legislate for this , despite the assisted dying bill rattling through parliament in september ,surely it has little to do with the state wether you find your life unbearable , what about mental illness ? Medicine can extend life these days but at what cost ?
Sunday, 2 August 2015
Jumbled Up
Sneaked out yesterday on a mission , the £2 in my purse was burning a hole and I needed to shop , first stop the Birchwood Scout Hut for the Cats in Crisis Jumble Sale .My son came to , much to my surprise, he likes a good people watching session and stood there in bemused horror as the little old ladies with shopping trolleys dived in , its always a bit of a free for all but well worth the effort . Didnt buy a whole lot , a couple of Victorian Tiles that I use for coasters around the house and a very 70s shell lampshade in need of a good clean.
So with the change I toddled to Moorland Relate and got a bag of 10p books that i admit i will go through in no time . Still got a whole £1 of change so I will see what I can stretch that to ..lol
Maybe I should buy another 2 1/2 KG of mandarins , they were a whole 60p at the tin factory the other day , you can pay that for a small tin and they have a whole year of date on them , they had similar sized tins of ravioli for £1 that ive put away for when i have all the kids in the winter and even bigger tins of potatoes £1 again . This baffles Mr Bah Humbug but im sure they will get used , tempted to try a sort of marmalade with the mandarins when im bored one day.
So with the change I toddled to Moorland Relate and got a bag of 10p books that i admit i will go through in no time . Still got a whole £1 of change so I will see what I can stretch that to ..lol
Maybe I should buy another 2 1/2 KG of mandarins , they were a whole 60p at the tin factory the other day , you can pay that for a small tin and they have a whole year of date on them , they had similar sized tins of ravioli for £1 that ive put away for when i have all the kids in the winter and even bigger tins of potatoes £1 again . This baffles Mr Bah Humbug but im sure they will get used , tempted to try a sort of marmalade with the mandarins when im bored one day.
Thursday, 30 July 2015
Benefits Land the Update
I apologise for my abscence , the school holidays are proving rather hectic , A none stop round of work, childcare and garden chores while its cool enough to do big stuff . Rain has now stopped play.
In the world of benefits claimants we "may" be making some progress. Mr Bah Humbug is a recipent of PIP payments this is the replacement for DLA , when he finally got this benefit after 5 months and a medical the letter from the DWP stated he must inform the council if he was in social housing . This was back in April , it didnt say why you had to inform them , I presumed it was because at that point you are officially in the eyes of the government a disabled person . So I rang them and informed them , only to be told .
Why are you telling us?
Err ...because it says on this letter from the DWP that i must .
Well youve informed us , it will be noted, goodbye .
Role on to July , im rooting through UGOV the government website , for some other aspect of disability payments , and find the well hidden reason why you must inform your social housing landlord .
Ring the council yet again
Ive just read on UGOV that we should be getting Housing Benefit
No you have a family member in full time employment
Err thats not what it says here sunshine , it says that if you are in receipt of the higher rate of PIP care , one family members employment income is automatically deducted from the calculation .
Give over, where does it say that .
So I tell him the UGOV page
Arrrrrrrr....it does indeed say that
So can we do a new calculation ?
New calculation is done , we are entitled ( I hate that word soooo much)It can take months to progress the claim but it is applied for now .
Fast forward to yesterday , theres a nice smiley housing officer at the door , come to discuss the rent arrears.
We have put in a Housing Benefit application , we have the letter saying they are going to pay part of the rent at the least , but how long is a bit of string until its processed.
I pointed out that we should have been getting this since April , and that we have sold vehicles and anything of any value to pay the rent since January when this lousy adventure started .
He was bewildered even he didnt know that PIP payments trigger Housing Benefit , it seems no one does and as he pointed out to me the council will be claiming the money from the government back to April , so why isnt all of it being credited to the Housing Account .
We await the results of this intervention , as he was going back to the Housing Benefit department to find out why they arent up to date with all the changes that have been made .
It would seem that unless you ask for a recalculation when you receive the PIP claim descision they dont tell anybody about this
In the world of benefits claimants we "may" be making some progress. Mr Bah Humbug is a recipent of PIP payments this is the replacement for DLA , when he finally got this benefit after 5 months and a medical the letter from the DWP stated he must inform the council if he was in social housing . This was back in April , it didnt say why you had to inform them , I presumed it was because at that point you are officially in the eyes of the government a disabled person . So I rang them and informed them , only to be told .
Why are you telling us?
Err ...because it says on this letter from the DWP that i must .
Well youve informed us , it will be noted, goodbye .
Role on to July , im rooting through UGOV the government website , for some other aspect of disability payments , and find the well hidden reason why you must inform your social housing landlord .
Ring the council yet again
Ive just read on UGOV that we should be getting Housing Benefit
No you have a family member in full time employment
Err thats not what it says here sunshine , it says that if you are in receipt of the higher rate of PIP care , one family members employment income is automatically deducted from the calculation .
Give over, where does it say that .
So I tell him the UGOV page
Arrrrrrrr....it does indeed say that
So can we do a new calculation ?
New calculation is done , we are entitled ( I hate that word soooo much)It can take months to progress the claim but it is applied for now .
Fast forward to yesterday , theres a nice smiley housing officer at the door , come to discuss the rent arrears.
We have put in a Housing Benefit application , we have the letter saying they are going to pay part of the rent at the least , but how long is a bit of string until its processed.
I pointed out that we should have been getting this since April , and that we have sold vehicles and anything of any value to pay the rent since January when this lousy adventure started .
He was bewildered even he didnt know that PIP payments trigger Housing Benefit , it seems no one does and as he pointed out to me the council will be claiming the money from the government back to April , so why isnt all of it being credited to the Housing Account .
We await the results of this intervention , as he was going back to the Housing Benefit department to find out why they arent up to date with all the changes that have been made .
It would seem that unless you ask for a recalculation when you receive the PIP claim descision they dont tell anybody about this
Thursday, 23 July 2015
A Walk Around The Graves
What do you do with a bored munchkin on the first day of the school holidays?, well of course you go for a wander down to the graveyard . I have a confession ,10 years in the village and i had never been , It a large peaceful place but sadly faceless , the church is of course locked up , it has been Victorianised to death , but that was when this was a thriving wealthy place when the fens were first drained .
Up until WWII this would have been a very sleepy farming community , then suddenly it was surrounded by RAF bases , nowadays a lot of those in the village are RAF personnel or retirees , most of the bases went after the Cold War but the runways and nissan huts often survive .
I just find it sad that theyve layed most of the headstones down and allowed the grass to grow over them , theres wildflower areas , codename for chunks of overgrown brambles with headstones peeping out , its infested with dog poo , despite the signs and bins .
There was a sadly much overgrown war grave tucked in a corner . Deeply impressed by the crocheted poppy wreath at the war memorial
I love the lichens and the weathering on the few stones standing , there doesnt appear to be many recent burials , so a beautiful peaceful place but not the graveyard for me , im going on the mantelpiece for a year then onto the compost heap
I just find it sad that theyve layed most of the headstones down and allowed the grass to grow over them , theres wildflower areas , codename for chunks of overgrown brambles with headstones peeping out , its infested with dog poo , despite the signs and bins .
I love the lichens and the weathering on the few stones standing , there doesnt appear to be many recent burials , so a beautiful peaceful place but not the graveyard for me , im going on the mantelpiece for a year then onto the compost heap
Sunday, 19 July 2015
Gone Fishing
Well I was coerced into going fishing with Mr Bah Humbug yesterday , hes wittered for 10 years so i gave in . A truly beautiful very windy day on the fen .
Now the problem he has is that its not safe for him to go on his own anymore , his balance is crap , plus he struggles with the fiddly stuff, everybody else was either working or on holiday . It was gorgeous at 6 am watching the swallows and the other wildlife , the Fen is pretty amazing in the summer , I got settled down with a good book and my patchwork , I think he thought i'd decide that fishing was wonderful , I used to go sea fishing with my dad many years ago , which i loved , I have a cast iron sailors stomach and I could see the point in catching stuff to eat , sport fishing however leaves me pretty cold . I just cant get my head round spending all that time fishing then chucking it back , the fish are gorgeous but I just felt sorry for the poor things . I did point out to him how would he like it if I dangled Burgers in front of him but he never got to eat them . He did catch some quite big ones which I had to help him land . but for the most part i just took in the scenery and enjoyed the sun and the picnic .
This beauty wanted a wrestling match and spat water everywhere it nearly had him in the water .
Now the problem he has is that its not safe for him to go on his own anymore , his balance is crap , plus he struggles with the fiddly stuff, everybody else was either working or on holiday . It was gorgeous at 6 am watching the swallows and the other wildlife , the Fen is pretty amazing in the summer , I got settled down with a good book and my patchwork , I think he thought i'd decide that fishing was wonderful , I used to go sea fishing with my dad many years ago , which i loved , I have a cast iron sailors stomach and I could see the point in catching stuff to eat , sport fishing however leaves me pretty cold . I just cant get my head round spending all that time fishing then chucking it back , the fish are gorgeous but I just felt sorry for the poor things . I did point out to him how would he like it if I dangled Burgers in front of him but he never got to eat them . He did catch some quite big ones which I had to help him land . but for the most part i just took in the scenery and enjoyed the sun and the picnic .
This beauty wanted a wrestling match and spat water everywhere it nearly had him in the water .
Thursday, 16 July 2015
The Poor Saga
I've come to the conclusion that I'm just not very good at this poverty stricken lark , I'm getting very blasé about the latest summons stuck on the fridge, we will sort something out eventually, like everybody else they will have to wait.
But the problem is that financially it's just going from bad to worse, come September we may be in deep do do . They are changing to universal credit in this area from then, and our claim is to complicated to consider, so the Job center states. this despite a letter from DWP stating we will be £60 a week better off.
But on a plus note, we have a running legal vehicle, I've not had time for a lot this week as it takes a good couple of hours a day just to do the school run if your walking , at least we have a path of sorts to the next village , it's a very quiet lane , so not to bad for a six year old and granny.
it's a good job the garden is starting to get into gear, we can't do groceries this month due to funding the van, lots of salad and bad sausages methinks , freezer is packed with cheap bread, no shop means it's just to much of a trek to go out every day , I'm not about to start baking my own , to time consuming , we eat at least a couple of loaves a day and they won't eat home baked either. me and Mr Bah Humbug like real bread but it's a waste for just us .
Now here's a strange one for the ebayers among you. I'm receiving umpteen phone calls every day asking to buy the eBay business all from the same bloke , it's currently mothballed due to lack of funds and lack of transport, now I'm well aware that this is a scam and it's just drop shippers after using the feedback to make it look like they're a legitimate business with good feedback, but how many ebayers are saying yes? I know an awful lot of people who are calling it a day after many years, due to the fees and the daft ratings system. what comeback to buyers have if it all goes wrong , if you've legally sold a business?
But the problem is that financially it's just going from bad to worse, come September we may be in deep do do . They are changing to universal credit in this area from then, and our claim is to complicated to consider, so the Job center states. this despite a letter from DWP stating we will be £60 a week better off.
But on a plus note, we have a running legal vehicle, I've not had time for a lot this week as it takes a good couple of hours a day just to do the school run if your walking , at least we have a path of sorts to the next village , it's a very quiet lane , so not to bad for a six year old and granny.
it's a good job the garden is starting to get into gear, we can't do groceries this month due to funding the van, lots of salad and bad sausages methinks , freezer is packed with cheap bread, no shop means it's just to much of a trek to go out every day , I'm not about to start baking my own , to time consuming , we eat at least a couple of loaves a day and they won't eat home baked either. me and Mr Bah Humbug like real bread but it's a waste for just us .
Now here's a strange one for the ebayers among you. I'm receiving umpteen phone calls every day asking to buy the eBay business all from the same bloke , it's currently mothballed due to lack of funds and lack of transport, now I'm well aware that this is a scam and it's just drop shippers after using the feedback to make it look like they're a legitimate business with good feedback, but how many ebayers are saying yes? I know an awful lot of people who are calling it a day after many years, due to the fees and the daft ratings system. what comeback to buyers have if it all goes wrong , if you've legally sold a business?
Sunday, 12 July 2015
£1 Worth of Thrift
So its been a funny old week , we are officially without a vehicle and Mr Bah Humbug is going round the twist , his vehicle miserably failed its MOT and is parked on the drive in bits as we speak . Now he hasnt had his usual helpers , his eldest and young Baldrick , hes had to make do with my youngest whos the only one currently at home , hes also the least likely mechanics helper on the planet , this is a young man who has a squealing fit at a spider and if he chips his nail varnish he has an episode ...lol ..Theyve been out there for 3 days , Mr Bah Humbug sat on a plastic patio chair supervising and Will under the vehicle , I havent heard a single shout , though Will keeps coming in moaning at oily hands and the condition of his nails , Mr Bah Humbug even admits that Will has done really well, actually listens and tells him when he doesnt understand and that its beyond him how he hasnt been able to get a job . Well ..the last verdict at his endless Job Centre course is that hes not pretty enough and doesnt present well. You see he has really bad skin , acne is the bane of this family , he refuses to go back to the dermatologist , they admit theres nothing they can do , because the stuff that could work cant be given to someone with a history of depression , does it cross there mind that his skin is why hes depressed?
Ive managed to borrow my daughters car for a couple of days ,just to catch up on some holiday jobs id picked up , so ive done the scenic tour of grimsby , cleethorpes ,immingham , scunthorpe and gainsborough and i bought nothing , it was a thrift dessert full of overpriced rubbish but I did spend my £1 lunch money at the Moorlands relate back in Lincoln , all this for a £1 !!
Dont you love vintage 50s sci fi book covers , these are very tatty but gorgeous , still debating what the hell to do about ebay , now we have no post office and no transport , ive run my stocks down , with a few car boot sales and im trying to be more selective about what i buy .
Building up my reading stocks for the winter , even found a couple of Biggles books , but im also building up my usual pile of varied crap , i cant read the same genre all the time , it becomes to monotonous, about the only thing i wont read is chick lit , if its got a pink cover its not for me . so in my £1 bag i purchased 9 books , which then go to car boot in the spring .
More fabric for the piles , still hand hexy quilting myself into infinity , not sure quite where this is going , but its half a duvet cover and more flowery cotton ...
Im at home for most of this week , so I may get some crafty projects finished , but its veg garden season and im having to water by hand, due to Mr Nobody having strimmered through the hose pipe , ive developed the arms of an orangutan, its a long way from the tap to the veg ...lol connection is on its way from China for a whole £2
Ive managed to borrow my daughters car for a couple of days ,just to catch up on some holiday jobs id picked up , so ive done the scenic tour of grimsby , cleethorpes ,immingham , scunthorpe and gainsborough and i bought nothing , it was a thrift dessert full of overpriced rubbish but I did spend my £1 lunch money at the Moorlands relate back in Lincoln , all this for a £1 !!
Dont you love vintage 50s sci fi book covers , these are very tatty but gorgeous , still debating what the hell to do about ebay , now we have no post office and no transport , ive run my stocks down , with a few car boot sales and im trying to be more selective about what i buy .
Building up my reading stocks for the winter , even found a couple of Biggles books , but im also building up my usual pile of varied crap , i cant read the same genre all the time , it becomes to monotonous, about the only thing i wont read is chick lit , if its got a pink cover its not for me . so in my £1 bag i purchased 9 books , which then go to car boot in the spring .
More fabric for the piles , still hand hexy quilting myself into infinity , not sure quite where this is going , but its half a duvet cover and more flowery cotton ...
Im at home for most of this week , so I may get some crafty projects finished , but its veg garden season and im having to water by hand, due to Mr Nobody having strimmered through the hose pipe , ive developed the arms of an orangutan, its a long way from the tap to the veg ...lol connection is on its way from China for a whole £2
Sunday, 5 July 2015
Christmas in July
Well payday came and the bank is still ringing me , 10 calls a day over £50 has nearly driven me mad , I went into the branch and explained it all they said fine but India never gives up . You can understand why people do them selves in over debt , I have a single different creditor each month the wages dont meet the bills and theres nothing i can do about it at the moment , still job hunting and getting nowhere , cant shut the business down even though its making nothing because that would be making myself unemployed ..AAARRRGGGHH
If people payed the invoices in 30 days it would be fine , but its months sometimes ,just been paid for jobs done in April . next month will be dire , but im just picking up a load of holiday cover for which i need fuel money to be able to do it now , plus my car is off the road and im forced to use his van which is fuel hungry .
Worked yesterday and screeched to a halt when I saw the magic Jumble Sale sign , it was just finishing but i managed to use my £1 lunch money to buy of all things a huge bag of xmas baubles , what can I say nobody had paid them an ounce of attention in July , hidden among them though is quite a lot of 50s glass indents so im well chuffed I will pick them out and carboot the rest , do you like the basket? it was yet more loot from the wedding
If people payed the invoices in 30 days it would be fine , but its months sometimes ,just been paid for jobs done in April . next month will be dire , but im just picking up a load of holiday cover for which i need fuel money to be able to do it now , plus my car is off the road and im forced to use his van which is fuel hungry .
Worked yesterday and screeched to a halt when I saw the magic Jumble Sale sign , it was just finishing but i managed to use my £1 lunch money to buy of all things a huge bag of xmas baubles , what can I say nobody had paid them an ounce of attention in July , hidden among them though is quite a lot of 50s glass indents so im well chuffed I will pick them out and carboot the rest , do you like the basket? it was yet more loot from the wedding
Thursday, 2 July 2015
Gin & Glastonbury
You know those hot humid summer nights when you can't sleep and the thoughts just keep running through your head?
The KKK Kardasian Klan of Klingons were haunting me the other night, hardly surprising as their existance has always baffled me , are they the next stage of human evolution ? I was trying to escape from the Glastonbury prison camp and the miles of tents were getting longer and longer , Kanya west was selling vegan kebabs and Kim had a stall selling his designer gear .
Old Mother Kardasian was at the slave market buying hipsters with man bags, so they could be skinned and she would be rejuvenated , meanwhile dad was dressed as Shirley Bassey doing a DJ set with the Dali Lama , have to say they were pretty good . Karma is a wonderful thing, boy it must hurt when your discarded ex hubby , turns into a far prettier female than you , no amout of money or imagination could make that plot twist up and still the miles of tents stretched on .
Vix , you and John were there you'd got your own department store , full of crying boy pictures and poodles? , not quite sure why Florence was in a cage in the corner but little boys with sticks kept poking her to make her fling herself about and she seemed to have mislaid The Machine.
The Who we're performing to a herd of skeletons wearing parkas with mod targets on the back , think I've met most of them at scooter rallies praying at the altar of Paul Weller tribute bands, or carrying boxes of 45s and still the tents stretched on
And the moral of this story is don't take painkillers and forget then have a large gin and tonic to cool yourself down...menopausal dreams are great ...this was even weirder !!!!!
The KKK Kardasian Klan of Klingons were haunting me the other night, hardly surprising as their existance has always baffled me , are they the next stage of human evolution ? I was trying to escape from the Glastonbury prison camp and the miles of tents were getting longer and longer , Kanya west was selling vegan kebabs and Kim had a stall selling his designer gear .
Old Mother Kardasian was at the slave market buying hipsters with man bags, so they could be skinned and she would be rejuvenated , meanwhile dad was dressed as Shirley Bassey doing a DJ set with the Dali Lama , have to say they were pretty good . Karma is a wonderful thing, boy it must hurt when your discarded ex hubby , turns into a far prettier female than you , no amout of money or imagination could make that plot twist up and still the miles of tents stretched on .
Vix , you and John were there you'd got your own department store , full of crying boy pictures and poodles? , not quite sure why Florence was in a cage in the corner but little boys with sticks kept poking her to make her fling herself about and she seemed to have mislaid The Machine.
The Who we're performing to a herd of skeletons wearing parkas with mod targets on the back , think I've met most of them at scooter rallies praying at the altar of Paul Weller tribute bands, or carrying boxes of 45s and still the tents stretched on
And the moral of this story is don't take painkillers and forget then have a large gin and tonic to cool yourself down...menopausal dreams are great ...this was even weirder !!!!!
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