Great British Benefit Handout - Myth

My last post was tongue in cheek. This one is not.

I really hate and despise TV programmes such as Great British Benefit Handout and Benefit Street, and equally hate and despise the people who produce and appear in such shows. These people are NOT the norm for people who are claiming benefits in this country. Yes, undoubtedly there are some who use and abuse the system, there always have been and there always will be, it’s part of human nature. But the vast majority of people on benefits are those who genuinely cannot find work or are not fit enough to work.

Those who suffer possibly more than others are single, middle aged people. These people may be single for many reasons, bereavement, failed relationships, have spent years caring for parents, or simply they are people who are happy to live alone.

Not all benefit claimants are uneducated workshy layabouts. Some have degrees. Some have worked for years in industry or commerce or the civil service, but have been put out of their job because factories have closed down, commercial firms and councils of all sorts have had to cut staff and it’s usually the more expensive, experienced staff that are offered redundancy. Middle aged people again, who can’t find the expected alternative job because what young inexperienced manager wants to take on someone who knows more than them?

I’ve just gone through my bills and worked out how much I would be paying if I paid them weekly.

TV £5.60  - more expensive if you pay weekly than monthly, quarterly or annually.

Water - £10 is the minimum you can pay weekly if you get a nice adviser on the contact line.

Power – My power bill works out to £27 per week, paying dual fuel by direct debit which gives me discounts. Many people on benefit have to pay by pre-payment meter, the most expensive way to pay but they can choose how much to put on the card, which probably won’t keep their homes as warm as mine.

Council Tax - £28. I have no idea if this equates to a cheap or expensive area. Probably middle of the road.

This adds up to £70.60 and I haven’t bought any food yet, or clothes.

Anyone claiming housing benefit has to pay Bedroom Tax (I refuse to call it anything else) of £12 per spare room per week, even if there is no alternative accommodation available for them to rent.

Benefit for a single person is £72 per week.

So every week single people claiming benefit are having to make the choice between heating their homes or eating if they want to keep all their commitments up to date.

There is no money to run a car. There is no money for bus fares! Yet the DWP expects job seekers to go out every day to canvas firms for work. They expect job seekers to submit application forms and CVs unsolicited to places, yet there is no extra money to pay for paper and printing let alone stamps. They expect everyone to use the internet to look for jobs even if they haven’t got a computer and cannot afford the bus fare to get to the nearest library. It would be something like a £6 round trip by bus to my nearest town, and probably just as much if I were travelling in a city.

This is the Great British Benefit Handout. This is why there are so many food banks. This is why those who are too proud to seek help are literally starving in an affluent country.

This is what makes me angry.

Of course, this would not make sensational television. It would not put benefit claimants in a bad light and make them scapegoats for a failing government. 

Don't Let Valentine Get You Down

I am writing this for all the people who have not received cards, flowers or chocolates. Do not despair. It doesn’t mean no one loves you if you are in a relationship, it means your loved one has more sense than to spend money on overpriced things that he/she could buy any day of the year for much less!

    Yes, I’m being my usual cynical self. I have known my husband for well over forty years and we have never given each other a valentine’s card or gift in all that time, yet I am secure in the knowledge that things are good between us and always have been. He brings me cups of tea in bed if he is not out working. He makes me breakfast in bed most Sundays. He never moans about the time I get up in the morning!

    When I was at school, St Valentine’s Day was a laugh. We waited to see if we would get a card from an unknown admirer and that was the point. It was supposed to be a surprise, not something from someone we already knew loved us.

    Since Valentine lost his sainthood it has become nothing more than a commercial opportunity, just like Mother’s Day, Father’s Day and Halloween. I won’t put Bonfire Night in the same category because that is surprisingly low key considering how long it has been going. (Did you know it used to be law that you had to celebrate the capture of Guy Fawkes?) And I won’t mention Christmas which is the biggest commercial opportunity of them all with many businesses depending on a good Christmas for survival.  

     Now instead of a simple card, gifts and treats are expected, not just for new lovers (you can expect them to be overly indulgent) but everyone is encouraged to take part.

     So how does this affect people uncertain of their relationship? I’m sure there must be floods of lonely tears shed when that card, box of chocolates or bouquet of flowers does not turn up. Let alone when someone is not whisked off for a romantic meal.

     The people I feel sorry for are those who were born on the 14^th February. Almost any other day of the year they could go out for a meal with family and/or friends on their birthday at no extra cost. But on or near Valentine’s Day ‘special’ meals are put on in pubs and restaurants which are often more expensive than normal meals, especially if the day falls at the weekend as it does this year. My local pub is making Valentine’s Day last all weekend, with a special meal on Saturday and Sunday.

     Maybe it sounds like I’m complaining unnecessarily. But what I’m trying to get at is you don’t need one particular day to show that you care for someone. You can buy them chocolates or flowers any day of the year; you can treat your loved one to a meal any time. And the more unexpected it is, the more appreciated it is (unless your partner thinks you are guilty of something, of course! Ouch, I just bit my tongue). And you can show them your love without spending a fortune just by the way you behave. All year, not on just one day.

    And having one day when everyone is celebrating having a loved one with them, it brings to mind all the loved ones who are no longer with us, bringing grief instead of joy.

    So all in all, the only people to really benefit from Valentine’s Day are the retailers. So as my daughter said in a Mother’s Day card she sent me a few years ago, 

                                                         Happy Hallmark Greeting Card Day!

Paperbacks available

Two of my books, Shattered Dreams and Silent Love are available in paperback.
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Great gift for Christmas!

Education not Legislation

It was reported, today (26^th August 2015) that assaults on women on public transport have risen to such an extent that an MP is suggesting the introduction of women only carriages on trains. This is a massive step backwards in many ways and should never happen.

    For decades women have campaigned for equal rights. From the suffragettes who sought the right to vote, the women of the 1960s who burnt their bras in protest at discrimination, right up to the women of today who are still fighting for equal pay for equal work, women have struggled for their place in the world to be alongside men. Now someone is saying they should be segregated, presumably for their own safety, much as they were in the Victorian era.

    This is wrong on every level but mostly because women should be able to walk the streets and travel on transport without fear of innuendo or assault. MEN should be brought up to understand that ALL people deserve respect and that includes women. Just because a woman is attractive, smiles at you or makes eye contact for a second, it does not mean you have the automatic right to touch her in any way let alone assault her.

    Maybe I’m looking at the past through rose tinted glasses, and I am sure there were exceptions, but when I was growing up this is how women were treated. It was all part of the courtesy that was shown to women. Undoubtedly wife beaters, rapists and other undesirables existed but I never felt threatened when travelling alone on crowded buses and trains in London.

    You cannot legislate away bad behaviour. Instead it must be made clear from an early age that every person has a right to their own body; that making inappropriate contact with anyone is wrong. No matter what age, what culture, what creed a person is, no one has the right to make suggestive remarks or gestures that put another person in fear.

    Men cannot turn round and say the sight of a woman led them to behave in an inappropriate way. Men should be in control of their own bodies; difficult I know, when it was designed before civilised behaviour was the norm, but there it is. I have never quite agreed with the Islamic view that women must hide their bodies so as not to incite men. This medieval idea was also prevalent in the middle ages throughout Europe and we have managed to see a women’s hair or ankle without immediately possessing her – most of the time!

    No matter how a woman behaves or dresses, when she is travelling she should feel safe. She should be able to stand next to a man in a crowded tube train without worrying about what will happen when she gets off. She should be able to walk to her destination without fear of being followed or attacked. No matter what the time is, whether it be during the work-a-day rush hour or late at night.

    The idea of women only carriages is totally unworkable. Most trains don’t have enough carriages at the best of times, let alone have spare ones for women only. And how many women do you think there are travelling at any one time? Quite possibly as many if not more than men.

    And women need to be educated as well. While I’m not offering it as an excuse or a get-out clause, men DO react to what they see around them. They shouldn’t, but they do. It’s nature taking hold, the thing that has kept every living thing on the planet producing the next generation.

    But above all else, respect should be the order of the day. Only by ensuing everyone understands this will we create a society where it is safe for everyone to not only travel in safety but walk the streets without fear.  

Whingey Teenager Ads

Have you ever noticed that advertisements seem to go round in cycles? One agency picks up on an idea and then suddenly everyone is doing it – or maybe that one agency is using the same format for more than one client. There is a new one on the radio at the moment that is really driving me to distraction. I can usually filter out advertisements, even enjoy some of them, but this one is enough to make me want to turn the radio off and never switch it on again!

     Someone, in their infinite wisdom, has decided that the voice of a nagging whingey teenager is a good way to make people buy things. This is so wrong on several levels.

Nearly every parent suffers the pleading of children wanting things. The long drawn out Muum or Daad, usually on three notes, can I have…? whatever the latest gadget, gismo, musthave is. At one time the answer would be a firm NO or Maybe for Christmas. These days parents seem more willing to give in. Not sure why. Maybe a compensation for something missing in a relationship, maybe a guilt trip for not providing what the precious child wants. It is a constant, unending, trial that never seems to end.

     So what makes the advertising industry think people will respond to an advert of a child asking for something? As parents or grandparents, we hear enough from our own children not to want to hear it from someone else’s.

     And what products are suitable for this sort of campaign?

     The first one was for a mobile phone, or maybe it was a particular network. See, it was so effective I can’t even remember. But it was for something a teenager would want, something to keep up with her friends. So not only are poor parents being whinged at by their own children, they are getting it from the radio, too.

     The latest one that is really incomprehensible to me, is for a car. Same whingey teenager approach, ‘my friend has one, please, please can we have one.’ But since when was a teenage girl interested in cars. She goes on to describe the benefits – as if she would even know about the things she is talking about. It is worse than being told to buy a car by Jeremy Clarkson!

     I really do not understand the mentality behind this advertising campaign. It’s bad enough that children whinge and whine to get things from their own parents. Who thought this approach would work in adverts convincing sensible adults that they need to buy something recommended by a pleading child? Let’s face it, what do children know about the pros and cons of an item? Their friends have a bright, shiny new toy, that doesn’t mean it is the best bright, shiny, new toy. Have they done the research, checked technical reports, compared the reviews of technical experts? No. they have played with their friend’s bright, new, shiny toy and want one. This is how substandard, low tech, items become best sellers.    

     And then there is the assumption that everyone will give in to this whinging child. If I had my way I would take that said child and lock her in her bedroom until she learned not to ask in that whingey voice, that new things needed to be earned not given just because they are wanted.

     Or am I missing something here?

     I really hope this is not an ongoing style. I’d rather listen to the Go Compare man or the Meerkats!

Seasons in Order

Ok, the following blog may be a bit patronising but it is all said with a grin on my face and with no offence meant, BUT

    Does nobody understand how seasons work anymore? Are children not taught about seasons at school now? Let me give anyone in any doubt a quick lesson.

   There are four seasons in the year, at least in the UK and I think most of Europe. I know places further south have different climates and some places have things like the ‘rainy season’, the ‘monsoon season’ and things like that. But I am talking about the standard North European weather pattern here.

   In general each season lasts for three months. Sometimes it feels longer, or shorter, but that is often down to anticipation.

   At one time the start of a season coincided with the Solstice. The summer solstice occurs around the 21^st June and the winter solstice around the 21^st December, with Spring starting on the 21^st March and Autumn the 21^st September. Since the Met office poked it’s nose in the seasons have been accredited with starting on the 1^st of those months.

   So summer does not start until June, and mid-June at that! It is no surprise that the weather in May is changeable. It is still Spring. It is still working up to summer. Spring is the time when the world gets ready for new crops. We need rain to soak the ground so that crops can grow. The warmer weather encourages new growth and we are treated to a much greener and colourful environment after the bleak, blank days of winter. But it is not summer.

   Summer comes with lengthened days and warmer weather. Like other seasons it lasts for three months and that’s it. Some people, mainly garden centres I think, would like you to think that summer lasts from Easter to Hallowe’en. But it doesn’t. You might get hints of it early in the year; lingering memories of it throughout Autumn, but it is not Summer.

   Having said all that, no one has told Mother Nature these things and sometimes it is quite possible to experience at least three out of four seasons in one day in the UK. Sometimes four out of four! It has been known to snow in June and be nice and warm in December. But don’t expect such things!

   Weather is controlled by elements over which we have absolutely no control. Whether we get a good summer or a cold winter depends entirely on what is happening way above us with the air currents that circulate around the world.

   So remember, keep wrapped up, or at least have an extra layer handy, until the end of May. When June arrives and it is officially Summer, that is the time to start complaining if you are still cold. But nothing is guaranteed, so keep those winter woollies handy just in case.

Richard Of York Gave Battle In Vain

It wasn’t until I moved to a small village in Leicestershire that I honestly became aware of the significance of this pneumonic for the colours of the rainbow.

    The battle in vain was the Battle of Bosworth Fields which took place on 22^nd August 1485. Richard III and his Yorkists were on one side, Henry Tudor with the Lancastrians on the other. Henry won and was crowned, supposedly, as Henry VII in my village of Stoke Golding. I say supposedly as not being a native born Stoker I take the story with a pinch of salt. Probably true but we have no photographic evidence!

    After the battle Richard’s body was spirited away by supporters and ended up being buried at a monastery in Leicester. This monastery was later destroyed and all knowledge of where Richard was buried was forgotten until researchers worked out it was probably under what was then a car park. The skeleton was recovered, studied, tested, confirmed beyond all doubt that it was Richard and after much legal wrangling with York, who wanted the remains brought back there, it was decided it should be officially interred at Leicester.

    On the 22nd March 2015, the remains of Richard III were brought from the site where he was killed, through some local villages close to the battlefield and then on to Leicester Cathedral for a service. Thousands of people lined the villages and the route into Leicester to view the cortege. It was quite astounding.

Two armoured soldiers escorting the hearse through Dadlington

    A bit of history there for you, but that is not the point of this blog.

   What this story has brought to mind in me is that we can have history, people can turn out in support of a dead king hundreds of years after his death, but we, the English, don’t keep killing each other over things that happened in the past. Oh, you still get a bit of rivalry between Yorkshire and Lancashire, especially when it comes to football and cricket, but nobody sends suicide bombers into each other’s cities to wreak death and destruction over things that happened over 600 years ago.

    The Civil War divided the country between Royalists and the Roundhead parliamentarians. There are still people in this country who would like to see an end to the monarchy, but they don’t send in terrorists to blow anyone up. Although we still remember the gun powder plot, no one sets off anything more than a few fireworks. Battles are re-enacted for fun, but even those re-enactors don’t wish real harm on anyone.

    Maybe this is what makes the English so different to the rest of the world. We debate and argue about things. We condemn violence. Rivalry is usually confined to football fans. It is natural for one set of people not to get on with another set. This goes back to when we lived in enclosed villages and had to defend ourselves from the people in the next village who would mount raids to steal our cattle and women. But this was back in the Bronze age and we have moved on since then. We have learnt to tolerate other people, whether they share our views or not. I’ve yet to visit a town or city in England where the people say they don’t like their neighbours. The people of Liverpool don’t like those from Manchester. Nuneaton people deride those from Coventry. And everyone despises Londoners! Everyone thinks their town is the best. But we don’t try to force our views on others.

    When I watch the news from around the world I shake my head in despair when I hear of people fighting and killing each other over things that happened centuries ago. Whatever it was it happened. It is not going to unhappen. Fighting about it now won’t change anything only make things worse for the here and now. Don’t forget your history, but don’t live it. Learn from it and make sure it doesn’t repeat. Don’t hold grudges. Appalling things happened in the past but why punish the people of today for those actions? It is the world of today we should worry about not what happened in the past.