middleagespread

middleagespreadhttp://middleagespread.blog.co.uk/en-EUhourly82000-01-01T12:00+00:00middleagespreadhttp://middleagespread.blog.co.uk/http://data5.blog.de/design/preview/76/29b910f91c3c756a328e59420d8c33_160x200.jpgteenage aspirationshttp://middleagespread.blog.co.uk/2009/03/01/teenage-aspirations-5670305/2009-03-01T10:28:12+01:00 I have been watching question time again. Oh dear, what a sorry state of affairs, and what idiots are running this country. Even more sad that the other parties are equal idiots. Nontheless, i was attracted to the discussion about teenage single mothers. The panel suggested that giving girls hope and aspirations would reduce this massive and still growing problem in our society. I almost wet myself laughing. Now forgive me for being naive, but i rememger the drudgery of school and the unremarkable careers teacher, who herself had ended up teaching girls to type then advising them strongly to become secretaries or receptionists. Passing her own miserable existance on to others. Now imagine you were say 14-16 yrs old. You aren't particularly outstanding academically. You are obeying the rules by turning up for your education day after day. Bear with me here. Now, a careers advisor asks you what you want to do with your life. You don't have a clue. But you long to be part of the adult world. He/she suggests furthering your education, of which you may finish paying off in say 15 yrs. You could always go for an apprenticeship, reaping a paltry sum of money for the next 3 yrs which will result in you staying with you parents for an extended period of time. You could become a call centre operative working endlessly and annoying people greatly- which may result in you staying there for a lifetime. Or altrnatively, you could look around you, talk to friends, and discover that if you want to be able to live an adult life, be supplied with a nice, and in many cases, new built all singing and dancing flat, be offered new furniture and carpets etc toboot, then there is a way. And you will also recieve a wage and never have to worry about paying rent, at least for the next 16 yrs. I ask you. Who says these young females have no aspirations, have no future, and make no choices? Are our politicians soooo blind? <a href="http://middleagespread.blog.co.uk/2009/03/01/teenage-aspirations-5670305/#comments">Comments</a> I have been watching question time again. Oh dear, what a sorry state of affairs, and what idiots are running this country. Even more sad that the other parties are equal idiots.
Nontheless, i was attracted to the discussion about teenage single mothers.
The panel suggested that giving girls hope and aspirations would reduce this massive and still growing problem in our society.
I almost wet myself laughing.
Now forgive me for being naive, but i rememger the drudgery of school and the unremarkable careers teacher, who herself had ended up teaching girls to type then advising them strongly to become secretaries or receptionists. Passing her own miserable existance on to others.
Now imagine you were say 14-16 yrs old. You aren't particularly outstanding academically. You are obeying the rules by turning up for your education day after day.
Bear with me here.
Now, a careers advisor asks you what you want to do with your life.
You don't have a clue. But you long to be part of the adult world.
He/she suggests furthering your education, of which you may finish paying off in say 15 yrs. You could always go for an apprenticeship, reaping a paltry sum of money for the next 3 yrs which will result in you staying with you parents for an extended period of time. You could become a call centre operative working endlessly and annoying people greatly- which may result in you staying there for a lifetime.
Or altrnatively, you could look around you, talk to friends, and discover that if you want to be able to live an adult life, be supplied with a nice, and in many cases, new built all singing and dancing flat, be offered new furniture and carpets etc toboot, then there is a way. And you will also recieve a wage and never have to worry about paying rent, at least for the next 16 yrs.
I ask you. Who says these young females have no aspirations, have no future, and make no choices?
Are our politicians soooo blind?

Comments

]]>job seekershttp://middleagespread.blog.co.uk/2009/02/21/job-seekers-5619722/2009-02-21T10:43:19+01:00 Having spent a particularly stressful day yesterday at, first the job centre, then at the housing office, left me feeling rather bewildered, and pretty low. My hubby was laid off at the end of January, and despite applying for reams of jobs, has so far not been successful in finding a replacement. We finally decided, after a great deal of tooing and froing, to go down the route of job seekers allowance as the rent money we put aside is unlikely to be replaced after the next payment. Well, it seems we may not get any assistance as he had a stint of self employment some 20 months previous. And his contributions are not completely up to date. I am glad the government is keeping the NI contributions aside and not putting them into the great big melting pot of revenue collections. Hahahaha. When arriving home bad tempered and frayed, i contacted, as advised, the working tax credit people and was told on calculations based on 2007-8 we wouldnt be eligible to have any assistance, but to apply then wait for rejection then reapply and point out change of circumstances. I wasnt aware that a total gross salary of around £17 000 would be more than enough for a working couple to live on. Gross, not net. How mad is that? I would love to see those that set these figures survive on such meagre money. No wonder that credit has spiralled out of control, as in the event of emergencies the only way forward would be to take loans. So here we sit waiting for a pile of rejection letters to arrive on the doorstep. What happened to the safety net for these cicumstances? I have to admit, the people we met were polite and kind, but their hands are tied. I hear on the news this morning that there is a swath of 'highly skilled' white collar workers facing the dole queues and their skills are not being met by the job centres. I think they need a 'snob seekers allowance' not 'job seekers', about time some of these overpaid office wallas rolled their sleeves up and did got their hands dirty, to appreciate the roll of the manual workers who have sooooo supported their jobs for sooooo long. Got to go now, but will be back to add to this later. <a href="http://middleagespread.blog.co.uk/2009/02/21/job-seekers-5619722/#comments">Comments</a> Having spent a particularly stressful day yesterday at, first the job centre, then at the housing office, left me feeling rather bewildered, and pretty low.
My hubby was laid off at the end of January, and despite applying for reams of jobs, has so far not been successful in finding a replacement.
We finally decided, after a great deal of tooing and froing, to go down the route of job seekers allowance as the rent money we put aside is unlikely to be replaced after the next payment.
Well, it seems we may not get any assistance as he had a stint of self employment some 20 months previous. And his contributions are not completely up to date.
I am glad the government is keeping the NI contributions aside and not putting them into the great big melting pot of revenue collections. Hahahaha.
When arriving home bad tempered and frayed, i contacted, as advised, the working tax credit people and was told on calculations based on 2007-8 we wouldnt be eligible to have any assistance, but to apply then wait for rejection then reapply and point out change of circumstances. I wasnt aware that a total gross salary of around £17 000 would be more than enough for a working couple to live on. Gross, not net. How mad is that?
I would love to see those that set these figures survive on such meagre money.
No wonder that credit has spiralled out of control, as in the event of emergencies the only way forward would be to take loans.
So here we sit waiting for a pile of rejection letters to arrive on the doorstep.
What happened to the safety net for these cicumstances?
I have to admit, the people we met were polite and kind, but their hands are tied.
I hear on the news this morning that there is a swath of 'highly skilled' white collar workers facing the dole queues and their skills are not being met by the job centres.
I think they need a 'snob seekers allowance' not 'job seekers', about time some of these overpaid office wallas rolled their sleeves up and did got their hands dirty, to appreciate the roll of the manual workers who have sooooo supported their jobs for sooooo long.
Got to go now, but will be back to add to this later.

Comments

]]>catching uphttp://middleagespread.blog.co.uk/2009/01/20/catching-up-5411461/2009-01-20T12:42:43+01:00 Hello to anyone who may be reading this. It is apparently 209 days since i last logged on to this site- my goodness doesnt time fly! Well lots, yet nothing significant has happened in my life during this time. I am not a saver so have not lost out there. I am not a homeowner so have not lost out there. Don't get me wrong i would like to be, but the last recession put pay to that. I do sympathise greatly with all those affected by this recession by whatever name it has been tagged this time round. My my what a mess, and how so little the banks have learned about customers and how best to ally with them in the past 15yrs or so. For some there will be opportunity to make swathes of money off the misery of others. For some the future is so uncertain and there will be no glimmer of light at the end of what may or may not be a long tunnel. Perhaps the government might think about bailing out personal lenders, those of us up to our ears in credit, instead of the banks.I'm sure they will see better value for their - sorry- OUR money. My life is just trundling along with a few small hiccups here and there. I wish good luck to all those struggling against the tide at the moment and just add that this will come to an end. For many of us have been there before, survived huge losses, but regained our lives and learned lessons for the future. <a href="http://middleagespread.blog.co.uk/2009/01/20/catching-up-5411461/#comments">Comments</a> Hello to anyone who may be reading this. It is apparently 209 days since i last logged on to this site- my goodness doesnt time fly!
Well lots, yet nothing significant has happened in my life during this time.
I am not a saver so have not lost out there.
I am not a homeowner so have not lost out there. Don't get me wrong i would like to be, but the last recession put pay to that.
I do sympathise greatly with all those affected by this recession by whatever name it has been tagged this time round. My my what a mess, and how so little the banks have learned about customers and how best to ally with them in the past 15yrs or so.
For some there will be opportunity to make swathes of money off the misery of others.
For some the future is so uncertain and there will be no glimmer of light at the end of what may or may not be a long tunnel.
Perhaps the government might think about bailing out personal lenders, those of us up to our ears in credit, instead of the banks.I'm sure they will see better value for their - sorry- OUR money.
My life is just trundling along with a few small hiccups here and there.
I wish good luck to all those struggling against the tide at the moment and just add that this will come to an end.
For many of us have been there before, survived huge losses, but regained our lives and learned lessons for the future.

Comments

]]>So much for my camping trip!?!http://middleagespread.blog.co.uk/2008/07/09/so-much-for-my-camping-trip-4427235/2008-07-09T23:46:08+02:00 Anyone who has been awake at any time over the last 24 hours, will have noticed that a modicome of rain has fallen. Enough to spill the contents of a tributary near Wareham over the surrounding fields. Now i face a dilema. If this appalling weather breaks in the next day or two, should i chance packing up the camping equipment and heading slightly westward? Having not had a break away from home in just over two years we are begining to go stir crazy. In fact the last time we were away from home was on a rather fated camping trip, which coincided with our elderly dog expiring, very peacefully, in the tent. (What do you do with a dead dog in a tent at 2am?) After much encouragement, my husband, who hates camping, was begining to come round to the idea of again sleeping under canvas. Indeed, it wouldn't be wrong to say that he has been looking forward to it, and has been hunting down all sorts of bits and pieces to make this forthcoming trip as comfortable as poss. Additionally, our finances have been under considerable strain for at least the same amount of time that we haven't had a break, so roughing it seemed the most plausible way of vacationing. However, the land must be fairly well soaked now, and given that a heat wave is not forecast in the next day or two, that will leave us soggy underfoot. So the question is: Do we take a chance and go for it like true soldiers, or wimp out and stay at home which will inevitably mean fixing cars, catching up with housework, watching daytime telly (yuk!)and perhaps having the odd (expensive, 'cos they always are) day out? The verdict's open. <a href="http://middleagespread.blog.co.uk/2008/07/09/so-much-for-my-camping-trip-4427235/#comments">Comments</a> Anyone who has been awake at any time over the last 24 hours, will have noticed that a modicome of rain has fallen. Enough to spill the contents of a tributary near Wareham over the surrounding fields.
Now i face a dilema. If this appalling weather breaks in the next day or two, should i chance packing up the camping equipment and heading slightly westward?
Having not had a break away from home in just over two years we are begining to go stir crazy. In fact the last time we were away from home was on a rather fated camping trip, which coincided with our elderly dog expiring, very peacefully, in the tent. (What do you do with a dead dog in a tent at 2am?)
After much encouragement, my husband, who hates camping, was begining to come round to the idea of again sleeping under canvas. Indeed, it wouldn't be wrong to say that he has been looking forward to it, and has been hunting down all sorts of bits and pieces to make this forthcoming trip as comfortable as poss.
Additionally, our finances have been under considerable strain for at least the same amount of time that we haven't had a break, so roughing it seemed the most plausible way of vacationing.
However, the land must be fairly well soaked now, and given that a heat wave is not forecast in the next day or two, that will leave us soggy underfoot.
So the question is: Do we take a chance and go for it like true soldiers, or wimp out and stay at home which will inevitably mean fixing cars, catching up with housework, watching daytime telly (yuk!)and perhaps having the odd (expensive, 'cos they always are) day out?
The verdict's open.

Comments

]]>Just a good day!http://middleagespread.blog.co.uk/2008/07/01/just-a-good-day-4391632/2008-07-01T22:54:27+02:00 After a lie in and a slow start to the day, i finally got my latest work to the gallery where it was received well. Phew! While i was there a lady bought a peice of my jewellery, which was very thoughful of her- thank you. Prior to this, i had an email from the company i am now contract cleaning for, which said thank you for the hard work i am doing, and an offer to pay me earlier than i had expected. A thank you to my sister who helped me on the horrendous initial clean too. So a very good start to my day and also to July. Perhaps my LOA mantra is working? I am trying not to be too sceptical, but hey, if it works then who am i to argue. I later walked the dogs at the seaside where they both went for a cooling and tiring swim. Again another joyous thing to do. It had just begun to rain which had cleared the park (adjacent to the sea), making it a peaceful and pleasant time. It smelled sooo good. That perfect smell when it rains after a hot dry spell. All in all a good day which of course will be repeated tomorrow, and everyday thereafter- i wish. <a href="http://middleagespread.blog.co.uk/2008/07/01/just-a-good-day-4391632/#comments">Comments</a> After a lie in and a slow start to the day, i finally got my latest work to the gallery where it was received well. Phew! While i was there a lady bought a peice of my jewellery, which was very thoughful of her- thank you.
Prior to this, i had an email from the company i am now contract cleaning for, which said thank you for the hard work i am doing, and an offer to pay me earlier than i had expected. A thank you to my sister who helped me on the horrendous initial clean too.
So a very good start to my day and also to July.
Perhaps my LOA mantra is working? I am trying not to be too sceptical, but hey, if it works then who am i to argue.
I later walked the dogs at the seaside where they both went for a cooling and tiring swim. Again another joyous thing to do. It had just begun to rain which had cleared the park (adjacent to the sea), making it a peaceful and pleasant time. It smelled sooo good. That perfect smell when it rains after a hot dry spell.
All in all a good day which of course will be repeated tomorrow, and everyday thereafter- i wish.

Comments

]]>Supermarket price cuts and the rising price of foodhttp://middleagespread.blog.co.uk/2008/06/29/supermarket-price-cuts-and-the-rising-pr-4381686/2008-06-29T20:30:45+02:00 It has just occurred to me that i'm sure we- the great british public- are having the wool pulled over our eyes yet again. If the supermarket chains can suddenly, in the face of competition, reduce prices- this includes the cheaper supermarkets who have the leading edge at the moment, then how come we have been told that it is world prices at the production end that has been causing the rapid increases in our shopping baskets. If i am right, shops are not allowed to sell things at a loss. This means that they are still making money at these reduced prices. We must be complete mugs. I say keep shopping at aldi and lidl, and watch the giants slash their prices further. Then split your shopping between them all to keep prices down. Surely we should also do this with petrol companies, and energy suppliers to force them down too. Come on people, start fighting against this rip off at long last. If we don't do it no one will. Least of all this lilly livered government we have in place. <a href="http://middleagespread.blog.co.uk/2008/06/29/supermarket-price-cuts-and-the-rising-pr-4381686/#comments">Comments</a> It has just occurred to me that i'm sure we- the great british public- are having the wool pulled over our eyes yet again.
If the supermarket chains can suddenly, in the face of competition, reduce prices- this includes the cheaper supermarkets who have the leading edge at the moment, then how come we have been told that it is world prices at the production end that has been causing the rapid increases in our shopping baskets.
If i am right, shops are not allowed to sell things at a loss. This means that they are still making money at these reduced prices.
We must be complete mugs.
I say keep shopping at aldi and lidl, and watch the giants slash their prices further. Then split your shopping between them all to keep prices down.
Surely we should also do this with petrol companies, and energy suppliers to force them down too.
Come on people, start fighting against this rip off at long last.
If we don't do it no one will. Least of all this lilly livered government we have in place.

Comments

]]>Sunday morning moan and morehttp://middleagespread.blog.co.uk/2008/06/29/sunday-morning-moan-and-more-4379461/2008-06-29T11:16:38+02:00 Another day, and another day in the news for Mr Mugabe. What a nutter!!!! Let's hope that this thingy in Egypt begins to sort things out, and that other leaders begin to show him the contempt that he truely deserves by not acknowledging him as a leader of a country. I hope at last SA stands up and is counted and begins to make moves against this madman and his henchmen. How many times will these leaders butcher their own people, and the world sits and does nothing. A disgrace!! Back on the home front, things seem to be happening. A price war in the supermarkets. Apparently this is a good time to fill up your shopping baskets- or so we are told. Lidl and Aldi taking the big names to the cleaners. So people power does still work. thank goodness. But i shall continue to shop in the cheaper stores, as i don't trust that these lower prices will hold in the larger named shops. I also had a brief chat with an energy supplier, trying to sell it's wares to me, and offerring discounts. Sadly these discounts do not apply to me as i have a prepaid meter. Interesting thing this is, as i'm one of the many who can't default on their bill, so therefore i receive the sh** end of the stick as always. I long for the day that i can afford to be self sufficient, and not line the pockets of these giants. I have also just realised that if i give up one of my part time jobs, i will in fact be better off. No, i'm not on any benefits, nor do i receive tax credits, but as i have 2 small part time jobs, i pay 20% tax on each. I have just picked up my own small contract clean (self employed) which pays less than one of my other jobs, but by quitting that job i should get full tax relief on the remaining paultry sum. As a bonus it also gives me more time to get my artwork done. If anyone is interested in seeing some of my (art) work it can be found at quarrart.com Does anyone think we'll ever see fuel prices below £1 per litre again? No, i don't either. I think that now they have managed to break through the barrier in magnanimous fashion, i think it is safe to say that it will never sink below that price again. However, the sun is shining, i am having a few days away camping soon, the garden is looking good this year, and i am healthy. What more should i want!?! <a href="http://middleagespread.blog.co.uk/2008/06/29/sunday-morning-moan-and-more-4379461/#comments">Comments</a> Another day, and another day in the news for Mr Mugabe. What a nutter!!!! Let's hope that this thingy in Egypt begins to sort things out, and that other leaders begin to show him the contempt that he truely deserves by not acknowledging him as a leader of a country. I hope at last SA stands up and is counted and begins to make moves against this madman and his henchmen.
How many times will these leaders butcher their own people, and the world sits and does nothing.
A disgrace!!
Back on the home front, things seem to be happening. A price war in the supermarkets. Apparently this is a good time to fill up your shopping baskets- or so we are told. Lidl and Aldi taking the big names to the cleaners. So people power does still work. thank goodness. But i shall continue to shop in the cheaper stores, as i don't trust that these lower prices will hold in the larger named shops.
I also had a brief chat with an energy supplier, trying to sell it's wares to me, and offerring discounts. Sadly these discounts do not apply to me as i have a prepaid meter. Interesting thing this is, as i'm one of the many who can't default on their bill, so therefore i receive the sh** end of the stick as always. I long for the day that i can afford to be self sufficient, and not line the pockets of these giants.
I have also just realised that if i give up one of my part time jobs, i will in fact be better off. No, i'm not on any benefits, nor do i receive tax credits, but as i have 2 small part time jobs, i pay 20% tax on each. I have just picked up my own small contract clean (self employed) which pays less than one of my other jobs, but by quitting that job i should get full tax relief on the remaining paultry sum. As a bonus it also gives me more time to get my artwork done. If anyone is interested in seeing some of my (art) work it can be found at quarrart.com
Does anyone think we'll ever see fuel prices below £1 per litre again? No, i don't either. I think that now they have managed to break through the barrier in magnanimous fashion, i think it is safe to say that it will never sink below that price again.
However, the sun is shining, i am having a few days away camping soon, the garden is looking good this year, and i am healthy. What more should i want!?!

Comments

]]>Summertime and the living should be easyhttp://middleagespread.blog.co.uk/2008/06/24/summertime-and-the-living-should-be-easy-4359027/2008-06-24T23:01:29+02:00 I have just got home from a lovely walk in the countryside, with two of my sisters, a friend of one of theirs, and four dogs. Two of mine and two belonging to my younger sister. What a nice time it was. Simple and it cost nothing- save a bit of fuel to get there. The sun was still shining and the crops in the fields were truely glowing in this light. The trees and hedges are what can only be described as lush this year. If i am lucky i will have at least 40 more summers to enjoy. I fully intend to make each one count. It is quite a sobering though that life is not eternal, and that one day i shall no longer see another summers day or evening. So i suppose i shall have to endeavour to enjoy every one that i can. I am extremely lucky to have the opportunity to enjoy the outdoors, and to live where i do. Thank you <a href="http://middleagespread.blog.co.uk/2008/06/24/summertime-and-the-living-should-be-easy-4359027/#comments">Comments</a> I have just got home from a lovely walk in the countryside, with two of my sisters, a friend of one of theirs, and four dogs. Two of mine and two belonging to my younger sister.
What a nice time it was. Simple and it cost nothing- save a bit of fuel to get there.
The sun was still shining and the crops in the fields were truely glowing in this light.
The trees and hedges are what can only be described as lush this year.
If i am lucky i will have at least 40 more summers to enjoy. I fully intend to make each one count.
It is quite a sobering though that life is not eternal, and that one day i shall no longer see another summers day or evening. So i suppose i shall have to endeavour to enjoy every one that i can.
I am extremely lucky to have the opportunity to enjoy the outdoors, and to live where i do.
Thank you

Comments

]]>Frustrated and confusedhttp://middleagespread.blog.co.uk/2008/06/23/frustrated-and-confused-4353927/2008-06-23T21:54:24+02:00 I see that it has been a while since my last blog, and so to let of a bit more steam for anyone who wishes to peruse, this is my latest set of irritants. I last commented on the type of work i am presently engaged in and have just enjoyed a conversation with hubby on the nightmare that has become job hunting. He related to me a conversation he had with a '12 year old', employed in a recruitment agency, to which all my husbands responses were met with "great...coool". Grrrrrrr!!! Is it only the two of us who are averse to filling in long winded application forms which will disappear into some pile within an HR department for later scrutiny, by someone we will never meet, never speak to, and who will judge us on the merits of some qualifications which we took over 30 years ago and use this to decide whether we are suitable for the minimum paid cashiers job (for example) at the local corner shop? What happened to making an appointment to see the manager, having an interview, during which he/she would take notes, and even being offered employment at the same interview? Is it that, as i suspect, managers are not really managers, but simply are persuaded to hold their job by way of a fancy title? Is it that the company doesn't trust those they put in a position of trust? Do managers simply have no qualifications to decide whether the person sat opposite them is likable and suitable for the job on offer? Additionally, to get work in my own country i am now required to prove who i am, and not just use my 'unique' NI number. I say unique as god knows who else is sharing my NI number, as happened to a relative. It transpired that someone else had her number- not through illegal means, but issued quite legitimately by the body who issues thses numbers!!!! I recently worked, albeit briefly, for a company who insisted that i needed proof of who i was by way of my passport, and birth certificate, and marriage certificate, plus my national insurance number. This, i was assured, was to stop illegal workers. I am aghast that so much of my liberty and privacy is under scrutiny. If illegal workers want to find work and pay taxes, let them. There are enough lazy, bone idle brits, who are sitting at home daily like open mouthed chicks squawking 'feed me' to all who bother working. Back to my first point. Where has common sense gone? Anyone who wants unskilled work in their local area should surely not have to be spending a couple of hours filling in reams of papers, photocopying documents and sending these to the other side of the country, in the hope of not being turned down because some spotty oik sitting in a windowless office sees that at 16 you didn't gain aa A star in English literature- even though A stars didn't exist when you were 16. <a href="http://middleagespread.blog.co.uk/2008/06/23/frustrated-and-confused-4353927/#comments">Comments</a> I see that it has been a while since my last blog, and so to let of a bit more steam for anyone who wishes to peruse, this is my latest set of irritants.
I last commented on the type of work i am presently engaged in and have just enjoyed a conversation with hubby on the nightmare that has become job hunting.
He related to me a conversation he had with a '12 year old', employed in a recruitment agency, to which all my husbands responses were met with "great...coool". Grrrrrrr!!!
Is it only the two of us who are averse to filling in long winded application forms which will disappear into some pile within an HR department for later scrutiny, by someone we will never meet, never speak to, and who will judge us on the merits of some qualifications which we took over 30 years ago and use this to decide whether we are suitable for the minimum paid cashiers job (for example) at the local corner shop?
What happened to making an appointment to see the manager, having an interview, during which he/she would take notes, and even being offered employment at the same interview?
Is it that, as i suspect, managers are not really managers, but simply are persuaded to hold their job by way of a fancy title? Is it that the company doesn't trust those they put in a position of trust? Do managers simply have no qualifications to decide whether the person sat opposite them is likable and suitable for the job on offer?
Additionally, to get work in my own country i am now required to prove who i am, and not just use my 'unique' NI number. I say unique as god knows who else is sharing my NI number, as happened to a relative. It transpired that someone else had her number- not through illegal means, but issued quite legitimately by the body who issues thses numbers!!!!
I recently worked, albeit briefly, for a company who insisted that i needed proof of who i was by way of my passport, and birth certificate, and marriage certificate, plus my national insurance number. This, i was assured, was to stop illegal workers.
I am aghast that so much of my liberty and privacy is under scrutiny. If illegal workers want to find work and pay taxes, let them. There are enough lazy, bone idle brits, who are sitting at home daily like open mouthed chicks squawking 'feed me' to all who bother working.
Back to my first point.
Where has common sense gone? Anyone who wants unskilled work in their local area should surely not have to be spending a couple of hours filling in reams of papers, photocopying documents and sending these to the other side of the country, in the hope of not being turned down because some spotty oik sitting in a windowless office sees that at 16 you didn't gain aa A star in English literature- even though A stars didn't exist when you were 16.

Comments

]]>Employment and statushttp://middleagespread.blog.co.uk/2008/06/12/employment-and-status-4307087/2008-06-12T17:17:39+02:00 I'm off in a few minutes to attend to my evening duty as an office cleaner. Not the most glamourous job in the world, i know. I took up cleaning to suppliment my life as an artist some months ago. Formally i was a teacher, and have had businesses of different sorts over the years. What a surprise i was in for when i took to cleaning! Although i have a great amount of pride, and have put in the same amount of dedication to each of the jobs i have chosen to do over the years, i can't help thinking that socially cleaners rank the lowest of the low. I have had companies delaying payments on the grounds that they forgot to request certain paperwork, which i was not too happy to give them. I have been told that wages would be late as the payroll office 'forgot to send the paperwork to head office' (a different company). I have encountered heirarchy and back stabbing from my present employer. One thing is for sure in my life. Cleaning for me is not a career. It is a means to an end. I do my job well and i expect to be paid for it and be treatd respectfully. If i wanted a full time career (outside art), i would retrain again, or re employ a former skill. I have been asked by one cleaning company, to whom i enquired about local jobs, if i had an NVQ. In cleaning???Office cleaning???? I, like many other people who do this type of work, do it well, and expect little (financial) reward for it. What i do expect is honesty, repect (as mentioned before), and regular money. So, if any of you employ a cleaner, be good to them. They are already taking a battering and perhaps, like many of the people i am now working alongside, have a great deal of hidden talents and an array of skills that you may never have considered enquiring about. <a href="http://middleagespread.blog.co.uk/2008/06/12/employment-and-status-4307087/#comments">Comments</a> I'm off in a few minutes to attend to my evening duty as an office cleaner.
Not the most glamourous job in the world, i know.
I took up cleaning to suppliment my life as an artist some months ago.
Formally i was a teacher, and have had businesses of different sorts over the years.
What a surprise i was in for when i took to cleaning!
Although i have a great amount of pride, and have put in the same amount of dedication to each of the jobs i have chosen to do over the years, i can't help thinking that socially cleaners rank the lowest of the low.
I have had companies delaying payments on the grounds that they forgot to request certain paperwork, which i was not too happy to give them. I have been told that wages would be late as the payroll office 'forgot to send the paperwork to head office' (a different company). I have encountered heirarchy and back stabbing from my present employer.
One thing is for sure in my life. Cleaning for me is not a career. It is a means to an end. I do my job well and i expect to be paid for it and be treatd respectfully.
If i wanted a full time career (outside art), i would retrain again, or re employ a former skill.
I have been asked by one cleaning company, to whom i enquired about local jobs, if i had an NVQ. In cleaning???Office cleaning????
I, like many other people who do this type of work, do it well, and expect little (financial) reward for it.
What i do expect is honesty, repect (as mentioned before), and regular money.
So, if any of you employ a cleaner, be good to them. They are already taking a battering and perhaps, like many of the people i am now working alongside, have a great deal of hidden talents and an array of skills that you may never have considered enquiring about.

Comments

]]>rip off britainhttp://middleagespread.blog.co.uk/2008/06/12/rip-off-britain-4306771/2008-06-12T16:02:40+02:00 I'm getting quite into my blogging these days, and enjoying spouting off here and there, even if no one's reading it. My latest, middle aged moan is attactions. I happened to be dropping a relative off at southampton airport the other day, and suggested to my hubby that we should go and visit Bucklers hard, the ship building village as i have never been there. When we got there we entered quite a nice 'toll' room where was displayed a price list. The minimum price to walk down and through the village was a criminal £5.60 per person. When i asked the polite lady behind the counter whether this was for the village she affirmed and added that for this we could go in the museum too. I loudly turned down her kind offer to take a total of £11.20 off us and explained that if they reduced the prices i may be encouraged to visit- or words to that effect. Fortunately another couple who were also waiting to go to the village agreed with me and headed back to their car too. Surely, if these places stopped this ridiculous policeing of places and therefore having to pay staff to man their territories they could reduce their fees and this would encourage interested visitors. Do these places also receive grant and or public funds to aid the maintenence for these places? If they do, are we not paying them many times over for the privilage of visiting our own heritage? As it turns out i'm sure i'm not alone in being ignorant to what a lot of these places look like, feel like and am losing the desire to know more about them as i simply cannot aford to spend what little i have left over each month on extortionate entrance fees. Maybe if i had a benefit book in hand, and didn't try to stand on my own two feet i would gain. In dorset we already have the exceptionally greedy national trust with their inexplicably high parking charges on the beaches at studland. two years ago i was going home via the sandbanks ferry ( i do not live in sandbanks, but a much less exclusive area of poole), and wanted to stop for a coffee at the pub at studland and was told that the parking charge of £8.00 would be necessary. As almost all the roads are now double yellow lined around studland, which is understandable as they are very narrow, car parks are the only option- but £8 for a coffee break! I ask you. I apologise now to the lady in the parking kiosk for my foul mouthed reply, but do these people have no shame? Are they, like the gestapo were, chosen for their absolute loyalty and unscrupulous behaviour? I understand that preservation comes at a cost- but in a lot of cases, these groups or organisations set about preserving something by advertising it widely and encouraging multitudes of people to visit which seems to be the cause of a lot of damage, then proclaim that they must charge hellish amounts of money to visit these things etc etc. Wouldn't it be great if we all said a loud and united 'NO' to this behaviour, to force down these prices and get some value for our hard earned money. Surely local people should be entitled to visit local attractions. Strike that. Surely every person living in Britain should be entitled to visit these attractions gratis. We do pay enough taxes both nationally and locally- and i will argue the toss with anyone who declares otherwise. Thank you for bothering to read this <a href="http://middleagespread.blog.co.uk/2008/06/12/rip-off-britain-4306771/#comments">Comments</a> I'm getting quite into my blogging these days, and enjoying spouting off here and there, even if no one's reading it.
My latest, middle aged moan is attactions.
I happened to be dropping a relative off at southampton airport the other day, and suggested to my hubby that we should go and visit Bucklers hard, the ship building village as i have never been there.
When we got there we entered quite a nice 'toll' room where was displayed a price list. The minimum price to walk down and through the village was a criminal £5.60 per person.
When i asked the polite lady behind the counter whether this was for the village she affirmed and added that for this we could go in the museum too.
I loudly turned down her kind offer to take a total of £11.20 off us and explained that if they reduced the prices i may be encouraged to visit- or words to that effect.
Fortunately another couple who were also waiting to go to the village agreed with me and headed back to their car too.
Surely, if these places stopped this ridiculous policeing of places and therefore having to pay staff to man their territories they could reduce their fees and this would encourage interested visitors.
Do these places also receive grant and or public funds to aid the maintenence for these places? If they do, are we not paying them many times over for the privilage of visiting our own heritage? As it turns out i'm sure i'm not alone in being ignorant to what a lot of these places look like, feel like and am losing the desire to know more about them as i simply cannot aford to spend what little i have left over each month on extortionate entrance fees. Maybe if i had a benefit book in hand, and didn't try to stand on my own two feet i would gain.
In dorset we already have the exceptionally greedy national trust with their inexplicably high parking charges on the beaches at studland. two years ago i was going home via the sandbanks ferry ( i do not live in sandbanks, but a much less exclusive area of poole), and wanted to stop for a coffee at the pub at studland and was told that the parking charge of £8.00 would be necessary. As almost all the roads are now double yellow lined around studland, which is understandable as they are very narrow, car parks are the only option- but £8 for a coffee break! I ask you.
I apologise now to the lady in the parking kiosk for my foul mouthed reply, but do these people have no shame? Are they, like the gestapo were, chosen for their absolute loyalty and unscrupulous behaviour?
I understand that preservation comes at a cost- but in a lot of cases, these groups or organisations set about preserving something by advertising it widely and encouraging multitudes of people to visit which seems to be the cause of a lot of damage, then proclaim that they must charge hellish amounts of money to visit these things etc etc.
Wouldn't it be great if we all said a loud and united 'NO' to this behaviour, to force down these prices and get some value for our hard earned money.
Surely local people should be entitled to visit local attractions. Strike that. Surely every person living in Britain should be entitled to visit these attractions gratis. We do pay enough taxes both nationally and locally- and i will argue the toss with anyone who declares otherwise.
Thank you for bothering to read this

Comments

]]>Perhaps there is a glimmer of hopehttp://middleagespread.blog.co.uk/2008/05/31/perhaps-there-is-a-glimmer-of-hope-4249826/2008-05-31T08:25:14+02:00 Following my first blog, i am pleased to comment on the common sense reported by surrey police to take the common sense route to policeing. At last someone has deemed that we can live in a non target driven society. Hurray!! Let's hope more and more institutions follow the example of this one and get back to doing the jobs they were set up to do instead of pandying to politicians. Interestingly, today it has been announced that the government is now going to put forward a plan to stop ciggie companies from branding their products. Hmmmm. I find this very interesting at how far this nanny state is prepared to interfere with my life. Not only does it attempt- with much success- to ban using this product in many areas, which on the whole is not too bad an idea, but now it wishes to banish it from the shelves. I would like to know of other products which are quite legal to purchase and use over the age of consent, to which we are banned from seeing and very restricted in using. I will give a parody- if that's the right expression. A shop can legally sell shoes- manufacturers can legally make the product- people can buy the product quite legally, but the government decides that it is illegal to wear shoes. I'll leave that thought with you for a while. Bye <a href="http://middleagespread.blog.co.uk/2008/05/31/perhaps-there-is-a-glimmer-of-hope-4249826/#comments">Comments</a> Following my first blog, i am pleased to comment on the common sense reported by surrey police to take the common sense route to policeing. At last someone has deemed that we can live in a non target driven society. Hurray!!
Let's hope more and more institutions follow the example of this one and get back to doing the jobs they were set up to do instead of pandying to politicians.
Interestingly, today it has been announced that the government is now going to put forward a plan to stop ciggie companies from branding their products. Hmmmm. I find this very interesting at how far this nanny state is prepared to interfere with my life. Not only does it attempt- with much success- to ban using this product in many areas, which on the whole is not too bad an idea, but now it wishes to banish it from the shelves. I would like to know of other products which are quite legal to purchase and use over the age of consent, to which we are banned from seeing and very restricted in using.
I will give a parody- if that's the right expression. A shop can legally sell shoes- manufacturers can legally make the product- people can buy the product quite legally, but the government decides that it is illegal to wear shoes.
I'll leave that thought with you for a while.
Bye

Comments

]]>Hello to the world of blogginghttp://middleagespread.blog.co.uk/2008/05/15/hello-to-the-world-of-blogging-4176322/2008-05-15T09:26:41+02:00 This is my first attempt to 'blog', and i'm not sure how this works, but i'll give it a go. I'm not really sure what a blog is- is it a rant, should it be poetic, can i use this new found tool to express my opinions? As a middle aged woman- i regard myself as middle aged as i don't expect to live well into my nineties- i am getting weary of the repetitive nature of life and society. Where are the rebels these days? Why have we become so hum drum in England? Conformity is everywhere i look, and acceptance of the words of bureaucrats, politicians, and big business. Am i really happy to sit back and watch as my privacy is invaded at every turn. The answer is of course no. Am i really happy to sit back and watch as the basic standard of living which i inhabit is stretched to breaking point- i am one of the many childless people on low income who cannot get tax credits, assistance for rates etc etc- while i watch the underbelly smugly smile (knowingly) at my efforts to support myself without government help. The answer is again a resounding NO. I had a conversation recently with a relative who insisted on pointing out how we got here- in this present situation- citing Thatcher and the politicians of the 80s, I argued that it doesn't matter how we got here, the fact is we are here, and nobody (en mass) is doing anything about it. I used an agument of a broken vase- it inevitably doesn't matter how much you analyse who broke it, it is still broken and either needs replacing or repairing. I am awaiting a brave soul who will start a rebellion and offer a future for all, not just the top and bottom of my society. As a footnote, i am generally a happy person, but this is on my mind today and i thought i'd share it with you. Thank you for reading! <a href="http://middleagespread.blog.co.uk/2008/05/15/hello-to-the-world-of-blogging-4176322/#comments">Comments</a> This is my first attempt to 'blog', and i'm not sure how this works, but i'll give it a go.
I'm not really sure what a blog is- is it a rant, should it be poetic, can i use this new found tool to express my opinions?
As a middle aged woman- i regard myself as middle aged as i don't expect to live well into my nineties- i am getting weary of the repetitive nature of life and society. Where are the rebels these days? Why have we become so hum drum in England?
Conformity is everywhere i look, and acceptance of the words of bureaucrats, politicians, and big business.
Am i really happy to sit back and watch as my privacy is invaded at every turn. The answer is of course no.
Am i really happy to sit back and watch as the basic standard of living which i inhabit is stretched to breaking point- i am one of the many childless people on low income who cannot get tax credits, assistance for rates etc etc- while i watch the underbelly smugly smile (knowingly) at my efforts to support myself without government help. The answer is again a resounding NO.
I had a conversation recently with a relative who insisted on pointing out how we got here- in this present situation- citing Thatcher and the politicians of the 80s, I argued that it doesn't matter how we got here, the fact is we are here, and nobody (en mass) is doing anything about it. I used an agument of a broken vase- it inevitably doesn't matter how much you analyse who broke it, it is still broken and either needs replacing or repairing.
I am awaiting a brave soul who will start a rebellion and offer a future for all, not just the top and bottom of my society.
As a footnote, i am generally a happy person, but this is on my mind today and i thought i'd share it with you.
Thank you for reading!

Comments

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