Nice people thread part 7 - a thread in its prime

Spirit_2

PasturesNew wrote: »

The answer to what you'd do is to key your usage figures into a spreadsheet and see the differences in various scenarios.

Can you not just pay micheals to advise you?

michaels

lostinrates wrote: »

Sheesh.

I just go by what looks cheapest on headlines/comparisons.

We only get electricity of course, but that's bg too silvercar. Have been a battle with them for ages about commercial v domestic rates. Over two years now, and they still send me commercial bills every now and again. They ALSo want insane numbers of metre readings, monthly I think.

Fixed the gas on a no locking tariff 18 months ago so that will be painful next April but it is already so much cheaper that I didn'tfancy the two year fix being suggested a couple of months ago. Leccy fix ended in August, got a next fix then but it was nearly 25% more
:

PasturesNew wrote: »

Last birthday party I had was when I was 10. Local kids round for sandwiches, orange squash and a cake no doubt.

Didn't have an 18th, 21st, 30th, 40th, 50th... or anything in between. No engagements, no weddings.

I'm with you on this one PN. Don't do birthdays.

Lydia glad you are back in the land of the healthy, DS has his second flu of the term ( is starting school at three really such a good idea?) and I have it too, again

Really liking the screen res on the new phone, it is as good as a tablet but still need to transfer everything over. Can't even use the SIM to transfer the contacts as I had to take the scissors to it to make it a micro sim.

LydiaJ

vivatifosi wrote: »

Hi Sue. Just wanted to say that we all know that sometimes life deals you an unfair hand and that there's hardly a person around here who doesn't know that what's happened in your life - the arrival of three gorgeous guys excepted - is not how you would have planned it.

It's probably fair to say that we also know that people who are in receipt of benefits are under the microscope at the moment. Underneath this I think there is a notion of deserving and undeserving benefits recipients that is somewhat difficult to deal with. Personally I don't like the division, but make no mistake, if the division is made, nobody, but nobody, could look at your situation and see you as undeserving.

When people are challenged, they inevitably back down a bit saying (like horsey) something along the lines of "oh well, I don't mean really disabled people"

I think what I'm trying to say is don't take it personally. Unfortunately in the current society divide and rule is being fostered - make no mistake by all political parties - who vilify either bankers, or people on benefits, or public sector workers, or immigrants, or whoever. I'd love to be able to say it is going to get better and people aren't going to say these things but they are and it won't. But please, please, please, realise that it isn't focused at you and that pretty much everyone here and on the adjacent boards know what a difficult situation you have to deal with on a daily basis.

What viva said.

kabayiri wrote: »

I've just used the desktop PC in the study in the first time in months. It's been laptop/tablet thingies all the way recently.

How refreshing! I've forgotten how slick the desktop can feel to use. Big screen; great keyboard/mouse. Perhaps it was a mistake buying expensive laptops, hmm..

Laptop with usb keyboard and mouse does it for me.

Spirit wrote: »

I would also like to see the puppy picture please.

Me too, please.

Spirit wrote: »

I do not like programmes that exploit ethnicity and stereo types as entertainment - they feel like freak shows - I may be wrong about this 'mother' programme as I have not seen it and would not go looking for it.

Yeah, I feel like that too.

Generali

RIP Prince Roy:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/royalty-obituaries/9602837/Prince-Roy-of-Sealand.html

An amazing man.

PasturesNew

michaels wrote: »

I'm with you on this one PN. Don't do birthdays.

I'd have loved to "do birthdays" - but nobody's ever been interested in doing MY birthday

michaels

Spirit wrote: »

Can you not just pay micheals to advise you?

For NP I do it for free. SC your lock in fee is probably only 30 quid so it might still be worth switching especially with cash back.

michaels

Forgot to say to leccy only LIR saw some stuff recently that the govt may have introduced some fit type arrangement for heat pumps both gs and as might be worthwhile a Google?

LydiaJ

wageslave wrote: »

And there is the real tragedy. Your mothers offered choices while my lot are still handing out bleach bottles and lycra tops

Yes, that's the tragedy. But the hope is that even without being offered the choice, you managed to make it, and that you passed that on to your Brat, whose life is turning out to be about far more than lycra tops and bleach bottles.

vivatifosi wrote: »

Re the Jimmy Savile thing. Around the same time, my younger cousin and I tried to whistle blow on a sex abuse case involving a girl of a similar age to those in the Savile case. I was in my early twenties, my cousin was 16.

Not only were we not taken seriously, my cousin got hit on by a detective who was about 15 years older than her because she was a hot 16 year old and the younger person involved had to put up with years more abuse because she was troubled and nobody would take her seriously. Which is precisely why I think there's smoke and fire in the Savile case. What will almost certainly come out is not necessarily culpability on the part of the BBC, but the fact that the police have turned a blind eye over many years. I'll be amazed if they're not at least partly to blame. Which is a shame, because then both the accused and the accuser could have had their day in court rather than what's happening now.

Please don't ask questions about the above as it would not really be fair to go into further detail.

I read Malcolm Gladwell's New Yorker article about a similarly high profile American case - the Sandusky case. It's a long article, and makes uncomfortable reading, but as a parent of kids in the relevant age group, I feel better informed for having read it. It's here. (Some people feel that Gladwell's article underplays how much at fauilt the Penn State officials were in not taking action sooner, but as a parent, that's not my primary concern. I still feel more able to tell my kids what to watch out for, which is the important bit for me.)

PasturesNew wrote: »

Got it. Start Monday. I didn't 'negotiate' over salary, took what was offered as I've nothing and it must be better than £0 £9/hour though... with lots of 'promises' like they make - so we'll see if they come through. In the meantime I get to have "a proper job" on my CV that would make me more marketable if they turn out to be not forthcoming with the promises.

Yay! :T:T:T:T:T:T:T:T:T:T:T

LydiaJ

PasturesNew wrote: »

Well .... not sure/really. If you mean the one who wrote the blog, met a girl, left MSE ... maybe, maybe not. It's all a bit 'tenuous'.

I'm lacking in what employers would call "good, proper, work refs".

Looking back in the past 15 years:

98: No trace, last time I found him he'd been to India and the company had specifically said no refs were to be given for old employments at previous companies.
99: Could track this one down - work/personal as I worked where she was a Director and we remained friends until she got a bloke and was never available any more (after 2008).
00-01: Contracting - bit of a long time ago to call on a contract ref from 12 years ago
01-02: Got made redundant, company's completely changed, all new staff. Wouldn't have records/remember me.
03-04: Could track down a guy I worked for for 15 months, but he's a bit of a funny geezer so could be unreliable and simply 'not bother'; he refused me permission to even have the statutory Employee Insurance document on the wall
05: Bloke I was doing self-employed work for did a runner, never paid me, last heard of somewhere in the US
06: Worked for 6 months - got made redundant, company sold, boss/Director teamed up with another 2-3 people and works for another company now, never replied to the last ref I requested.
07-08: Couple of temp bookings, nobody'd remember me, they probably don't keep records that long.
08-09: Couple of private contracts gleaned from the temping work - companies have been sold/bought out, all new staff. Nobody'd remember me.
10-12: Been "me doing my thing".

Agree that fc is a good idea. What about somebody who's been involved with your care of your olds, who could say what an amazing job you did of sorting everything out?

silvercar wrote: »

DS1 has been given his 1st interview, bless. I think its a question of timing, he applied yesterday and was offered what is the last interview slot available for next week. This is only for an internship, so way below PNs great achievement.

Really pleased for you PN.

Well done to your DS1, silvercar.

PasturesNew

LydiaJ wrote: »

What about somebody who's been involved with your care of your olds, who could say what an amazing job you did of sorting everything out?

It all happened so quick, we hardly ever saw the same person twice as we were dealing with a constantly moving target. Nobody knows us, or me, or what went on because it all happened in a flash.