Needy?!

Firstly let me just say that I have had a lovely Christmas with my two nephews and niece. 

Nephew no 1 is 21 years old, nephew no 2 is 20 years old and niece is 17 years old.  So none of them are exactly babies???

And my rant today is going to be........................ why do none of them act like 'normal teenagers'???  Or even normal young people ('cos the boys aren't actually teenagers any more).

I have a lot of friends who have children of a similar age and every time I meet up with them I have to listen to the latest stories of what their children have done.  Now, I don't like to boast but I would probably call myself a 'middle class' ranting middle aged spinster??  I'm certainly not up there in the top 20% of earners but I am most certainly not down there in the realms of people who go on the 'Jeremy Kyle' show.  Ditto my friends.  We are 'middle class' people who own our own home, have studied at further education and have held down so called 'professional' jobs.

And so all my friends who have children, are a similar age to my sister, and a  'similar' social standing to my sister,  OK probably not - my sister is probably financially a lot better off than everyone else I know, and all my friends kids are of a similar age to my nephews and niece.  .......................And there the similarities end???

My nephews and niece are sooooo, sooooo, soooooo needy on their parents.  OK on their mother, not their father.  And by that I don't mean that they haven't got the life skills to look after themselves.  ......................Actually I do mean that.  They can all cook fabulous meals from scratch, so at least they won't starve?  My sister is a brilliant cook and has taught them well.  Unfortunately she hasn't taught them how to put a wash on, clean a house or iron a few clothes???  Today my sister told my niece to put all her wet clothes in the dryer and she put them in the washing machine?!!  Surely a 17 year old should know the difference between a washing machine and a tumble dryer???Today we went out for a walk and nephew no. 2 said, 'mum, which coat should I wear?'  Seriously - does a 20 year old really have to ask his mummy which coat to wear?

I don't actually think that any of my nephews or niece have actually stripped their own bed at home and washed their bedding themselves.  I don't think any of them have actually looked in the wash basket and thought, 'this is full, I'd better put a wash on.'  I'm not even sure if any of them know where to get a clean towel from?  They certainly don't just take clean towels out of the airing cupboard every time they have a shower like most of the teenagers I know? 

My nephews and niece are not like any other kids that I know and I honestly can't decide whether this is a good or a bad thing???  They're like the 'Waltons'???  And for any of you who don't know who the Waltons are....................  It was a TV programme from years back.  Google it.  I'm not clever enough to put in links.

It's nice that they're all so family orientated, which I believe stems from the fact that my sister has been lucky enough to be  a 'stay at home' mum for more than 20 years.  On the other hand the kids have never, ever, had to 'fend for themselves', ie go to childminders or after school or breakfast clubs.  Their mummy has always been there for them to ferry them to swimming classes and brownies and scouts or wherever else they wanted to go so they've never actually learned how to be independent.  They've never had to come home by themselves or get tea for themselves or do a supermarket shop.

The thing that will always stick out in my mind is.................  when my niece was in the last year at primary school, my sister went down to the village bakery at lunchtime and bought her a hot sausage roll and took it into school for her.  Personally I didn't understand why she couldn't just have the same packed lunch that her brothers had apparently she didn't want a chicken wrap??  But when I told my best friend who had kids of a similar age and who worked full time, her exact words were, ' Oh how lovely.  I wish I could do that for my children.' 

...............Well she was working full time so she couldn't and ten years on..................  my bestie's kids may not have had their mummy bringing them hot sausage rolls at lunchtime and their mummy might not always have been around before and after school; but her three kids have got a much greater understanding of life, they are far more independent and they have all worked from an early age and understand the value of money.  They pay their own phone bills, they sort out their own uni overdrafts, they pay for their own driving lessons and cars......................  and they never, ever sit all evening in the living room with their parents watching TV?? 

My bestie's kids spend their whole life in their bedroom watching their own TVs or laptops, talking to their mates, going out with their mates, doing stuff with people their age.  They don't do their homework at the kitchen table and they don't consult their mummy on every little thing they do.

When I asked nephew no 1 want he wanted for Christmas; his response was, 'Ask mum'.

I guess there are two ways of looking at this:

1)  He's really needy and needs his mummy to approve everything.
2)  He's really organised and has given his Christmas list to his mum because he knows that she is even more organised and just will do everything for him.

Who knows???

However having just spent 3 days with my nephews and niece over Christmas..................  I cannot believe how much time they actually want to spend with their parents?

As a middle aged ranting spinster...............  I have had such a lovely Christmas with my sister and husband and my nephews and nieces.  But I just cannot understand why they want to spend time with their parents and an aging Auntie instead of going out with their own friends???

Why would any kids want to do that?

When I think back to my teenage years of the 1970's when we were actually just expected to sit in the living room with our parents and watch whatever they wanted to watch on TV.  All of us............ on a brown sofa with an orange carpet and God only knows what colour the wallpaper was?

The highlight of my TV viewing was watching 'Crossroads' around 5.30pm-ish and then my Dad would come home from work and switch it over to the BBC news before I'd seen the final bit.

It's not the 1970s.  Life moves on.

.................And yet life in my sisters home is like the 1970s.  #justcallthemthewaltons The family all sit down together for meals.  My sister cooks really scrumptious meals from scratch.  I love staying at my sisters. 

They are not 'normal teenagers'.  They appear for breakfast, lunch and dinner.  Duh!  How many teenagers do that?

However, having said that - times change and these days people lead very busy lives and 'snacking on the go', is the norm.

When I left my sisters yesterday, after having the most fabulous Christmas, with the most fabulous home cooked food for three days.................... she was trying to persuade my niece, who was just off to do a bit of charity bag packing at a well known supermarket, for 5 hours to take a packed lunch with her?  Sister tried to tell niece that as she was working for 5 hours she would need a lunch break. 
Niece tried to tell sister that it was a voluntary thing and lunch breaks probably wouldn't happen.
Sister said, 'You're a child and you need a break.'

................A child????  She's 17 years old.  She could get married, drive a car, have a job, have a baby, set up home,  and in another few more months vote for the leader of this country.  Scary stuff???'

Needless to say I haven't actually heard what the outcome of the 'charity bag packing' was.

....................But I still think that my nephews and niece are very needy???!!!

Why does everything have to be done 'on-line'?

I'm still trying to get a new job.  I have a job but it's a job that I really don't want to be doing for very much longer.  May be I will have a rant about my present job.  Who knows?!

Anyway, while trying to find a job - any job, a minimum wage job, a part-time job, a temporary job, a full time job, any sort of job.......................... I have come to the conclusion that; a) no body wants to employ a 57 year old, and b) if they do want to employ a 57 year old one has to first apply on line.  Grrrrrrrr......................

These days it is impossible to apply for any jobs in a 'chain' without applying on line and going through an on line screening process.  Quite often I have 'failed' these on line screening processing tests because I have been using my common sense.  It would appear that common sense is non existent these days. And to prove that theory, I've just applied to work for a 'well known' supermarket chain and (because I failed the 'on line screening at another well know supermarket chain) I answered every single question with the customer in mind.  And whoopee doooo....................... I passed the on line screening test.  Yay!

The only trouble is?............................  Are the health & safety officials going to be happy with this?

Ie, if I stop cleaning up spilled yogurt (which is a H&S issue) and trek to the other side of the store to show a customer where the baked beans are.........................  and then someone slips on the spilled yogurt and breaks a leg or worse........................ is that still going to be OK?  As far as I'm concerned the majority of customers would be perfectly OK if I was cleaning up spilled yogurt, they asked where the baked beans were and I told them to go to aisle 10???  But oh no.................. The customer always has to be given the best experience in store which means assuming they are not capable of locating aisle 10 by themselves actually physically taking them there!

Anyway now that I have worked out exactly what answers supermarkets want in their on line screening process I have passed the test to work in one.  Yay!

...............That's the good news?!

The bad news is.......................  There's 6 stages to the on line application and the 3rd stage is some sort of clearing check to make sure that I'm actually legally entitled to work in the UK?  When I clicked on the link to take me to an 'external site', the screen just popped up with a message saying that the link was broken???  Duh!  What on earth does that mean?  So being the very techie person that I am, I went back and clicked on the 'save and continue later' button.

...........And now it's later................... and when I've tried to continue with my application all it pops up with is my profile page and I can't get any further.

I'm not able to phone for help because there is no phone number.  I'm not able to attach my own CV to the job application because they don't accept personal CVs.  I am not able to email anyone because all questions should be answered in the FAQ section.

Unfortunately my question cannot be answered in the FAQ section so what do I do?

This well known supermarket that I have applied to work in..................... as a checkout operator for 9.5 hours per week (so not exactly rocket science) seem to want their staff to pander to every single whim of their customers and yet the 'powers that be' don't appear to value their staff, or people applying to be their staff, as anything more than a statistic. 

And all the blurb on the application  said that the contracted hours were 9.5 per week but if one reached the interview stage, one would probably be asked if one were happy to do extras hours????  Grrrrrr........................   NO - I'm applying for this job because I want a part time job; not because I want to be employed for 9.5 hours per week, but be expected to work at least double that????

But does any of this actually matter because I can't progress my application any further anyway and due to my potential employers not respecting their future employees, and actually providing a real life person for them to talk to..............................  do I actually want to work for a company like this???

Probably not!!!

Ordering on-line

On Wednesday I ordered a Christmas Tree online.  I ordered this from a well known store.  I didn't opt to have it delivered to my home because I'm never sure when I will be in, so I chose the option, 'deliver to store' within two days.  I was pretty sure that I would have time to pick up my Christmas Tree either yesterday or today.

This isn't a real Christmas Tree - it's a very lovely 'arty, farty, white, twiggy type Christmas Tree' which was half price.  Bargain!

It is now Friday evening and I DO NOT HAVE MY CHRISTMAS TREE.

To say I am annoyed is an understatement!   Grrrrrrrr..........................

When I went onto the shop website to track where my Christmas tree was; it popped up with a message saying it was in the warehouse waiting to be delivered to the store and then another message popped up saying that the shop was experiencing a very high level of on-line orders so I could expect to get my Christmas tree within 3-5 days???

3-5 days is not 'within 2 days'???

It's Christmas.  It's a Christmas Tree.  Of course the shop is going to be experiencing a very high level of on line orders.  The first rule of 'customer service' is; 'under promise and over deliver.'  Duh!  Ie, if the shop had told me I wouldn't get my Christmas Tree for 3-5 days I wouldn't have ordered it would have known what to expect.

And even if I do get a message in the next few hours saying that my Christmas Tree is available to be picked up over the weekend I cannot do this due to other commitments.

I have friends coming round for dinner tomorrow night and I wanted my home to look all festive and Christmassy.  That's not going to happen now is it?  Seriously not happy.  This is not good enough.  Or am I being over demanding?

This isn't some weeny, teeny, little corner shop.  This is a HUGE company that has stores all over the UK. 

So what do I do?  Do I name and shame them on this blog and link it to FB and twitter and Instagram and every other social media platform that I can think of?  Do I just accept that it is Christmas and the shop is experiencing high levels of on-line orders and resign myself to the fact that my Christmas Tree will arrive in store whenever?  Do I cancel my order and demand my money back straight away?  Do I tell them they've not delivered what they promised and demand compensation?

What would you do?

I'm just really upset that I wanted my house to look perfect for tomorrow night.  And now it won't!!!

Applying for a job

I have never ever had a problem finding a job in my life.  My attitude is......................  if you want work, you will find work.  It may not be the job that you want but as far as I am concerned there is work around for anyone who wants it.  I sit every morning watching 'Jeremy Kyle' (because I'm working in the evenings at the moment) thinking, 'why don't these people just accept whatever job they can get?'.

However, I'm now beginning to think that finding a job may not be as easy as it once was.  I'm looking for a part time job.  Maximum 20 hours a week.  I have hand delivered my CV to 20 cafes/shops in my local area.  I have applied for at least 20 more jobs.  I have applied to work in well known supermarkets and department stores.

Nobody seems to want me.

And yet...................  I don't know why?  ................I look at some of the people (OK a lot of the people) that work in the places that I've applied to and think.................. how come you've managed to get a job here and I can't?  Fat, rude, stains all over their clothes/uniforms, greasy hair, dirty nails (and this was in a Bakers shop).

I'm applying for 'minimum wage' jobs.  Minimum wage jobs are not 'rocket science.'  But these days it would appear that minimum wage jobs have their workers over a barrel so to speak.  The actual job might only be for 12 hours a week but one has to be 'flexible' as to when one can work.  Ie, the last job I applied for; I had to be available 6 days a week between the hours of 8.30am and 6pm so my 12 hours a week could be any time within those hours???  Duh?!!!  Some of us actually have a life!!!  But I didn't even manage to get an interview anyway because no one seems to want a middle age woman with loads of life experience.

BUT................... what is annoying me more than anything is the fact that hardly any employers bother to reply to applicants that they're not interested in. Most of the jobs that I have applied for have been on the 'Indeed' job site or the 'Gumtree' job site.  They post these adverts that are all nicey, nicey, saying such stuff as, 'Send us your CV and someone will be in touch.'  It is sooo, soooo, soooo, misleading.  They should just say, 'Send us your CV, we won't look at it and we won't bother acknowledging it and if we do actually invite you for an interview it will because your covering letter sounded OK,'

Well, as far as I'm concerned anyone can make a covering letter sound wonderful but if employers ask for a CV then why don't they actually bother to read it so that they have some idea of who they're actually interviewing?

Take my latest interview for example - receptionist in a hairdressers.  Applied for via Gumtree.  Got an email asking if I could attend an interview.  I replied asking if I should bring anything with me.  Hairdresser said to bring my CV (which I'd already attached to the application form).  Arrived at the said place and time 5 mins prior to interview.  Very young colleague told interviewer I was there (she was blow drying someone's hair at the time) so I was given a coffee and told she was running a bit late.  Personally I think she just took one look at me and thought, 'OMG, we don't want a middle aged woman working here.'

I was kept waiting for half an hour.  Actually I do have a life and have other things to do. 

And then the interview lasted all of 5 mins.  Probably not even that long!

It wasn't even an interview.  In less than 5 mins the interviewer managed to say 7 times; 'this job isn't for everyone, you'll be on your feet all day.'  She didn't ask me one single question about the position I was applying for or any previous experience I had or anything?????

I really felt like saying, 'You don't want someone my age do you?'  Even though I thought I looked quite respectable.  I'd done my hair, done my make-up, shaved everywhere, & had staggered to the interview in heels and smart clothes.  Obviously I didn't because I was trying to be the 'bigger person'.  But seriously?  If she'd bothered to read my CV in the first place then she could have worked out that I was old and not invited me to an interview in the first place.

She said she had other people to interview two days later and would text me.  Have I had a text or any other form of communication from her?  Of course I haven't.....................

..............But actually, I don't care because I really wouldn't want to work for anyone who didn't have the politeness or decency to do what they say they're going to do.

To me................... it's only politeness to let someone know that they haven't got a job that they have applied for and have been 'interviewed' for. 

Obviously these days........................  some people have absolutely no manners at all??!!

Applying for a supermarket job

I am a 'ranting middle aged spinster'.

I am 57 years old and have a lot of 'life experience' in the job industry.  The jobs that I have had over the last 45 years have ranged from delivering newspapers (when I was 13 years old) to being a primary school teacher, being a manager of a hotel, inspecting holiday let properties to ensure they were up to 'Visit Britain' standards, being an office administrator/PA and a whole host of other stuff.

Over the years I've done various other jobs - barmaid, shop assistant, waitress, usherette, catering assistant.  I've done a lot of different jobs during the 57 years of my life.

What I haven't done................ is work in a supermarket.  But honestly how hard can it be?  In my experience 'supermarket staff' aren't interested in the customer at all.  When I go to my local supermarket no one is available to help me, and if I do actually ask for help; I just get told - 'go to customer services.'

Mmmmmmm....................... applying for a 10 hour a week , temporary job in a well known supermarket is not easy.

I have just spent well over an hour applying for this job.  Couldn't just attach my very fabulous CV('because we only accept applications via our application form') so had to plough through loads of stuff.  Haven't a clue about the exact date that I started work in 1981 and actually does it really matter.  What the f***???  What is actually relevant?  What do employers want?  For Gods sake - It's 10 hrs a week refilling a few shelves.  How hard can it be?

BUT.......................  I've been rejected..................

As soon as I'd spent 'forever' filling in an online application form for a proxy little job in 'a well known supermarket', I immediately got a reply saying, 'You have not met the minimum criteria in our screening process.'  Seriously?????  Maybe I shouldn't have said that I'd clean up spilt yogurt -  Obviously that would require a H&S professional with rubber gloves and a few H&S boards set up via the spilt yogurt area.

This whole trying to get a job thing is a joke.

What the f*** is 'minimum criteria' on a screening process?

Aims, objectives, targets, goals??

OK, I might be 'old' but actually I have got a lot of 'life experience'.  All I want is a interesting little job for a max of 20 hours a week.

.................Without all the aims, objective, targets, goals...................

It's a supermarket - The job is either being a check out person or being a stocking shelves person.  For Gods sake supermarkets, get real.................. 

Whatever happened to good old fashioned common sense???

Team Member???

What the f*** is a 'team member'???

As a 'mature lady' in her later years of life, I am looking for a little part-time job in the local area.  Maximum 20 hours per week and I realise that I probably will only be paid minimum wage.  I'm happy with that.  All I want is a job that I can do for a few hours a week, leave at the end of my shift, go home and not have to worry about it until I go to work the following day.

Years ago it was really easy to pick up casual work.  One just walked into somewhere that one wanted to work and said, 'Give me a job', and that was it.  One had a job!  There was no contract to sign, no health & safety blurb to read, no talk of how much holiday pay you would get and pretty much no legal agreement on either side.

As a 'ranting middle aged spinster' I've just discovered that finding a job these days is a lot harder.  And I don't think it has anything to do with my age.

Take today for example.  I walked past the local Bakers shop and saw a sign in the window saying that they were looking for part-time staff.  Whoopeee doo I thought.  I can do that.  It may have been more than 35 years ago since I actually worked in a Bakers shop but how hard can it be?  OK so some of the bread may be gluten free or allergy free or actually not bread at all considering the number of allergies people have these days.  At the end of the day it's a job selling a few loaves of bread!!!

Anyway as I was looking quite smart and looked like a highly qualified interview candidate, I was on my way out to have a few drinks. Lol. I popped into the shop and asked the 'chewing gum, greasy haired, fat person, with stains all down her overall, behind the counter', what the part-time hours were and how I went about applying for the position.

'Chewing gum, greasy haired, fat person with stains all down her overall', said, 'Go on the website.  You can apply there.'  Not exactly the friendly customer service that I was hoping for???

......................So I went on the website.

And it turns out that the Bakers shop isn't actually looking for a 'shop assistant' to sell a loaf of bread.  It's looking for a 'team member'???  'Team Member'???  The shop only employs two people at a time - that's hardly a team?!!!

And before I actually got to the bit where it told me how to apply for the job I had to read through 4 pages of blurb describing what a 'team member' did.  Stuff about engaging with the customer and
upselling.  Ie, 'You've bought a sandwich.  Would you like to add a drink to that for an extra £1?'

Oh and while I'm on the subject of  stupid, stupid, job titles - 'Subway', the sandwich shop was looking for a sandwich maker.  Except Subway doesn't call their sandwich makers; sandwich makers.  Subway calls their sandwich makers - Sandwich Artists?!  For Gods sake - the whole point of Subway is that it sells sandwiches and pretty much nothing else.  Why can't they just advertise for a sandwich maker??

Anyway I digress.  After I'd ploughed my way through 4 pages of 'aims & objectives' I eventually got to the bit where it told me how many hours the 'team member' would have to work.  16 - whoopee dooo.  Perfect I thought. Until I read the bit that said that the 'team member' had to be 'fully flexible' between the hours of 5am and 5pm Mon-Sat.  Seriously?........................................

Maybe I am wildly out of touch with the job requirements in todays world................................

.......................BUT...............................

I have absolutely no intention of applying for any job where the employers value their staff so little that they think they are just sitting around waiting for whatever shifts they can get in a 12 hour period.  But whoopee doo - if, I had actually applied for this job and got it, my minimum wage of £7.20 would have gone up to £7.47 after 6 months.  Oh and one of the 'benefits' was free tea & coffee.

Needless to say I have not applied for the job of 'team member'.

.........................However I'm still a bit puzzled as to how 'chewing gum, greasy haired, fat person with stains all down her overall,' managed to get a job there???

Lack of communication

Soooooo, today I am going to have a RANT about lack of communication within the medical professions.  Actually I could rant about lack of communication within a lot of professions but lets just stick to one at a time!

5 years ago I had breast cancer.  I only found out that I had breast cancer because I went for a mammogram, aged 52, at the mobile screening unit that visited my town.  I had no lump, I didn't feel unwell.................... if it hadn't been for the routine screening visit I would never have known I had cancer.  After a few trips to the local hospital for more tests, and a very bruised boob, I was told the news that no woman wants to hear - 'you've got breast cancer.'

My first question was; 'Am I going to die?'  And the reply, 'No, not from this you're not.  I'm just going to get a breast care nurse to sit with you.'  Obviously dealing with a hysterical middle aged woman is not part of a doctors job.  They have minions to deal with that kind of thing!!!

.................BUT my rant today is not about reliving the trauma of having breast cancer though I do actually have a lot to say about it. Lol!  My rant today is about the lack of communication about what happens next.

At the beginning of the week I went for my final mammogram.  Whoopee doo.  Except it's not actually whoopee doo!  For the last three years the hospital has ran a 'drop in' centre for breast cancer patients.  That means that I have to remember that in September I have to go for a mammogram.  I'm very organised so I always go.  But what about the people who aren't organised or don't remember to go?  Does anybody actually chase them up?  This is peoples lives we're talking about.

I've had breast cancer and I've read that one is never actually free of cancer so maybe I've still got it.  But the 5 year period is up so now I just go back to visiting the mobile breast screening unit that visits my town once every three years. 

So I said to the mammogram lady, 'This is my 5th year, do I need to come here any more?'  And she tapped away on her computer and said, 'No you can go back to 3 yearly screening now.'  And I said, 'When is the mobile unit next visiting my town?'  And she said, 'November but obviously you won't need to go in November because you've had a mammogram now.'  Sooo actually it's going to be more than 3 years before I'm checked again ......................and in that time I could be dead!!!

Then I asked when I could stop taking the tablets.  Anastrozole- I was told I had to take them for 5 years.  'Mammogram' lady didn't have a clue.  Apparently she just takes the mammograms.  What a boring job - squishing boobs onto x-ray plates all day long!  She said,  'Would you like to speak to a breast cancer nurse?'  I didn't want to speak to a breast cancer nurse but I wanted to know if I could stop taking the tablets, so I said, 'That would be great, thank you.'

So back I went into the waiting room with magazines from years ago and eventually got called by the breast cancer nurse.  Conversation went a bit like this:

Nurse - 'How can I help you?'

Me - 'I'd just like to know if I can stop taking anstrozole now because I was told that I had to take it for 5 years and the 5 years is up now.

Nurse - What has your doctor said?

Me - 'I haven't seen my doctor.  As far as I know my doctor doesn't even know I've had cancer.'

Nurse - 'I'll just check for you.'  A lot of frantic tapping away at the computer ensured, interspersed with comments like, 'the system is very slow today.'

................And then eventually 'breast cancer nurse' told me that I could stop taking anastrozole because she could see from my records that I had actually been on it for 5 years.  At which point I said, 'Do I not have to see a doctor or someone who will tell me that I'm now cancer free?'

Apparently not!!!

Breast cancer nurse asked if I'd been told what would happen re mammograms in the future and I was sent on my way.

........................And that was it!!!  No reassuring little chat that I'd survived 5 years.  Nothing??!!

.......................And then two days later I get a letter saying, 'We have been unable to contact you by telephone to inform you that your doctor would like you to make an appointment at the surgery to have a routine medication review.'  Well that's a load of rubbish for a start - nobody has left me any messages from the surgery at all.

Sooooo.......................... I phone the surgery (after 10.30am as requested in the letter) and get an automated message.  And I hold on for 7mins & 40secs before I actually manage to speck to a 'real life person'.  And the 'real life person' says, 'Who is your doctor?'  And I say, 'I haven't a clue?'

I registered with the doctors surgery more than 14 years ago and have never, ever seen a doctor since.  'Real life person' takes a lot of personal details from me and tells me who my doctor is.  She follows this up with the comment, 'He's really booked up.  The earliest he can see you is 7th October.'

I suspect that 'my doctor' just wants to tell me that I can stop taking anastrozole, but as the 'breast care nurse' has already told me that I can stop at the end of the current packet; I suspect that a visit to my doctors in a months time will be a complete waste of time.  But it would appear that the hospital does not liase with the doctors surgery so I am going to have a wasted trip and the doctor is going to have a wasted appointment, but hey ho, as long as everything is recorded on some database somewhere then that's OK isn't it???

In the 1960/70s the hierarchy of the NHS system was so much easier, so much more caring and so much more empathic.

At the end of the day................................ I just want someone to care about me.  I want someone to hold my hand and tell me I'm going to be OK.  I want someone to say, 'You've had breast cancer but now you've beaten it'.  I want someone to reassure me.

................That's not going to happen is it?????

There's far too many so called professionals involved these days.  And none of them seem to communicate with each other?? 

What on earth was wrong with good old fashioned doctors, nurses, matrons and surgeons?

Grammar schools verus comprehensives

Just been watching tonight's 'news' and I am sooooo, soooo angry, so obviously need to have a bit of a RANT!

Apparently 'Theresa May' wants to reinstate Grammar Schools.  Or at least that's the rumour.

As someone who has experienced both the 11+ system and the comprehensive system, I would just like to add my views into the mix..................................

Firstly; life is not fair......................

Secondly; there will always be people in life who are cleverer/stupider/richer/poorer than you.

Thirdly; life is not a dress rehearsal.

.....................When I was 11 years old, I failed the 11+ exam.  Now I am 57 years old and yet I can still remember the shame of failing this exam.  From my very first day in infant school aged 4 years old I was being groomed to pass the 11+.  When I started school we didn't have uniforms but for most of my time in the infants I wore 'green' clothes and when I asked my mum if I could have a grey skirt or a blue skirt (because that was what all the other kids were wearing) she said, 'When you're 11 years old you'll go to the Grammar school and will have to wear a blue uniform for 6 years. 

I'm sure at 4 years old I didn't know what a grammar school was, but I knew, in that moment, that it was where I should aspire to go.  From that moment onwards there was never any doubt that I wouldn't follow an academic career.  It was ingrained into me.

I absolutely hated school.  Apparently when I was in the infants my mum used to drop me off in the playground and I'd just run home after her.  Can't imagine that happening these days - someone would have been sued. Lol!  And Junior school was even worse.  I hated every minute of every day.  I wasn't clever, I couldn't do the work, there were more than 40 kids in the class, there was no individual teaching, no caring or concern for anyone and if you couldn't keep up with the majority you just got left behind.  I remember vividly being asked to stand up in front of the whole class when I was 7 years old and spell 'September'.  I'd just moved from an infant school where we had been taught in phonetics and yet all the kids in my new class had moved on from 'baby language' (as they called it). I can still remember the humiliation I felt because I could only spell it phonetically.

I'm not sure whether my parents actually realised just how thick I was? For my first three years at junior school, I always got sat in the second row.  Not really quite sure why.  Maybe my mother had kicked up a fuss.  But then in fourth year, with almost 40 kids in the class, there were four rows and then me and 3 others in a row by ourselves.  I remember going home on the first day in fourth year and the first thing my mum asked was, 'Which row are you in?'  I said I was sitting with Diane by the window because there wasn't any room in 2nd row.  Whether she actually knew I wasn't in 2nd row, I'll never know??!! 

..................Perhaps she did.................. because for the whole of the time I was in 4th year juniors she used to make me do IQ tests every single day after school.  Years later she told me that the headmaster had told her that I was 'borderline' for the grammar school.  However the whole point of IQ tests is that they are testing your intelligence.  They're not actually relying on something you have learned via rote.  Needless to say I failed the 11+.

But what is really interesting is........................  out of about 40 kids in the class there was only a handful of us who failed the 11+.  Obviously there were no league tables in the 1960s but most of the kids in my junior school were predominately from a 'middle class' area.  And when I say 'middle class', we didn't have fathers who worked down the mines.  From the other junior school in the village, only a handful passed the 11+.  But those kids came from council houses and were deemed to be of 'lower class' than us (according to my parents).

...................So off I went to the secondary modern school aged 11 years old and I absolutely loved it.  For the first time in my life I LOVED school.  We didn't have to wear a uniform like they did at the grammar school because we were being taught life skills.  And who wears a uniform to look after a home and a family.  We didn't have to carry a school bag like they did at the grammar school because school bags weren't part of real life.  Us girls took our books to school in a basket with a plastic cover in case it rained.  Can't remember how the boys carried theirs. Us girls were being taught how to look after a family. We were taught how to cook, clean, sew, shop, budget.  Real life skills which to this day, more than 45 years later, I've never forgotten!

By the end of the second term at 'secondary modern school' us girls could cook a three course meal for a family, the boys could do woodwork & metal work and mend stuff.  We all took part in PE classes and regularly ran the 3 miles back from the sports field without any supervision.  It was called 'cross country running'. Lol!  And in the last term we swapped - the girls did woodwork & metalwork and the boys did cookery & needlework.  We made pendants in metalwork and I can't remember what we made in woodwork but whatever it was I really enjoyed it.

The school that I went to in 1970 has now been bulldozed to the ground and there is now a housing estate in its place.  However, I will always remember it with fondness for the skills that I was taught there.

..................And at the end of my first year, at the only school I have ever enjoyed, we moved out of the area and I got moved to a 'Comprehensive School'.............................  And had to endure another six years of hell!!

I wasn't academic, but I was made to be academic because 'comprehensive schools are for all'.  Lets all see how many exams we can pass. Whoopeee dooo!  My parents loved the idea of me going to a newly built comprehensive school.  They loved the idea that everyone was equal except we all know that everyone isn't equal and even though I'd already failed the 11+, here I was going to a comprehensive school where I could shine!  The list of academic qualifications I could take were endless - Chemistry, Physics, Biology, French, German, Russian, Spanish.  In my secondary modern school we did 'science' (which consisted of mixing a few different coloured things in test tubes) and French (which consisted of colouring in cartoon characters wearing stripey sweaters with a string of onions round their neck.)

...................And then when (at my horrible comprehensive school) we had to choose our subjects to take for 'o' levels, us kids didn't get a choice in the matter.  Our parents went to a meeting and chose for us.  I wanted to do typing, shorthand, business studies, food & nutrition and art. My parents chose Chemistry, French, German, History, Geography.  Needless to say I failed everything apart from the geography and history.

Oh dear, this RANT seems to have turned into a bit of a reminisce about my horrible school days.  All I'm really trying to say is..........................  I agree with 'Theresa May'. I personally think it would be a good idea to bring back grammar schools.  People aren't equal and never ever will be.  If I had stayed at the secondary modern school that I went to in 1970 I'm sure my life would have turned out a lot different to how it is now.  I probably would have been a lot happier and a lot more content with my life, a lot sooner than I was.

I don't regret how my life has ended up.  I love my life.  I never have regrets.  You can't change the past.  You can only shape the future.  Educationally, I would have liked to have had a better experience at school.  However, if I'd breezed through school loving every minute I wouldn't have turned into the person that I am today.

'Teresa May' is right in bringing back the grammar schools.  Give the clever kids a chance to shine without the disruptive ones bringing them down.  .................And give the ones who are not so academic a chance to shine too.

Let's bring back the teaching of a few 'life skills'!!!

...................And perhaps then we won't have to watch 'Jeremy Kyle' on TV for an hour every morning. Lol!!!

The Cost of Charity

'Go sober for October',  'Hold a coffee morning in September.'  ..........................Just text for your free information pack.  Just how difficult is it to give up alcohol for a month OK I haven't gone a whole month without alcohol for years but that's not the point! or hold a coffee morning?  Stick on the kettle, bake a cake, invite a few friends around and hey ho off we go!

In an ideal world charities shouldn't have to exist.  But this isn't an ideal world so I accept that charities do very good work and raise a lot of money for very good causes.

However what I don't really agree with, is all this so called 'free' stuff that they keep sending out in an effort to entice us to donate.  I will freely admit that I have absolutely no idea how much all this 'free' stuff costs the charities in relation to how much money is actually donated.  But the cost of employing people re the administration/packaging of these items must be astronomical.

I frequently get sent personalised address labels with a cute little dog or cat in the corner.  Address labels?  Seriously?  It's 2016!  Personalised address labels were trendy in the 1970s.  Does anybody even send letters these days?  These charities need to move with the times.  I'm sure a free app would generate more money for the charity than a personalised address label!  ..................And while I'm on the subject of free gifts......................... how many of you have received one of those nasty scratchy charity pens?  Pens, you would have thought, would be a useful free gift.  Not so the ones that the charities send out.  If they do actually work (and quite often they don't) they are the most scratchy horrible pen to write with.  As soon as I receive one, I chuck it in the bin along with all the other blurb that is in the envelope.

'Brieflets' (notelets or whatever else you want to call them) - is another very popular 1970s item that charities delight in sending us.  After Birthdays and Christmases, when I was a child, I used to write all my thank you letters on these and while I appreciate that it is still very nice to receive a handwritten thank you card; just how many people these days actually do so?  Why don't charities devise an app that can be downloaded for free I'd design one myself but I'm not clever enough and then every time one wants to send a 'brieflet' (but it wouldn't be called a brieflet - it would have some high flying marketing name) one can do it instantly but £1 would be donated to charity.

Just think of the amount of paper that would be saved if all these charities stopped sending reams and reams of stuff that one never reads.

I donate to the 'RSPCA' & 'Dogs Trust' on an annual basis.  I do so because I own a very gorgeous little dog, that probably would not even be alive had one of the dogs charities not intervened and 'rescued' her from her horrible life.  And for that, I am eternally grateful.  However, that does not mean that I want to 'hound' people to support the same charities that I do.

Every year these charities send me raffle tickets to sell.  The first year I received these, I duly went round friends and family, sold all the raffle tickets and sent off the money to the charities, along with the raffle ticket stubs ready for the draw.  Never heard anything back re who had won?!  The second year I was sent two books of raffle tickets, at which point I returned them with a letter stating that although I was happy to support the charity I did not feel comfortable pursuing others to support a charity that they may not want to.  I got no reply to that letter I suspect because the charity databases, like everything else these days are unable to respond to a personal request! And ever since I've received at least one book of raffle tickets to sell each year from both of these charities.  Needless to say they have ended up in the bin, along with all the other c*** that they send me.  I didn't ask for these, I don't want them and I'm certainly not going to pay to return them.

.................But this has got me thinking.........................  When I did sell my book of raffle tickets, I made about £20-£30.  (Can't remember exactly how many I sold cos it was about 10 years ago).  I then had to write a cheque ('cos obviously I couldn't send cash through the post).  This is obviously quite a lot of hassle for a busy person who is not organised.  ...................  I didn't actually have a problem selling these raffle tickets because I like to consider myself as a very good salesperson.  But I'm sure there's a lot better salespeople than me?  Just what is to stop people selling zillions of books of raffle tickets for the 'RSPCA' or 'Dogs Trust' and then just not giving them the money for these or entering them into the draw?  How do these charities keep a check on what is going on?  The answer is, they don't!!!!!  For the last 10 years I've just thrown away all their raffle books and no one has contacted me to find out where they are, but if I was a dishonest person I could just have sold all these raffle tickets, not sent them back (because lets face it, how many people would even think to check that they've been submitted - and how do you check anyway?) and then kept all the money for myself?!!!!

Oh and another thing.............................  Charities paying people to persuade others to donate to them is not a new thing.  20 years ago I had a temporary job - very temporary, I think it only lasted two weeks - selling badges for a charity.  I have absolutely no idea which charity this was for.  I just can't remember.  At the time I wasn't interested.  To me it was just a sales job that I knew I could make money from.  It was a job selling badges to people in a city centre for charity.  The badges cost £1 and for every badge I sold I got 30p.  At the time, I remember a very good friend saying that she really didn't agree with charities employing people to sell badges.  And to be honest, before I got the job, I just thought that all these 'charity badge seller's' on the street were volunteers.  ...............But 20 years ago I was making at least £10 per hour selling these badges.  (And this was in the days when £3 per hour was the minimum wage - though minimum wage hadn't been invented then) I just used to find somewhere where there was a queue and 'work it'!!!  And I remember the 'manager' who was in charge of us telling us that if we were really good we could probably make about £6 per hour???!!!  ......................I've obviously missed my vocation in life. Lol!!!

.....................But I digress..................  The cost of charity............................

...................As far as I'm concerned..................... the cost of charity..................... is a lot?????

There again I may be 'ranting' unnecessarily because as I said above, I have absolutely no idea re the economics and the financial costs of all this so called free stuff that all these charities are giving away.???

Maybe these charities are making a lot of money from 'employing people' to hassle people on their behalf.  But actually............................ as far as I'm concerned.................. donating to charity should be a voluntary thing and being hounded to donate should NEVER EVER be an option??!!

CVs

I am 57 years old.  I have spent my whole life doing a variety of jobs. 

Since the age of 13 years old;  I have been a paper delivery girl, a catering assistant, a table clearing assistant, a chambermaid, a waitress, an usherette, a barmaid, an ice cream seller, a café assistant, a bakery shop assistant, a switchboard operator, a clerical assistant, a typist, a data entry clerk, a primary teacher, an aerobics instructor, a video shop assistant, an educational holidays organiser, a charity worker, a general assistant in a hotel, a hotel assistant manager, a landlady of a pub, a self employed secretary for a surveyor, a receptionist/auditor for a holiday letting company, and an office administrator/PA.  .........................And have had numerous jobs in each of these areas over the years.

I have lived in England, Scotland, Guernsey, Canada, America & Spain.

I can't really remember what GCSEs they weren't called that in the 1970s I got because it was more than 40 years ago but needless to say I got enough qualifications to get into 'teacher training college'.

Over the years I have done umpteen courses - RSA typing & shorthand (the most useful courses I have ever done in my whole life and don't like to boast but I reached level 3 in both).  First Aid courses.  Food & Hygiene courses, SKFA (Scottish Keep Fit Association) courses. Open University courses - Sociology, Psychology, Photography.  Landlady licensee course.  I have got a whole folder full of certificates that I have amassed over the years - the first of which I think was for coming third in the 'scooter race' at my Junior School Sports day.

.....................And now at the grand old age of 57 years old, I am trying to write a CV.  I'm not trying to write a CV for a high flying career job.  I'm trying to write a CV for a 'minimum wage' job which at the end of the day requires little more than a bit of common sense to be able to do it.

...............And here starts my RANT!

I don't think I've ever written a CV in my life, although to be fair, when I was applying for my first teaching job I must have had a CV or said something right at the interview 'cos I got the job out of 250 applicants.  OK boast over.

BUT why do 'minimum wage' jobs need you to hand in a CV?  They're 'minimum wage' and by default it is the lowest wage you can get. 

Why does everything have to be so 'academic' these days?

......................For example - in the tourist town where I live there has been huge problems this year finding people to clean the public toilets.  On the 'jobs website' it says, 'drop your CV down to us.'  'The powers that be', have been going a little bit mad all summer thinking that nobody wants to work??  .................But just how many people are going to 'drop their CV down' for a job cleaning toilets?  And to be honest; if you were an employer would you really want to plough your way through a load of CVs stating how many academic qualifications people had when all you really want to know is............... can they clean toilets????

The world has gone crazy!!!  Everything is just too 'politically correct' these days and it's doing my head in!!

It's the end of summer now but the touristy town that I live in has found it really hard to find seasonal staff this year.  From the beginning of June practically every shop and restaurant has had signs in their windows saying, 'Staff wanted, drop in your CV'.  That surely will put off a lot of the non academic, but very practical kids.  It puts off me and I'm 57 years old with a lot of life experience.

I have been the position where I've had to employ seasonal staff and I really couldn't care less about their academic qualifications.  To me, if you're working with the general public, your charm, wit and dazzling personality, common sense and ability to interact with your colleagues, bosses and customers is far more important than whether or not you have 10 A star GSCEs, a fabulous CV, and have done the 'Duke of Edinburgh Award scheme or a load of charity work.

A lot of the kids in the town that I work in just need a job.  Life is NOT all about academic achievements.  It's not all about fabulous CVs.  I live in a small town in the SW where most of the jobs are in the tourism industry and most of the jobs are only paying minimum wage.  The town where I work needs seasonal waiting staff/bar staff/shop assistants/lifeguards/kitchen porters/chefs/cleaners/chambermaids, etc, etc, etc.

Putting an advert in a window saying, 'Drop in your CV', is not exactly going to attract a lot of kids!  And it certainly wouldn't attract me either!  I'm sure an advert saying send us a text or a FB/twitter/Instagram/snapchat message would attract a load more kids who just want a job for the summer.

'Minimum wage jobs' - you don't need to have zillions of GCSEs to do them.  You don't need a fabulous CV.  - You just need a bit of common-sense, practicality & personality??!!

I'm 57 years old - I'm trying to apply for a 'minimum wage' job and I have to send in my CV.  I've just goggled, 'how to write a CV' and apparently it should only be two pages long.  I'm not allowed to put my age, or my marital status or whether I have children, or my nationality, or attach a photo????

Seriously???.................................

No wonder the town that I live in can't find any seasonal workers????

Predictive text!

Don't you just hate predictive text?

Why does a computer or an ipad or a phone think that it's clever enough to know what you want to write?

Predictive text absolutely does my head in.  A machine does not have emotions.  It does not know how I'm thinking.  It does not know what I want to write.  It is not cleverer than me.

How many times have any of you had a text message that you cannot understand because the 'predictive text' has turned the message into gobbledygook?  On numerous occasions I have to text friends back to say that I don't understand their message.  Which brings me to another problem of 'predictive text'........................

..................Why do people who send text messages never actually read through the message before they press the send button?  When I was at school in the 1960/70s we were taught to read through all our work before we handed it in.  It was drummed into us that before any work was marked we had to make sure that it was exactly how we wanted it to be.  These days, nobody seems to read through anything because they seem to think that 'predictive text' will correct all their mistakes.

As far as I am concerned Mr 'predictive text' gets things wrong far more than humans do.

And the other thing that is really annoying.........................  Most of todays youth don't seem to think that there is anything wrong with 'predictive text'.  It's like this whole 'nanny state' thing................  They fire off messages that no one can understand because they haven't read through their messages first and then blame 'predictive text' for not spelling things correctly or writing things grammatically.  I'm surprised that we haven't seen ads on the TV advising us how to sue for compensation because our phones have sent messages that we didn't actually want to send.

I'm sure 'predictive text' is probably a very useful tool if it were to be used correctly.  Predictive text is very good at spelling (but only if it knows what word you want to spell).  Predictive text is very good at finishing off your sentences (but only if it knows what you want to say).  Predictive text is a very speedy way of communication (but only if when it has finished writing for you, you check it's work over).

.....................And there lies the answer to Mr 'predictive text'!!!

...............He's not perfect!!!  As with life in the good old days - anything that Mr 'predictive text' writes, has to be read, checked and OKed before it is sent off anywhere.

Recycling

Today's rant is going to be about recycling.

I hate recycling!  Well, actually that's a lie.  I think recycling is a very good thing and I'm all for saving the planet and all that.

However the thing that really annoys me is...........................  recycling and holiday makers...........

I live in a complex of 12 properties where at least half of them are holiday lets.  We have two big bins in our car park for general waste, we have a compost bin in the communal courtyard area, but unfortunately the 'holiday let' properties do not have recycling facilities.  They do not have recycling facilities for 3 reasons:

1)  The recycling is only collected once every couple of weeks and getting holiday makers to put out the recycling at the correct time is an impossibility?!  They're on holiday.  They can't be bothered to put the recycling out at a set time.  They've come away to get away from all of that.  Holiday makers don't even seem to be able to dispose of their own babies nappies but that could be a whole other rant!

2)  Here in the South West we have different coloured bags for different things.  The bags are very flimsy so unless one is actually around when the flimsy bags are emptied.................. one could arrive home in the evening and find that all the flimsy bags have actually blown away.  And apart from anything else; the properties here are not mansions so no-one actually has any room in their property to store 3 flimsy recycling bags for two weeks.

3)  In the 'property holiday maker information folder' they are told that there are no recycling facilities at the property and they are given the directions to the nearest recycling facilities.  If they choose not to use them and chuck everything in the communal bins, then so be it???

The trouble with holiday makers is.......................  they never read anything.  They just seem to think that a 'property information folder' is something to be ignored!!!

Anyway, one of my very lovely neighbours spoke to the guys who collect our recycling every couple of weeks and asked if we left some of our 'old fashioned recycling boxes' by the courtyard gate would they be able to collect them for us and empty them.  Very lovely recycling guys said that as long as everything was sorted then yes they would.  Just how lovely is that.  These guys are definitely going well and above the line of duty?!!!

Unfortunately the holiday makers have decided that instead of just putting 'recycling' into the boxes, they'll just throw any old rubbish in.  And if the rubbish doesn't fit in the boxes then they'll just leave it on the ground??!!  Just who do they think removes all of this c***?

There are only about four of us permanent ressies who live here in the summer; one lady is disabled, one works every hour under the sun; so that leaves myself and one other to sort everything out.  Myself and 'one other' had a discussion about this a couple of days ago.  She'd sorted everything out a couple of weeks ago so I said I'd do it this week.

.....................And then I said I was going to hide all the old recycling boxes so holiday makers will have to dispose of their own recycling at the recycling points that are mentioned in their property information folders.  But I know that they won't - they'll just leave all the recycling in the property for the cleaner to get rid off??!!

So I sorted through all of the rubbish, (and pretty gross it was too!).  And I eventually ended up with two recycling boxes - one full of glass bottles and one full of plastic bottles.  And I threw away at least four bags containing babies nappies, and I threw away at least six cartons of fruit juice that were inside plastic bags, and I threw away cream cracker remains and crisp remains and a load of raw meat stuff and vegetable remains.  And then I had to sort the plastic bottles & glass bottles into two separate recycling bins.

...................And now I'm feeling really fed up.  Which is why I'm ranting.

I'm not annoyed with the property owners.  They have very detailed information left in their properties about what should happen with recycling.  

However, I am seriously annoyed with holiday makers who either read the information and chose to ignore it or just don't bother reading it at all.

Look at the photos above.  Just who do they think is going to dispose of all this?

......................Oh, I forgot - they're on holiday - the fairies will do it!!!

And what's that saying?????.................... 'You're never more than 6ft away from a rat in the UK???'

It would serve these 'rubbish spreading holiday makers' right if they came back to their property one night and found a family of rats feasting on what they'd casually discarded into the recycling boxes.

..............But if they did................. they'd be contacting the letting agents pretty quickly to demand some compensation because the place was over run with rats??!!

Anyway, the recycling boxes have now been emptied and I've hidden them all in a corner of the communal courtyard. 

Holiday makers sort out your own rubbish......................

......................And if my hidden recycling boxes find their way back into the public domain......................... I'll probably have another rant. Lol!

Scrubbing

I've given this post the title of 'Scrubbing' but I'm not actually sure if this is the correct title for this post?  I might change it to 'Recycling'.  Don't know yet.  Not sure where my rantings are going to take me.

I live in a complex of 12 properties and more than half of them are 'holiday lets'.  I look after two of them for my neighbours.  Cleaning holiday let properties is a very lucrative business here in the South West.  Being a 'housekeeper' in the South West pays at least twice the minimum wage, if not three times the minimum wage so obviously it's a worthwhile job to do.

However......................  August holiday makers are a nightmare.  Holiday makers are supposed to leave the property in the state that they found it.  They're supposed to empty all the bins, they're supposed to get rid of all unused food, they're supposed to leave the property how they found it???  Grrrrr, Grrrrrrr, Grrrrrr.

They are not supposed to empty the bins and then just throw in whatever rubbish they have into a bin that does not have a bin liner (even though the property has umpteen bin liners that they could put in the bin), they are not supposed to leave crockery to be washed or just shove stuff in the dishwasher without even switching it on.  They are not supposed to leave sand all over the property.  They're not supposed to eat pizza in bed and leave the remains all over the place.  They are not supposed to leave used nappies for the housekeeper to dispose of......................  But they do??!!

August holiday makers are the worst! 

And the other thing that is really annoying...........................  They arrive really early, ie before 9am, roll up in the car park thinking that they can park in the space...................... when the visitors who have been in the  property the previous week don't even have to leave until 10am??!!  And then they get stroppy because there's a car in the space.  And then they go away and come back at dead on 10am and start knocking on the window of the property that I've only just got into and say, 'We've paid for this holiday and we can't get into our parking space and when will the property be ready?'  And I say, '3pm but if I finish cleaning it before then I'll give the letting agents a call and they'll contact you.'

...................And they wander off muttering something like, 'how long does it take to clean a two bedroomed flat'?  ...........Well actually not very long if it had been left in a reasonable state but it never is in August.  For example everyone who comes on holiday in August fries stuff!  I know because I walk past the two holiday lets that I clean and every morning the frying pans are out and there's huge greasy fry ups on the go.  I probably use my frying pan a couple of times a year.

Not so holiday makers - they constantly fry everything!  And they never ever clean the frying pan.  They just shove it back in the cupboard so that when I go in to clean I have to wash all the pans and crockery first.  Grrrrrrr.

.....................And the other thing which is really, really annoying is........................  They totally 'over occupy' the properties.  Because I live pretty much next door and can an eye on who is coming and going; I know that the two properties that I look after are 'over occupied' on a regular basis.  Take this week for example - Property 1 sleeps 5 and on my booking chart is showing 2 adults and 3 kids - I know for a fact that there's 3 adults & 4 kids in there.  I live next door - I've seen them all coming and going.  But can I prove it?  I cannot!!  All I can do is report back to the letting agents that they're over occupying but unless I camp out outside their front door 24/7 (and set up CCTV which shows them going in during the evening and not leaving until the morning) there's not much I can do.  ................If confronted; they'll just say they have visitors visiting!!!

Everything seems to be in the favour of the people who are renting these properties.  There's been occasions when I have actually photographed damage that has been done by holiday makers.  ..........................And then they've totally denied it?!  Holes in walls, stains on carpets, etc, etc.  And even with photographic evidence, it's still their word against ours.  They just say, 'We didn't do it. It must have been done before or maybe the cleaner did it'. Duh!!!!

It's not easy being a scrubber!!!

Free Prescriptions

Haven't ranted for a while because I've been too lazy haven't had anything much to rant about.  Actually I meant to rant about this a couple of months ago but somehow never got around to it.

Prescription charges??!!  In Scotland prescription charges are free.  In Scotland university fees are free - I may have to rant about that at a later date.

Anyway to get back to todays rant.....................  5 years ago I was diagnosed with breast cancer.  I got carted off to hospital, had a lumpectomy, had 3 weeks of radiotherapy and then was told I had to take a drug called 'Anastrozole' for the next 5 years.

So I've taken the drug called 'Anastrozole' for 5 years and every single time that I've picked up my prescription I've had to pay for it.  Every single time I've been in the pharmacists to pick it up; they've asked do you pay for your prescriptions and I just said, 'yes'.  I thought it was just OAPs that got free prescriptions in England.

..................And now I discover that all cancer patients get free treatment??!!

The very lovely pharmacist that served me the last time I picked up my prescription asked (in a very quiet voice), 'is this for breast cancer' and when I said yes, she said that cancer treatments were exempt on the NHS??!!

So who should have told me this?.............................  the radiographer who x-rayed me and told me I had cancer, the McMillan nurse who held my hand and told me I'd be OK, the surgeon who operated on me, the nurses who administered my radiotherapy treatments, the doctor who saw me at my follow up visit, the first pharmacist I saw when picking up these tablets????

Where should I have got this information from???

Obviously I'm very grateful to be alive........................... but......................... to be honest I'm furious that no one has told me about this before.

I asked 'very lovely pharmacist' if I could 'back claim' for all the prescriptions that I have paid out for and she said I couldn't..................

.................Mmmmmmmm....................... not so sure about that???  A very stern letter is going to be winging it's way to NHS headquarters very soon.  Grrrrrrrr.........................

Dentists - Rant 5

OK, so after the first couple of 'dentist rants' I promised myself that I wouldn't rant any more??!!


.............BUT seriously...................  I sooooooo HATE my dentist that I have to rant.


He is the most patronising, aggrogrant, person that I have ever met.


He had a new dental assistant with him today.  Very lovely lady (probably in her 50s) and he described me to her as 'dental phobic'.  Duh???  I'm not actually 'dental phobic'??  I'm just dental phobic with him???  He is one of the most patronising people I have ever met in my whole life.


Do you use an electric toothbrush, do you floss, do you do this, do you do that???


These are the same questions that he asks me every single time that I go.  And every single time he spends hours writing stuff down.  I really feel like saying you recorded this the last time............  But of course I don't because I'm too scared.  He's the professional so he must know what he's doing.


I have to learn to stand up to this man??  The trouble is my last dentist (who retired due to ill health was lovely).


Today, he didn't even clean my teeth.  He just took an Xray of them and when I said he'd done this recently he said it was a year ago and then muttered something about Xrays having to be taken every two years???  So why is he taking one after only a year???


And then he went on and on and on and on about me seeing the dental hygienist for some sort of deep clean.  But today he didn't call it a deep clean; he called it an 'advanced clean'.  And apparently it's going to take about 4-5 appointments to do this and my gums will be numbed and everything will be hunky dory.  Somehow I don't think that will happen.


I soooooooo, soooooooo hate these so called professionals.


As far as I'm concerned; if you don't want to treat me; just tell me...................


................You're not the only dentist in the whole wide world.  I'll find someone else.

Applying for a job

OK, so I’m 57 years old.  Not the youngest spring chicken anymore.  But what I do have is experience of life.  Over the years I’ve worked in many different walks of life.  For the last 20 years I have worked in the tourism trade.  And it is a job in the tourism trade that I am applying for now.

 

The job that I am applying for is a ‘seasonal part time’ job.  I’m not looking for a career.  I just want a job that I can do, and when my shift is over, go home and forget about it.  The job I am applying for……………  I could probably do with my eyes shut.  I have 20 years experience of dealing with irate tourists and 20 years of experience of sorting out problems relating to holiday makers problems and 20 years of experience of being nice to people even when I really feel like just slapping them!!

 

A very prominent person in town actually advised me to apply for this job.  So today off I went and had an informal chat with the manager to see what hours I’d be required to work.  To be honest the hours were longer than what I would want I’m lazy I don’t really want to work more than 4-5 hours a day, but the job sounds really interesting and I’d get to meet loads of people.

 

Sooooo…………….  I asked what I would have to do to apply…………..  And was handed an application form……………….

 

………….And here starts my RANT!!!!

 

On the application form it doesn’t ask if I’m married or single…………. But I have to put my ‘title’.

 

On the application form, it doesn’t ask my age……………. But I have to list my education from age 11.

 

Oh and then……………. I’ve got to list any ‘training’ that I’ve had……………. But there’s only three boxes for that.  I’m not actually sure what they mean by ‘training’ anyway???  Since I left school in 1977 I’ve done zillions of courses.  I think I might just leave that bit blank???  Even though I feel like just writing – ‘Not enough boxes.’

 

But the hardest part of all………….. is the 2 boxes on the back page………

 

One says………… ‘Please explain how you meet the requirements in the job description and person specification’.  And the other says………………. ‘Please give your reasons for applying for this post.’

 

Really?????????????????????????????????

 

So my answers for applying for the post will go something like this:

1.  It’s part-time
2. It’s temporary
3. It’s a 5 min walk from home
4. It pays more than the minimum wage
5. I get to chat to lots of people
    
   OK I probably won’t write that.  I will have to message my very techy nephews so they can devise me a very techy answer to that question.  This world has gone crazy.  I was asked to apply for this job, I know the manager and he knows my background.  And yet I still have to fill out a ridiculous application form which in no way describes what I have done in my life……………….  It’s soooo, soooooo annoying.
   I’m 57.  I have experience of life.  I know how to deal with irate holiday makers.  I know how to pacify people, I know a lot of things……………
   …………..What I don’t know; is how to fill out a job application form to make me look even more fabulous than I am.
    
   BUT, actually do you know what?………….. the manager of where I want to work, isn’t even 30 years old yet, and if he can’t recognise that I’d be an asset to his workforce, then he obviously doesn’t have the insight to see what amazing talents I have. Lol!!
    
   #lifeisnotallabouttechnology

BT - Upgrading to unlimited wifi

Why is life so difficult sometimes? 

I’ve been on my current BT price plan since I had to get a new wifi hub in September 2014; at which point I was told that I’d have to go onto new price plan but it would be cheaper than my old one and I’d get more wifi usage.  Well, that’s never, actually been true and gradually the price seems to be creeping up & up so that I never pay less than £43 per month.

Sooooo……………. Because I wanted unlimited broadband, I decided to take the ‘bull by the horns’ and see what kind of a deal I could get.  Seriously not happy with the way BT operate.

Firstly, couldn’t find a phone number anywhere on the BT website.  On the contact us page it just kept popping up with stupid little FAQs.  Grrrrrrrr…………….  Anyway eventually found a free phone number in a magazine that was advertising the ‘Great BT Sale’.

Phoned number and immediately got through to the ‘sales team’ where I explained that I wanted to upgrade to unlimited wifi.

They told me that the cheapest ‘unlimited broadband’ they could do would be at £25 plus per month, plus line rental at £17.99, plus free weekend & evening calls at £3.20, plus caller display at £1.75.  So that’s almost £50 per month………….

………….Grrrrrr…………….

I said, ‘My sister is on a much lower tariff than that.  Is it possible for me to go on the same price plan’???

At which point, ‘salesperson’ (I didn’t catch his name) said, ‘You’re talking to the sales team, if you want a cheaper option you need to talk to customer options’.  So I asked him for the customer options phone number (which as far as I’m concerned is absolutely no where on the website).

Phoned ‘Customer Options’.  (01324452504 – this is the phone number)

………….And then guess what………………..

………….I’ve now managed to get line rental, unlimited broadband, free weekend calls & caller ID for £28.84 per month.  Thanks BT.

BUT why do they make everything so difficult???

For more than a year I’ve been paying £3.20 for ‘free’ evening & weekend calls. 

Apparently free weekend calls are included in every plan (Did they tell me that originally?  Of course they didn’t) so in effect I’ve been paying £3.20 for any calls that I make after 7pm Mon-Fri.

Without the ‘FREE’ evening calls, I will be charged at 10.24p per minute (to a landline) which means that I can talk for more than 30 mins before I’m charged £3.20.  And I can talk for 23 mins to a mobile before I’m paying more than £3.20???

I hardly ever use the landline to phone anyone.  Why would I??  I have 300 free mins on my mobile.

This whole thing is seriously annoying me.

If I hadn’t got ‘stroppy’ and demanded a cheaper deal; BT would be charging me almost double what they’re going to be charging me.

£28.84 is a lot better than paying almost £50 every month??!!

Tradespeople

I've given this post the title of  'tradespeople' because I couldn't think of a better title tradespeople are seriously annoying me and are turning me into more of a 'ranting middle aged spinster' than I already am.


Without trying to appear like a middle class, middle aged, ranting spinster, OK I probably am, I own a property 'upcountry'?!!  No, I am not a rich millionaire, chardonnay, swigging, footballers wife?!  I am a 'ranting middle aged spinster'??!!  ................ A 'middle class one, but not a millionaire one'???


Anyway; I have a two bedroomed flat that has been rented out for almost 20 years.  Structurally, I haven't done a thing to it, but over the years, I've added double glazing, have redecorated more times than I care to remember, and have done umpteen other bits & bobs to it.  It's been rented out quite successfully.


However....................  I have come to a stage in my life where I have to either sell it, or do a major refurbish on it.


I'm choosing to refurbish it because:


1)  It's in a city and it has a lift and it's near shops & hospitals & when I get old & decrepit (OK older & more decrepit than I already am), I may want to live where I'm nearer to more amenities.


2)  Emotionally, I can't bear to get rid of it because it would be like removing everything from my younger life. I bought this flat in 1991, when being as old as I am now, seemed like a distant memory away???


Anyway, this post is called 'Tradespeople' so 'Tradespeople' is what I must focus on and RANT about.  Because after all, I am a 'Ranting Middle Aged Spinster'.


Way back in September of 2015, I decided that once the current tenants moved out I would totally refurbish the flat - knock down a wall between the kitchen and the living room, rewire the flat & install new heating throughout, new lighting & flooring throughout, new kitchen, new bathroom, new everything.


Spoke to a 'Refurbishment Company' who the Letting Agents, 'Quote'; 'couldn't recommend highly enough.'  Unquote  They told me they'd do this that and the next thing and I was soooooo impressed with their chit chat.  But that's all it was.....................  'Chit chat'???   Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr...........


Gave my tenants notice to move out at the end of Feb and asked 'highly recommended refurbishment company' to give me quotes for knocking down walls, re-wiring, etc, etc, etc,    Spoke to them at the beginning of the year and told them I would like the work to begin in March and could I please have some quotes for the varying works????


After about a week I got an email back from the guy I'd been dealing with............ (& this was only because I'd chased him up) saying, 'My project manager, is dealing with this.  Here's his email address, he's trying to gain access into your property.' 


Oh and he also said that once the flat was vacant things would happen pretty quickly.  Well, actually things won't actually happen pretty quickly unless I know how much I'm going to be paying???  And also.................  just how long does it take to gain access into a flat????????????


I was so fed up with the 'can't recommend them highly enough company' (that my letting agents seem to love), that I've done my own research and found the most fabulous people on 'Checkatrade.com'


Emailed them around 7pm-ish in the evening.  A very, very, very, lovely guy phoned me half an hour later.  Contacted the letting agents the following day.  And then visited the property the day after.  So obviously there's no problem getting into the property then????


So all in all, things are moving forward.  Yay!


They've visited the property, they've given me quotes, they've got engineers/electricians, etc, etc, etc, on board, they want to meet me when I visit the property once my tenants have moved out.  Yay!


'I can't recommend them highly enough'........................... I'm in love with them all??!!


But what is really, really, really, annoying me is.....................  the original company (who my letting agents said, 'we can't recommend them highly enough') still haven't bothered to contact me???


And that's why I'm ranting about 'tradespeople'????


Grrrrrrrrrrrrrr......................................