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

fuddle

time is a healer but I buried all my grief of losing my dad for 15+ years and now as a 32 year old woman - well, I'm not great but the anti-d's are sorting me out good and proper. I get my counselling in September and on one hand looking forward to letting it all go but on the other I'm scared witless. Let the grieving process flow popperwell, let it all out and you will be fine. Don't try to be brave or determined. It does no good. I had to be mum for my sister as my own mum was a mess when my dad died, it helped her and my sister but ultimately effected me because I couldn't let the grief show.

It's like I'm obsessed with checking on here today (and the preppers) to read about what is going on and how people interpret the headlines and what the problems will be. I can feel the frantic waves bubbling up in my head and I need a break. For the rest of the day I'm going to use a floral pillow case and make my girls a little bag each. Just trying to focus my mind away from those :eek: feelings.

Popperwell and all of us on here, it's great to have your support and company. I can't imagine going through this on my own.

I feel for those who have their head in the sand or aren't interested (one didn't even know about the NatWest mess this morning) I wish my grandma was alive, she would help me What a trooper she was.

grandma247

Fuddle concentrate on what you can do. If making things and stocking up make you happy that is all you need. We can't do a lot to change things how they are now or worry about the future too much, all we can do is take each day as it comes. we can only live one day at a time.

If people choose to bury their heads in the sand there isn't much you can do about it. They will find out soon enough that they should have been paying attention to the important things.


I have been knitting and crocheting like mad for myself for the winter and for my 5 granddaughters now and for winter. I have a very large stash so I am trying to use it up the best way I can, even running more than one thread together to get the thickness needed. I have industrial cones that I run off into lots of balls then work out how many I need to put together for the tension of the pattern.

2x 4ply is roughly double knit, 3x 4ply is Aran and 4x 4ply is chunky.

[Deleted User]

FUDDLE - I have just been to Mr T and they have an offer on £1.49p for a tin of Princes Corned Beef - seems a lot better price than the amount you paid. I don't know if this is just local to us or nationwide, but it might be worth a look next time you are going then you can enjoy your pie again Cheers Lyn xxx.

mcculloch29

I force myself to watch the news so that I can stay informed, but I also buy Private Eye and watch Have I Got News for You to try and find some black humour. I also subscribe to The Week which is a very good round up of articles on the week's news. If your local library has it, do read it.
Benefit cuts - I will almost certainly lose DLA as I can shuffle around with a stick. The way they have written the entitlement only those completely dependent will get it.
So that means no tax credit, bus pass or free prescriptions either. Great.

People are already taking their lives. Not that you will hear much about it but a while back over 60 suicides had been shown to be directly attributable to the cuts, probably far more now.
I've stopped relying on the BBC for information as so many anti - Gov stories aren't broadcast by them, since the Gov. cut their income in freezing the licence fee. The Guardian online is probably my best source of info on what the ConDems are really up to.

grandma247

I just came across this
And this

oldtractor

I was going to start a thread "its going to get worse" then find it all being discussed here already. I think we have only just seen the beginning . There isnt any money and we are being taxed to the hilt presumably to repay debt. I dont think its this governments fault; I believe it to be consecutive governments of both colours over the years; I believe it all began about 50 years ago. I do think Cameron is our best bet to try to get things sorted.
I think we all need to try and save some money even if its only £10 a month. Anything is better than nothing as an emergency reserve.
ETA on our lane there is 1 farm and 11 houses. There is my DH and the man next door and the farmer who are working. The other 8 houses contain 1 person on long term sickness benefit and not working ; 2 retired;1 whoes business has just been declared bankrupt and the rest were all made redundant and are not working these last few months, all of them very "middle class" type of people and had white collar/managerial type jobs. Some property is for sale because those people are in financial difficulty. Things are changing big time.
I am grateful for my "working class" upbringing; at least I know how to cook basic cheap meals and make do and mend and living in a tiny 2 up and 2 down its Band A council tax [which is still very expensive] and doesnt cost as much to heat as some of the bigger properties.

Byatt

Haven't read all the posts yet, but it's not so much a North/South divide as a North, South West/ London and counties divide. It's horrendous down here for renting or even buying, but wages don't match. Our water rates are the highest in the country, and food (fresh or otherwise costs more down here than up north), petrol is really high and it's very rural, so a car is a necessity. And huge council tax bills. I didn't know the single person's credit was going to be reduced.

My income will drop considerably in September, I have no idea how I will manage as it's tough now.

Possession

Byatt wrote: »

Haven't read all the posts yet, but it's not so much a North/South divide as a North, South West/ London and counties divide. It's horrendous down here for renting or even buying, but wages don't match. Our water rates are the highest in the country, and food (fresh or otherwise costs more down here than up north), petrol is really high and it's very rural, so a car is a necessity. And huge council tax bills. I didn't know the single person's credit was going to be reduced.

My income will drop considerably in September, I have no idea how I will manage as it's tough now.

I wonder how anyone (govt included) can check the cost of living in each area, is there some kind of database where it's all gathered together? We pay £1600 a year council tax I think so I'd hate to think of it going up anymore. But I'm sure each area has it's problems - we moved out of London but our house cost virtually the same so I know house prices are bad here.

thriftwizard

Mind if I join you again? I'll pop the kettle on & I think DD1 has just made some Fudge Brownies... We've not been too badly affected up 'til now, though I keep frightening the offspring by wondering where my pitchfork is whenever I catch up with this thread or talk to my many friends who live "on the edge" but the proverbial's just about to hit the fan for us too now. Just as DS3 trots off to study for a year in Chile as part of his degree course (Spanish & Linguistic Science, before you ask) needless to say underpinned by us, DH's father has been pronounced terminally ill in Spain. This is all the more tragic because they don't do hospices or nursing homes over there, but see it as the family's duty to care for people in their last days. The poor old boy has advanced pancreatic cancer and is now incontinent, bewildered because of the toxins building up in his brain, and quite aggressive. As my step-mama-in-law is already caring for her daughter, who has a lesion in her brain that has been bleeding again recently, not to mention her 6 year old daughter too, it's out of the question for him to be cared for at home, especially not as he does need constant medical attention - painkillers and drips - which she can't do. So DH has gone out there and arranged for him to be in one of the rare nursing homes - which we will have to pay for, along with his two other brothers. And apparently they are even more expensive over there than they are here... :eek: Not to mention the cost of flights to & fro - luckily we are close to one of the cheaper airports for getting there.

So it looks like I will have to keep 7 people on half our usual income for the duration. OS-skills to the fore...

Robson65

GQ - Just de-lurking to say I've found out what you can do with the chickweed from your allotment !

http://www.rivercottage.net/recipes/chickweed-pakoras/

Robson