Tuesday 13^th Nov 2012

 

Went for a Job Seekers interview today – the staff were friendly but guarded; but what a convoluted performance just to get money you are supposedly entitled to. I had to take my passport in to support the claim –probably because they have never seen a UK one before. It does make me confused that I have worked for 36 years and all through the period paid tax (and all the other payments) and now when you just want back what you’re entitled to they expect you to jump through hoops...aargh!! One has to comply with the tenets of the Job seekers agreement which basically says:-

I am prepared to do as I am told and let go of all pride and self respect values I might once have held. If you fail any of the tenets apparently they can withdraw the money which in my case only lasts for 6 months anyway. (In total it amounts to £1846.) If after that when the six months have elapsed and you have the smallest modicum of savings then you get nothing. So ill thought out, poorly executed and useless to me in the long run- yep, sounds like a government policy to me.

 

Oh well see how the next 2 weeks go

Tuesday 27^th Nov 2012

 

Returned to the Job centre to have my two week interview but I knew before I went that the Job seekers allowance thing wasn’t going to work out. So I have now been signed off any benefits I was receiving. Bit annoyed really as before I was made redundant the advisors at work basically said there was none of this hassle for the first six months. But I have thought about it quite a lot and at this point in time I am not prepared to –

§  Travel for up to one and a half hours in each direction to a job

§  Work for the minimum wage (currently £6.08 per hour
§  Learn to drive a fork lift truck or some other totally unsuitable task.
§  Be prepared to work at any time of the week such as nights and weekends
§  Search for a job for a minimum of 3 hours each day
§  Apply for the jobs given to me at the Job Centre
§  Sign up with a minimum of 2 job agencies
§  Be talked to like an imbecile by a slave labour gangmaster; sorry, jobs adviser

Anyway the funniest thing was after I had laid out what I wasn’t going to do the lady said, “Most people don’t do that anyway.”I think she was giving me the option to carry on, (but I think that is termed fraud.) I wasn’t happy with being so disingenuous. Anyway in time to come I may need the help for real when one day I could have sunk low enough in self esteem and cold, hard cash to finally meet all the criteria for the Cheap labour Charter; sorry, Job Seekers Allowance. That’s the most worrying prospect for the future. I wish I was more materialistic then I should have taken the money by any means, fair or foul, but I’m not really wired that way. Besides that would take up time that could be better used by the staff to find jobs for people more in need? My heart truly goes out to all the people who have to do this simulation for real, week in and week out; at the mercy of ‘Jobs Advisors’ or get nothing. Imagine your life was hanging in the balance of these people. Perhaps we would have change swiftly if they applied the criteria of the Job Seekers Charter to their own staff.

So to sum up - Work for 36 years and pay thousands and thousands in taxation = get nothing. Must be Britain 2012. Thank my lucky stars I had a nice walk before I went.

It has been the November week of four birthdays so I hope everyone had a good time. Shame about the weather during the week but it is pretty much as we’d expect at this time of year. Well perhaps not as cold and frosty as it could be, but incredibly wet and windy.

I have now been out of work for 8 weeks and the time has simply flown by and I have also quit smoking. 3 weeks now and I’m really quite proud of that. Nick has also given up, (well in point of fact he quit first) and he has almost completed a month. I think he wanted to conquer it before he turned 50. So well done you!

I was going to post something over the wekeend but I had another tooth pulled last week and have been in pain ever since. (This to add to the pain I was in before I went.) It’s not good; soon I shall be sucking food through a straw. Don’t know what is wrong but the dentists only seem to want to pull one tooth at a time so I forever seem to be on a six monthly revolve of pain. I blame the solitary magpie which flew into my office and hovered around my desk the other week ( this is true)

Well I think I say it every year but honestly this the coolest and wettest summer ever. The trees are growing thick and fast. I don’t think the garden has ever been so well screened. The vegetables and fruit are in a sorry state so not expecting very much at all there. If this were 300 years ago we would be looking at a famine I guess. Well here in the north at any rate.

We currently have an amber flood alert if force for the weekend. This is the third in as many weeks. My office at work is lower than the road level and it got flooded a couple of weeks ago and has just dried out. I suspect it is about to get wet again. They’ve announced at work that we shall be leaving a month earlier at the end of September so there is some good news around. I haven’t made any plans yet. I think I’ll just see what happens. Change comes and it weaves its effect whether we like it or not. It’s a strategy that works for me. Wonder what I’ll be doing this time next year?  Don’t care really, so long as the weather and my health is good.

There is no good news about. Just the usual economic madness and forecasts of doom; I’m a pessimist anyway, so I can cope with that. Not looking good though I have to say, (well unless you’re a banker or politician.)  Someone wrote that we need to adopt the mentality of burrowing creatures. Pay of all debts, stock up with provisions and hunker down till it all blows over. All the indicators however suggest that may be some time. At least a decade away and likely longer. This is no simple economic recession now but a global reset of the elite power base.

It all sounds like a Tolkien novel. The west fades while the east ascends. Perhaps Tolkien was much more prescient than they all reckoned. I have always thought so. Perhaps we elves need to now sail across the sea to the undying lands, as we do not have the one ring to cast into the pit of fire...oh well.

I’d like to say I’ve been doing all sorts of great things, but truth is with the rotten weather it has been very quiet. Damp, dismal evenings with the lamps on – how’s that for July? I’m off to Knebworth with Nick this weekend for the annual barbecue with Noreen and Jane. The forecast isn’t good so I suspect it will be indoors. But it will be nice to see them both before we all go to Scotland in September. The holiday is the third week in September so I may not go back to work ever again after that all – well if I’m lucky.

Have a good weekend.

We’ve just had 2 weeks of glorious weather. I think the technical term is ‘the English summer.’ After the cool start to May it was finally good to get some real sunny weather. It’s has all gone away now ready for the jubilee holidays next Monday and Tuesday. Back to rolling grey cloud and some rain and sitting indoors watching the world instead of being outside inside it. I’ve particularly enjoyed sitting in the yard watching the birds coming and going. There are 2 nests that I know of. A little wren has a nest in the brick shed and a mistle thrush is nesting in the climbing hydrangea. The mistle thrush seems to have no fear of anything and exits the plant at head level before sharply ascending over the wall. It is driving the dog to distraction. Main garden is looking good at the minute with walls of green and all the plants racing to grow. The warm weather really gave everything a lift. Even my asparagus bed has come good although it may be some years till I can sit and eat a bowl of it. It’s almost June so that means only 5 months to go before my job goes. I am starting to consider my (admittedly) limited options.

Option 1 – get another job although easier said than done and November is not a good time of the year anyway for employment.

Option 2 – Do nothing for a time

Option 3 – Get a part time job and study for a degree with the Open University.

Option 4 – Win the lottery

I’m thinking option 4 is the best but option 3 looks ok too. Soon it will all I shall be thinking about and I am not good at this kind of stuff at the best of times. Still should get the letter this week stating the exact severance payment so and I shall be able to make some informed choices then.

Mike’s off to London to see the Queen Saturday and on Sunday him and arch royalist Colin are guests of the BBC during the river pageant when she sails down the Thames on a barge. They are hoping to get on the TV so hope the weather holds up. Truth to tell I don’t think jubilee fever is that great and we are not expecting too many street parties and celebrations around here. It was a different story back in 1977 for the silver jubilee as I recall, but so much has happened since then I guess.