Its tough, it will get better and guess what its freezing brrrrr!

ceridwen

sammy_kaye18 wrote: »

Ceridwen - quite possibly, and other bloke in question seems like a nice guy - OH likes him and said hes a good kid and he seems to think the world of my sister and my niece. He even took my niece trick or treating and came to her nativity play. Oh and Yes he's a US soldier.


CRANKY + CERIDWEN - - to add insult to injury me and my sister aren't technically on speaking terms at the minute either over said other bloke. I suspect she is leading him on for his money so she could go and see the other fella. I'm seriously wondering if she will come back though since she is apparently head over heels for her new bloke but which have repercussions here as I'd end up a single mum to three kids - we almost adopted my niece just after she was born as my sister had her out in her buggy at all stupid hours of the night so she could be out drinking and getting high with her friends but she threw it back in our face and since then Owen has refused to point blank help my sister again but told him I wont see my niece suffering because of my sister but he's said point blank if she was to leave then he didn't want her here. Should add this is the same sister who decided to give custody of her other daughter to her dad and now rarely sees her and who has signed up to join the army after Christmas - she's been though all the tests etc and is just waiting for her join up date now. :eek:

so it could be an interesting new year.

She's signed up to join the army - when she has a young child to look after!!!! BLIMEY RILEY! I remember you saying about her before and how you thought you might end up bringing up the poor child for her. It DOES sound rather like you will - and all credit to you for being prepared to help the poor mite this way:T. Hmm....when...errr...IF you can find a spare moment or three then it might be wise to work out what money there would be on the table for you to pay for this poor childs upbringing:
- would sister bear her responsibilities and give you enough money to do so (which she darn well certainly should....)

- failing that...if she is going to be so irresponsible that she isnt even prepared to pay for her own child then could you officially "foster" the child and get the sort of allowance that fosterparents get paid for doing this? (I believe its comfortably enough to cover the costs - and think this could be the ideal solution if sister cant be made to "pay her own way" to cover the child). It is definitely not "up to the State" to cover your sisters childrearing costs - so I would be "hammering the message home hard" to her in your position that I expected her to fulfil her financial responsibilities towards the child. But - if you absolutely cant make her grow up enough to even do that - then a fostering allowance would see you werent out of pocket for your kindness to the poor mite.

rachbc

CRANKY40 wrote: »

Good morning,



I've been looking at the pictures of the student protest. Would it be such a bad idea to bring back compulsory National Service for young offenders? Going to prison for a couple of weeks serves no useful purpose. Maybe I'm being stupid or old fashioned, or maybe it's unworkable, but in some of the cases we've seen this week, it would certainly make the punishment fit the crime.

TBH I'm glad to see people out fighting for what they believe in - last time we saw people out on the streets like this we managed to stop the poll tax. Like Ceridwen I don't condone violence against other people (from either side)

I need to be able to tell my kids I took a stand to try and stop it happening, want my son out at my side on the local (peaceful) demos so he understands that its his future we are trying to protect. How many people on here could afford to be paying tens of 1000's of pounds debt back on top of what they struggle with now? Ho many people here need there kids to get EMA to get to college each week?

ceridwen

SAMMY

This is most probably a bit out-of-date and its Northern Ireland. But it will give some idea:

http://www.dhsspsni.gov.uk/fostering_allowances

ceridwen

SAMMY

Ah-ha:

http://www.thefca.co.uk/become-a-foster-carer/frequently-asked-questions

Not checked through that yet - think probably one of the rules (understandable) is for a foster child to have their own bedroom.

....makes connection to fact it looks like the Universe might be about to hand you a bigger home to live in in the New Year.....

ceridwen

rachbc wrote: »

TBH I'm glad to see people out fighting for what they believe in - last time we saw people out on the streets like this we managed to stop the poll tax. Like Ceridwen I don't condone violence against other people (from either side)

I need to be able to tell my kids I took a stand to try and stop it happening, want my son out at my side on the local (peaceful) demos so he understands that its his future we are trying to protect. How many people on here could afford to be paying tens of 1000's of pounds debt back on top of what they struggle with now? Ho many people here need there kids to get EMA to get to college each week?

I do believe in taking a stand - though personally I agreed with the poll tax (as any other arrangement before or since discriminates against single people:mad: - plea for Christmas that I have always believed in a local income tax instead of any of the arrangements we have ever had for the "secondary tax").

My guess if I had children would be for £50,000 each to cover the cost of University education - ie £100,000 :eek:. I always took it for granted back years ago that I would have expected any children I had to go to University. These days - I'm not at all convinced its worth it any more and personally I would think "There are a lot of good businessperson genes in my family - I wonder if they've inherited a good 'business head' with all those business genes we have flying round in this family?? Fingers crossed - and I will encourage them to start up little "play enterprises" as a child and see how they do with it....".

So - I tend to think one answer is to see what sort of "genes" predominate in ones family that might be turned to monetary use of some description - and work from there...

Mrs_Veg_Plot

Kidkat have you managed to get the sofa upstairs yet? I'm trying to think back to what your son's difficulties are and Aspergers springs to mind (sorry if this is wrong). I meet one of my friends when her son was 9, they had just moved halfway across the country with her husbands job. The effect that this move had on his aspergers was dramatic. However despite the traumas, and worry he is now in his second year at university a two hour drive away for his parents. This is something we never thought would happen but it appears to be going well. There are some hiccups but overall it's going well. Christmas is one of my favourite times of the year and I usually have it all organised by now.
Flowertot mum hope all of the kiddies are OK now.
Sammykaye you sister or rather your niece is very lucky to have you. You really have got your hands full at the moment haven't you. I would do the same for any of my nieces and nephews. My 18 year old niece stays with me Mon - Fri to go to college rather than get the bus from the village where she lives. This means she is not under the same roof as her dad for most of the week as they have a very volatile relationship. I like to think we can show her a different type of family life.

DD's presentation last night went well, she's the proud owner of another medal. Things are still frosty with OH. When we argued yesterday I did remind him that although I'm sorting out the financial mess he has got us into all of my instincts are still telling me to take the girls and run. He seems to forget that there are many years of him not being truthful with me that need addressing. I know we can work this out but I am finding it hard to trust him and to me trust is one of the cornerstones of a marriage. He obviously cannot cope with everything all at once and sorting out our relationship has a different priority for me that it does to him at the moment.

Have decided that one day of feeling sorry for myself was more than enough self-indulgence and it achieved nothing so today I will
§ Finish the Christmas shopping
§ Finish the grocery shopping (only got half of the list on thursday)
§ Put the decorations up

Reminder to self, Christmas will not happen in this house if I don’t pull my finger out. I know I will feel better when the decorations are up.

Enjoy the rest of the weekend.

Mrs VP

Have checked my sprout plants out, will not be having home grown on christmas dinner (unless I do the advert on TV at the moment where you pull all of the leaves apart and fry them with lardons and butter) they have all opened out like flower buds

CRANKY40

rachbc wrote: »

TBH I'm glad to see people out fighting for what they believe in - last time we saw people out on the streets like this we managed to stop the poll tax. Like Ceridwen I don't condone violence against other people (from either side)

I need to be able to tell my kids I took a stand to try and stop it happening, want my son out at my side on the local (peaceful) demos so he understands that its his future we are trying to protect. How many people on here could afford to be paying tens of 1000's of pounds debt back on top of what they struggle with now? Ho many people here need there kids to get EMA to get to college each week?

From what I've read so far though, it didn't stand a chance of being a peaceful protest. Gangs of organised protestors joined in (not students) to make sure it was violent. They're the people that should be stopped. What chance has the man in the street of being heard if every attempt ends in mindless violence.
I went on the poll tax march in London. The one that ended in riots. I actually saw the start of the riots....we had marched up Whitehall and at the end there was one shop selling drinks and snacks. It got busy so the police shut the shop and that's when things started to go wrong.
I would love for my son to have a chance at going on peaceful demos when he's older, but as long as there are people who enjoy inciting violence, such protests will be pointless. I don't understand the point of such violence (as in hurting other people and animals).

jackieglasgow

I went on the poll tax protests up here as a very young teenage girl, and when I went to Uni, we traveeled down to London a couple of times overnight to protest the asbolition of Grants and introduction of student loans and once in support of the lecturers, although I confess I can't remember exactly why It was always peaceful, but on one in 1991 I think, there was troble, although I wasn't near it at the time. The ones causing all the trouble seem to be the rentamob ones, who are getting more and more audacious as they get better versed in their efforts.

lilac_lady

Roads and pavements here are still covered with thick ice. I have some spikey things you pull on over your boots so at least I can get to the local shop. Driving is out for the moment as my car doesn't behave itself on ice.

A future trip to a supermarket is taking on the guise of a big treat for me. Me, who hates shopping.

The sun is shining so hopefully a little ice will clear today. Snow returning at the end of the week according to the weather forcast. :eek:.

If supermarkets are empty I think a lot of the shopping will have gone home with us MSE-ers as we've lived out of our cupboards and freezers and with our mindset we NEED to replace everything.

Keep safe and warm.

BB1984

I think if students want to be heard, the last thing they should now be doing is going on marches. Rent-a-mob have jumped on the bandwagon, so real students who are there to stand up for what they believe in should be doing everything they can to disassociate themselves from the mob.

RE poll tax marches - yes that "worked" (i.e. it was stopped), but there have been umpteen marches since that haven't "worked" - look at the march against the war in Iraq. Over a million people took to the streets.

I was disgusted when I looked at BBC news and saw photos of the carnage. Tearing down flags from the Cenotaph? Graffiti-ing Churchill's statue? Those people should be shot, makes me feel physically sick to look at it. :mad:

I do feel sorry for anyone who is hoping to go to uni in the next couple of years, or who has kids in that position. But the fact is, if the last government hadn't banged on about how at least 50% of people should go to uni (hence devaluing degrees, encouraging the rise of pointless degrees and making people who don't want to go to uni feel like they must be stupid), there would be more money available to help the people that should go to uni.

Raaaaaah! Sorry, rant over. Touchy subject with me!

Off out for lunch shortly for a friend's birthday. Just a pub so hopefully not too expensive.

Gosh sammy kaye, your life is full of drama! I don't know what I'd do if my sister did that.... Surely the army must ask questions about dependants etc? She can't just abandon her daughter! Because with the best will in the world, that's what she'd be doing. Poor little mite, your niece must be wondering where her mummy's gone and why she couldn't go with her. She's your sister, so I'll hold back from speaking my mind here, but SERIOUSLY! Hugs to you though, try to keep calm and carry on!

Right, gotta go, going out in a min.

BB