Weekly Chat (Non-Osprey), 28 August 2022

Good Morning. Still dry and quite sunny here, but a big change in the weather threatened over the next few days.

Had hilarious conversations with grandchildren on the phone yesterday, they come & go, and seem to regard the phone as something you can pick up & put down! :-)

If anyone wants to see more silo art. . . our state now has 14. I have seen 8 and my favourite is still Wirrabara. Water towers are being painted too; scroll down this site.

Heather - I don't think you're very stupid! We are all desperately trying to save power and switch things off. The links between switches and devices are not always obvious! I'm a bit of a coward and have several things on standby. I'm concerned about the future as well. When I sold my house in London and moved into an almshouse run by a charity. It's probably on a par with private rentals but with many advantages such as beautiful grounds and security. Heating is included in the maintenance charge, but not electricity. I thought I would have enough money to last me out. Wrong! I am now on the brink of needing to apply for Housing Benefit. This saddens me - I have never claimed any benefits. Never had time off work or claimed sick pay throughout my working life. On the whole I live a reasonably frugal life (barring such things as running a car and going on a world cruise!). I've done a personal audit and really can't cut back any more. In the recent discussions about helping vulnerable people there has been very little mention of people in a similar situation - those of us who are Just About Managing, and really don't want to claim benefits. With inflation running at record levels, and my pension having increased by three per cent ... I'm by no means the only one. Many of my friends and acquaintances are in a similar situation. A bit of a rant - sorry - but I do feel nobody with any power is listening to us. I'll now get back to putting together a different set of words!

PAT - you should and must apply for any benefits that you qualify for. I have some experience of the benefits system ( or rather, those who use it) . Quite a lot of folk make it their business to squeeze the most out of the system - their reasons for doing so vary somewhat. What I heard most was ' I've paid in, so I'm entitled '. That s fine, of course it is. But others cheat the system. My middle daughter's neighbour has no visible disabilty, but has a motability car and carers come in morning and evening. Supposedly at night, to put her to bed. Often, just after the carer has left in the evening, the said lady hops into her car ( no walking sticks) and drives off for a few hours. Apart from those I came across in my working life, I clearly recall others who had free cars because their child had a heart problem. So did my child, but it never occurred to us. Maybe we were the stupid ones...
So my message is - as I say - claim your housing benefit as a genuine claimant. It frustrates me that the system is manipulated by unscrupulous people who get away with it for years !

Pat- Sorry to hear that these are worrying times for you. You're not alone, as I'm sure you know, but that is no consolation. Right at the beginning of this latest scare, I said that a lot of folks would be caught up in the middle - let's face it, the wealthy don't have to worry, and the very needy get help. If I were you, I would research and claim everything possible. After all, you paid into it in the past, and as Heather says, there are many out there 'fiddling the system' which is downright infuriating. Good Luck.

We laughed at some of the ideas given to cut costs - most of them we've been doing for years already! Heather: I think you'll find that cutting out standbys will only save a tiny amount over a full 12 months and so are negligible. Leave them on if its more convenient. We are now washing our hands in cold water (though I'm not sure I can keep that up in winter). We have a boiler which kicks in when you run the hot tap, so it's often only used for a minute, but it must add up.

Three birthday cards have just arrived. Lovely one with scrawls on from the littlies. Got no post at all yesterday!

Sunny & bright here - just had a bowl of tiny strawberries from a clump which we put in by the stone steps, as ornamental! They had a few on them last year but this year they're enjoying the sun, it seems.

AQ - Going to have a look at your pics now - I adore the big silos.

Geez. Reading the above is really disturbing.

Heather: Frankly, I'd be videotaping the allegedly disabled neighbor and sending it to the powers that be! That's just awful. I can't stand that kind of thing.

PatO; Don't feel bad about applying for housing benefits. I understand you're entitled due to a lifetime of contributions. I have a hard time with the word 'entitled' because it's come to characterize people who aren't, in fact, 'entitled' but think they should be, rather than those in genuine need. Life isn't supposed to be this hard at this point...

Must rush....

Pat, please claim without feeling guilty. The whole system is supposed to be there to help the vulnerable, however inadequate it is.

I can't say I'm a proud benefit claimant but needs must. Limpy, at least, values me - even though many people don't.

Pat O said:

my pension having increased by three per cent

Last year my Carer's Allowance went up by 35p a week.  I'll never, ever, forget that.