Tag: homelesness

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

Merry Christmas one and all.

Dear readers I write this blog on Christmas Day, a day when people are expected to celebrate and be happy.

Sadly because of the government’s cruel Universal Credit system and the torturous PIP and ESA DWP ‘medical’ assessments thousands of people won’t be able to celebrate, cook a Christmas dinner and exchange gifts.

This year is tougher than normal because we are still in the middle of a pandemic that the government is trying it’s best to ignore.

Today the UK’s official Covid death toll has surpassed 70,000 on as 570 more people died today.

Let that sink in 570 people have died from Covid 19 on Christmas day. Also a total of 70,000 people have died as a result of Covid 19.

Meanwhile the government continues to ignore this, they just don’t want to know and they certainly don’t want to help.

70,000 families will be grieving as will their friends. But hey let’s ignore them and continue to put the public at risk.

Wouldn’t it be fantastic if the government actually tool some positive action, set an example to the rest of the world and protected people. This won’t happen though.

It appears that the government is in some sick competition with America about how many people will die from Covid 19.

Then we have the thousands of people now unemployed as a result of the pandemic. Now facing the inhumane universal Credit system, many can’t understand how they’re expected to survive on so little money.

Thousands of people won’t be able to give anyone presents this year, heat their home and have a Christmas dinner.

This year the queues for food banks and suchlike places have more than doubled. Families are queuing for hot meals in city centres and children and their parents are hungry because they don’t have the money to survive on.

How sickening it is that I have to use the world surviving… People shouldn’t be surviving they should be able to live, be happy and have enough money to be able to feed themselves and their children.

I want to be positive I really do but it’s extremely hard to find the good in all of this. We shouldn’t be celebrating the fact that food banks are opening and organisations and charities are working extremely hard to find food to give to hungry people.

Theres a reason why the government likes foodbanks. If given the opportunity one of their Tory MPs will see this as a photo opportunity.

Foodbanks save the government thousands of pounds every year. They also take the responsibility of feeding people away from them and moves it to the foodbanks and organisations to do this.

No wonder Tories smile so much at the thought of another foodbank opening.

Basically what I’m saying is yes please support your local foodbank but please remind the government of their duty of care towards the people of this country.

Normally we would see the government’s opposition making a speech or statement about the terrible neglect of the poorest and most vulnerable of this country. This year it’s virtually silent.

Sir Kier Starmer quite rightly made a speech about Brexit, but he failed to address the needs of the poorest and most vulnerable of this country.

As a result thousands of people are feeling neglected and unimportant and totally pissed off with the political system in general.

So what do we do now? We support each other in whatever way that we are able to.

A friendly word, a smile can sometimes be enough.

We have to be there for each other because this damned government will never never care.

A huge thank you to everyone that reads and supports my campaign and blog. Your kind words and support have kept me going throughout my own covid 19 nightmare.

Sadly I’ve got pleurisy again, thanks to long covid. Hopefully I’ll be better soon.

For anyone that would like to donate towards my campaign and blog there’s a donate button at the top and side of this blog post. Thank you!

Please read, share, tweet and email my 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

People are dying as a result of the government’s actions. Remember them.

Dear readers I need to apologize because I’m late publishing my blog this week.

There’s no real excuse for this but I’ve had a stressful week and I haven’t been sleeping well. I find it hard to write when I’m over tired.

This week I was reminded of one cold Thursday morning outside Ashton Jobcentre.

The demo started as usual, we were helping or something and handing out food parcels.

Whilst we were doing this I noticed a woman with three children walk out of the Jobcentre, walk past us and she then approached me.

I asked her if she was ok. Her story was particularly heart wrenching. She was a victim of domestic violence and she was struggling to get help from the DWP because she had to leave in a rush.

As usual the DWP failed to recognise and appreciate her situation. They suggested to her that she should have gone back to her abuser to collect her ID.

Theres no excuse for their lack of caring. There’s no way that she should have to return to her abuser.

I advised her on what to do and I put her in touch with all of the relevant agencies that could help her.

I asked her if she needed a food parcel, she said that she did and that she hadn’t ate for days. She had just managed to feed her kids with the very basics, bread and some biscuits.

I gave her a good parcel, she was so thankful because so far no one had been understanding of her situation.

She then took her kids to the steps outside the old cinema. They all sat down and started to eat some food directly out of the tins.

I’m not lying when I say that this broke my heart. How have we managed to elect a government that is extremely aggressive towards people who are struggling, disabled people and unemployed people.

Let’s move forward to 2020.

Nothing has improved, the hostile environment created by the government is even worse than ever.

People are still dying as a direct result of this uncaring governments actions.

There is no excuse for the government to behave in this manner but they do because they can.

It’s certainly not going to get any better. We are in the midst of a pandemic, more and more people are loosing their jobs as a result of the pandemic.

This week I’ve had quite a few newly unemployed people email me to ask me about how they’re supposed to manage on the meagre payments that they receive via Universal Credit.

It’s horrible that anyone is in this situation. Universal Credit doesn’t benefit anyone except the government.

To say that it’s a huge shock to newly unemployed people is an understatement. So many more people are now struggling to eat properly, pay their rent and survive.

It’s a reality check that they certainly didn’t expect. So many of these newly unemployed people had previously believed the government’s lies about how wonderful Universal Credit is.

Add into the mix the thousands of people that are ill with Covid 19 that are so scared of loosing their jobs that are forced to return to work when they’re unwell.

We’ve also got Long Covid to contend with. I doubt that the DWP will recognise this though. This is another battle that we have to now fight.

We also have thousands of people that have died and will die from Covid 19.

I’m extremely worried that their deaths are being ignored and normalised by society. This is extremely cruel and callous.

Please, let’s not forget about their deaths, most of which could have been prevented if the government had responded correctly when the virus had arrived in the UK.

It’s all wrong, none of the above would have happened if we had a caring goverment, but that’s not likely not happen in the near future.

As the Christmas period looms on the horizon, please spare a thought for all of us that can’t celebrate Christmas because of the expense. Also remember that so many people won’t be celebrating Christmas because they’ve lost a loved one due to Covid 19.

The Christmas period is such a hard time for so many of us. Let’s not forget about them.

The above statistic is horrific but true. This is exactly why the government hasn’t reacted responsibly and stopped the spread of covid 19.

Each and every death is saving them money and they don’t care what people think about this.

Let’s continue to fight for the living and dead. We cannot allow the government to treat people like this.

Please read, share and tweet my blog.

A huge thank you to everyone that supports my blog and campaign. You all mean the world to me.

For anyone that would like to donate to my campaign and blog there is a donate button at the top and side of this blog post.

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. What happens to the survivors and the families of those that have died?

Dear readers and subscribers it appears to be Thursday once again. I hope that you are all ok and as well as you can be.I’ve had a pretty busy week having a telephone consultation with my respitory consultant, blood tests and talking to my GP.

For covid survivors I’m one of the lucky ones. I have a doctor that listens to me and echoes mine and my consultants concerns. This is a rarity though.

Why is this a rarity you might ask, everyone should be treated this way. The sad reality is that they aren’t.Helping a patient with Covid 19 is extremely hard because they’re dealing with the unknown. Covid also presents itself differently with each and every person that catches it.

There isn’t any real ‘normal’ symptoms with Covid 19 because of this.For me, covid hit my lungs pretty hard, most likely because I already had mild asthma.

Covid likes to find a person’s weak point and attack there.

For other people they can get more neurological symptoms and not the classic symptoms. For them getting help is extremely hard.

Like my doctor said, so many doctors haven’t got a clue about how to deal with it unless they’ve had the time to research it themselves. I can imagine that finding the time to do this would be hard for them.

This leaves us with a massive problem though. Thousands of people with long covid symptoms are being ignored,some are being told that there’s nothing that can be done for them when that’s not true.

I was both unlucky and lucky enough to be admitted into hospital and this fast tracked me to the follow up care that I need. This is why I consider myself lucky in this respect.

But still thousands of people that are suffering with delibatating symptoms are being ignored, left on their own with no support at all.

Every covid survivor deserves to be listened to and to have their symptoms investigated. It’s vital that this happens. The fact that it isn’t happening is a complete travesty.

Then we have the families of loved ones that have died from Covid 19.They’re not being listened to at all.

The government is so far refusing to meet with them to discuss their needs and concerns.

Why the government refuse to meet them is unknown as of yet, but I do believe that they’re avoiding any contact with the public but my be is that they don’t want anyone challenging their extremely bad decisions

.Also add into the mix the farcical second lockdown. This lockdown won’t be successful because schools are still open etc. Unbelievable isn’t it.

We’ve also as a result of this got the real possibility of a lockdown over the Christmas period. To be honest I don’t mind this because we need to get this virus under control but so many people will suffer as a result of this possible decision.

Basically the government has done what it does best… Mess everything up, ignore the public and walk away.

This leaves the public to do the best that they can with very few resources if any.We are facing very bleak times and are going to do this with little or no Government help and it’s extremely worrying.

We have thousands of people that will be facing destitution in the coming months and they need help and representation.

We then have the terrible decision to remove Jeremy Corbyn from his position. They then allowed him to return but without the whip.

This is exactly what we don’t need at the moment. Jeremy deserves to be given the whip etc back.

The labour party should be united to fight the Tories against their terrible decisions that they’re making about the pandemic etc.

Instead it’s divided the party and members are leaving. Would it be too much to ask for some real united opposition?Can they please stop this witch hunt and focus on the government’s faults instead?

I urge them to think about this.

Thousands of people have died as a result of contracting covid and their families need help and support.

Thousands of people are ill with Covid and they need support.Thousands of people suffering from long covid need support.

They all need this support to come from the government’s opposition.We need this now.

I’m eight months into my long covid battle and it’s been awful. I’m trying to keep strong and fight back but it’s hard at times.

I don’t think that I could have done it without the help and support from my online friends

.For those without this online support it can and is a very dark and lonely place to be. Please spare a thought for them.

I’m going to end it there because I have to go and collect my meds.
Please keep safe you are important and I do care about you all.

Please read, share, tweet and email my blog.
I don’t get any funding for anything that you do.

Having covid has put an enormous strain on my finances.

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

Thank you to everyone that reads and supports my blog and campaign.

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

I’m struggling…

Dear readers this week’s blog is going to be rather short and I apologize for this.

The other week my daughter brought a virus home from school. This in itself wouldn’t be problematic but combine this with my long covid and respitory problems because of this it’s been a nightmare.

I was prescribed some meds which have worked to an extent but I still feel terrible. As a result it’s impacted my life dramatically this week and all that I’ve been able to do is nothing. A flat nothing except essential tasks.

I know that I should probably go back to the hospital but I’m putting it off because they’ve got much sicker people than me to deal with.

The reality is that long covid sufferers like myself are left to it with very little or no support. If you haven’t been admitted to hospital then it’s extremely hard to get someone to listen and to help you.

Unluckily I was admitted to hospital so I have been able to access some very basic tests and have been allocated a respiratory specialist that I’m still waiting to see.

I’ve tried all of the alternative remedies out there and none of them work. Some slightly ease the symptoms but the only things that really work are time, antibiotics for any infection lurking and a nebuliser on bad days.

To access any of these you either have to have access to a decent doctor and a local hospital. By decent I mean a doctor that actually recognises that long covid and related problems are an actual thing.

This sadly isn’t as easy as you might think. Often when you get covid 19 you also can get some really strange symptoms that there’s no explanation for.

My strange symptoms have been high temperature but not skyrocketing high, hallucinations in the early stages, really strange aches and pains, fatigue, breathlessness and a crappy immune system that can be set off by the slightest thing.

When the decision to have another so called lockdown not once were people with illnesses, disabilities and long covid taken into account.

The government shuts pubs, restaurants, gyms etc but they refuse to shut the schools, colleges and universities.

It’s a total misconception that children are being adequately socially distanced. The covid 19 and other viruses are running through these establishments at a high rate. This then returns home with the pupils, teachers, teaching staff and school staff and is passed onto any person living with them.

It’s extremely dangerous but so many people are failing to see this. We aren’t even an afterthought we aren’t thought of at all.

It’s also extremely frustrating to see that so many people in my area at least don’t believe that this virus exists or if it does it’s not harmful.

It’s all a conspiracy they say, wearing a mask takes away our freedom! They fail to see that wearing a mask actually does help to give them the freedom that they crave.

Then we have the news of a vaccine that’s on the way. It’s supposedly around 90% effective and it should be welcomed. But it isn’t by many.

Like anything new it’s ok to be suspicious but this vaccination has been tested adequately. I can’t however comment on any side effects but to be honest I’d give anything to feel well again.

Whilst the schools etc are still open the virus will still be spread amongst our communities. Add into this the people that refuse to wear a mask etc and so many more people are going to become ill or much worse die.

This week saw the death total for UK hit 50 thousand. Yes these people died from Covid 19 related illnesses but people still insult the dead and their families by saying that its all a lie.

It isn’t a lie, people are dying and they need to take this seriously.

I’m sorry for repeating myself again but people do need to hear this. It’s extremely important.

As for me, I’ve not been able to go out anywhere except for my local post office which isn’t far.

I struggle walking there and back, breathing isn’t easy when your mobile but it is what it is.

I wear a mask whenever I do go to the post office and I’m very strict about using anti bacterial hand creams etc.

I stay away from any crowds of people because I realize the risk of catching something else.

I’m not contagious anymore but so many people are vulnerable and we all need to look after each other.

What I do want is a proper lockdown with the full support of the government for workers and self employed people.

I want people to realise that long covid is a serious thing as is having a weakened immune system thanks to covid 19.

I want people to realise that we don’t get well overnight. It takes a long time and its a struggle to do so.

For some catching covid 19 is the only way that they’ll start to realise how awful it is.

As for the vaccine. It’s going to take quite a while for it to be rolled out to the general public. It’s being offered to vulnerable groups of people first and quiet rightly so.

Please don’t become complacent because a vaccine is on the way.

Please keep safe. I know that as a single parent it’s doubly hard to do so but it’s so important.

Continue to look out for each other, help and support each other.

I’m going to end this blog here but please know that you’re all in my thoughts.

Please read, share and tweet my blog.

A huge thank you to all of you that do this already.

There’s a donate button at the top and side of this blog. I receive no funding for anything that I do. Every penny helps me to continue with my blog and campaign.

A massive thank you to everyone that has and does support my blog and campaign. Your support means the world to me.

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

It’s official the government wants children to be hungry.

Well yesterday the government hit an all time low. Not only have they purposely neglected to protect the public from Covid 19, they’re now allowing our children to become hungry.

As a covid 19 sufferer I know exactly how vicious this virus can be. Thousands have does from it and the secondary infections that follow.

Thousands of people have also lost their jobs as a direct result of Covid 19.

The government have been woefully neglectant in the so called support that they’re giving the public. They even plan to take away the extra £20 top up money for universal credit and tax credit claimants in April.

It might not sound like a lot to many, and it isn’t but it is helping people to survive this covid 19 nightmare.

This week Andy Burnham and the other metro mayor’s took a stand against the governments covid phase strategy.

I live in the Greater Manchester area and the monies offered to our local councils weren’t enough to help anyone.

Thankfully Andy won his fight in parliament this week, but it’s a bitter pill to swallow.

It’s not enough to compensate people, nor will it make a big difference in the R rates. I’m a big believer in a full lockdown for at least two weeks, and everyone should be adequately compensated.

Yesterday a motion was put forward in parliament to ensure that all children would receive free school meals in the autumn and Christmas holidays.

Despite putting up a good fight, Tory MPs voted it down. They don’t care if our children are hungry, not do they care if we die from Covid 19.

Boris Johnson’s cruel, evil Government voted down a motion which would have prevented a million kids going hungry over the half term & Christmas holidays.

This is proof that they don’t care and will never care. Some Tory MPs are disgusted in their behaviour as are some ex Tory MPs.

The fact is that the Tory party has always been cruel and judgemental. They believe that the working class person is responsible for their own poverty, and they fail to acknowledge that they are the ones responsible for this.

If they could they’d round us all up and throw us in workhouses again like they did in the old days. Maybe this is why they always hark on about the good old days.

They now claim that eating is a choice that we have to make and it isn’t a necessity. They claim that all working class parents are bad parents because they can no longer afford to feed their children and themselves.

The truth is that the majority of parents living in poverty are bloody good parents. They feed their children before themselves and often go without meals to do so.

I honestly was waiting for the day that the government would stoop as low to suggest that eating food is a choice. That our children don’t deserve to eat, that they must go hungry at any cost.

They actually want our children to be hungry.

The ramifications of child hunger don’t just end when a child grows up. Not only does it hinder development it also causes health problems that continue throughout their lifetime. It also can cut their lifespan short.

We’ve already seen the return of Victorian illnesses and this is going to become a whole lot worse.

Combine hunger and the covid 19 and you create the perfect storm. The covid 19 virus loves to target a person with a weakened immune system, so I expect the child and adult mortality rates concerning covid 19 to rise substantially.

Being poor is no joke, I know because I’m in this situation myself, and the lack of care and consideration from the government never fails to anger me. Some high poverty areas voted for the Tory party because they were more concerned about Brexit than their well-being. This has bit them on the bum big time and hopefully they regret their actions now.

It’s going to be a struggle for many to donate food to food banks as more and more people are plunged into poverty yet the need for them will be greater than ever.

The Tory party actually like the fact that we are literally begging for food to survive. They love it, it brings back memories of the deserving and undeserving poor, only now no one’s deserving.

God help you if you’re northern and working class. They don’t even hide their hatred of us.

We all need to be angry about this, we need to remind them that we won’t be walked over like this. That every human being deserves a good quality of life. This isn’t an extremists views it’s a basic necessity.

So what will happen to the odious, lazy prime minister Johnson?

Johnson has been a failure since day one and I’m certain that he only got the job because of what he’s got on everyone else.

There is a time though that the Tory party will have to do some damage limitation. They’ve now lost thousands of supporters and if there was a general election in the near future they could well loose.

Will they do the dirty on him and get rid? Who knows but what I do care about is the future of our children.

I’m a Thatcher’s child, I grew up in a time where the working class was hated and poverty was everywhere.

I grew up with a lot of anger about this and a determination to try and help others and to try and change things.

I’m positive that our children will never, ever forget the cruelty inflicted upon them. They will fight back like I have I just hope that they’re more successful than I’ve been.

Health-wise I’m still not 100%, I’m struggling to stop coughing and to get my breathing back to normal. Yesterday I had to go out to do some errands and I felt awful, trying to breathe and beat exhaustion.

Please keep safe everyone and let’s continue to fight the heartless Tories. We can’t allow them to continue their cruelty towards the working class and also northern England.

It’s not the desolate north it’s beautiful with amazing people living there.

My thoughts go to other areas entering phase three of the so called governments covid strategy and also to the areas entering phase two.

We were in phase two for ages and you can get through this.

Now is the time to ignore the conspiracy theorists and to follow the hygiene and mask rules.

We need to beat this virus and every precaution helps.

Please read, share and tweet my blog.

Thank you to everyone that supports and reads my blog and campaign. Thank you so much!!!

I don’t receive any payment for any of the work that I do. If anyone would like to donate this would really help me. There’s a donation button at the top and side of this blog post. 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

Still ill. My battle with Covid 19. Should schools be closed?

Dear readers I’m writing this blog post from my bed, I’m trying to put off the inevitable hospital visit that will have to happen if I get any worse.

I thought that I was getting better but sadly my daughter unknowingly has brought home a virus from school. The said virus is now having a good time rampaging through my body whilst making me feel dreadful.

I haven’t stopped coughing for two days now, my whole body hurts and I’m not capable of doing much. But I am trying to get better.

Covid 19 and other viruses are rife in my daughters school, children have tested positive and the school remains open.

There’s no way that any type of virus can be controlled in a school environment. It’s impossible, an endless task of trying to make the best out of a very bad situation.

I realise that all children need and deserve an education but it comes with a huge risk to other family members.

For anyone with a weakened immune system like mine and a compromised immune system regardless of the cause are being put at a huge risk of becoming ill with Covid 19 and other viruses.

It’s not a case of if we catch it, it’s more like when we will catch it.

I’m knackered, fed up and my body feels like it’s been in battle for a long time now.

I can’t stop coughing, my temperature is high again and I have to admit that I’m a tad scared.

You see I don’t know if I’ve caught covid again or if this is another evil virus piggy backing on top of my weakened immune system. I don’t want to be admitted to hospital again either. I just can’t win.

I have sent off another covid test and I should get the results soon. Sadly the tests aren’t reliable and have only a 70% rate of accuracy.

The area where I live will be being put in the level three category later today. Whilst I agree that this is needed it isn’t enough.

The government have so far offered no support to any of the businesses that will be affected by this. There’s zero real life support.

I agree that health comes before business, but people have to survive.

I also agree that the whole country should be put into an at least two week lockdown and real life working track and trace systems put in place locally to monitor the situation.

We can’t rely upon the government to devise any system that would work properly in the best interests of the public. All that they’re interested in are making their friends rich.

I also believe that schools should be shut for a short period of time and all schools should be given a deep clean to get rid of any viruses etc.

When our children return stricter measures should be put in place and more home schooling implemented temporarily.

We need to keep out teachers safe as well.

None of what I say is easy but we can’t continue like we have been doing. I’m ill because of a virus brought home from school.. Can you imagine how many people could die as a result of this?

Not one decision is going to make everyone happy but we need to control this virus. It’s the government’s lack of taking correct action is why we are in this situation now.

Please keep safe, I’ll update my blog and social media as soon as I get my results or if I have to go to hospital.

It’s been a struggle for me and thousands of other people but we need to get rid of this virus.

Please read, share and tweet my blog.

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

I don’t get paid for anything that I do and every penny really helps both myself and the campaign.

I’m not able to get out so everything is so much more expensive.

A huge thank you to everyone that supports my campaign and blog. I really do appreciate it. It means the world to me

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

Thousands of people that lost their jobs due to Covid 19 refused Universal Credit and any other help.

Dear readers its Thursday and I’ve just returned home from the hospital. I managed to get a cancellation appointment for a CT scan for my lungs.

Anyway you can imagine my disgust when I saw this article in The Guardian.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/sep/30/hundreds-of-thousands-who-lost-jobs-in-pandemic-denied-universal-credit

I don’t need to tell you that the DWP and government are disgustingly selfish people that care nothing about the working classes health and wellbeing.

This was no surprise to me.

I knew that the government would try and shaft these people for having the nerve to lose their jobs. In their eyes a pandemic is no excuse for not working and is certainly not an excuse for not looking for none existent jobs.

We’ve seen this before and no matter how much we tell people that this could happen to them we were still ignored.

Their futures are looking very different from last years. No one could plan for the pandemic because we didn’t know that this was coming.

Some of us knew that this was going to happen way back in December but theres no way that we could save up just incase. We have no spare money.

No savings allowed.

The DWP and the government’s reasoning for this is because these people ‘they have savings’.

They don’t care that it takes around six weeks for a universal credit claim to be processed. By then their savings will have gone to pay their rent, mortgage and food.

They could become homeless.

It’s extremely unreasonable to believe that these people lost their jobs through any fault of their own. But still the government will punish them because its what they do best.

The DWP has forgotten that there’s a pandemic.

Hello DWP, we are in the middle of a pandemic.

There are very few jobs out there so stop putting people under pressure to find work.

Lets not forget that thousands of people, probably many of those that lost their jobs are recovering from Covid 19. They’re unable to work.

There are very few jobs to find and there’s certainly not enough to look for work for 35 hours a week.

If you refuse to do this then they’ll sanction you. It’s all about punishing innocent people.

Their aim is to bully us until we give up altogether.

Where’s the safety net?

There is hardly any safety net left to help people. It’s extremely hard to make a claim for any type of social security.

When you manage it the DWP lie and make it extremely hard to continue to do so.

Claimants are given unrealistic goals that they have to attain and are spoken to like shit.

The sad fact is that many of these newly unemployed people that have been refused help believed that the government would help them.

They didn’t realise how cruel and callous the system can be.

The DWP certainly aren’t there to help anymore.

How very dare anyone make a claim for the help that they’re entitled to.

My heart does go out to them though. They’ve been thrown very abruptly into the lions den. I hope that none of them vote for the Tories again.

There are no jobs.

I’m certain that many of these people that have been refused help thought that they could find a job. I’ve heard this thousands of times when talking to people outside the Jobcentre.

In the first few weeks people have hope for a better future but that soon wears off.

The reality that there are no jobs kicks in pretty soon. People sell or pawn their possessions and many loose their homes because they can’t afford to pay their rent or mortgage.

Don’t expect local councils to be sympathetic either. It’s all bloody wrong.

We aren’t criminals and shouldn’t be treated like this. But we are.

You are left on your own to cope and this is very scary for many that thought that the safety net would be there for them.

A foodbank reliant society.

We are quickly becoming a food bank reliant society. Most of the people that have lost their jobs will become reliant on them.

Talking from experience I know just how humiliating it is.

Some foodbanks have reintroduced the three bag limit. So people are only allowed to eat three times a year?

Thanks for that.

I’m a firm believer that anyone that needs the help from a foodbank should be able to do so freely without judgement and for as long as they need them.

More and more people are becoming reliant upon food parcels to survive and many food banks are already struggling to cope with the demand.

I do what I can to help but its only a drop in the ocean.

Support your local independent foodbank.

Fuel poverty.

Winter is on its way and thousands of people are going to be extremely cold this year. Heat or eat will be a choice that they will have to make.

Fuel poverty is very real.

No one should be forced to live in a cold house without hot water. But hey, the government doesn’t care about this either.

Having to live in the cold like this is very dangerous for both body and spirit.

Does the government realise this?

Yes they do but they don’t give it a thought. They’re resentful of us being here, alive.

The pandemic is still here.

So many organisations and supermarkets are returning back to normal. Very soon they’ll be very little support for anyone shielding or recovering from Covid 19.

It’s not as if there was a lot of help out there in the first place.

What are we supposed to do? Risk catching covid to go for appointments and to run errands?

This is exactly what we are having to do. It’s shocking.

Unemployment.

As we face more people becoming unemployed since the 1980s don’t expect the government to help.

The government are still intent on taking the extra £20 a week extra payment away from Universal Credit and Tax Credit claimants in April.

I bet they’ve got a countdown click counting down the days until so many of us are thrown into even worse poverty than we are now.

So many people are relying on this money to survive. But once again the government doesn’t give a stuff.

£20 is a lot of money to us. For the Tories it doesn’t even cover the cost of their breakfast.

They don’t want us to survive.

They don’t want the working class person to have any decent quality of life. Its even worse for people with disabilities and illnesses. They’ve been suffering for many years now.

Their actions say that they don’t care, will never care so stuff you.

What can we do?

Like I said last week we need to continue to support each other because no one else will.

A kind word can make such a big difference.

As for myself it’s been a bad long covid week for me. I haven’t been able to do much except advise people and signpost them for help.

I’m also one of those people that doesn’t qualify for any help from the government even though I badly need lt.

So many of us are struggling to get through this and your not on your own.

We can and will get through this. We need to.

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, 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!