A new 'tougher' thread... and so it continues

kidcat

There will be mardatha - most likely its because they are waiting to hide it behind a major news story - bet they are upset the floods werent worse!!

Was speaking to the guy from the carers centre today and he says things are only going to get much worse and that where possible anyone claiming any benefits should not make any changes to their claim because the minute they do it flags their claim up to be looked at! Scary thought.

Byatt

We're here, in not so sunny Cornwall but at least it's not raining and the wind has died down which is just as well, because we're in a wood!

Really nice caravan and very quiet here. The only thing is they allow dogs on the site, but not in the clubhouse. Can't work that one out, as they lose money from us dog lovers.

Anyway, hope to have a relaxing time.

Will catch up tomorrow.

GreyQueen

manchestermargo wrote: »

Hi Everyone - Been lurking for sometime, hope you don't mind me joining you all. You all sound just my "cup of tea".

:j Another one! Hello and welcome. Newbie makes the tea on her first appearance, mine is milk and no sugar, ta very much.;)

SDG sorry that the old Black Dog is back. Haven't got any practical advice to give other than a virtual hug.:grouphug:

Well, the weather held all day and I went to the allotment after work and had the sweetest time with this darling little birdie which followed me all over the place for over an hour.

I'm pretty sure it was a juvenile robin in its speckled plumage. It looked like one, anyway, and they don't fledge into their red breasts until late summer. It was rather untidy-looking and a bit inept at a couple of landings esp the one it tried to make on the smooth side of one of my roundwood fence posts. This didn't work out. :rotfl:I've never had a bird come within 6 inches of me, time after time, like this one did. It wasn't scrabbling in the soil I was turning over, it was just hanging around. It followed me up to the shed and sat on the threshold, then it sat on the tongue of my trainers as I was trying to get into them after changing out of my gardening boots. It sat at my feet at one point looking up at me with HUGE eyes and going cheep! It was fully-fledged, flying well and feeding itself on little beetles etc but it seemed emotionally-needy.

Dunno what strange thoughts were going thru its birdbrain that it figured a large homo sapien was its new best friend. I was seriously Awwwww.

Dropped in on SuperGran on the way home. Her flat has one of those Perspex feeders which sit on the window glass with suckers and she has peanuts in it for the bluetits and they're sooo cute. Trouble is, there are several pairs of collared doves who seem just as keen and a visit with SG involves sitting in the armchair and throwing cork coasters at the window to scare the beggars off. One of them wouldn't be told and landed on the lip of the feeder, filling it with its big self and snatched a peanut with a distinctly defiant look. They'll have that off its suckers if they don't watch it.

Tell ya, urban birds are decidedly attitudinous.

kidkat sounds like you're having fun (not). I used to work with a woman with a s/employed OH and he sometimes deemed himself too unwell to work. Trouble was, if he then wanted his conjugals, she'd say, oh no, not well enough to work, too poorly for any of that, my love!

All righty, been running late today and haven't even hada proper supper so better mosey off and forage the fridge.

Have a good evening, all.

prepareathome

http://www.scope.org.uk/news/extra-%C2%A310-billion-cuts

Found this mention of suggested 10 billion cuts, apparently suggested in last months budget


and this

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-17877732

People may starve in this country, but our government is defending human rights across the world with cash, don't you feel good, am sure a lot of people going to bed hungry tonight will be happy to know that their government is looking out for someone even if its not them. Sorry that has got me really angry............

manchestermargo

Thanks girls for your welcome, tea coming up!, Sorry it's late went out straight from work, catchup with someone I used to work with. Had a good natter and a bite to eat, oh and a little glass of wine!


Take care everyone.x

MM
MM

Kittikins

May I have a G&T instead MM, far more my errrrrrrr, cup of tea than a cup of tea

Wow to the robin experience GreyQueen, I had a robin fly by me in my parents' garden the other day so close its wing brushed my cheek!

Right, I guess its time to go across the hall to bedforshire, no stairs in my lovely forever home/building site/tip!

anguk

kidcat wrote: »

There will be mardatha - most likely its because they are waiting to hide it behind a major news story - bet they are upset the floods werent worse!!

Was speaking to the guy from the carers centre today and he says things are only going to get much worse and that where possible anyone claiming any benefits should not make any changes to their claim because the minute they do it flags their claim up to be looked at! Scary thought.

I've heard that too. My OH was assessed by an Occupational Therapist at the limb centre last week (he's an amputee) and they'd noticed that his health and ability to do things had got much worse since he first started going there. In addition to his amputated leg he now has no digits on his left hand so it's useless, he's got kidney failure so has dialysis 3 times a week and his health is much worse.

The OT was marvellous, she's fast-tracked and referred him to other agencies because she says we should be getting much more help. Other than his stair-lift we've just managed, never asked for or realised we could get help. She asked us about the care component for DLA, he's been getting middle rate for about 8 years, in her opinion he should now be getting high rate because I have to do so much more for him. But to be honest I'm frightened to ask for him to be re-assessed there's so many stories of people losing their benefits and having to appeal.

He's still on Incapacity Benefit, he hasn't been transferred over to ESA yet, but DD leaves full-time education this summer so we'll have to inform them. No doubt that will flag up his claim, after reading the horror stories on the Benefits board about ESA and ATOS interviews I'm really not looking forward to it.

BitterAndTwisted

Call me a cynic if you like but I lived through the years of the Thatcher gov't and remember them well. And not fondly either, it was grimmmmmm. My feeling is that is depression/recession/ whatever the hell you call this ruddy mess the banking industry had dumped us in is just a golden opportunity for the present bunch of unmentionables to squeeze through all sorts of opportunistic and unnecessary cuts. If the world economy doesn't drive us back to the inequalities and utter misery of the pre-wars years, this mob definitely will. While the ones who have plenty already will have even more. The only light on the horizon is that they don't have total freedom with the Lib-Dems there in the coalition. Let's hope some of them have a spine. And if not a spine then maybe a conscience. *political rant over*

Who knows anything about birdies? I saw little one jumping about in the tree outside and have no idea what it was, even after having a search on t'internet. I was looking down on it from on high and its back and the tops of its wings were a bright orangey-red, just like the colour of the autumn leaves. It's killing me, and I need to know its name.

I spoke too soon about the nice sunny day today. Well, it was but this evening has taken a turn for the worse. Rain is absolutely lashing down and we have a dramatic thunderstorm now. I'm fretting about my swans' nest.

GreyQueen

BitterAndTwisted wrote: »

Who knows anything about birdies? I saw little one jumping about in the tree outside and have no idea what it was, even after having a search on t'internet. I was looking down on it from on high and its back and the tops of its wings were a bright orangey-red, just like the colour of the autumn leaves. It's killing me, and I need to know its name.

Morning all.

B&T, I'm on a website www.garden-birds.co.uk Looking at pix of the hawfinch - could that be your mystery bird? Apparently, there's an informal classification of critters which birders call LBJ (little brown jobs) because they look so similar.

Entirely with you on the present shower. I'm old enough to remember the entirity of the last Tory government and I loathe and detest the species to the bottom of my shrivelled heart.

Today I have an early appt at the GP so must keep an eye on the time. They start some surgeries well before brekkie to cater for the working crowd, and that's great. Gonna get the results of my most recent iron levels bloodtest. It went very low last autumn and I was as weak as water.

Then back for brekkie and some more internetting before trudging off to the saltmine.

Laters, GQ x

ETA Well, after 3 months of iron tablets my levels have now risen to the very bottom end of the "normal" range. GP showed me a graph on his pooter; there was a vertical column in blue, several centimeters tall, representing normal range and a whisker below the bottom was a red line representing my result. Going to be taking them for another 6 months and then re-test.

mardatha

Never needed a forum like this one more. Stay strong and stay together and keep posting everybody. I agree totally with B&T and GQ. But plans to save money by growing your own are definitely not working up here because of the cold, we have wintry showers forecast for all of next week and overnight frost. You down south will have floods to contend with. It's gonna be a tough year again. Better start baking.
WHEN THE GOING GETS TOUGH, THE TOUGH EAT CAKE!