The OS Doorstep - a helpful and supportive thread in these tough times

floss2

Fuddle Check this out when you have time: Shelter - private tenants and think about the family's health & adequacy of heating.

Shegar Is there a carers support centre near you, who could give you some advocacy support? Do you or your OH have a company pension, do they have any advocacy or help you can access?

PRINCESSX87

Fuddle, We’re in the same boat with EH. Its rubbish and really expensive. We’ve had no choice but to you calor gas. For £30 a month we can heat the house fully. (But we only have 4 rooms in total making our home) and we invest in lots of candles too.

We was told that we couldn’t have the calor fires, But I argued the case that we was frozen & the house was damp. They changed their minds after that. So, Maybe worth a chat?

Our EH stank when turned on. We was assured that its caused by dust that gets into them which burns off when lit / switched on. Either way the smell was awful and gave me constant headaches.

The other thing which is apparently common with electric heating / emersions heaters is that the valve in the boiler blows often. We have lived here 4+ years and twice over the winter we have been left with no heating or hot water.

Floss, Thank you for the link, I know it was intended for fuddle, But its certainly come in handy for us too. Might enquire about the heating, mould & damp section as that is something we suffer with here too!

Had anyone heard from, Candle, MRSLW, Gailey? Seems everyone has disappeared?

Pooky

Calor gas causes lots of condensation so make sure you have a couple of windows on nighttime/safety catches to allow for some circulation.

They are fab space heaters, we got one last year for our cold kitchen that had no heating and it was fab. It's our back up heater now as we've had a radiator put in to the kitchen. I have an oil filled radiator that's on a low setting too, it just switches itself on and off as required (day time only) and helps keep the chill off, it's economical to run too (but was around £150 to buy).

It's been blummin freezing here today, the wind is cold brrrrrrrr. The car said 4degrees but with wind chill it would be minus something I'm sure.....roll on the cold snap at the end of the week, I love it. Although I'm venturing into the capital on Thursday and catching the last train home at 11.40pm so no snow please.

[Deleted User]

Hi PX87 I'm here reading along, just having a quiet day so nothing interesting to share. Went into town this morning and did a little bit more christmas shopping and a little bit of grocery shopping and got a bargain in Mr.T 6 x quarter pounder burgers from the butchery counter reduced to £2.25 so two will be supper this evening and the others will be frozen in 2s for another couple of meals. Got some seeds for stocking fillers in Wilkos on a 3 for the price of 2 offer and got my friends granddaughter a farm fuzzy felt in Early Learning so altogether a good trip. I have DD1s guineapig here at the moment and he's been poorly for a few weeks with teeth issues and isn't eating properly so I think I'll have to get him to the vet tomorrow as he's lost a lot of body weight and is quite poorly (he only came home to me yesterday) so if anything can be done, I'll have to see what the vet says and take it from there. He doesn't seem to be able to pick the food up properly poor little mite and doesn't seem able to see properly either. We'll hope for the best anyway. Have a good evening everyone and stay warm if you can, Lyn xxx.

ginnyknit

He probably needs his teeth trimming Lyn. I do my rabbits myself but its a bit of a trial by fire and I have been taught by the vet when we ran the rescue. We had a rescue gp who had been short of vitamins before we got him and it caused problems for a while until we got the herbal food into him. Our last remaining rescue rabbit has toothy peg problems as he only eats basic rabbit food and nothing crunchy despite me trying everything known to man to tempt him - bl**dy men huh!

Sheila so sorry to hear you are poorly again. Do hope you feel better soon and can get something sorted out with the idiots who are supposed to be helping you :mad:

lobbyludd

I really hope you get some proper rest and wellness shegar, no advice just positive thoughts your way.

re toys I have 2 bin bags of dd's toys in the loft that I too away as a consequence for some now forgotten behaviour, she didn't even notice.....

rant alert.
ds is ill again - d & V bug, sent home from school and was upstairs asleep when attendance officer came. it didn't go well. she was querying the coding for DD and Ds's absences and a) I couldn't understand the codes (seems dd and ds's classes in the same school use different systems) and b) I couldn't remember exactly what happened when, I've had repeated chest infections and did my back in and they've had repeated minor illnesses: bad colds and hacking coughs, stomach bugs, temps with hurting ears, and I can't remember which combination for which child was when, I feel like I've just been wading through surviving it for the last few months. The gist however, is that I'm "covered" for today's absence because school sent him home, but if they don't get less sick quick sharpish then I'll have to take them to the gp for a medical certificate for each illness.

at which point to my shame I burst into tears - we are so not "covered" for this absence, I have no leave left, and will have to juggle working at home round the clock through all the points when I'm not cleaning up sick and cuddling a poorly boy and trying to get a reluctant DD to school smiling at a point when he isn't actively D&V-ing and will still not get my work done. ds will not get the education he needs, I asked what the school could do to help him catch up, and was told she knows nothing about that - the entire focus was that I cannot verify that they are ill (although when I questioned this she said it wasn't about believing me - but it can't actually be about anything else). I cannot get a GP appointment in less than 2 working days and even that is very difficult - for all bar one of the episodes they were well enough to go back in by then and none of the illnesses can be helped by a GP, so it would only be to verify that I am telling the truth.

the childless woman told me that any child off for 4 days would naturally see a gp - 2 days of diarrhoea = 4 days off school (not my policy I think it's ridiculous), I didn't take DD when she had chicken pox as I knew it was chicken pox and the gp can only prescribe calpol which I have - I only take them to the GP when it would benefit them, I don't drag ill children off to suffer in and infect a waiting room when it's a bloody run-of-the-mill virus. Coupled with which I have actually taken ds to the GP within the last year because of his repeated upset stomachs and was told they do nothing unless he is physically failing to thrive and that kid's get upset stomachs, and 6 months ago I took him to a&e when he had one bout he was sent home for as I was worried it was appendicitis - and was firmly told he could be managed at home. So I am both a neurotic over user of the NHS for minor illnesses and a feigner of minor illnesses to prevent my children going to school because I LIKE being in trouble at work?

no support from the school to help him catch up, when I asked for the work he was going to miss today to be set home, I was told he was only rehearsing the play today (which makes 2 days in a row - he has a non speaking part in 3 x 2 min scenes, and could have been catching up on missed work during this) and i realised that they have never offered to send work home to help him catch up.

I've texted their dad to let him know ds is ill and all I get in return is a crappy comment NOW after midnight about texting him late (at 11pm), having spent hours holding ds's hair back as he vomits, cleaning it up, washing sheets and towels, trying to disinfect the toilet and other surfaces in the vain hope that dd doesn't catch it, picking up, bathing and feeding dd, settling her down to sleep, stopping her from kissing him, spooning in calpol, making sure ds sips enough fluid in a tolerable form to stop dehydration, and stroking his head until he falls asleep now next to me on the sofa.

sorry. rant over.

EstherH

Oh LOBBYLUD, how awful that you have to go through all that at a time when you need some practical support. Just wanted to send hugs to you.

Sorry I haven't been replying to everyone else. Have been skimming through as usual and know a lot of you are going through troubles.

Sheila, hope you can get some support too. Was thinking that when someone is in hospital, if there is no support at home they have to stay in. Can't our DH stay in the home as you are not in a fit state to have him back? Surely there must be something, so that you don't have to go to April without any more respite? It's so wrong!

FUDDLE: glad you are settling in and getting things sorted with schools, job etc. how amazing that you have moved and found a job so quickly. Hope you can get something sorted with the heating.

Esther x

FairyPrincessk

Morning all,

Lobbylud that sounds so frustrating and exhausting.

Shegar, not much I can offer except a cuppa and an ear.


Bit of bad news as it turns out brother can't make it. He got time off, but ticket prices were just too high. However, he may come in the spring. I won't be able to see my parents then, but perhaps he can stop off in the UK for a few days and stay with me.:D

Neighbours (yes, those neighbours) have kicked off again last night. Partying, fighting and loudly participating in activities which are best kept private..Ahem. They're still going strong. They woke OH up around 11 and he closed a few doors and put his ear plugs in and they woke me up around 3. I'm not sure I want to know what fuels them to carry on for so long. I'll be using the back door if I go anywhere today.

I've also woken up with a sniffle. Think I'll be working with the laptop and clip board on the futon today. Lots of herbal tea and some hot water bottles and maybe I can shake it off.

Right, enough moaning from me. I think its time to get to work.x

kidcat

racing through on my way to my school runs - lobby I will pm you with some help later today - if I forget prod me - my mind is a sieve these days

back later to catch up

alfsmum

Lobby, sorry I can't offer any help but can send buckets of sympathy. Sounds as if your officer was one of those who wants to tick all the boxes on her form and give you the letter of the law but no support or leeway. Hope your little ones are better soon.

MRSLW there are a couple of guinea pig experts over in the Organic Food in Supermarkets thread on the Food & Groceries forum who might be able to help?