Well, to be honest the benefit’s have been quite helpful, it’s my company that seem to be dragging their feet. All I need is the SSP1, original sick notes from April 2014 (as that is when the SSP would have run out), and July’s pay slip, as the system will not allow me to print it out.
So, I need EAS sorting before I can get help with my rent and council tax.
Jeez, to be fit and healthy-ish…
Well well. Yes it happened, 50 year old on the 27th of July. Yesterday if I had have wrote something it might have been a little different? So I decided to leave it to today…
Two cards, that’s 50% more than I expected!
Thought I would never reach the big five ohhh…
Very well done to Jacob on achieving your Leeds College of Music offer, unconditional at that. Amazing son and well done. I’m very, very chuffed.
And so a phone call from the docs. My main consultant has told him to tell me not to alter any of the meds and to get in for more bloods test’s. Anyways, they are trying something new with my foot…
A superb idea has been put forward by the brilliant Tony Bell…
‘Christian Prudhomme has said he wants the Tour de France to come back to the UK soon. How about in 2017? This will be the 50th anniversary of Tom Simpson’s death on Mont Ventoux. Opening stage in Tom’s birthplace of Haswell, County Durham followed by a stage in Harworth, Notts, the place his family moved to. And a stage finishing in New Brighton, the location of one of Tom’s last race’s in Britain. Just a thought.’
Tom wrote ‘Cycling is my life’ and later was going to write ‘Cycling was my life’ yet through the idea by Tony this can still be ‘Cycling was my life’
Eh up, it’s alomost here, and preparations are well on the way. Just a few photo’s towards the build up. Who would have thought the Tour de France in Yorkshire, in Addingham, and twice at that!
This was placed on a wrong lamppost, it should have been between The Crown pub and Craven Heifer, as the tour goes through that area twice. All now sorted with the correct sign now stating no stopping between 4th and 5th as the tour passes here ‘just’ the once!
Over the road stating what can be seen, can’t wait!
Addingham Cricket Club getting into the groove…
Something certainly worth keeping, full of infomation.
Some party going to be happening, wow, three days of festivities, plus much more!
Well, it’s confirmed that the UK has the poorest folk’s in Western Europe. Where do I start? Should it be back in 2002 when I divorced my ex wife, but then the CSA (Child Support Agency) started the long road of helping to ruin my mind? Well no, lets skip that as I was relatively healthy up until 2009.
In April 2009 a good friend helped me get employment as art technician at Tong High School, Bradford. The day before I was due to start my left eye completely went red. A few other things happened over the following months. I eventually thought it was the job, but I did enjoy the job, so, letting my friend down I left and went to work at Airedale Hospital as a healthcare support worker, I was also involved with improvements (as that is my manufacturing experience) and given the title of ‘lean champion’ and it worked well! The full story of fact’s are here
Right, the above has taken you through about eight years with much detail in the links (blue!). What followed was; illness, loss of job, loss of home and bankruptcy. During that period I was advised that being a single male with no dependants (as my sons dont live with me), I should go to the Citizens Advice Bureau. Hmmm.
The CAB referred me to Shelter yet during this time I was starting to be quite ill. During a visit to Bradford council’s open move’s (part of Incommunities) the very nice lady asked if I had any illness, well yes but they don’t know what it is. Also The CAB had phoned and asked if I was ex forces, again it’s a yes. and everything changed.
I was put in touch with ex forces charity Ssafa, boy did they help, and at a furious pace. So, the government had no interest in helping me, even though I was slowly getting worse with my illness, thank goodness the charities were there. In a lovely area I got my flat, that I feel sure help’s with my mind. Ssafa helped me furnish my new home, and still do. They have been absolutely terrific and I would love to repay them.
Being diagnosed as a one in ten Sarcoidosis sufferer. about one in 100,000 of the population in the UK, is very rare. During this time, and my loss of employment, the ATOS failed me, the assessor actually asked me what Sarcoidosis is! Huh…
In November 2012, I managed to achieved employment through Leeds Remploy, crazy thing is, my medics and the disability section at the benefits office were actually worried that I was going in to work and with a 95 minute commute to and from work in Leeds, a long way by public transport and walking, especially when I need to rest my sarcoid after any form of exercise.
So, as my employers could see and witnessed, sarcoid attacked me without any notice at all. Finally, after 10 months employment which included 53 days sick. Long term sick – yet again, occurred.
June 2014 and that report arrives saying the UK has the poorest folks section in Western Europe. It doesn’t come as a surprise to me as I have experienced what crap genuine ill folk’s have to go through. Atos assessors and their tick box’s over-ruling what the professional medics say…
Various folk’s tell me to pull myself together, to keep my chin up, it isn’t that bad etc. as I don’t live in certain other countries. No I don’t live in another country, I live in the United Kingdom, that has the poorest section of folk’s in Western Europe yet wealth is growing at 15%/year. Foodbanks and charities are stretched to fuck. My thought; what if I had never been in the Royal Air Force between 1983 and 1985? jeez, scary shit as also my sarcoid can be very nasty.
Maybe some folks need to actually step outside of their protective bubbles and see what it is like – in the UK for a very many folks. I do what I can to help myself. Though it is meant well, for fuck’s sake stop lecturing me on the perspective and hindsight side of thing’s as they are shit!? Illness and death is not a competition, charity starts at home, yet this is the UK.
Many thanks to the folk’s who have been brilliant, and still are…
Last night I was simply trying to explain about Shipley and Bingley. Bingley used to be a brilliant thriving town with a great nightlife – Porky’s anyone!!! The Aire valley used to be known as the Engineering Valley, so much manufacturing with wool scouring. It’s gone, most of it went oversea’s.
Keeping the story short; Supermarkets offer and bring jobs, which in turn would bring much needed cash to the town’s. In Shipley, Morrison’s were even going to sort the Carr Lane junction by moving the Carnegie and re-building it within the new estate that they were going to help develop. In Bingley the old Bradford and Bingley Building Society building was going to be knocked down, to be replaced by a low level supermarket with parking underneath, and they were going to sort the road structure out from the relief road to the new supermarket – almost straight across from the traffic lights that are already there.
But the supermarkets keep getting knocked back. It seem’s many of those who don’t agree with them don’t actually live local. Engineering, manufacturing, wool, and all the rest have gone for good. Supermarket’s in town bring much needed revenue. Keighley is yet another story, it has been very run down, but at least they allow supermarkets to expand, and it work’s.
I’m most certainly not perfect, right or wrong, I can respect everyone’s view’s, it’s just those who have their heads in the sand in their own idealogical world that frustrate me.
Stu.
When I can afford locally sourced good’s then I will and do, but this will never happen on a vast scale while folk’s are skint…
You see, you post something factual and the posh hippy defriends you!!!
“As I mentioned, local resource is very expensive. Only the few can afford that, and Bingley does have a climbing middle – upper class. As I said earlier, most are from out of town – please look it up. It’s fact that those against Sainsbury’s put a huge hole in Bingley, B & B’s hideous building could have gone, employment would have climbed and so would have local resource’s – all fact. Bingley and Shipley will now never get enough, Baildon just does – but it’s difficult. Companies move on.”
A reply to … now of Bingley. Fact is stated and not liked…
Slightly late of me annoucing Dan Carroll’s midnight session. A fantastic one hour performance by Bradford’s very own AMP award winners ‘The Rook’
Tune in and hear some of the best original music to come out of Yorkshire in a very long time. The best music to eventually come out of the UK for a long time is certainly on the cards…
, read the Blues in Britain magazine review or listen to my BCB Radio interview.