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

ginnyknit

Byatt, good luck with the DWP, you never know they might ring back early and you can stop hovering near the phone (im doing the same)with orders to all 'Dont answer it' ...'shout me if it rings'...etc

Byatt

ginnyknit wrote: »

Byatt, good luck with the DWP, you never know they might ring back early and you can stop hovering near the phone (im doing the same)with orders to all 'Dont answer it' ...'shout me if it rings'...etc

Thank Ginny...

GreyQueen

SuperGran has just nipped in to give me the latest gossip from the Far Side. Nothing to do with the Larson cartoons, just my nickname for the side of the Towers where she hangs her hat.

Well, you may recall that after a 10 hour overnight power outage, the leccy company had left us with a big hole in the road? They filled it in and a few hours later, the water company attended to deal with the seeping water main, the 4" one which ruptured so excitingly back in January and started seeping on Saturday.

They started to dig down to get to it. It ruptured as they were doing it. This was unexpected (SG spoke the engineer afterwards) and they were suddenly almost knee-deep in water. Such fun. It's now mended, the water has drained away but the street over there is very muddy. There is an even bigger hole now which the water company have left unfilled so I don't know if they're expecting another burst/ going to call it an elephant trap/whatever. Bearing in mind the amount we pay this company, I feel like whispering the magic words infrastructure investment in their shell-likes. But perhaps I have done enough meddling for one morning.

I'm speculating as to what would have happened if the leccy hole hadn't been filled in as it would have been in direct flow of the burst. Would the cables have been well enough insulated?

Tell ya, we have more holes in the ground than a cartoon block of cheese. I have also had the site boss back at my door to apologise for the window fitters. Must have seriously-rattled his gaffer who seriously-rattled him.

As I was saying to SG, I told them I'd rather they didn't lean stuff on my window and they deliberately went and put a whole lot more stuff on there? What is it with some guys, they have to disrespect a woman in order to big themselves up? The boss said that they'd only be here another two weeks. :eek: The racket of the gym will seem positively soothing after the morning I've had. Imagine Quasimodo but "The drills! The drills!"

Possession

GQ some men (and women) are not worthy, simple as that.
Evie74 good luck with the redundancy fight. DH was made redundant just over two years ago and his payment tided us over a difficult time where I had both knees replaced, and we set up (and subsequently closed) a business. Sadly it's pretty much gone now hence my enthusiastic OS-ing.
I must say though we won't go back to our old ways, so if/when DH does get a decent-paid job again we won't waste money the way we used to. Plus we won't let the house get in such a state again.
For some good news, I've just received my first ever £10 voucher from Valued Opinions, and I think I've only been doing the surveys for about 3 weeks so I'm very happy with that. If I keep on at the same rate and save them up it will buy some nice xmas pressies.

Evie74_2

Thank you Possession - it's such a worrying time, and unfortunately I don't feel we can trust DH's company to do things properly if they think they can get away with doing it wrong and saving some money. If he at least gets his payout we will be able to manage for a little while, we just have to hope he gets another job soon, preferably before what savings we do have are completely decimated.

Sometimes I'm not sure it's a good thing that I've been OSing all along - on the one hand, we're used to living frugally, so there won't be a shocking lifestyle change - but on the other hand, if we were spending a lot on nights out and expensive convenience foods, we'd be able to cut back the spending a lot!

Evie xx

Byatt

Good heavens, someone from DWP who KNEW what they were talking about, it's unbelievable!!! They haven't got my letter, no surprise because I know from my HMRC days how often people detsroyed letters...but extremely frustrating. The first person I have spoken to from DWP, and I have spoken to a few, who knew the correct legislation...no problem whatsoever. Upshot is he has referred my case to the decision maker's section...ok, maybe I won't hold my breath, but...it's going to be complicated because I am currently paying back an overpayment, which isn't actually overpaid, but they haven't listened to me at all. So have been short over £100pm. But then there's the HB and CTB which has paid a bit extra, and I wonder if I can use their mistake for not having to pay it back? GQ, can you let me know please what the procedure is?

So annoying about the letter though...

smileyt_2

Byatt - do HMRC staff deliberately destroy customers' letters? I'm horrified!

fuddle

I'm making corned beef and potato pie for tea (never again - £2.49 for tinned meat! :eek: mince, lentils and onion next month)

I was wondering what the difference is between an egg wash and a milk wash on pastry? I did a milk one - couldn't bare to use an egg up just for that.

Thank you so much for saying about the rocket. I'm putting it on the chore list tomorrow

Possession

fuddle wrote: »

I'm making corned beef and potato pie for tea (never again - £2.49 for tinned meat! :eek: mince, lentils and onion next month)

I was wondering what the difference is between an egg wash and a milk wash on pastry? I did a milk one - couldn't bare to use an egg up just for that.

Thank you so much for saying about the rocket. I'm putting it on the chore list tomorrow

An egg wash will give a yellower colour and much more of a 'glaze' IYSWIM. When baking items for the business I always use egg. When baking for ourselves I use egg if there's lots, otherwise milk.

SDG31000

Hello Everyone

fuddle the only difference is that egg wash will give you a more golden and shiny finish. Personally I always use milk. The cost of corned beef is shocking now isn't it. I can't remember the last time I brought some.
Thought I'd give you a tip re your trolley. I keep a bottle of water in mine, as I got fed up of getting thirsty and having to buy a drink.

The best of luck Byatt

It is so humid here at the moment. I've walked to the shopping centre and back and feel so sticky. I got some bracelets in Superdrug for 49p each. I think they are leftover from a make up promo, but for that price I'm not complaining. They are in little black jewellery boxes and are silver with a heart set with a white stone. I'll give them a dip in silver dip and polish and see how they turn out.

Thanks Memory Girl for the hint about coconut milk powder you gave a while back. I remembered while shopping last week and have a batch of St Delia's coconut ice cream hiding in the back of the freezer now This is the recipe and the bit I scraped out of the ice cream machine was fab. http://www.deliaonline.com/recipes/cuisine/asian/thai/coconut-ice-cream-with-lime-syrup.html
It actually has surprisingly little cream in it given how creamy it tastes.

Dinner tonight is going to be freezer surprise. They are full to overflowing and we need to start eating the contents. I seem to take one thing out, cook it and then put three things back. Also I really don't want to spend hours in the kitchen cooking. My kitchen window opens out onto the conservatory and has no air flow through it, so it gets very hot, very quickly.
Time for another cold drink.

Take care xxxxxxxx