Wols Riverbank Tales Pt 4: Restitution & Renaissance

taxi73

Just popping by to see how you are?Hope everything is going ok for you xx

Karmacat

Looong gap between posts from you, Wol, how you doing?

taxi73

Are you ok Wol...you've not been about for a while?

So_Sad_Angel

I`m getting a bit worried about you too Wol.... is everything Ok Hun?

Maybe Smashed or Numps might be reading this & just let us know that all is well....gosh I am such a worrier you know.

Angiexx

Numpty_Monkey

I got a phone call last night:o

Wol is ok, just trying to sort some work out :eek::eek::j:j:j
and the other other stuff:huh:
and the Grinny Pigs :doh::p

Beechie had an op, to remove something (not nice stuff but unknown stuff) from in his eye socket
Ginger and Muffin ,had a once over ( both as daft as each other )
but ok:D:j, as are the rest:j:j:j:j

So_Sad_Angel

Numpty_Monkey wrote: »

I got a phone call last night:o

Wol is ok, just trying to sort some work out :eek::eek::j:j:j
and the other other stuff:huh:
and the Grinny Pigs :doh::p

Beechie had an op, to remove something (not nice stuff but unknown stuff) from in his eye socket
Ginger and Muffin ,had a once over ( both as daft as each other )
but ok:D:j, as are the rest:j:j:j:j

Thanks for the update Numps....search parties can be sent home now.

Sounds like you have lots happening Wol so take care of yourself & keep smiling xx

taxi73

Thanks for letting us know Numpty.
Hugs to Wol xx

Karmacat

Thanks Numpty. Wol, I'm sorry I haven't been in touch - I'm managing to suppress the coughing when I work with clients, but I don't seem to be able to do it with family and friends, and I can't bear it, it quite scares me tbh .... but I really hope we can get together soon.

xxx

Wol2

Hi All

Thanks for the concern and the well wishes.

I've been taking a bit of a break as lots of things have accumulated and I need some time to sort out the rest of my life as I have some tough decisions to make.

The submission to the Ombudsman is my last chance to recoup a fraction of my losses and restore some type of financial security for my old age. - if that fails i will have to play the hand I have been dealt. Unfortunately several more things have happened over the last few weeks:
a) The house is now flood blighted - it;s official. It can never be sold unless it is downgraded on the flood risk register. That won;t happen unless the Environment Agency effect some flood alleviation plan and downgrade us. Therefore it is now worth £0 and all my equity/pension etc has gone for a burton.
b) The EA notifed me last week they are probably not going ahead with the flood alleviation plan owing to the costs involved (and the public sector cuts)...I now have to mobilise the residents as we intend to get a full debate on this as I think the Ea have got a lot of their facts and figures wrong....but I need to accept that my house is going to be worth zilch for a long time to come.
c) The Govt Spending review is abolishing most of my paying clients - I currently have no work and haven;t had for the last 6 months (whilst everything has been "on hold")....and will have no work going forwards...:(

I can;t relocate - because i can;t sell the house...and I cant rent as I would need to change the mortgage and both the valuation and the interest rate would now be carp.

My personal spending review is going well - but is not helped by a £220 vet bill last week for Beech :eek:- plus another one forecast for exploratory surgery on him next week (he has a mass in his abdomen attached to either the spleen or the gut - this is going to be a tough call _pale__pale_).

As far as the spending review is going: The shopping bill is now spot on at £16.50 each week courtesy of Aldi, Lidl, Costco and the bulk freezer. I have organised "Christmas" and worked out a meagre budget for presents.I have vouchers from John Lewis, Tescos and money on Boots Advantage and Nectar to finance them.and I am looking at freebies if they are suitable for various people (have already got a freebie book for my niece and a freebie gardening ornament for a friend)..I am half way through designing my own personalised Xmas cards that will be emailed to save postage.
The telephone/broadband/Sky has been reviewed and the only real savings that can be made (we have no cable/digital etc so are limited in the suppliers) - are to be strict with my home phone and not go "over the hour" and to change my mobile to O2 so I can gas with Auntie Smashed to my heart's content . I can;t afford to change broadband as I lose my self-employed business email address and that;s not something I am prepared to do atm...if I get a full time job then i will change.

This week I am looking into gas/electric.

Healthwise i am now up to date on prescriptions/meds etc.and have a pre-payment certificate which saves me loads....although at present I am having to spend £70 per week on (a) psychotherapy and (b) travelling to Chelmsford for my hand treatment - which incidentally is working well.

I have made a conscious decision to spend the rest of this year trying to change the way i have always approached life.....and not set myself so many targets, not beat myself up so much....and to spend time on doing things for me and the piggies rather than for any third party....and getting the finances sorted out so I know what I have to do going fowards next year in terms of a monthly SOA.

For 50 years my whole life has revolved around keeping other people happy at the expense of my own physical and mental wellbeing....and this is particularly relevant in deciding how I am going to earn an income (and save/restore my finances) going forwards

I can;t believe that before the flood i was often away from home 3-4 nights a week. I was getting up at 6am and not getting home til midnight and then having to feed the piggies, myself, do the chores, prior to getting up at 6am the following morning for another long drive..or rushing around at the weekends with ironing, washing gardening etc - it was all pressure pressure pressure time time time with no enjoyment..and a lot of beating myself up because i wasn;t getting everything done ..what a crazy way i was living. I lived for my employers......and the salary.....and my free time was spent doing stuff to keep other people happy (eg family and past friends)

So now I MUST start living for myself first and I need to learn how to do that. I need to develop routines that work for me in terms of time allowed, absence of stress....and I need to learn how to be more kind to myself. So at the moment, I am concentrating on living each day at a time - I am not worrying about the future (even tomorrow) - I am just sorting things out on a daily basis as the mood takes me and not beating myself up anymore. And then I will be able to understand the type of job/hours etc that will work for me going forwards.

And it seems to be working - I feel much more relaxed, my gut is behaving itself and I have started eating wheat again with no ill effects. The piggies are getting the attention they deserve and I am not being stressed out by the time required to look after them - in fact I am enjoying all the routine meds, cleaning out, feeding etc. For the first time I am turning hateful chores into pleasurable and enjoyable activities....because there is no deadline for them to be completed anymore. I am completely reorganising my living space....sorting out the ebay stuff, sorting out all the sewing, sorting out all the odd jobs and bigger projects that need to be done.....when the mood takes me. I am no longer cramming these tasks into a spare 5 minutes at some unearthly hour in the morning.

My creativity/entrepreneurial flare is really being given its voice for the first time..becasue it now has space to be heard without pressure or judgement..
I have been generating lots of ideas for other businesses and also have been reviewing how i market myself. I am also applying for full-time jobs......4 submissions to date with two possible interviews next week. ..so my biggest issue now is to tackle the monumental shattering of my confidence that has occurred over the last 3 years.

Always in the background is the nagging voice of my mother...and my critics/peers..... saying I have "wasted too much time already" and that I should "stop making a fuss and just get on with it and get a job". However I am now satisfed that I;ve proved that their "way" hasn;t brought me happiness to date...and if spending the next three months on no income means I can unlock the secret to finally being happy for the rest of my life - well frankly I think that is a small price to pay.

It's been a long and painful journey....and it;s not over yet. But for the first time in my life I DO believe I have finally found the right path. I am incredibly fortunate that i can afford to spend this time "contemplating my navel (as my mother would say;))..

.....or maybe all that running around for a high salary in the past was to give me a cushion for what's happening now? The Universe after all works in mysterious ways :cool:...go figure....

xxx

beanielou

Phew.
Its all been happenning then.
That must be a big blow on the flood thingy & the effect it has on your property price.
Keep plodding.