How to Get Through The Tough Times The Old Style Way.

silvermaid

GQ great news that your mum doesn't need a check up for six months. Also hope the blemish is nothing - thoughts and prayers x.
Hope IB either has a character change for the better or is sent on his way. Here's hoping.
Thank you to whoever decided to share the big yellow ball. My large ball skills were challenged and came up successful - I now have a dry wash load. Thanks again, Silver x

jackieglasgow

Urgh. The car went in today, got that repair done, but the cam belt needs changing now possibly looking at £300 for that, he will let us know tomorrow. It is something that can't be left until it breaks otherwise a new car may be needed :eek: So skint right now, too.

ceridwen

GreyQueen wrote: »

A succession of bad nights with I.B has left me ragged. Have just emailed the H.O and asked, hypothetically, what happens to his case which is riding on TOCD (arrears) case if arrears have been settled by The Bank of Mum and Dad? He had young children visiting on Saturday, think they were his young step-siblings, so maybe he's made his peace with his family and shown them the court papers and they've ponied up the cash to bail him out......grrrrr if so.

This morning is my Mum's 3 month check-up with the oncologist after the end of her radiotherapy so fingers crossed for good news on that front.

Fingers crossed for you that all is well and Idiot Boy is evicted soon. I really feel for you having had him as a neighbour for 10 months:eek:. I guess - for now - you are just going to have to "beam all the positive thoughts" you can at the court hearing that all will be resolved and he will be given his marching orders. Tell us all the evening before the court hearing and we'll send what "group vibes" can achieve in that direction for a successful outcome for you. By now - you are so scared that he is going to be able to continue to make your life hell that I think you would be wise to ask for our "outside" help on the "positive vibes" front - as we arent personally involved, so arent scared/upset as you are from being the one he is inflicting this behaviour on. So - dont forget us here then...y'hear....(I am still remembering my VERY calm/so laidback hes virtually horizontal friend who went through hell with a "barrage of noise" disturbing his home at one point and it had one heck of an effect on his behaviour - even though he knew that was a temporary thing....so I DO feel for you with the way you dont know just how long this is going to go on for...).

I'm just brainstorming what you can do if this doesnt work:
- letter from you to the Council asking for a transfer to somewhere else (backed-up by a doctors letter stating what effect Idiot Boy has had on your health and the health problems you are having to cope with anyway).???? There must be a bit of "turnover" amongst tenants in Shoebox Towers and you could nip in and move to the next place there that comes vacant (and is some distance from Idiot Boy)

- a petition from all the neighbours asking the Council to evict him anyway for antisocial behaviour?

- go to your M.P. and explain that Idiot Boy is making your life hell and ask him what pressure he can put on the Council to deal with Idiot Boy in a "firmer" way.

- go to the local newspaper with a Diary of Events about just how much of a misery Idiot Boy has been making your life and try and start up a campaign for the Council to have a very much "Firmer" touch with tenants like him (pointing out that people like him are being housed by the Council - whilst nice, normal people are having to wait on the list endlessly to get a tenancy in the first place - and is this fair?). Maybe accompanied by a photo of you bursting in tears outside your MP's constituency office and several supportive fellow tenants standing there with placards backing you up....

<wanders off....brain still in brainstorming mode.....>

I'll come back if I have any further ideas...

...but, for right now, I'll keep my fingers crossed for the court hearing. If summat goes wrong there and he remains in situ - then come on here and we'll have to have a collective brainstorming session as to how to deal with Idiot Boy.

Hope all works out well for your mother re her cancer treatment.

bertiebots

Evenin , I am sooo tired today! I hate it when the clocks go forward and know its going to take me all week to adjust. Anyway its been a nice sunny/hazy day today so it does help keep you awake when its daylight (and not perminent dusk!).

I spent half an hour trying to sort out my council tax benefit this morning as someone-somewhere has made a monumental cok up of my claim. They have put me down as earning double what I do, because someone has entered my fortnightly payslips as weekly and not accounted for my 3 kids. They have also claimed that I was overpayed in march but I know i wasnt because it was the 4 week run on from the end of my jsa! Its very frustrating as I have now had 3 different benefit decision notices, all saying something different. I still havent figured out why they included that I am getting child tax credit if I dont have kids (which I do!) which is what was on my latest letter!!!
Its ok them saying that it will be looked at but so far their actions have not inspired much confidence! In the mean time I have a bill for over £1000! and they have included last years too even though it was payed..goodness me my head hurts!! I shall be phoning them at the end of the week to make sure things are getting sorted and hope that I dont have to try and explain it all again...eeeek!

I have also been trying to figure out if there is an alternative to talktalk as my phone/broadband provider as I really dont like their service so if anyone can recommend someone I would be grateful! Ta x (I cant afford sky or virgin btw)

zarazara

I've just worked out what the yellow ball is. Its been here today,and very nice too. Went a walk,got lost,had to turn round and retrace steps. Still,got some fresh air and free exercise and saw lambs and heard birds tweeting. the celandines were out,lovely bright yellow little stars.

zarazara

bertiebots,when a similar thing happened to me a few years ago I rang my MP. [ it was to do with tax credits]His office got intouch with the tax credit people and it was all sorted in a week. And this was after me spending hours on the phone over several weeks and getting no where. Hope this helps.

Mrs_Veg_Plot

gilst that chutney recipe sounds great. I will be trying that one soon as the chutney supplies are starting to get low.

GreyQueen

Mrs_Veg_Plot wrote: »

gilst that chutney recipe sounds great. I will be trying that one soon as the chutney supplies are starting to get low.

Ditto for me as I have a glut of h.g. red onions stored from last year. This recipe has come along at the perfect time. Gillst, how long does the chutney keep in the fridge, please?

Have had a slightly better night's sleep as I.B. was OUT for most of the night. Oh simple joys. Little !!!!!! did decide he had to run his washing machine from 10 pm last night. Why oh why is he such a little *$%* ? I blame his parents for having him....:rotfl:

After catching up on the thread yesterday afternoon after work I went up to the lottie to plant the red onions and still felt stressed and jangly so settled down to handweed my strawberry beds. It's very zen, handweeding among plants, you can't hurry it. Enjoyed the weak sunshine and the good company of my lottie neighbours and came home to leftover ChocClare's Chinese Chicken. Love that recipe to pieces.

This morning I have a small training course to look forward to, a refresher on the changes to the benefit system and how they will impact the LA in respect of the housing and council tax benefits which we administer. Not good; have already heard that HMRC are ending the baby premium for households with a child under one year. Chiselling s*ds. Our benefits trainer told us in January that the government had set up a parliamentary committee to look at the changes that they wanted to make to the benefits system, and that the committee had found the changes too draconian and recommended that they not be imposed from April. Government reaction was essentially; "Tough, we're going to do it anyway." Will report back later in case I get any gen which may be of interest.

I'm carrying out a little experiment this week; buying no more food and living from what is already on the premises. May break the pledge for milk when I run out of that but looking good so far. I run my housekeeping budgets from Saturday to Saturday so whatever I spend this week will fall into April's accounting anyway so it won't affect March's total grocery spend.

What's the longest anyone up here has gone between food shopping trips?

Big hugs to everybody and hope y'all have a good day.

ceridwen

GreyQueen

It would be useful for you to come back and fill us all in on the housing benefit changes. It doesnt affect me personally - but it will affect a lot of people and I dont think its really registered with many of the people concerned yet....

What is that "baby premium" for children under 1 you mention?

Anyways...must toddle off myself now..so y'all have a good day now too y'hear..

rachbc

The baby premium is part of child tax credits £545 a year paid alongside the 'family element' of £545 (paid to households with children and incomes upto around £50000). Both are being scrapped from April. Baby premium is going totally and the income threshold for the family element is reducing to £40000 from april.