Tag: foodbanks

Ashton Under lyne, baby, Black Isle Media, Boris Johnson, Brighthouse, confidence, Cookery, coronavirus, covid 19, Decision maker, DLA, domestic violence, 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, Television Licence, Television Licence fines, Teresa May, The Big Issue, The Labour Party, The Poor Side Of Life, Theresa May, Uncategorized

Price Of Basic Food Products Rises by 340%

Whilst we are all aware that food prices have increased dramatically over the past few years, how much is a question that I’ve been trying to answer myself. Most people that I help, including myself are struggling to feed ourselves and families. Going without three meals a day is a reality for so many. Buying enough food to make a complete, decent nutritious meal is near impossible.

To be honest I’m pretty useless at maths so you can imagine how engrossed `I was when I saw Jack Monroes tweets concerning this. Jack has been campaigning about food poverty for years, they’re not someone that’s jumped upon the bandwagon, not knowing what it’s like to go without food. Jack has experienced it also and even though their situation has improved Jack continues to help and inspire others.

Below are some tweets posted by Jack yesterday. Jack has been collecting food cost data for years now and the reality of exactly how much the price of food has increased is shocking.

In these tweets Jack reveals the true extent of food price increases and it’s not easy reading.

Supermarket pasta price increases from 29p to 79p. Rice increases from 45p to £1.
Huge price increases for basic supermarket food products.

As you can see this is exactly why buying food has become so damn hard for so many. The price of living has increased dramatically however wages for many haven’t increased nor has social security (benefit) payments. For example the £20 top up payments has been taken away from people receiving Universal Credit. No financial help was offered to disabled people leaving them in a worse position than most.

Whilst we haven’t seen a price increase for luxury meal deals and suchlike, the cost of the very basic food products that literally keep people alive have increased dramatically. This is a true example of class division and hierarchy.

Meanwhile the government and their spokespeople continue to say that food prices have increased by 5% the reality is much different.

The knock off affects of these price rises will once again hit the poorest the hardest. Donations to foodbanks will decrease because the people donating food will no longer be able to afford to do so. The ramifications for both families and people are huge. The government is literally pricing people out of being able to buy food. This needs to be addressed urgently but I very much doubt that it will be.

A huge thank you to Jack Monroe for their hard work campaigning and for supplying this data. Also thanks for giving me permission to share it.

If your’e interested in getting involves with campaigning or need support I can’t recommend DPAC (Disabled People Against Cuts0 enough. It’s a fantastic network run by real people experiencing the same difficulties that you might be experiencing.

You can find them both on Facebook and Twitter. If you live in the Greater Manchester area you can join Manchester DPAC here at https:\\manchesterdpac.com

How am I? I’m really struggling at the moment. This week I had to buy some electric and gas leaving me with no money to buy food. I do know that so many of you are also in the same position as I’m in. I hate being forced to live like this.

If you like my work and campaign and can afford to theres a donate button at the top and side of this blog post. Every penny makes a huge difference for both.

A made thank you to everyone that has supported and does support both my blog and campaign. I really could’t do this without you.

Ashton Under lyne, baby, Black Isle Media, Boris Johnson, Brighthouse, confidence, Cookery, coronavirus, covid 19, Damien Green, Decision maker, DLA, domestic violence, domestic violence,, DPAC, Elderly, ESA, eugenics, Family, feminism, Food, Food bank, Free, frugal, fuel poverty, G4S, government, Green Party, Housing, hunger, Ian Brady, International Women's Day, 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, Television Licence, Television Licence fines, 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

Starmers keynote speech.. Empty words for the average working person and disabled people.

As many others did I watched Sir Kier Starmers conference speech in anticipation… Maybe he’ll recognise the plight of unemployed, disabled and ill people. Sadly I was disappointed, his whole speech revolved around the word ‘work’ and how good it is to work.

Heres a word count of the words that he used in his speech yesterday. He mentioned the the word ‘work’ a massive 69 times, ‘care’26 times, equality 3 times, ‘security’ 6 times ‘dad 11 times, mum 17 times and ‘tool’ 6 times.

From this we can be safe to say that the main focus for him was work and how good it supposedly is for you. Sounds familiar doesn’t it. It’s much like the speeches that we heard from the conservatives that resulted in the suffering and deaths of thousands.

It’s not as simple as that though, work isn’t some kind of liberating utopia that frees both mind and body leaving you with a sense of self achievement. I do accept that certain careers such as nursing, caring and healthcare work can give people a massive feeling of achievement there are stresses that come with them.

Low pay, high rents, high childcare costs and other costs that come along with our culture of low paid, undervalued work end up taking any sense of self achievement away.

Myself like Starmer can look back upon our parents hard work but it’s much like a tale of two cities. My father worked hard for little or no thanks and without basic safety equipment. He was forced to work night shifts which prevented him from spending much time with his children and when he did he was grumpy because he was tired.

My mother had several jobs, none of them gave her any sense of achievement and all of them were very low paid. As a child it was awful seeing them become so stressed by their situation.

I was and still are proud of them, but their situations made me want to fight for more than they had. I can’t look back and say that it was inspirational because it wasn’t.

Coming back to the present day…. Most people in low paid jobs have to claim an extra benefit such as Universal Credit or Working Tax Credit to be able to feed themselves and their families. Their wages being so low that they can’t survive on them alone.

It was very disappointing to hear that Starmer is apparently refusing to support a £15 a hour minimum wage increase for workers despite him agreeing with this previously. At the same time Starmer knows that we live in a low wage economy that inevitably leads to poverty. Luckily Labour Party members voted in favour of it even though its not binding.

In summary work does not fulfil the average person and nor will it until working conditions, low pay extortionate childcare costs and high rents are dealt with. Instead it causes stress, poverty and everything that comes along with this.Homelessness is increasing amongst working people as well as the unemployed.

People try their best to better their situations but the current system prevents them from doing so. A £15 a hour pay rise would help this but the whole system needs to change before it can benefit most people to a noticeable degree.

Feel good speeches are good on the day, words are said that some wanted to hear but when you leave out the basic needs of people, ignoring disabled people and those on legacy benefits. They aren’t going to see anything that would change the lives of those that need the changes the most.

It’s greatly important that everyones voices are heard not just working people. It’s insulting to those that are unable to work and it leaves them politically homeless with no where to turn for help.

Deeds not words are needed and the inclusion of everyone despite disability, illness and age. It’s needed more than it ever was before and Starmer must act to address as soon as he possibly can.

Photo by freestocks.org on Pexels.com

Please read, share and support my blog if you can. I don’t receive any payment for any of the work that I do and every share makes a massive difference.

Unfortunately my daughters ill with Covid 19 at the moment and times are very hard at the moment and I’m still recovering from pneumonia. Every share really helps to get the truth out there.

Thank you to everyone that does share and supports my blog and campaign. I really couldn’t do this without you.

Ashton Under lyne, baby, Black Isle Media, Boris Johnson, Brighthouse, confidence, Cookery, coronavirus, covid 19, Damien Green, Decision maker, DLA, domestic violence, domestic violence,, DPAC, Elderly, ESA, eugenics, Family, feminism, Food, Food bank, Free, frugal, fuel poverty, G4S, government, Green Party, Housing, hunger, Ian Brady, 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, Television Licence, Television Licence fines, 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

£20 Universal Credit uplift to be taken away British Gas prices dramatically rise.

It’s often been said that being poor is an expensive way to live and this weeks British Gas price hikes prove this. Keeping your home warm is always a challenge when you’ve got a low income, indeed many are forced to rely upon pay as you go meters to provide their energy.

Keeping a home warm enough to live in is a basic human right and it shouldn’t be regarded as a luxury but sadly this is soon to be the case for even more people that could barely afford to keep warm already.

On the 1st October British Gas are increasing their prices dramatically.. Heres one example of how much more its going to cost

To put it bluntly no matter how much we scrimp, how much food we won’t be able to buy anymore this will be too high a cost to meet by many of us myself included,. At the same time the government are refusing to permanently increase the £20 uplift payments and nor have they got any intention of extending it to people claiming legacy payments, many of them already vulnerable and living in poverty.

To say I’m furious is an understatement. As I type this smaller energy companies are being forced to close because they too can’t afford the British Gas price increases. It’s obscene. Meanwhile the Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng has announced that the government will not be bailing out energy companies. The very same energy companies that people on lower incomes rely on.

It’s no surprise to hear this though but its still awful to hear.

This winter is going to be horrific for many of us as the means to keep warm are being taken away from thousands of people with no opposition from within the government.

I was a child during Thatchers awful government, I had holes in my shoes, often lived in a cold home and had no luxuries at all. It’s shocking to see how much worse the present governments rule is. Thousands of people have died as a result of the decisions they make towards the poorest and most vulnerable.

How many will survive this winter? I really dread to think.

Photo by Anthony on Pexels.com

How am I?

Still recovering but feeling a lot better. Still coughing but I’ve been told that it might take a while to go, but I’m alive and very grateful for this. Not exactly living but existing like so many other people.

I’m very concerned that I’m going to catch Covid 19 again because its running riot in my daughters school now their mask wearing policies and hand sanitising policies have changed. Children are being constantly sent home from school because they’ve got symptoms and it won’t be long until the whole school is shut as a result. I will write a further blog post about this.

I’m still struggling, a short walk is flooring me but the good news so far is that I’m managing to keep my sats at 94%. Not brilliant but much better than it was.

I shall also keep you informed about this.

Please take care, keep safe and please wear a mask and sanitise your hands. It’s important to stay healthy even when the government doesn’t give a shit.

Please read, share and tweet my blog posts. It’s important to get the truth out there and to as many people as possible.

I don’t receive any funding for any of the work that I do and to say its a struggle is an understatement. Every penny makes a massive difference. For anyone that would like to donate theres a donate button at the top and side of this blog post.

A huge thank you to everyone that has and does support my campaign and blog. I really couldn’t do this without you. Thank you xxx.

Ashton Under lyne, baby, Black Isle Media, 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, Ian Brady, International Women's Day, 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, Television Licence, Television Licence fines, 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

Let the bodies pile high says Johnson

Yesterday was quite a busy day for Dominic Cummings the former chief aide whilst he gave evidence in a seven hour hearing regarding the governments handling of the Covid 19 pandemic.

Cummings particulally took aim at Boris Johnson and Matt Hancock, depicting the chaos and failing of the government’s handling of the Covid 19 crisis, saying that the failure, incompetence at the top of government stating that Covid 19 had killed thousands that didn’t need to die.

Whilst many people had already realised that Prime Minister Johnson anti lockdown, ignored scientists advice and failed to introduce lockdowns in adequate time. This is the same prime minister that openly said that he didn’t care about people dying, saying ‘Let the bodies pile high’.

For myself and others it comes as no shock. Johnson and his ilk have no sympathy or care for working class people, even less sympathy is given to disabled and elderly people, you can see this in their policies and their attitude.

What people need to realise is that Johnson and co come from and live in a totally different world than most people. They come from a place of great privilege and they like to flaunt this whenever possible.

Their handling of the pandemic is a good example of this. for example whilst thousands of people were dying, Carrie Symonds, Johnsons girlfriend was shown to be more concerned about her dog than the pandemic and the death toll. Symonds also saw this as a perfect opportunity to try and find her friends jobs within the government.

Johnson knew exactly what he was doing though, he was warned by officials that a lockdown was needed but failed to act, taking him a further ten days to agree to a lockdown.

There was no plan for the government to use in the event of a pandemic, despite many in government believing that there was. This has undoubtedly has resulted in thousands of deaths. Ironically a plan had been created by the Labour Party which would have undoubtably helped thousands of people and would have prevented thousands of deaths.

Johnson also described Covid 19 as ‘the swine flu’ and stated that he was going to get Chris Whitty to inject him with Covid 19 live on television to prove that its nothing to be scared of.

Mark Sedwill the then Cabinet Secretary suggested that people should have Covid 19 parties like chicken pox parties, believing that herd immunity would then be reached by September. Meanwhile the government were drawing on a whiteboard asking who they can’t save with no regard for their safety nor regard for them at all.

Its very clear that the government doesn’t care and never will care. We only have to look at the way that the government treats disabled and working class people. Their policies have resulted in the deaths thousands before the pandemic and not one care has been given about this either.

It is completely normal for the government to treat people like this, we mean nothing to them. If they can’t make any use of us financially through exploitation such as their Workfare schemes, they punish people by making it extremely hard to claim benefits such as Universal Credit, ESA and PIP.

Such cruelty will continue for as long as they’re able to do so, with no effective opposition at the moment I can see such cruelty continuing for a long time to come.

Please read, share, tweet and email my blog. Every share helps to get the truth out there.

I would like to thank you all for your patience, especially after my son’s death. I’m trying to get back to normal, whatever my new normal is now.

I’m aiming to get at least one blog post published every week, hopefully improving the quality of them along the way.

I also receive no funding for my blog or my campaign. Every penny counts and it will help a great deal.

A huge thank you to everyone that shares and supports my blog and campaign. It means the world to me and has kept me going during such dark times.

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, 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, 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.

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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

Covid 19 Cummings and Track And Trace. What does this mean to us?

Dear readers it’s Thursday again and here’s this week’s blog instalment.

Two days ago I managed to go downstairs for the first time in ages and spent a few hours with my daughter. It absolutely exhausted me but I did it.
I just want my life back I’ve got so much that needs to be done and I can’t do it.

Post Covid 19 fatigue is awful it completely takes over your body but I believe that it does go eventually.
So many people are suffering from this fatigue and I doubt that they’ll be fit to return to work when the government demands it.

So many people think that you get better straight away after having covid 19 related symptoms. Hardly anyone does though.

Developing bacterial pneumonia was very scary for me and my daughter.
I couldn’t breathe, every small move hurt and made me out of breath.
Apparently lots of people develop this after having COVID19 and thousands have died.


Meanwhile Cummings is allowed to spread the virus And have absolutely no repercussions for himself.

The repercussions of his actions however will continue for a long time though.
People will have caught Covid 19 off him. All it takes is for him to touch something, to walk down a street etc.. 
Some people will now copy his behaviour thinking that it’s ok for them to do the same.

So yes I’m very angry at him and his lame excuses and I’m even angrier at the people defending him.
They know that he shouldn’t have done this but they carry on supporting him because they don’t care if we die.
We are all surplus to requirements, expendable.
They don’t grieve if we die. They just don’t care.


There will be a  second wave coming because this country and especially our prime minister haven’t done anything really to  protect  us against this virus.
Meanwhile  the government wants to ease the Covid 19 restrictions whilst once again doing nothing to protect us.

I see their #HerdImmunity plans are continuing to me its pretty obvious.

Yesterday the government announced their track and trace solution. It sounds brilliant doesn’t it but dig below the surface and you’ll see that it isn’t.
The system hasn’t been completed yet, it’s not fit to launch, theres no reassurance that our data will be safe.

It’s also worrying that the government is only pushing three or so so called symptoms of covid 19.

The symptoms  vary, not everyone has a cough, not everyone loose their sense of smell or taste.
Regardless of this almost everyone that catches it cannot recover quickly.


Unless you are extremely unwell a hospital wont admit you. You have to go home and manage it yourself.


You can only test positive for covid 19 within around 5 days of contracting it. This ensures that the amount of positive test results are massively underrated.
Lots of us caught it before the government was testing everyone.

The tests are also unreliable. Don’t think that you’ve tested negative that your safe from contracting the virus your not.

You can catch it from any public area straight after having a negative test result.
So even with the so called track and trace system people will still be spreading it unknowingly.
The only way to stop this virus is to have a proper lockdown.

I’ve read  countless posts online  saying that if you eat healthily  you’ll recover quicker.

You can’t go out to shop whilst infected or recovering. You become reliant upon online shops and food parcels.

Your income is vastly reduced also so buying the basics and making do is a priority. 

Being  physically able to cook a big meal is another problem.
The fatigue is unreal and your muscles ache all the time. But we do our best with what we’ve got.

It’s all we can do. It’s bloody scary yet so many aren’t taking it seriously at all. 

This is most likely because of the government’s complete lack of direction about anything.

Their priority is to get people back into work regardless of the risks. They worship at the feet of money amd commerce, the publics safety means nothing to them.

The government also wants schools to go back yet it still isn’t safe.
The government doesn’t want to listen about safety. They’re willing to sacrifice our teachers and our children in the process.

So what do we do now?
We still need to follow the social distancing rules despite what the government says.

Covid 19 is life changing and not in a good way.

Please keep safe folks I worry about you all. I’m going to continue to fight against this virus and hopefully get better soon.

Love to you all xxx.

Please like, share, tweet and email my blog. People really need to know exactly what it’s like for us.


I run this blog and my campaign on next to nothing. There’s a donate link at the top and side of my blog. Every penny helps. Thank you.

A huge thank you to everyone that supports my blog and campaign.
Thank you all so much xxx

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

Government eases covid 19 lockdown conditions whilst mortality levels are rising. Complete madness

Dear readers I hope that you are well as you can be and I hope that you’re safe.

I thought that I was getting better but now I’ve developed a chest infection probably as a result of having covid 19 symptoms. I’m sick of struggling through this but I’m also angry, well very angry to be honest.

Why am I angry you might ask. I’m angry because the government is easing the lockdown conditions whilst giving not one ounce of clarity whilst doing so.

I’m also angry because he’s doing this whilst the mortality rates of covid 19 related deaths are rising. Indeed they’ll increase again and most likely will cause a second wave of this awful disease.

Thousands of people could die, many of them will be known to us, our friends and families.

We have a prime minister who appears to be unable to do his job properly, even turning up for work is a massive effort for him and I’m sure that he’s resentful for actually having to work.

When the Prime minister does turn up for work and attempts to give a speech he makes a complete mess of it and no one really knows what to do.

His guidance is abismal, even fellow politicians are left puzzled yet some people have had to return to work with little or no protection from catching covid 19.

The government issued a statement saying that public transport should be monitored to ensure that people adhere to the quarantine conditions. This isn’t happening though and the government doesn’t care.

The government also said that people shouldn’t use public transport but they failed to realise that many low paid workers don’t have cars because they can’t afford the upkeep.

But still the mortality rates are rising and the government doesn’t care.

Covid 19 is deadly, if you are lucky enough to survive from having it you are almost always left with the side effects that last for ages.

I can attest to this myself. I had all the symptoms of covid 19 at home. I self isolated, I thought that I was recovering well.

But I thought wrong. I had accepted that the breathlessness and tiredness would stay with me for a long while but what I didn’t count on was developing a chest infection. So I’m now once again unwell.

But I’m lucky, many people have had far worse side effects of contracting covid 19.

Pneumonia, heart problems, eye problems all sorts of health issues can develop as a result of developing covid 19.

It’s no joke but the government is guilty of not taking it seriously enough. They don’t appear to care as long as they’re OK.

Boris Johnson denied that he was pushing forward with his herd immunity plans, but here we have a prime minister easing lockdown conditions whilst the mortality rates are still rising. Any concerned prime minister certainly wouldn’t be doing this.

You see in his mind commerce comes first before the well being of the people of the UK. They regard working class people with enormous disdain and if we die it doesn’t really matter to them. The less of us the better.

Herd immunity is a very attractive option to them meanwhile in New Zealand they’ve done the exact opposite. Their prime minister actually cares about the people of New Zealand and I wish we had the same over here.

So what do we do now?

Well the best advice that I can give is to continue self isolating, if you have to go out wear a mask and use hand sanitizer etc. You can never be too careful.

Check in with friends and family, keep to the social distancing rules and keep safe.

As for me I’m much the same as I was last week. I’m taking each day as it comes but now with a chest infection I feel awful.

I’m hoping that soon I’ll be back to normal because I hate complaining about myself on here and I apologise for doing so.

I’ve been doing what I can at home but with limited health and funds I’m stuck waiting to get better.

Please keep safe everyone, I’m thinking of you all. We can get through this together supporting each other.

Please read, share, tweet and email my blog.

I run this blog and the campaign on a very low income. There’s a donate button for anyone who would like to donate at the side and top of this blog post.

A massive thank you to everyone who reads, shares and supports this blog. I can’t thank you enough for this. It means the world to me. 1