Family cant afford Christmas

clairec79

The co-op have a xmas dinner deal at the moment for £10
Stuffed Turkey Joint
McCain roast potatoes
Aunt Bessie’s Honey Glazed Roast Parsnips
Aunt Bessie’s 12 4 minute Yorkshire puddings
Aunt Bessie’s Button Sprouts Glazed with Thyme, Sage and Nutmeg
Viennetta Chocolate Nut

so if you feel bad, you could just give her a tenner - dinner sorted

AylesburyDuck

annandale wrote: »

Yeah. The made up pile of tosh/scenario he's posted about once and never come back to. And has been so intriging i had to make more than half a dozen posts about.

Fixed.
And yeah, that one!:T

Mr.Generous

I can just picture it, the guy hanging over the litter infested garden gate in a scruffy vest, fag in one hand, can of cheap lager in the other, takes a swig before reaching down to give the family pit bull (sorry its a staffy cross honest) a gentle punch. Through the curtains a 50" TV shows Jeremy Kyle daring to suggest someone gets off their backside. Man moans about the harsh economy and how he has been unable to find any work recently. Well for the last 40 years in fact. And with his bad back, well its a wonder he was able to father 7 kids with three different mothers.

Yet the reality is these stereotypes are only funny because there is some truth in them. Give them £500? Are you mad? Buy them 20 fags each and a cast of Carling, you might as well if your stupid enough to lend (give) them any money at all.

How about offering the 2 adults £50 if they clear the village of litter - a full days work each should do it. See I am generous! And you thought it was sarcasm!

annandale

Its intriguing not intriging btw

Fixed that for you

Still, at least this time I've not been accused of being the OP

Pmsl

Robisere

Whether this is an imaginary issue or not, it does remind me of a woman who lived across the road from my parents many years ago. She had two girls, probably around 7 and 9 years of age at the time. They were from 2 different fathers, both one night stands, which she was totally unembarassed to tell to anyone who could get close enough to her booze breath to listen. She had been sending the girls around various neighbours, to beg for money and food, most gave them just a meal or some food to take home.

I was home on leave one Christmas time, when my mum told me all about the situation over the road. Mum and dad were the ones actually feeding and caring for the girls, who were left alone a lot of the time when their mother was out drinking, often coming home with various men. It was fortunate for the girls that I was home one particular night, when the kids ran out screaming to get away from the latest bloke, who had hit their mum and was trying to get at them. I stopped him and dropped him in his tracks, then called the police, who removed him. A report was made about the mother, several neighbours gave statements, but Social Services would not do anything as "The children must be with their mother for Christmas." After it all cooled down next day, I went across to the woman and told her that we would be watching her: if anymore men came home with her, we would call the police. That's when she slapped me and I slapped her back, not in front of the girls I hasten to add.

On Christmas Day the girls came across at around 3 pm (during the Queen's Message) and they were crying, could not wake up their mother. They had eaten nothing since the previous day, when all they had was beans on toast in the evening: my mum had given them a good breakfast previous to that. So we used up all our leftovers and gave them a Chrismas Dinner - probably the first they ever had. I went across the road, expecting to find their mother dead, which she was - dead drunk! I managed to contact SS after about 2 hours and several calls. The girls were taken away by SS, although my mum was allowed to visit them. I learned after going back to my barracks, that they were placed together in foster care and much later, that they were adopted, together. My parents stayed in touch until then, when of course they were not allowed to see them again. I sincerely hope those little girls had a good life: I have a daughter and 2 granddaughters today, and any other ending would break my heart.

I discovered that the woman had very little food in the house, but lots of drink. When I had gone to check on the drunken !!!!!!, I went upstairs. The bedrooms were worse even than the ground floor rooms: the girl's one single bed had a bare mattress and just 2 blankets, all filthy. There was a pitifully small amount of clothing for them. The girls themselves were obviously undernourished and both dressed in worn, dirty clothes that they had outgrown.

There is nothing but anger in my heart and mind when I think of that woman. I don't care what anyone says about drink and alcoholism being a disease. Parents like that should not have children. My answer to those who want to use their children to sponge off the rest of us, is - if you cannot look after them, why have them?

Proxima_Centauri

Robisere wrote: »

My answer to those who want to use their children to sponge off the rest of us, is - if you cannot look after them, why have them?

I suspect it's not so much the case that they want to have children, - more that someone who sleeps around would have to take certain steps in order not to have them, and they're probably too lazy/disorganised/irresponsible to do that, sadly.

AylesburyDuck

annandale wrote: »

Its intriguing not intriging btw

Fixed that for you

Still, at least this time I've not been accused of being the OP

Pmsl

:rotfl: Well played, i'll give you that one, it must have been a reach.

Robisere

Proxima_Centauri wrote: »

I suspect it's not so much the case that they want to have children, - more that someone who sleeps around would have to take certain steps in order not to have them, and they're probably too lazy/disorganised/irresponsible to do that, sadly.

You are absolutely correct and that is what is happening all over the country: I suspect that this (probably hypothetical) Thread describes an atypical case of people having offspring that they either cannot afford to raise, or make other choices with the money.

missbiggles1

Poor_Single_lady wrote: »

But if it's true that means that a lot of people replying are happy for 3 children to wake up on Christmas morning without any presents. That breaks my heart. I don't want any kids waking up without presents on Christmas Day and I don't care if their parents work or not.

I would send gifts for the kids not cash and as someone else said lunch from Asda. £500 is excessive though but they can't not have anything. Have people forgotten what it's like to be a child. I feel really sad by this thread. Very much hoping it's fictional.

I'd rather give money to children who have no food, water or shelter than worry about children who don't have presents at Christmas.

System

Maybe i'm going to get flamed for this but i dont care.

When my kids were little hubby had a full time job but it was low paid and we were entitled to FIS (which has now been renamed as Tax Credits). Because Christmas was such a big expense with 5 children i had to save for months to buy the things the kids wanted. If i had waited till the last few weeks to buy their gifts they would have had nothing.

I dont understand why they left it all till last minute. Granted, fresh food cant be bought till the last minute but the kids gifts could have been bought throughout the year or money saved at least.

Now my kids have grown up its only been this year that ive stopped putting an amount aside for Christmas.