Preparedness for when

Broomstick

Dear Embarrassed,

Are you near any parks/allotments/wild places in Birmingham? Send your nearest and dearest out foraging for dockleaves (the recommended solution for those living in the wild). Alternatively, and I don't know why anyone has not thought of this before (or maybe they have) but could this be another use for kale? Mardatha?

B x

pineapple

mardatha wrote: »

Please do not write to this page again until you have rectified this unacceptable state of affairs.

:rotfl:
Dear Embarrassed
I think this was written especially for you
http://www.last.fm/music/Max+Bygraves/_/You+Need+Hands

mardatha

Broomstick that's about the best possible use for the green stuff I ever heard!

Broomstick

Thought you'd like it! Grow your own, available all year round, even survives in blizzard conditions.

jk0

Perplexed_Pineapple wrote: »

Frugalsod, we take government figures with a big pinch of salt and I think we have to with this too. I think the figures reflect detected fraud and of course some will go undetected. 50% is clearly ridiculous but 0.7% seems too low, difficult to know though and of course we all judge in the light of our own experiences and prejudices. The percentage depends on the denominator so if you include absolutely everything paid out by the goverment including pensions and tax credits maybe it is 0.7%.

How very true. It's a vicious cycle - housing benefit inflates rents for "social" housing which inflates rents across the board, and house prices also. The cash goes from the taxpayer to the landlord with no more benefit to the tenant than before. Housing is unaffordable for many young people around here and I fear for the future of our children if the situation doesn't correct itself. Unfortunately what I think we are seeing now is the start of the correction and a lot of people are going to get hurt, financially and emotionally in the process.
jk0, what's your perspective as a landlord please? I guess it depends on the scale of your liabilities :eek:
Kittie, thank you for the link, I don't know what to make of the predictions, making predictions is hard, particularly about the future as someone once said, still, forumites here should be as ready as anyone :rotfl:

Oh, I quite agree with you PP. I have a Polish tenant of about 30 with two small children, who I was happy to let to in view of my experience of Polish tenants in the past.

It turns out that her whole rent is being paid by Reading Council even though she goes out to work. I have to say, I can't see her being anything other than a debit on Britain for most of her life now.

I think the council are mad to pay all the rent. Maybe two thirds would be fair, and then the third the tenant pays themselves would serve to encourage rents to stay down.

Frugalsod

maryb wrote: »

I get very uneasy when pensions are referred to as benefits. Means testing round the corner.

True, but they are all paid from the same department that pays unemployment benefits.

mardatha

I think there's more to it FS, I think pensioners are next in the firing line and the govt are reloading as we speak. This is the softening up bit, separating out the pensioners just like they did the unemployed and sick.

short_bird

Harmony restored: one pack on the shelves above the loo and a second pack in the cupboard next to the loo. can I come back now?

westlothianlass

Hi all,
Very happy as I managed to spend some time in the garden without getting soaked or blown away:D.
I put another order in for seeds from the real seeds peeps last night, as I'm furious at the thought of legislation being passed that would limit the availability of open pollinated seeds:mad:
Take care all
WLL x

siegemode

In the last 24hrs my life has changed.
Yesterday we returned home and our little feline princess was so quiet and could barely stand. She wouldn't eat and was clearly uncomfortable. Rang the vet and booked her in for an appointment. We carried her out to the car in her little bed and she lay on my lap for the short trip there. I felt terrible as did OH but we knew it was more than likely that we would return home without her. The vet confirmed what we already knew was the right thing to do and she was put to sleep in my arms.
Our little princess was 21 and had been with me for almost 19ys since adopting her and her brother from the Blue Cross. They had been abandoned by a previous guardian. We lost her brother 3 yrs back and he died in my arms at home and it was a shock then and a great loss. This time it feels worse because now I've lost them both. They have seen me through so many personal shtf moments and although we have another feline friend/son he is closer to OH. My world feels so empty right now and the whole energy and dynamic of the home has changed.
I know in time the pain will subside but right now I'm missing our princess terribly and will miss waking up and discovering sher snuggled under the covers beside me/between us. The way she knew when I needed a love, her loyalty and presence, her purr and mew, the way she would appear from anywhere when OH and I got close. I/we keep instinctively looking over to her spot in the living room or expect her to come and tell us she's hungry. I know it will get easier but I really feel the s has hit my world right now.
We opted for an individual cremation and a little wooden casket and have to wait for 2 weeks before we can bring her home to be with her brother. Total cost yesterday £164, thank goodness part of our preps is ensuring our £200 overdraft is kept for emergencies. We have such lovely photos and videos to watch and in time it will be easier to look at them without breaking down.

I felt the need to share with someone so thanks for reading and sorry to waffle a bit.

Our little princess who has gone to chase butterflies in the clouds.