It was getting tough in 2006 and the workhouse still threatens us in 2011

ceridwen

Charis wrote: »

It certainly isn't the same everywhere. My elderly neighbour was left to cope alone and had to pay for private carers to help her dress and undress every day. Although the neighbours kept an eye on her she had three falls, each time breaking a different bone. Each time she was sent home from hospital still in pain. If it was just a question of finance, the charge for more help could have been offset against the value of her house, which she left to animal charities.

I'm in England too and dread the thought of if I might need any "care at home" when I get older. I'm only too thankful that I'm not in the parts of England that have an even worse record for help at home/level of care in hospital/etc. I wouldnt even want to try risking the "tender mercies" of some of the level of care I've read about - hence why I focus on having enough savings to be able to pay for any "help at home" I might ever need - and, more importantly, staying healthy so I DONT ever need any. I've got private health insurance as well - having read as much as I have about how the elderly get treated in (NHS) hospitals.

I am tending these days to agree with my father - who often states now "Thats it - Britain has had it" - by which I guess he means strictly "England has had it...". Turning into a right little pessimist as I get older I am:rotfl: - but "We'll fight them on the beaches, we'll fight them in the Houses of Parliament...etc...etc". Head up and shields up:rotfl:...and I did check out house prices yesterday in the part of (Northern) Ireland that nice Irish guy I used to know came from and fell over backwards in astonishment at JUST how big a house I could get over there....do I actually want 3 bathrooms I ask myself? So - mentally settled on a reasonable size place with large garden and 1 acre field and that is priced at a lot lower price than my own house.....LOL.

I will be free later in life to live anywhere I choose - so it does merit serious consideration whether I would "get a better deal" all round (housewise and Welfare State wise) in Scotland, Wales or (Northern) Ireland...It does appear it would make a lot of financial sense to move to one of them...

EDIT: Wish you well Weeze in your move. So you didnt buy the 2 bedroom house that costs £11 million then in that area? LOL....well I guess you wouldnt want the upkeep of the over 23,000 acres of land that goes with it.....LOL

mardatha

http://www.daft.ie/searchsale.daft?id=524196
If I win the lottery this week then I might take a look at this place...

GreyQueen

Good morning all.

Haribo, many many congratulations on your court victory; I wasn't online for 36 hours so couldn't send you best wishes ahead of the event. You are so brave.

A pal of mine (practising solicitor and former uni law lecturer), told me how she had to go down to Lunnon Town to stand up in the High Court briefly one morning last year. She was quaking in her shoes and fretting about what to wear, and would her voice sound too weak and thready, would she forget what she was supposed to say etc etc. She spends a good chunk of her working life representing clients in our local courts with no problems...........Everyone has their comfort zone and feels scared outside it.

Say "hello" to the Pumpkin as it is sitting alongside me at the moment and I am having to resist the urge to draw googly eyes on it and maybe fit it with a hairpiece. We did have a hat on it briefly yesterday, for a giggle.:o

It is an awesome amount of vegetative matter and I shall postpone hacking into it until Sunday as I feel, given the size of my kitchen, that I need to have cleared all the surfaces and scrubbed down the operating table, whoops counters. Will need to decide what I shall make and have all the ingredients to hand. Feeling a little bit daunted, tbh, but I am sure it'll be fine.

Yesterday, Mum and I built the pre-cut shelves which she has cut down from an old pine bedstead into the cupboard over at SuperGran's. She is tearfully-thrilled and it's such a good feeling to be able to help. Then we did a couple of little fix-ups to my flat, also with recycled materials, then rewarded ourselves with a charity-shop donation-run/ shopping spree. Never made it to the allotment but it's supposed to be dry this weekend (sorry, Scottish OS-ers) so will get up there and get some stuff done. Will be a drop in the ocean, but at least the growth rate is slowing down now.

What isn't slowing down, according to the news a few seconds ago, is the 15,000 particles being fired around the large hadron collider at CERN which are apparently defying the laws of physics by being ever-so-slightly-faster-than-light. Which is believed to be impossible.

I love the thought of these braniacs scratching their eggheads, firing yet another particle 400-odd miles across to Italy, shrugging and saying "Right, that's the 14,999th one which breaks light speed, shall we give it one more go before we go public and tear up 100 years of physics?" :rotfl:

Have a good day, all.

HariboJunkie

mardatha wrote: »

http://www.daft.ie/searchsale.daft?id=524196
If I win the lottery this week then I might take a look at this place...

I thought you were going to move up near me if you won the lottery. I was even going to clear the garden of kale for you. ;):D

Thanks for all the good wishes added after I went to bed last night. :A I was only joking about being brave but it's nice that so many of you see that it's a nerve racking experience. I could feel and hear my heart pumping all the way through . I have such sympathy for people who have to stand up as witnesses and face defendants.

Typically I was completely shattered but didn't get a great sleep so have caught up on more knitting and reading and will be zombified today. Still I have a clear diary so can just take it easy. Wind, rain and more wind here again........

Edited to add, just read about your cat Charlie'sAunt and I'm so sorry. It's such a rotten thing to have to do but really is your last act of kindness for her. xx

ceridwen

mardatha wrote: »

http://www.daft.ie/searchsale.daft?id=524196
If I win the lottery this week then I might take a look at this place...

Now THAT is nice - lovely views and nice house itself.

Mmmm.....how many £s does that number of euros translate into anyone? - and its been on the market for some time (judging by the piccies with snow in).

Hmmm..goes off to check geography to see if its anywhere near "my sorta part of Ireland" (ie Cork) on the one hand and to check it isnt near the area I decided recently I wouldnt want to live near...

GREYQUEEN - Just you keep translating into "laypersons language" what that CERN thingie is doing and we'll be fine. I'm still struggling to get my head round that there new physics stuff about how a particle can apparently be in two places at once....

EDIT: Just translated the currency and the house is £249,686.08 in British currency. Hmmm...£250,000 and a "totally mad" level offer later....hmmm...

jackieglasgow

Is it just me that's :rotfl: at the estate agent website being called daftie

jackieglasgow

Its almost the same amount of pounds Ceridwen

notjustlaura

charlies-aunt wrote: »

Taking senior cat to vets this morning - she is 16 years old with a very large inoperable cancerous tumour on her head for many months now - it has resisted all treatment and during yesterday something has happened and she has lost the use of one of her back legs. Feeling very sad but know I'm doing the kindest thing......

So sorry you have to do this. I used to foster elderly/sick cats in my home so I've walked that path to the vet's surgery many times. It's never easy, even when you know you're doing the right thing. It helped me to know that the cat does not have the foreknowledge that we do.

Sending ((((hugs)))) to you both.

rachbc

jackieglasgow wrote: »

Is it just me that's :rotfl: at the estate agent website being called daftie

Nope:rotfl::rotfl:

mardatha

They hardly ever get snow there, probly took the pics to remember it by!