Category: Cookery

Ashton Under lyne, baby, Boris Johnson, Brighthouse, confidence, Cookery, coronavirus, covid 19, Decision maker, DLA, DPAC, Elderly, ESA, eugenics, Family, feminism, Food, Food bank, Free, frugal, fuel poverty, G4S, government, Green Party, Housing, hunger, Jeremy Corbyn, Jobcentre, Ken Loach, loose women, love island, Mandatory reconsideration, Money saving tips, New Charter Housing, Northern resisters, Payday loan, PIP, poverty, prepaid energy, prepaid energy metres, sanctions, Steven Crabb, suicide, targets, Tax credits, television, Teresa May, The Big Issue, The Labour Party, The Poor Side Of Life, Theresa May, trade union movement, Uncategorized, Universal credit, womens rights, Workfare, Workprogramme, young people

Lets talk about food poverty.

Dear readers its Thursday again, alas the days appear to be merging into one for me as I’m sure that they are for many of you.

Today finds me exhausted, Long Covid does this to you so I’m trying to pace myself, giving myself little goals to achieve in between rest times. Some days you feel like you’ve got more energy than the others and its hard not to overdo it.

I’ve taken advice from friends and I am trying to cope with it the best that I can.
Lets talk about food poverty.

Lets be straight, food poverty has always existed, its not a new thing and its always been terrible. It was unacceptable then and it is now. We’re the 5th richest economy and people are hungry.

Call me old fashioned, but I’m of the belief that no one should be hungry, no child should be hungry and no one should be malnourished. It’s a subject that many won’t talk about and those of us that do are sometimes ridiculed.

Since the Tory government were elected the first time back in 2010, they made it their priority to make the poor and disabled suffer. Their benefit reforms and the introduction of Universal Credit has plunged thousands of people into poverty and extreme poverty.

Basically they set off to destroy the working class, and I’m sure that you all know this.
People have been hungry for a long time.

Then Covid 19 hit us, thousands of people have died, thousands have lost their jobs, lost their homes and the government doesn’t care. Hell, the government didn’t even want to take action to prevent people from catching Covid 19 and their inaction has caused the deaths of thousands more.
Hunger and Covid 19.

As I type this we now have a country with more people living in food poverty than we have ever had in the uk in modern times.

It is predicted that UK destitution rates will double by christmas as Covid 19 job furlough schemes and income support schemes are wound down. You can imagine how angry I was to hear Johnson talk about wanting people to celebrate Christmas when thousands upon thousands of people won’t be able to do so.

It’s also predicted by the Trussell Trust that at least 670,000 people will become destitute in the last three months of the year. Basically if the government withdraws their Covid 19 support schemes these people will be unable to meet basic food, shelter and clothing needs.

If you add these figures on top of the already enormous poverty figures its totally obscene that the government can just sit back and do nothing whilst rubbing our noses in their push for Christmas.

Lets get it straight, thousands of people wont be able to celebrate christmas unless the government takes us out of the poverty that we are living.
Food poverty isn’t going to go away.

We’ve got hungry people stealing to feed themselves only to be prosecuted for doing so. Many were fined or sent to prison for being hungry…. Much like Victorian times. Lets punish the poor and ignore their desperation to find food because they’re hungry.

It should be a crime to cause the hunger and poverty of others.

Parents are going without food to enable their children to eat. They then end up being malnourished and ill.

It’s ok for people to say that these people should ‘just go to a foodbank’. Many foodbanks have now returned back to the three parcels a year system, kudos to those foodbanks that aren’t doing that.

Not everyone is aware of all of who and where their local foodbanks are. When you haven’t got access to the internet, have no credit for their phones and aren’t able to go out because their either shielding or recovering from Covid 19.

Foodbank food isn’t always the healthiest also. They’re filled with emergency items of food that require little preparation.

Fuel and food poverty is an awful reality for so many people.

This leaves the independent foodbanks within local communities to pick up the pieces, to try and find the people that are going without and to give them the help that they are needing.

Because they have more independence and don’t just open once or twice a week they can offer fruit and veg. They try their best to individually cater for everyone.

You cant imagine how wonderful it is to eat a piece of fruit or vegetable after a long time of not doing so. It’s heavenly.

It’s far from easy though. Independent foodbanks aren’t funded by anyone. They often don’t have a permanent place to operate from and are shunned by other organisations because they won’t buy into the same schemes like the larger food bank organisations do. They want to remain independent to give them the freedom to help exactly who they want to without judgement.

Believe me, there’s nothing as humiliating as asking for food from someone else. No one should not be judged for this.

The safety net has been taken away.

So what’s the solution?

There isn’t a fix all solution sadly, but I cant just sit back and see so many people suffering like this. It’s totally unprecedented and could all be prevented if the government actually cared.

When a person is hungry it affects their body as a whole, its an awful feeling and sadly its one that I’m familiar with, and that makes fighting back harder.
What can we do?

For those that can please email and visit your local MPs and communicate your worries about this.

If you can and have access to the internet, share posts and blogs like mine, share newspaper articles and if you are able start having these conversations with people.

If you aren’t shielding or recovering from Covid 19, talk to your neighbours if you can, make sure that they’re ok in a way that you know best to do.
What about foodbanks and food donations?

We need to put more pressure upon the supermarkets to freely donate their food to foodbanks instead of asking people to buy it and then donate.

Supermarkets are seeing this as an opportunity to profit from this and it needs to end.

Foodbanks depend upon these donations and if no one has any money then no one can donate.

The supermarkets can easily afford to donate this food themselves and I believe that they should.
Donate to your local independent foodbank.

They receive no help financially from anyone. Often local authorities shun them because they want to remain in independent.

They should be helped not shunned because they provide valuable help on a voluntary basis. They’ve saved life’s.

If you cant find or donate to your local independent foodbank then you can give food directly to someone thats suffering.

You can find a full list of independent food banks over at foodaidnetwork.org.uk or follow @IFAN_UK over on Twitter.
Put pressure on the government and MPs.

Universal credit, ESA, Pip are incredibly hard to survive on. People are still being sanctioned and payments barely cover the basic expenses of staying alive. They plunge people even deeper into poverty, hunger and homelessness.

We need to continue to campaign against this and fight for a fair and decent social security system that helps everyone.

The government will refuse to do this, I’m well aware of that but we can still continue to put pressure on them for higher payments and stop the government withdrawing the extra £20 a week that they’re paying to claimants.
We need to support each other.

Being a friendly face and saying hello to a stranger can really make a big difference to someone else’s day.

Don’t underestimate how wonderful you are.
Support independent blogs and newspapers.

Bloggers like myself don’t receive any payment from anyone, we remain independent and we also like to help others via our writing and campaigns.

It’s a huge struggle for us, and we often go without but we won’t stop what we are doing.

Keep sharing our posts, tweets and Facebook posts.

I hope to publish more than one blog post a week.
Support independent press and newspapers.

There are some really good left wing independent news organisations out there such as the Byline Times and The Meator over at bylinetimes.com and http://www.themeteor.org

Both are independent and unbiased.

Of course I won’t ever recommend any right wing publications.

Support campaign groups and individuals.

Support campaign groups such as DPAC and Black Triangle and my own.

We work so hard to help others and we can and have made a difference to people’s life’s.

Read my friend Raymond Woolfords book Food Bank Britain and his campaign.

It’s an excellent insight into how food banks operate etc.

Please follow him over on Twitter at @Raywoolford

Read kittyjones.wordpress.com
Thank you.

Thank you so much for reading my blog. I appreciate that its not perfect and this blog is a tad long, but I’m still battling long covid and its been a struggle to say the least.

A huge thank you to everyone that supports my blog and campaign, Ive got no intention to stop anytime soon!

A huge thank you to everyone that has helped me to get through my Covid 19 battle. I can’t wait to be well again!

I’m not funded by anyone for the work that I do. If anyone would like to donate there is a donate button at the top and side of this blog. My paypal add is seercharlotte@gmail.com

Thank you!

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/sep/14/coronavirus-extreme-poverty-in-uk-will-double-by-christmas-trust-predicts

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/sep/21/uk-poorest-nutrition-guidelines-obesity

Ashton Under lyne, baby, Boris Johnson, Brighthouse, confidence, Cookery, coronavirus, covid 19, Decision maker, DLA, DPAC, Elderly, ESA, eugenics, Family, feminism, Food, Food bank, Free, frugal, fuel poverty, G4S, government, Green Party, Housing, hunger, Jeremy Corbyn, Jobcentre, Ken Loach, loose women, love island, Mandatory reconsideration, Money saving tips, New Charter Housing, Northern resisters, Payday loan, PIP, poverty, prepaid energy, prepaid energy metres, sanctions, Steven Crabb, suicide, targets, Tax credits, television, Teresa May, The Big Issue, The Labour Party, The Poor Side Of Life, Theresa May, trade union movement, Uncategorized, Universal credit, womens rights, Workfare, Workprogramme, young people

Laughed at for wearing a face mask.

Dear readers it’s Thursday once again. I hope that you are all as safe as you can be.

Good news! So far I haven’t rebounded again and I’m praying that I’ve seen the end of my Covid 19 battle. However I am aware that I can potentially catch it again.

My daughter came home from school last Friday with a virus. Thankfully it wasn’t Covid-19 but it quite easily could have been.

Viruses are free to travel around the school corridors and classrooms. There’s no way that schools can contain it.

Yesterday I spoke to one of my daughters teachers and she was very worried about working in this environment. It’s hard getting the balance right.

Children need to be educated, they need that contact with their friends at school but they shouldn’t be at risk of catching covid 19 and passing it on to family members and friends.

There’s no ideal solution, I wish that there was. So many people are at risk of catching covid 19 and I’m sure that I’m not the only person to be concerned about this.

Yesterday I had to go to my local town to do some errands. It exhausts me, but needs must so off I went.

I would do online shops but I can’t afford to do this.

I was happy to see more people wearing masks, but so many wernt. It’s so frustrating.

A friend of mine said that it’s good manners to wear a mask and it also shows consideration for others.

I have to agree, it is and more need to wear them.

As I was walking towards a shop that I had to go into a man looked at me, laughed and said that I was an idiot for wearing a mask because they do nothing.

I didn’t get the chance to reply because he walked off pretty quickly and I’m not exactly going to go chasing him down the street. I don’t have the energy.

This persons attitude isn’t unusual though. So many people are saying that covid 19 is a conspiracy, that masks don’t work etc.

I’m sure that you’ve all heard and seen comments like this.

I wear a mask because I’m bloody petrified of catching covid 19 again. It’s taken me months of struggling to get over it and my long covid battle isn’t over yet.

I also wear a mask because I don’t want anyone else to catch any viruses that might be walking around with me. I want to be responsible and help as much as I can.

I also wear a mask because Tameside is now in the double red zone and is heading for another lockdown.

Now going back and to the man that laughed at me for wearing a mask. I’m certain that he will change his mind about wearing one of he catches it.

It’s impossible to get a covid 19 test at the moment. The government has completely failed everyone. The testing process is a shambles and don’t get me started on their rubbish track and trace scheme.

We have all been failed by the government, I and others expected this though.

In other news, my local hospital Tameside Hospital has been in the news again.

Sadly its a hotbed for covid 19 and patients on non covid wards have died from it.

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2020/sep/16/tameside-hospital-covid-deaths-are-canary-in-the-mine

Maybe this was caused by people not adhering by the government guidance for wearing masks and keeping hands clean. Who knows but I’m sure that they’ve played a part in this.

My thoughts and prayers are with everyone that has died from covid 19 and their families. It’s heartbreaking especially when so much of this was completely preventable.

Yesterday I cut my hand on a tin in my rubbish bin. It was totally my own fault, I wasn’t paying attention.

It looks like it could do with a couple of stitches but there’s no way that I was going to go to the hospital after this weeks covid 19 news.

I cleaned it and have bandaged it and I’m sure that it’ll be ok.

This did get me thinking though.

How many people are choosing to stay at home rather than seeing a doctor when they need to?

It’s a scary thought.

How many people have absolutely no support and are trying their best to get through this nightmare which is covid 19?

The government has been extremely negligent in providing support for people. They don’t care and it appears that they’re quite proud of their attitude regarding covid 19.

This leaves us living in some kind of limbo waiting for covid 19 to catch us.

All I can suggest is to keep yourself as safe as you can do. You know yourself better than anyone else.

Don’t let anyone else judge you for the decisions that you have been forced to make to keep yourself safe.

I really hope that you all manage to keep safe and as well as you can be.

Please read, share and tweet my blog.

A massive thank you to everyone that supports my blog and my campaign.

I couldn’t do this without you. Your support means the world to me.

I receive no funding for anything that I do and it’s a struggle to say the least.

This week I helped four families.

For anyone that would like to donate there’s a donate button at the top and side of this blog. Thank you x.

Ashton Under lyne, baby, Boris Johnson, Brighthouse, confidence, Cookery, coronavirus, covid 19, Decision maker, DLA, DPAC, Elderly, ESA, eugenics, Family, feminism, Food, Food bank, Free, frugal, fuel poverty, G4S, government, Green Party, Housing, hunger, Jeremy Corbyn, Jobcentre, Ken Loach, loose women, Mandatory reconsideration, Money saving tips, New Charter Housing, Northern resisters, Payday loan, PIP, poverty, prepaid energy, prepaid energy metres, sanctions, Steven Crabb, suicide, targets, Tax credits, television, Teresa May, The Big Issue, The Labour Party, The Poor Side Of Life, Theresa May, trade union movement, Uncategorized, Universal credit, womens rights, Workfare, Workprogramme, young people

DWP increases its spending on fighting PIP and ESA appeals.

Dear readers I hope you are OK and keeping safe.

Let’s talk about my week.

It’s been a tough week for me but it is what it is.

I’ve finally finished my latest lot of antibiotics and at the time of writing this blog I am feeling a bit brighter.

Long covid is awful, but yesterday I walked the furthest that I’ve been able to for a long time.

I walked to the bottom of my street and back. Its a fairly long street and I’m proud of myself for doing it.

In other news I still feel like a failure for not being able to be a better parent for my daughter.

I do my best but health and finance prevents me from being able to take her out like I used to.

I’m alive though and I survived Covid 19. I’m very proud of this. My body was strong enough to fight this horrible virus, and I daily think about everyone that has died from covid 19 and their families.

Lets talk about the DWP

For years we have been saying that the DWP and government has created the ES and PIP system to punish people for being disabled and ill.

So many people have called us liars and suchlike, but thanks to Works And Pensions we now have the evidence.

The DWP has an endless pot of money to fight ESA and PIP appeals. They’re pretty blatent about this now, hell they don’t even deny it anymore.

They are spending this money even though they loosing an increasing amount of cases.

They don’t care if they loose, its all about punishment, making people feel like giving up and worse.

It’s obvious they see us as surplus to requirements. If they can’t profit from us then they will continue to persecute us to our very last breath.

No one should have to live like this. The government doesn’t have a heart, they don’t care and they don’t want us to fight back.

Luckily we are a savvy group of people and we have formed our own support groups via Facebook, Twitter and via local communities.

We care for each other and this is something that government officials haven’t got a clue about. They’re selfish morons. I could say more but I’m being polite.

Despite their appeal loses the DWP have increased its spending on fighting PIP and ESA appeals.

Remember it’s all about punishment and there’s an endless pot of money for that.

Figures obtained by the Independent, show the DWP spent £121m between 2017-19, with £58m spent on mandatory reconsiderations and £63m spent on tribunal appeals.

When broken down annually over three years, it shows that the amount spent on mandatory reconsiderations increased by 19% between 2016-17 and 2018-19, and the cost of tribunals surged by an extraordinary 64%.

The DWP is actually losing more and more appeals, with the success rate for PIP claimants now at 76%.

The DWP can’t just buy off tribunals with cash incentives.

Tribunals trust claimants and their evidence rather than the DWP and their obvious lies. They can’t be bought off like other organisations have been.

Thanks to Benefits and Work for your hard work and for keeping us informed. Check them out if you can.

https://www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/news/4273-9-september-update?utm_source=iContact&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=benefits-and-work&utm_content=9+September+2020+newsletter

More about covid 19.

As children go back to school, the infection rates are dramatically increasing.

Combine this with the re opening of pubs etc it’s not going to get better any time soon.

As usual the government are failing to give any direction and proper leadership.

The public are confused and I’m sure that this is why so many people are ignoring the rules.

How can you abide to the rules if you don’t know what they are?

Anyway yesterday Johnson informed the public about his latest lockdown rules.

It’s farcical saying that people can only mix with six people whilst schools are back in and they have more than six pupils.

Yesterday I read that arough estimate shows that teachers can have on average contact with about 200 households.

Does the government think that teachers and pupils can’t catch Covid 19?

It’s unbelievable isn’t it. Johnson and his ilk are liars, but I don’t need to tell you that.

This week has certainly been eventful. The town that I live in is now in double red alert and I’m expecting a local lockdown like Bolton.

It’s awful but if everyone took it seriously and wore masks etc it really would help.

I’m scared of catching it again and I know that thousands of people are as well.

Please keep safe, wash your hands, wear a mask and keep your distance from people if you can.

Lots of love to you all. I do think about you.

Please read, share, tweet, email my blog.

I really appreciate everyone that already does this.

A huge thank you to everyone that supports my campaign and my blog.

It’s been touch and go as to if I can continue writing my blog. Financially its a massive struggle because I don’t receive any funding from anyone.

For anyone who would like to donate there’s a donate button at the top and side of this blog.

My PayPal ad is seercharlotte@gmail.com

Thank you!

Ashton Under lyne, baby, Boris Johnson, Brighthouse, confidence, Cookery, coronavirus, covid 19, Decision maker, DLA, DPAC, Elderly, ESA, eugenics, Family, feminism, Food, Food bank, Free, frugal, fuel poverty, G4S, government, Green Party, Housing, hunger, Jeremy Corbyn, Jobcentre, Ken Loach, loose women, love island, Mandatory reconsideration, Money saving tips, New Charter Housing, Northern resisters, Payday loan, PIP, poverty, prepaid energy, prepaid energy metres, sanctions, Steven Crabb, suicide, targets, Tax credits, television, Teresa May, The Big Issue, The Labour Party, The Poor Side Of Life, Theresa May, trade union movement, Uncategorized, Universal credit, womens rights, Workfare, Workprogramme, young people

I’m sick of it all.

Dear readers it’s not Thursday but I wanted to write an extra blog post mainly to express how I’m feeling at the moment.

Since becoming ill with Covid 19 in March my life has changed so much. Its even changed the way that I look.

I don’t recognise myself anymore.

I don’t have an income to speak of and I’m struggling with everything.

Every month the bills roll in and I know that I can’t afford to pay them.

I’m now dependent upon foodbank food. Sometimes they’ll be some fruit and vegetables in the bags.

I’m so grateful for them but at the same time I’m totally ashamed of myself for having to depend upon them for help.

I and thousands others haven’t been shopping in a supermarket for months. Going shopping for anything is a dream now.

My health isn’t brilliant although I’m better than I was.

This week’s been a bad long covid week because I’m recovering from another bout of pleurisy.

Thanks for that Covid 19.

I really don’t know how long that I can continue to live like this. It’s depressing to say the least.

Everything that I used to take for granted has now gone. If I want to do simple tasks I have to prepare myself for it.

I can’t go to places because A, I’m very wary of catching Covid 19 again and B I haven’t the means to do so.

I know that this is depressing but it’s how it is.

I don’t want to have to rely upon foodbanks etc but I have to.

This government have well and truly screwed us all over.

You see Covid 19 and long covid has caused immense suffering for so many people.

It’s not just about health, its our whole life’s.

I want to be a better person, I want to get back to normal and be outside the Jobcentre again to help people I really do.

I’m hoping that my health will return ASAP.

I’m so sorry for ranting, but I needed to express myself. I’ll be ok, I’ll manage, but it’s not easy.

I’ll be plodding on as I usually do, but a bit of good fortune would be good.

I’m thinking about everyone that are also suffering, we can do this we really can.

As for myself I’ll take it day by day, hoping that tomorrow will be better.

Thank you so much for reading this and for supporting my blog. It means the world to me.

I shall be publishing Thursdays blog as usual.

Ashton Under lyne, baby, Boris Johnson, Brighthouse, confidence, Cookery, coronavirus, covid 19, Damien Green, Decision maker, DLA, DPAC, Elderly, ESA, eugenics, Family, feminism, Food, Food bank, Free, frugal, fuel poverty, G4S, government, Green Party, Housing, hunger, Jeremy Corbyn, Jobcentre, Ken Loach, loose women, love island, Mandatory reconsideration, Money saving tips, New Charter Housing, Northern resisters, Payday loan, PIP, poverty, prepaid energy, prepaid energy metres, sanctions, Steven Crabb, suicide, targets, Tax credits, television, Teresa May, The Big Issue, The Labour Party, The Poor Side Of Life, Theresa May, trade union movement, Uncategorized, Universal credit, womens rights, Workfare, Workprogramme, young people

Send your children to school. We don’t care if you and your children get Covid 19.

Dear readers it’s Thursday once again. Hopefully this latest lot of antibiotics are working.

Covid 19 has really taken its toll on me, I’ve never been this ill for so long. I really want to get better and back to normal I really do.

I’m sure that other recovering Covid 19 sufferers feel exactly like I do. We can’t plan our weeks or even days.

Our immune systems are damaged making us susceptible to any other viruses out there, and of course there’s the possibility that we might be able to catch Covid 19 again.

This week sees the return to school for our children. The government doesn’t care about our childrens health and the health of our children. They don’t even care about the teachers, classroom assistants and staff.

Nope our children MUST return to school.

https://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/news/18691158.coronavirus-dixons-kings-academy-confirms-case-reopen/

It’s easy for people to say that we should just keep our children off school and home educate. I’d do this if I could. I’ve always wanted to home educate my daughter.

Sadly I don’t have the knowledge to do do. I also can’t afford it. But I admire all parents that do home educate their children, they do a wonderful job.

You see my daughter wants to return to school. She misses her friends but she’s also apprehensive about her return.

It’s a huge worry. To say that I’m terrified of catching covid 19 again or any other virus.

I’m still recovering from covid 19 and another bout of pleurisy. My daughter deserves a mum that’s well and active again, not the person that I am now.

I do my best but I know that she’s been worried and upset about me being ill.

I feel like a complete failure even though I shouldn’t. Every day appears to be a struggle for me both physically and financially.

But I will recover many won’t.

I’m extremely worried about the parents and relatives of school age children that have disabilities and long term illness.

The ramifications of them contracting covid 19 are extremely serious but once again the government doesn’t care.

Personally I believe that it’s too soon for children to return to school, the pandemic hasn’t disappeared it’s still here infecting people.

Like I’ve mentioned in previous blog posts I realise that children do need educating but the government has given zero thought to their return.

This morning I was talking to a parent who’s child has already been sent home from school because they’re ill with possible covid symptoms.

I suspect that this will be happening to thousands of children up and down the country.

Will schools be shut again if lots of children, teachers and classroom assistants become ill?

What will the governments response be?

Also what will the oppositions response be also. So far from what I’ve seen and read Starmer is in agreement with the government, so he’s not exactly going to support us is he.

This only leaves us, as parents and educators to take it upon ourselves to make the right decision for our children.

If you decide that you want to home educate your children to keep them and your family members safe then go for it.

You know what is best for your children and there are plenty of support groups out there to help you.

If you decide that sending your children in school because it’s the right decision for you and your children do it.

You have to do what’s best for you and your family. I do urge you to have some kind of preventative protocol at home to prevent you and your loved ones safe.

Remember that it can take months to get over catching covid 19.

I really hope that you all keep safe and well, I don’t want you to be ill like I have been or worse.

I have however been helping people from the confines of my home.

I’ve signposted people and managed to get food for four families with the help of a local organisation.

I can’t stop caring about people, I just can’t. Hopefully I’ll be fully recovered soon.

Lots of love and solidarity to you all. Your support really means the world to me. I wouldn’t have been able to get through this without you all.

It’s been a long struggle for so many of us but we will conquer our struggles.

Please read, share and tweet my blog. This makes a massive difference and it raises so much awareness.

A massive thank you to everyone that supports my blog. I couldn’t continue if it wasn’t for you.

Thank you so much!

For anyone who would like to donate there is a donate button at the top and side of this blog.

Thank you!

Ashton Under lyne, baby, Boris Johnson, confidence, Cookery, coronavirus, covid 19, Decision maker, DLA, DPAC, Elderly, ESA, eugenics, Family, feminism, Food, Food bank, Free, frugal, fuel poverty, G4S, government, Green Party, Housing, hunger, Jeremy Corbyn, Jobcentre, Ken Loach, loose women, love island, Mandatory reconsideration, Money saving tips, New Charter Housing, Northern resisters, Payday loan, PIP, poverty, prepaid energy, prepaid energy metres, sanctions, Steven Crabb, suicide, targets, Tax credits, television, Teresa May, The Big Issue, The Labour Party, The Poor Side Of Life, Theresa May, trade union movement, Uncategorized, Universal credit, womens rights, Workfare, Workprogramme, young people

DWP nudging claimants into looking for non existent jobs. We need to see an end to expensive school uniform policies.

Dear readers its Thursday once again and once again I’m unwell.
After my last admission to hospital I’ve now got another dose of pleurisy thanks to long covid.
I really want to be well again I hate feeling like this.

In other news fellow blogger  Frank Zola has published his blog stating that the DWP have been nudging claimants into finding none existent jobs.
Read it here

https://mrfrankzola.wordpress.com/2020/08/26/millionsofdigitalnudges/amp/?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=email_subscription&__twitter_impression=true

If this link doesn’t work I’ll try and sort it out.


It’s absolutely ridiculous to be putting such pressure upon claimants whilst we are in the middle of a pandemic.

There’s hardly any jobs out there at the moment.
It’s also extremely worrying that many of these people will be recovering from covid 19.

Where are people going to find these none existent jobs? Zero hour contracts? Self employment?

Believe me when I say that the demand for employment is far higher than the actual jobs available.

You can also bet that the DWP will sanction people for not finding non existent work even though they claim to be using a ‘light touch’ admin at the moment.

I predict thousands more people becoming homeless in the near future.
The government isn’t offering and substantial help either. They just don’t care.

It’s extremely worrying. You’d think that the DWP would understand this but it appears that they don’t.


The demand upon food banks and outside help is going to become much higher and independent food banks and organisations are really going to struggle to survive.

If you can please support your local independent organisations. They usually receive no funding and they rely upon donations.


School uniforms once again.

I can guess that you’re fed up with me talking about school uniforms now but I have an update.
This morning I was interviewed by ITV about the cost of expensive school uniforms.

Having to pay for these expensive uniforms puts immense pressure upon parents and children.
All parents want the best for their children but they just can’t keep up with the ever increasing cost of school uniforms.

I’m in the fortunate position to be able to campaign against the need for these expensive school uniforms.
As I’ve said before they don’t make a child learn more, it’s just an added burden upon parents and children.

Whilst I think that it’s brilliant that charities are doing their best to support parents with school uniform costs, I want to challenge the need for them in the first place.

Charities and organisations are already under immense pressure to help people.
I prefer to end the need for expensive uniform in the first place which will in turn help the charities and organisations.

That said if you know of any charities that are helping parents with the cost of uniforms and uniform pieces please comment below. I want every parent that are struggling to get the help that they need.

I’ll have to sign off now because I feel awful but I will be back again next week.

Please keep safe and wear a mask etc when going out.

For everyone struggling, I hear you, I’m in the same position as you. We can get through this.


Thank you so much to everyone that reads, shares, tweets and supports my blog.
It’s been a tough year and I really appreciate your support.


For anyone wanting to donate there’s a donate button at the top and side of this blog.
Ashton Under lyne, baby, Boris Johnson, Brighthouse, confidence, Cookery, coronavirus, covid 19, Decision maker, DLA, DPAC, Elderly, ESA, eugenics, Family, feminism, Food, Food bank, Free, frugal, fuel poverty, G4S, government, Green Party, Housing, hunger, Jeremy Corbyn, Jobcentre, Ken Loach, loose women, love island, Mandatory reconsideration, Money saving tips, New Charter Housing, Northern resisters, Payday loan, PIP, poverty, prepaid energy, prepaid energy metres, sanctions, Steven Crabb, suicide, targets, Tax credits, television, Teresa May, The Big Issue, The Labour Party, The Poor Side Of Life, Theresa May, trade union movement, Uncategorized, Universal credit, womens rights, Workfare, Workprogramme, young people

School uniforms. A cost to high for many to pay.

Dear readers it’s Thursday yet again. I hope that you are as well as you can be and also hope that you are safe.

I’m rather annoyed with myself because it appears that the pleurisy is back. Yesterday I went for tests and hopefully I will know what antibiotic will be successful in getting rid of the damned thing.

I’m writing this in the midst of a migraine so I apologise for any spelling mistakes etc.

This week has been a particularly bad week for me. Like so many parents I’ve been worrying about my daughters return to school and buying her uniform.

Thousands of families are also worrying about this though. So many people have become unemployed as a result of the pandemic.

I also suspect that thousands of parents have been ill with Covid 19 like I have as well.

My frustration lies with the schools. They know that their pupils parents will be struggling yet they still demand that all pupils wear a school uniform.

I have no argument with the idea of school uniform though. My argument is with the extortionate cost of school uniform.

Back in the day when my older children were at secondary school I was able to purchase their uniform items quite cheaply at Asda or suchlike. I could also buy a school patch to put on the supermarket uniform.

I’m sure that many of you remember being able to do this.

Sadly it’s not the same now. Schools and uniform shops have cottoned on to the idea that there’s money to be made from this.

It was then that embroidered school logos on specific school uniform pieces bought at specific uniform shops would be accepted.

I know at my daughters school everything bar the school shirts have to have this embroidered logo on them.

I was surprised that the girls had to have a specifically embroidered skirt with a choice of two designs. The boys can wear any type of black school pants, bought from any shop and they don’t have to be embroidered either.

I see this as blatent discrimination, but the school is an academy so they do exactly what they want to do.

Anyway, what I’m trying to say is this. I believe that all schools should take into account the cost of uniform and the massive loss of employment and income due to the pandemic.

From my experience it was far easier when my daughter was in primary school. They did a uniform swap there. It’s far more difficult to do this in secondary school though.

Like I’ve already mentioned in my previous blog, I’m also worried about pupil, teacher and classroom assistant safety.

Why can’t schools return to the old way of doing things? It was less discriminatory and a whole lot cheaper.

They won’t though because there’s money to be had from this.

Personally I think that this cost is too much for many of us to bear. I can imagine that thousands of parents will be going without food, trying to patch up old uniform pieces up or taking loans out from dubious money lenders.

Thousands of parents will be trying to manage on meagre Universal Credit payments, some will be sanctioned and living on a reduced income, many will be homeless and living in temporary accommodation, many will be awaiting the decisions of their ESA and PIP medicals and appeals.

No parent or carer should have to go through this though, it’s morally wrong. An embroidered logo doesn’t enable a child to learn more or to achieve higher grades does it.

Surely our children deserve a better quality of life.

Like I said earlier I’m not against school uniforms but I am against the high cost of them.

We are living in unprecedented times, no one could have predicted the suffering caused by the pandemic.

I do know that organisations such as schools should be more understanding and they should offer cheaper uniform alternatives for pupils but they certainly aren’t rushing to do this are they.

It’s much harder to find second hand secondary school uniforms that fit than it is for primary school uniform.

Good luck to all parents and carers trying to get ready for their children ready for the return to school. Maybe one day it will become easier.

Please read, share, tweet and email my blog. It’s very important for the truth to get out there.

A huge thank you to everyone that reads my blog and everyone that supports it.

I run my blog and campaign on a very low budget. For anyone wanting to donate there’s a donate button at the top and side of this blog.

Ashton Under lyne, baby, Boris Johnson, Brighthouse, confidence, Cookery, coronavirus, covid 19, Damien Green, Decision maker, DLA, DPAC, Elderly, ESA, eugenics, Family, feminism, Food, Food bank, Free, frugal, fuel poverty, G4S, government, Green Party, Housing, hunger, Jeremy Corbyn, Jobcentre, Ken Loach, loose women, love island, Mandatory reconsideration, Money saving tips, New Charter Housing, Northern resisters, Payday loan, PIP, poverty, prepaid energy, prepaid energy metres, sanctions, Steven Crabb, suicide, targets, Tax credits, television, Teresa May, The Big Issue, The Labour Party, The Poor Side Of Life, Theresa May, trade union movement, Uncategorized, Universal credit, womens rights, Workfare, Workprogramme, young people

Too soon to re open schools? I have concerns.

It’s Thursday yet again, it appears to creep up on me far too quickly. I really hope that you are OK, well and safe.

This week has been a mixed bag for me, some good days mixed with some awful ones. I bet that you can relate to this.

Being poor and recovering from Covid 19 is no joke. Suffering from long covid is no joke either, especially when the highlight of the day is beans on toast when you can muster up the strength to make it.

We struggle on though. There are some fantastic Long Covid groups on Facebook and we support each other. It’s a good job that we do because not many other organisations do.

I am worried about a second wave coming in September when we have been told that we have to send our children back to school.

So many people still believe that children can’t catch Covid 19. They can and they do. Many unknowingly will be symptom free and will be at risk of passing the virus onto their loved ones.

Are our children going to be used as some type of sick experiment by the government?

My daughter attends a secondary school, her school has decided to keep lesson time to the very basics therfore her hours at school will now be from 10 until 2.40pm.

This won’t stop the spread of covid 19 though. Her school is a new school but they don’t turn the air conditioning on and many of the teachers don’t open the windows either.

Children will be stuck in this hot, sweaty environment at a very close proximity to their friends.

The school hasn’t suggested that children should wear a mask, but I’d challenge anyone to get all of the pupils to wear a mask all day. It’d be a challenge to say the least.

I am very concerned though. I don’t think that the government has thought this through, just like they didn’t put enough thought into pubs reopening.

As we’ve seen in the news lots of people have contracted Covid 19 from a visit to a pub. I’ve no doubt that it’ll be the same when our schools reopen.

I, like most parents want the best for my daughter. I want her to be able to have all of her lessons, to he educated and to do well in life.

Sadly, it looks like she doesn’t stand a chance of that the way that things are planned at the moment.

Educating children online isn’t the answer either. Thousands of families don’t have the Internet or don’t have a device to watch the online lessons on.

So what’s the solution then?

I do think that having a dedicated television channel for lessons would be beneficial. Children can often learn more visualy and some good results could come from this.

We could also learn alot from the parents of home educated children. They’ve been doing it for years, and so many home educated children go to college and university.

They rock this!

But I’m aware that I’m missing one important point.

I’m sure that my daughters school isn’t the only one that will be reducing their teaching hours and lessons.

What will the parents of these children do when they have to go to work? You can’t just leave children to their own devices, to rely on them to go to school without prompting.

I know for a fact that I wouldn’t have gone into school if my parents weren’t there to make sure that I did.

This puts parents in a very difficult situation. Childcare is expensive and not everyone has family members that they can ask to help.

People are desperately trying to hold onto their jobs if they’re lucky enough to still be employed. They can’t rely upon their employers to be sympathetic either.

What I do know is that if their children are absent from school, their school will soon be chasing them up and threatening them with legal action.

This isn’t at all fair though. Those making these decisions have absolutely no idea about what life is really like.

Then we have school uniforms to buy.

School uniforms are very expensive,

I know that I can’t afford to buy my daughter a new uniform this year. Thousands of parents will be in the same position as me.

My daughter has sensory issues so buying her school uniform is difficult at best.

To say that it’s humiliating and depressing to not being able to provide necessities for our children is an understatement.

Hopefully my daughter will never experience this when she has children.

When you’re left with no choice but to have beans on toast once a day how on earth can they demand that you buy a school uniform as well?

In my area there are no school uniform grants available which is shocking.

My daughters school, and most secondary schools send home pupils that aren’t wearing the correct uniform.

Once again discriminating against children living in poverty.

We will try but it’s not going to be easy.

So whilst it’s easy to congratulate the fact that schools are re opening on September, please consider the above.

I don’t want my daughter to catch Covid 19, I don’t want her friends to either. I also don’t want to catch it again.

I want my daughter to have a good education, but the very idea of that is seemingly impossible at the moment.

Will the government give out children time to catch up with what they’ve missed? I doubt it. Working class children aren’t high on their priority list, if at all.

Will the government give parents free access to online and in print learning materials?

Will the government push to dedicate a TV channel in the daytime for the visual education of children?

I doubt this very much.

Once again it’s left to us, as parents and carers to do the best that we can under very tough circumstances.

I do think that schools are re opening too early.

It’s easier to distance primary school age children from each other than it is a group of teenagers.

This is also going to be very tough and challenging for teachers.

Teachers in America have been advised to make a will just incase they catch covid 19 and die.

I’m certain that many teachers here in the uk will be doing the same thing.

I can’t imagine what could be worse than stuck in a hot, sweaty classroom with children for hours knowing that viruses, germs and bacteria thrive in environments like this.

How many teachers and children will become ill or worse because of the government’s decision to re open schools?

Will the government make the decision to shut the schools again if mortality rates from Covid 19 increase?

I doubt it, once that open they’ll be expected to stay open.

We have a government incapable of putting any positive plans into action. They blatently show their hatred of the working classes by the actions that they’ve taken and not taken.

The government has blood on its hands for more than one reason. They’re up to their necks in it.

It’s up to us to keep reminding them that we are important, that our life’s do matter and our children are valuable.

Don’t get me started on this idea. Covid 19 tests are very unreliable and weekly tests are just not doable. No doubt they’ll expect already hugely burdoned teachers to do this as well.

Please read, share, tweet and email my blog. I really do appreciate everyone that does this for me.

I don’t get paid for anything that I do and it is a struggle. For anyone wanting to donate there is a donate button at the side and top of this blog.

Thank you so much to everyone that does support my work and campaign. I really can’t thank you enough xx.

Ashton Under lyne, baby, Boris Johnson, Brighthouse, confidence, Cookery, coronavirus, covid 19, Damien Green, Decision maker, DLA, DPAC, Elderly, ESA, eugenics, Family, feminism, Food, Food bank, Free, frugal, fuel poverty, G4S, government, Green Party, Housing, hunger, Jeremy Corbyn, Jobcentre, Ken Loach, loose women, love island, Mandatory reconsideration, Money saving tips, New Charter Housing, Northern resisters, Payday loan, PIP, poverty, prepaid energy, prepaid energy metres, sanctions, Steven Crabb, suicide, targets, Tax credits, television, Teresa May, The Big Issue, The Labour Party, The Poor Side Of Life, Theresa May, trade union movement, Uncategorized, Universal credit, womens rights, Workfare, Workprogramme, young people

Eat Out To Help Out. Another way to discriminate against the poor and disabled.

Dear readers I’m so sorry that this blog is so late. I’m still battling the Covid 19 fatigue and this combined with the ongoing kitchen refit and insomnia has been a recipe for disaster.

My social housing provider should have started work on this in March but because of Covid 19 it was delayed.

Thankfully I’m no longer infectious and the work could continue. It’s been no fun living out of one room and having strangers in my house, but it’s finished now and I’m very grateful for it.

I’m also very grateful that I have a home when so many people don’t have one. I’ve come very close to loosing this one a few times and I’ve been homeless before.

I know exactly how you are feeling because I’ve been there.

I had a few disasters this week though, my cooker broke and was unfixable. It was around 30yrs old and I loved that cooker. No frills, it did what it set off to do and I love simplicity, it makes life much easier.

Secondly as a result of the covid 19 virus my hair has started to fall out, not loads but it’s happening. Thanks for that.

Insomnia has also hit me hard this week, and yesterday I was so exhausted that I couldn’t do much.

Anyway, enough about me. I hope that you are OK and as well and safe as you can be.

The Covid 19 virus continues to spread leaving many victims strewn behind it.

It’s a misconception that it’s only elderly people that become seriously ill and die, lots of fairly fit young people do also.

The elderly have been treated terribly though, left in nursing homes to die like their life’s don’t matter at all.

In my eyes out elders are very important, they paved the way for us to live like we do, albeit most of this has been taken away by the Tory government.

I was taught to respect and care for my elders but it appears the Tories have no regard for them.

Their cruelty appears to be never ending and whilst they’re away on holidays or spending time in their second homes, more people will continue to die and suffer.

There’s nothing more insulting than for these people to attempt to try and advise us on how to live and what to do when they come from a place of great privilege.

Talking about privilege here’s another example.

Recently the government unveiled its latest plan to benefit society and small business owners. They titled it Eat Out To Help Out, they even gave it its own hashtag.

Whilst on the surface it looks like a good idea, it’s still out of reach to so many of us. The idea is that it gives people £10 to spend at specific eateries throughout the UK.

Some businesses such as coffee shops are giving a 50% discount on some orders. This is good, however you have to have the other 50% to pay for it though.

To put it bluntly, so many of us don’t have the money to contribute towards this and we are excluded from benefiting from this by default.

I do have questions though.

Why didn’t they extend this further? Why, knowing that the majority of people living in the UK are living in poverty wasn’t it extended to them?

Why weren’t fruit and veg shops and retailers included in this? Why weren’t local shops that serve their communities by providing the means to cook their own food?

Why aren’t these small businesses included? They’ve suffered as well, but like us they’ve been swept to the side like yesterdays newspaper.

It all comes down to the government’s priorities, their priority being to keep their friends in business happy, keep the wheels of commerce going at whatever the cost to many.

The whole winding down of the social distancing rules was rushed, not because they put the safety of the public first. Public safety wasn’t even thought about.

My guess is that the government was leaned upon by their business pals and party donars. Big money won the day, sod the public.

I’m certainly not saying don’t support your local small businesses, if you can afford to you should, however you need to remember that so many people are excluded from this scheme and the very basics of what constituents a decent and happy life.

The government also unveiled their latest obesity discrimination campaign, whilst their party leader and prime minister is indeed himself overweight.

We already know that being overweight puts you at risk of contracting Covid 19, but they didn’t look into the reasons as to why so many of us are overweight.

A lot of it comes down to the lack of access to decent food and the ability to cook it.

Cooking food costs money and if you are living in a hotel room or one room with your family in homeless accommodation, you arent allowed to cook in your room.

This has been happening for years now, I’ve advised people how to cook kettle food whilst they are stuck in this position.

Kettle food has hardly any nutritious value though, it’s mostly starchy, gluteny and devoid of any vitamins. This food settles in your body for a long time.

Then we have people like myself who are dependent upon food parcels. Mostly you get tinned food which isn’t very good for you.

I know that some tinned food isn’t that bad for you, but its still very hard to cook a nutritious meal out of it. It even harder when you don’t have any cooking equipment to help you.

Then we have medication, the lack of ability to exercise in any way possible. Combined with food parcel food etc, it’s a disaster nutritionally.

How on earth can the government expect people with life changing disabilities to suddenly loose weight is beyond me. Staying alive and having a productive enjoyable life is a priority for them.

For years the government has abused disabled people in the worst way possible. They’ve taken their means of support away, their carers, their very means of support away.

Meanwhile the Tory government will continue to persecute them whilst they’re enjoying themselves in their second homes.

I don’t choose to live like I do, people don’t choose to live in poverty but the government does choose to persecute the most vulnerable on a daily basis. The government are the cause of our poverty.

So what do we do now? We try to survive in the way that’s best for us.

We need to continue to campaign against their disgusting ideals and attitudes.

Remember there’s more of us than there is of them.

Keep strong, support each other and continue to challenge the narrative.

Please keep safe and practice social distancing if you can.

I want to thank all my friends, followers and readers for all of the support that you have given me throughout my own Covid 19 battle.

I really couldn’t have got through this without you all. I’m so thankful and grateful for you all.

Lots of love and solidarity with all of you.

Please read, share, tweet and email my blog. Poverty and DWP cruelty hasn’t gone away, it’s become a whole lot worse.

For anyone wanting to donate I’ve got a donate button at the top and bottom of this blog.

Ashton Under lyne, baby, Boris Johnson, Brighthouse, confidence, Cookery, coronavirus, covid 19, Decision maker, DLA, DPAC, Elderly, ESA, eugenics, Family, feminism, Food, Food bank, Free, frugal, fuel poverty, G4S, government, Green Party, Housing, hunger, Jeremy Corbyn, Jobcentre, Ken Loach, loose women, love island, Mandatory reconsideration, Money saving tips, New Charter Housing, Northern resisters, Payday loan, PIP, poverty, prepaid energy, prepaid energy metres, sanctions, Steven Crabb, suicide, targets, Tax credits, television, Teresa May, The Big Issue, The Labour Party, The Poor Side Of Life, Theresa May, trade union movement, Uncategorized, Universal credit, womens rights, Workfare, Workprogramme, young people

Covid 19 the unwanted gift that keeps giving.

Dear readers it’s been a tough old week for me and my Covid 19 battle.
Sadly I rebounded again and I’m now completing my fifth round of antibiotics.

Tough yes but however I do know and I appreciate that I have it much better than many have had it. I’m alive and I’m very grateful for that.

So yesterday I ended up back at the hospital with yet another reoccurrence of the pains that I’ve been getting.

I wanted answers, I wanted to know why I keep feeling like this. I hate the unknown which doesn’t fit well with Covid 19.

I had my bloods taken, x rays and scans done and I waited for the results.

Eventually I saw a lovely doctor who totally got it, he understood exactly what I’ve been going through.
He explained that my bloods are OK but from the scans he could see scarring on my lungs.

I then asked him about the pains and my sometimes galloping heart rate.


The answer was this. Because of the pneumonia and pleurisy my lungs have taken a battering and the pains are as a result of the remnants of the above and the scarring.

I asked him about my heart rate and he said that my heart appeared to be ok after being on a heart monitor. He said that lots of people who have had covid 19 get this and so far they don’t know why.
He’s referred me to a respiratory specialist and another specialist regarding my heart rate and for more tests.

Covid 19 damages your body in so many ways and because its an unknown virus it’s hard to get answers about anything.
Research is being done though and maybe we will get some answers soon.


I got some very good advice from the doctor and my friends. I need to stop trying to to too much, I will heal but it takes quite a long time to get back to somewhat normality.

This doesn’t mean that I’m going to give up campaigning though, infact it means the opposite.

We need to continue to campaign more than we have done before.
Our rights are being eroded away at a fast rate and so many things are being missed because of the Covid 19 pandemic.

Every day I publish the official Covid death rates, you know the deaths that the government wants us to forget about. They want the public to forget about Covid 19. It’s up to us to continue to publicise them.

Covid 19 is still having a massive impact both national and locally.

Whilst I was at the hospital yesterday I saw three very ill people being admitted to the hospital because of Covid 19. I know this because covid patients are being directed to another specialised department.
Their stories are the stories that the public don’t get to hear. The man that collapsed at home because of covid, the woman found in her bed seriously ill, the man that walked into the department and nearly collapsed when he got there.

Remember that their and our life’s don’t matter to the government and to some local authorities. Out of sight and out of mind.

Please keep in mind that telephone medical assessments are taking place once again.
If you have to have one of these examinations treat it as if you were at their medical centre.
Have a list of all of your medications and illnesses or disabilities. Try and have someone with you and ask them to take notes also.

I’m going to continue to plod on as I say, trying my best to give my daughter a good childhood despite having a very deminished income.
I can honestly say that I’ve never felt so bad about being a bad mother because I can’t give my daughter what her friends have.
Every day I feel this guilt like many parents do. Tough some say, that’s life. Except that it shouldn’t be like this.

The kindness and support of my friends has kept me going as have OUR NHS.
I’m determined to be back out there ASAP but I’m still helping people the best way they I can from home.

I want to thank each and every one of you for the support and friendship that you have given me. When I say that it means a lot to me I really mean it.

Stay safe everyone, wear a mask and wash your hands. Self isolate if your vulnerable and do whatever is right for you to continue.


Please read, share, tweet and email my blog. Thank you so much to everyone that already does this.

For anyone who would like to donate there’s a donate button at the top and side of this blog. Thank you x