Disabled and desperate

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  • Well done you, Toots! I too find it a lot easier to get rid of things when I know someone else can do something with them. These days so little actually 'wears out' that it seems a shame to just throw things away, but charities can usually put them to good use.

    I emptied most of our attic when a colleague in the Rotary Club was collecting kids' clothes for orphanages in Romania. All the lovely little things I'd kept from when our daughter was small...at first I kept them in case we had another girl (but we had 2 boys!), then I kept them for sentimental reasons...but then I thought 'Chuggs, you look at these once in 10 years, and there are kids that are COLD, they NEED them, what's WRONG with you??'  And box after box went out the door image))

    It IS a funny in-between time, isn't it? You're finishing one life but haven't started the next yet. It can be very unsettling, but my dad always said that leaving and going were the same thing, just looked at from different ends. Leaving is hard because you focus on what you are going to miss, going is fun because you focus on all the new possibilities; so the trick is to get the leaving done as quickly as possible and move on to the going! Sounds like you're doing just that.

    Hope you've got the nice sun there that we have here---brightens everything up, and reminds me that spring is just around the corner now. A great time for new beginnings!!

    Screamy, I've recorded the last episode of The Choir but haven't had a chance to watch it yet. I live in a house with 3 football mad males, so my chances for a quiet hour with the telly are somewhat limited image) I will do it in the next few days, though. I hope it was as great as it sounded, did you like it?

  • It was very good GC, I won't give anything away. image
  • I had a fair old clear out before Christmas for Bulgaria’s Abandoned Children Charity thing .. ohhh myyy .. that programme had me weeping in anger and utter frustration .. those poor little mites .. and how wicked were those 'carers' .. the little things were starving to death right in front of them and they did NOTHING .. scary too because I KNOW had I been born in Bulgaria that may well have been my fate .. 'handicapped' 'spastic' (both words used in the correct context and not meant as 'abusive') ... both meant the same thing .. I'd be carted off to similar orphanages from 'hell' .. shut away and forgotten about .. small plot of land reserved just outside the brick walls waiting for my early childhood demise ... image

     Absolutely NOT looking for 'glory' when I say this .. but for many, many years (decades) .. every Christmas I give an amount of money (roughly the cost of a days Christmas Festive Fayre food and drink) to a charity that has 'moved me deeply' throughout the year (I save 50p a week all year ready for donating .. makes you feel really good and makes your Christmas Dinner just that bit tastierimage) .. often it's been for homeless people so they at least get a half decent Christmas Dinner served to them and a warm room to sit and enjoy the company of others for a short while, or abandoned animals to have a fresh new start, last year it was these poor helpless orphans .. I just had to send a cheque immediately  after the programme was shown ... as I understand it a 'small' sack of little cuddly toys was sent in my name (probably many other folks too) .. and reading the lovely letter I got back almost 'broke my heart' .. those poor little kiddies had to be shown how to hold and cuddly the toys .. wipes away a tear .. honestly .. how sad, cruel and utterly needless is that .. there but for the grace of ... whatever 'Higher Being' you believe in .. goes I .. image

    Even now I have earmarked some of the money I make from selling up for the ongoing care of those kiddies .. I am certainly NOT looking for any 'ohh what a good woman' kudos .. I just have a firm belief that however bad we feel our own 'Lot in Life' is there are always many, many others who are far worse off .. and oddly whenever I give something, cash or help, or goods .. somewhere soon 'something'  good or a surprise comes back to me .. it's very odd .. I suppose just a bit of 'what goes round, comes round' perhaps .. image

    Anyway .. should you feel you want to know more about the orphans and all the wonderful things that are now happening thanks to UK peoples generous money donations .. http://www.tbact.org/

     Sorry .. going on again .. sigh .. I do get 'carried away' ...image

  • That's lovely Patootie image

    I have several charities I donate to regaularly but at Christmas I choose some that I don't usually donate to and send them a cheque - different ones each year. Last year I sent craft kits to Great Ormond Street which was fun.

    I do make a conscious effort to donate to less popular/smaller charities though. I had a cousin that didn't sponsor me to run the FLM because she didn't like the charity  I was running for image  Strange attitude but there you go. My mum nearly didn't sponsor me at all until I got very angry about the whole thing.

  • I think you're both lovely. There are so many people in this world who need help, and maybe each of us has a calling to help different kinds of need. But if we all do what we can, we CAN make a difference.

    How's the sorting going? And do you have any firm dates for the move yet???

    I'm going to go cuddle under a duvet: our prehistoric central heating boiler is being replaced by something MUCH smaller (and hopefully much cheaper to run!) but tonight we have no heat and no hot water.....but I DO have my trusty hot water bottle image)))

  • Aww  GC image 

    Wrap up warm now.

    We got a new efficient condensing boiler only for British Gas to put their prices up! It does work better than the old one though.

  • Our fall back for when it gets cold is an open fire, fueled for free by windfall branches from trees (I look forard to windy winter days which are very productiveimage).

    Even if alot of heat goes up the chimney, it looks warm.

    Colin

  • image I was just about to sit on the loo image .. when the earthquake started ... had to clutch hold of the door to save myself from falling over image .. really bizarre .. everything inside was shaking and rattling .. the village dogs were howling .. the pheasants in the field squawking like mad .. horses neighing .. cows lowing .. and the crazy mule that lives a few hundred metres away .. just would not shut up .. flippin' hee haw, hee haw half the night image just when you thought it had stopped there's be one last pathetic hee haw .. and that would set the dogs off again and the horses .. image I am soooo tired .. still .. it was only my second earthquake .. so a real experience lol

     Hope the new boiler works beautifully GC and keeps you nice and snuggly warm .. I am cross with British Gas .. when I came here in 1984 they showed me the plans for  bringing gas into the village in 1986 so I bought gas central heating units .. ran them on bottled gas until the mains arrived .. only .. we are STILL waiting for them to carry out the plans some 22 years later hahahahaha

    I love real fires ... been a few years since I had a home with a fireplace though .. about 25 years .. sigh .. I used to scour the town for every scrap of burnable material .. market days were good days when all the fruit trays were made of wood ... I used to drag them all back to my place .. even pulled down an old barn (with owners permission of course) by hand .. and slowly burnt that .. hahahah ... I love the patterns and pictures you get in a real fire .. fascinating .. image

  • Yes, it can be very theraputic watching the dancing flames, twisting and curling with the subtle changes in colour.

    Colin

  • LOL Patootie - I read "pheasants in the field" as "peasants in the field."

    The bed shaking woke me up and I was completely creeped-out by the thought of some sort of ghostly activity - until I saw the news this morning. My OH was being driven home at the time so he didn't feel it. 

    The cats were ok - but then they're pretty dopey! image

  • Screamapillar wrote (see)

    LOL Patootie - I read "pheasants in the field" as "peasants in the field."

    Have to keep the 'hoi polloi' in their place don't we .. image
  • WOW! You're the first people I've spoken to who were close enough to feel much....must have been a truly weird sensation. Once a long time ago I was in San Francisco, on the 46th floor of a building when there was an earthquake. It wasn't very big, but the building was swaying, which was DEFINITELY enough to make me wish I wasn't so high up! No wonder all the animals were shouting all night.

    No damage, though, I trust, either of you?

  • That must have been a bit unnerving GC! - I've been to San Francisco twice but not felt anything luckily enough - except breathless from walking up those big hills, LOL

    No damage done.

    Funny what people have said about birds and animals though - it was deathly silent where I was and we usually have robins that sing at night.

  • No damage here .. but my mum rang me and said she'd been really scare as the whole room seemed to be moving .. and when she stood up it was like standing on a big jelly .. image

     Then my sister rang from Australia .. said they'd had a report on the news about a major earthquake in England .. are you OK .. she said .. phew .. they'd heard about chimneys collapsing and trees coming down and thought the worst image

     Several things fell over ..  but nothing broken here .. my fault for leaving things stacked up etc .. sorting for the move .. image

    Had a HUGE wad of paper work arrive from the council housing people .. made my blood boil when I read some of the questions .. it clearly and boldly says ...  EQUAL OPPORTUNITY

    But then goes on to ask my specific ethnic origin .. my sexuality, specific religious group I belong to .. and other 'NON EQUAL' questions .. like are you a GYPSY ... and then even gives the specific options .. romany, Welsh, English, Irish, Scottish. Gypsy, Traveller, New Age

    GRRRRR that makes me sooooooo mad .. how the chuffing heck can it be EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES when they ask such questions .. image

    My response to the religious question .. options, I do not wish to answer, Baha'I, Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Jain, Jewish, Sikh, Zoroastrian or Other  .. will be 'Other' .. and I shall add .. 'with over 3,000 religions in the world I have not yet made my mind up to which religion I belong  .. if any !!'

    I may see sense before filling the form in and just put 'other' .. but it makes me want to put in HUGE capital letters .. "REFUSED .. IT'S EQUAL OPPORTUNITY" over all the sheets image

    Do you get cross when confronted with this kind of covert racism and clearly divisive questioning image

  • My dad said he'd thought my mum had fallen out of bed - funny thing is, he didn't get up to check -  she's 75 by the way!

    Sometimes I take exception Toots, especially when you consider the amount of time, effort and money - our money - being devoted to that sort of thing. I certainly refused to fill in my parents' occupations on my university application.

    In this case, clearly all they NEED to know from you is your personal details and state of health.

    Sometimes it just makes me laugh. I remember being asked my religion whent I went to hospital for day surgery, I was fascinated by what came up , there was even "white witch" which I was very tempted to ask them to put down, LOL  image 

  • Interesting.. the times I have been to hosptial (twice) I have never been asked these sort of questions. I think that the way to avoid them is to arrive either in a helicopter or in a white van with blue flashing lights.  It worked for meimage

    Colin

  • <blockquote class=quoteheader>Colin - www.colinwatts.co.uk wrote (<a href='http://www.runnersworld.co.uk/forum/forummessages.asp?URN=2&UTN=116561&cp=15&SP=#6383687' target='_blank'>see</a>)<blockquote class=quote>

    Interesting.. the times I have been to hosptial (twice) I have never been asked these sort of questions. I think that the way to avoid them is to arrive either in a helicopter or in a white van with blue flashing lights.  It worked for meimage

    Colin

    This is very true .. I don't remember too many questions being asked when I've arrived with blues and twos .. but routine visits you get asked such a barrage of questions these days .. image .. haven't tried the helicopter route .. don't really want to .. image

     My 'best' blues and twos trip was one Friday evening .. rush hour in Peterborough .. the city centre jam packed with cars .. I was in such agony (severe pelvic infection) .. that almost any movement had me screaming ... even the full whack of pain relief wasn't enough .. so they hit the blues and twos .. but then had to crawl all the way to the hospital 2 miles away at a modest 10 mph .. the driver carefully trying to avoid any bumps .. or sudden movements .. he said it was one of the most stressful trips he had ever made .. all the cars getting out the way ... and then he slowly crawled up to them image

    Once I got to the hospital a very nice doctor gave me a HUGE jab of morphine ... and then I lost 2 weeks in an induced coma .. somehow during those two weeks I got a ruptured disc to add to my woes .. then I had a further 3 months in hospital with 36 injections a day image.. so it took me two years to get completely over all that .. and my stomach muscles have never been the same since   image

     'Funny' the way life treats you .. I do sometimes wonder how my life might have been had I never been ill (always ill one way or another from day one, not expected to live etc etc) .. but you know .. when I look around me at other peoples lives .. I am not really envious .. because everyone seems to have their own problems ..  and if I was fit and well I would be having to work hard every day .. no time to myself .. stress .. inconvenience .. so my life isn't so bad ... image

  • You blues and twos story is similar to my first one, in that, because of a suspected broken neck they also 'raced' me the 20 miles to hospital at around 15mph avoiding accelerating/breaking, manhole covers and anything that might have jolted the vehicle.

    Fortunatley there was no damage to the spinal columnimage, 'just' a few vertebrae.

     Colin

  • Pheweeee .. it was a bad night last night .. the wind was really, really bad .. image

     I didn't even attempt to go to bed until 5am .. I've been out and done a swift recce .. so far 3 garden fences are down .. 1 large'ish tree .. lots of bushes broken down .. branches of trees .. my black recycling bin has disappeared and it had a big boulder in it to stop it blowing away .. 

    Worst of all for me is that the wind has slewed my aerial right round .. hahaha it's pointing the wrong way .. so I have no picture at all .. I'll have to get the old indoor jobbie out again .. 

    Ironically the worst damage has been caused to the new site owners 2 little 'office pods' ... they had only brought them onsite yesterday afternoon intending them to be sited .. they were still on the trailer that brought them .. only now one is in pieces in the car park .. (so I now have to brave the wind and go up and see if my car is damaged!) .. and the roof has disappeared off the other .. I'd say they are both write offs within 24 hours of them bring brought onsite image

    Just been up to the car ... streuth it's rough out there still .. been told the office pod roof went clean over the top of my car and landed in the field next to the parking spaces .. so not a scratch on my car .. thank goodness  image

    There was an assortment of buckets, plant pots, dustbins and recycling bins all blown into the corner of the car park .. so I claimed one of the bins and brought it back  image

    Then dashed back in here and rang the farmer .. as his cows were munching on the insulation from the office pod roof .. he said he would come immediately .. I went back up and shooed the cows away again .. and he is there now rounding them up to take them away from the danger ..  image

    Now I just have to get my hair brushed .. looks like a haystack hahahah ... phwooosh phwooosh .. quick spray of detangler .. wait a minute ..

    Tum te tum te dah dah ..

    Brush brush brush .. there that's all the tangles out .. bits of twig .. leaves etc etc ..

  • Golly gee whillikers, Toots, you must have been right in the worst part of the storm to have all that! But well done you for getting out there so quickly, retrieving your dustbin and most of all saving the cows. Ther'e so stupid they'll eat anything, so it's a good job you got the farmer to take them away before they'd all made themselves sick on insulation.

    At least it sounds as if you had no structural damage other than the aerial, which is a lucky escape. But won't it be nice when you're living in the town in a situation where you won't have to deal with all this stuff entirely alone!

    We had the storm last night (gusts of over 200 kph) but in the early afternoon it stilled and became the most beautiful spring day we've seen this year. All the crocuses are out, and teh daffodils too now, and the bushes are showing green tips. I think it's really starting to be spring---hooray!

  • Hey, Patootie, you OK? We haven't seen you for a while---how are things??

  • Gentle Chugger wrote (see)

    Hey, Patootie, you OK? We haven't seen you for a while---how are things??


    Been trying to catch up on some sleep .. 2 nights I hardly slept and stayed up until 5am .. plays havoc with Fibro when you get out of your routine .. and now we are expecting snow tonight ... image

     In the space of a week it's been an earthquake .. terrible storms with howling gale force winds .. and now snow .. flippin' norah .. what is the world coming to .. image

     Still getting back on top of things again .. put a oad of stuff out for the Scouts yearly jumble sale .. but because of the weather they didn't get round to pick it up .. so now I have bags stacked in my living room and no idea what to do with them image

    Ohh well .. it had to be sorted .. and I am sure someone else will be having a fete or sale very soon .. image

  • Hi Patootie, 

    Glad to hear the sorting out's going well, even if the scouts haven't kept up their end of the bargain!

    As you say, someone else is bound to be having a fete or sale or something soon.

    Hope it isn't too long before you hear something from the housing people - it really is the perfect time of the year to move. image

  • Woke up expecting to see a blanket of snow .. but instead we have glorious sunshine bathing the countryside .. image

    Makes you feel like getting out and doing something interesting .. image

  • Ohh ohhh ... posties .. just been ... got a letter from the housing people image....  ahh  .. don't get too excited .. it's just a letter to say I have been 'formally' accepted onto the waiting list .. image

     And to say they haven't received the medical form back from my docs ..  flippin# norah .. I gave them that TWO weeks ago image

     Brrrnggg brrrnnggg .. 'doctors receptionist' ... good morning .. could you please check your files for my URGENT medical information housing form application ... yes, please hold .. strident trumpet music floods out from the phone image .. several painful listening minutes later .. yes, we have the form waiting for pick up .... image..... hmm ... no I says as calmly as possible .. NO .. there is an envelope in with the form and you have to send it directly to the housing people .. several more trumpet fanfare minutes later ... ohhh yess .. sorry about that, we will be posting it today image

    So I've now phoned the housing folk and 'apologised' for my docs .. told them they hadn't 'noticed' the returns emvelope in with the form .. image

    Buit it's a bitter blow .. those are 'crucial' much needed extra points to ensure me getting right to the top of the allocatiion list .. I do hope I haven't missed out because of my docs not sending the form .. image 

  • Sorry to laugh Patootie but I do enjoy the way you paint such vivid pictures of your daily hassles image

    "Formally accepted onto the waiting list" - that's brilliant! Let's hope you docs can get their act together with the forms to help speed things up. At least the housing people know they are on the way now.

    Fingers crossed for you! image

  • Screamapillar wrote (see)

    Sorry to laugh Patootie but I do enjoy the way you paint such vivid pictures of your daily hassles image

    Thank you .. someone once said I should write a book .. just one problem with that .. I am hopeless at trying to make up stories .. but I do enjoy trying to relate how something happened  ... it's very therapeutic .. and fun to do ..

    so ...
    IN TWO PARTS .. blimey done it again .. made my story to long .. image

    Part 1  

     Like the day I had someone reverse their car at speed out of their driveway and straight into me and the front of my scooter .. there was a sudden scrunch and scrawk as plastic car bumper met scooter bumper  .. I came to a sudden halt which nearly had me over the handlebars .. with all the agility of an andrenaline pumped body .. I leapt off and wrenched his car door open before he had really digested what had happened .. then several people trotted over to gawk and see what was happening ... and in the sudden calm after the storm I realised I was standing there clutching hold of the man and asking HIM .. if HE was alright .. because he was just sitting there looking a nasty pallid grey and totally dumbstruck .. then he blurted out .. ohh myyy godddd .. I've knocked a 'cripple' off her scooter .. image .. because now he could see the scooter in his wing mirror image

    .. Only then did It dawn on me that he thought I had come across to the accident .. and that the 'poor lady' must still be lying on the pathway .. just a shattered body in a pool of blood perhaps .. hahahahah

    So I had to gently explain that I was that 'crippled' lady .. and that he had only dented my pride along with pushing back the bumper of my scooter .. which with a gently pull would come straight again ..  by now the crowd was all laughing .. but he wouldn't believe me until he had got out of his car and cautiously looked behind it .. while he was there I asked him to hand me one of my sticks as I was 'stranded' withouit it .. marvellous what a surge of adrenaline can do ifor a short while sn't it .. !!

  • Thank goodness I copied it to check spelling image

    Part 2

    After everyone had finally gone away again .. to give him his due he did ask me if I really was ok .. and of course I was .. bit I did give him more than a bit of a lecture about taking it for granted that if he couldn't see anything out of his rear view mirror it meant there was no one behind him .. because he wouldn't have seen a toddler or a pushchair for instance .. or indeed a flippin 'grut hunk of a woman and her bright scarlet disability scooter' ... and had I been any further across the driveway he would have simply gone right over me ...  he was then very contrite and insisted I took some money from him .. he said had learnt a valuable lesson .. I kept trying to refuse the money .. but he insisted .. in the end I donated £25 to Stoke Mandeville Hospital and bought myself a bottle of my favourite single malt whisky ...

    I got receipts for both and posted them through his doorway with a thank you letter .. whenever he sees me in the village now he always comes across to ask how I am doing .. and to say yet again that it was very good of me to donate half the money to charity .. a charity which he now regularly supported .. a constant reminder of the day he nearly killed someone because of being in too much of a hurry image

    Funny how things happen isn't it .. image

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