catmiss

An age ago when my local service was redirected and services reduced I posed a question about customer service. A very vocal, and regular contributor to this forum, employee summed up the attitude of major providers by stating they are business and don’t do public service 

Back to the current, Truss and Quasi didn’t listen to ‘people ‘ or the markets re the U turn, they listened to Tory MPs spooked by the polls and fear of loosing jobs and influence withdrawing support 

Having worked in social housing my experience is that a minority of tenants take up the majority of housing officers’ time. Evicting anti social tenants requires a lot of evidence from a variety of sources to present to a court which can take  months/years during which affected neighbours give up recording incidents as they perceive nothing is being done. If cases do reach court appointed lawyers will plead mitigating circumstances such as substance misuse etc and request another chance for the tenant. 

I now live in social housing, pay my rent on time, get on with my neighbours and, hopefully don’t cause them any aggravation. On the odd occasion I’ve needed to contact   Housing Services I might have had a bit of a wait on the phone but their response has been good. In comparison to some friends in private rented accommodation I’ve received a far better service 

The energy crisis will solve the NHS crisis by killing off a number of the oldies who have exceeded their 3 score years +10 and now need NHS treatment and/or social care. Those that survive can go intoNightingale Hospitals re vamped as modern day workhouses. The resulting empty properties will be used to solve the housing crisis. Hopefully not a real policy but please don’t share with Liz Truss-she might think it’s a goer

With so many Sheffield and Rotherham routes already deemed too unprofitable to maintain what’s going to happen if Grant Shapps’ proposed £2 maximum fare makes it into statute?

The worlds’ gone mad-in winter trainers with no socks but come summer out come the socks to accompany the sandals, must be a man thing. 

On 27/05/2022 at 10:33, RollingJ said:

I may be wrong here - it is a while since I looked at the proposed route, but I think it does - eventually.

Great—just got to get the other bus services sorted so we can get to the city centre to use it

13 hours ago, Arthur Ritus said:

The Hospital should have taken care of it, Rotherham and Northern General do it, perhaps she has been overseen or are they still waiting for her to heal to a certain level. Speak to the department that carried out the surgery, it really needs doing professionally (the height not the cobbling ). You get 3 pairs a year at Rotherham I think completely free any more you have to pay I think £25.  Unfortunately the NHS can be a bit "uninterested" to older people and have to be pushed somewhat, great country to get old and buggered in.

I’m resigned to getting old but not the other bit!

Tuesday nights at Top Rank and. Sunday afternoons at Heartbeat finished when I started work at 15. Replaced by under age drinking at Crazy Daisy, Cavendish etc. and additional job working behind bar at Top Rank aged 16 to fund first girls holiday to Spain. Different world now when my 15 year old granddaughter  has to be put on and met off the bus 

On 02/02/2022 at 12:43, alchresearch said:

Its quite sad that all sides are now picking on personal appearances to score points.  

Quite right, particularly from Boris who has a tubby Worsel  Gummidge has his style guru😀

Genuinely don’t know what to do given this decision. Clinically extremely vulnerable and spent most of pandemic first year shielding  and isolating. Had all vaccination, as did my family with those hesitant doing so to protect me. Now need surgery with a one year wait, perhaps extended due to staff shortages due to NHS vaccine mandate but now may get treatment earlier by non vaccinated staff. As an ex NHS worker who had to have a Hepatitis B vaccine and accept treatment for positive mandatory monthly Strep tests am I wrong to feel the NHS mandate of ‘do no harm’ is being compromised?  Get treated and be harmed by unvaccinated staff or live with safely with debilitating condition?

People in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones. Pathetic attempt by Boris to deflect attention. Instead look at how many of the electorate view you and how international leaders, eg French spokesperson smirking over party gate. Man up and admit you’re a liability to the country, you’ve had your moment of fame, and given your assertion that you’re not earning enough as PM, take your sorry ass on the circuit and rake it in

Having retired in 2019 I receive the new pension rate which is above pension credit qualification. I have a  small NHS pension and lump sum which in, hindsight, I added to my meagre savings meaning I pay full rent and council tax. In hindsight I should have ignored previous government and parental advice to save

I’m in my late 60s, female and 5ft 10 since aged 15. Always been tormented about it but came from a family of giants- mum same height and dad 6ft 3. Married 6 foot 3 man and spawned two sons 6 foot 4 and 6 foot 5. Common denominator -home cooked food with lots of veg, NHS and........genes.  

On 23/01/2022 at 10:23, El Cid said:

A 94 year old relative of mine is on a medication that makes him feel warm, I bet it saves him hundreds, as his heating is set to 18*c

That’s the same setting as mine when it’s on and I feel positively balmy😀

Jack Monroe’s estimate of the real cost of living rise for low income families being far higher than the figure quoted has been accepted by the ONS who are now going to extend the range of their average ‘shopping basket’ as a result

On 28/12/2021 at 14:28, Thirsty Relic said:

I remember when I was a lad, we had something called "snow" that came in November, and often stayed until February.  It was so cold that you wore as much clothing as you could to go out, and big "wellingtons" - rubber boots that came up to your knees.  Even then, this snow often came over the top as you trudged through the stuff on your way to work/school/shops etc. 

 

They took forever to dry, as nobody we knew had central heating then, so you had to place them the right distance from the fire so they didn't melt, but the warm air could get inside to dry them, steam coming from them.  If they were really wet, you stored them filled with crumpled up newspaper first to soak up as much as possible.

 

We always woke with ice on the inside of our windows - no double-glazing in those days, and the temperatures were often well below zero.

 

Before you went out, you made totally sure your face was dry - if not, the cold got in and you got nasty sores.  You were unlucky if you had a cold, as you ended up with icicles from your nostrils.

 

Just checked the weather, and its +9 degrees, and it's been raining - wow!

Be back there soon what with the gas price rises😀

Got to be English mustard, horseradish or even good old gravy 😀

Anything in the new code about keeping cyclists off the pavement? Having been injured by a Lycra clad and helmeted middle aged cyclist dodging a tram delaying his journey  I hope so. I’d also like pedestrian crossings adjusted so older/disabled people have time to cross. I was marooned in the middle of two lane traffic when drivers, who must have seen me, ‘obeyed’ the orange/green light before I had safely crossed. About six cars whisked past me before a white van man stopped and waved me across with several drivers behind showing displeasure by blasting their horns.

Many commentators make the point that the Tory party won’t get rid of Boris because there’s no suitable successor or perhaps no one who can pull the wool over the electorates’ eyes as easily.  

I agree a leadership challenge or general election would delay dealing with the national and international challenges the country faces BUT I don’t think I’ll ever be able to believe a word Boris says again and have no faith in his, or the governments’ morality in making decisions in the interest of the country. His shinanagins has made the electorate distrust, particularly Tory, politicians who have defended his lies and underhand tactics. Even if he truly believed the ‘parties’ were legal work gatherings he should have had the foresight to see how they’d be seen by the public and the integrity to show solidarity with the mere mortals who were following the rules he set. He can’t negate all wrongdoing by continually reminding us of the successful vaccine rollout. I certainly don’t want levelling up to his standards

On 17/01/2022 at 18:51, ECCOnoob said:

I can't imagine why you would ever think that to be the case.

 

All they are trying to bring in is to stop people blindly following "use by" days every time they open the fridge at home and thus creating mountains of food waste every week.  The fact is that many foods are perfectly edible beyond that date and it's encouraging people to go back to their basic common sense of looking and smelling something to see if it's gone off.

Well said. I’ve never gone by use by dates preferring my eyes and nose. My kids though will bin anything ‘out of date’ even when it passes the   Sight and smell test

On 13/01/2022 at 19:53, Jack Grey said:

Im extremely lucky to live in a very well insulated home when im alone i will wear a tracky top and close all the doors and i only really need to turn on the heating when the outside temperature hits zero

 

And when i do turn on the heating i blast it for 15mins and it keeps the place warm for hours

 

However, my partner is always freezing and she turns on the heating in the summer.....its like living in the Amazon rain forest

 

Women are always cold so if you want to save a fortune on rising fuel costs then be a bachelor 👍

 

 

‘Women are always cold I  don’t know if that’s a scientific fact but try telling that to a most menopausal women.

I’m in my late 60s and my heating is definitely off at night and most of the day too. Brought up in a house with no CH and just a coal fire in the living room so wearing warm clothing comes naturally. My family turn up in t shirts and head for the thermostat but have been warned. 

To get back on topic. I worked in social housing maintenance for several years and the repairs/upgrade budget was eroded by the condition properties were left in when tenants left and or damage caused during tenancies which had to be repaired for H & S reasons. Although financial charges were applied to tenants the prospect of recovery was minimal which impacted on the budget for improvements outside legislative upgrades

12 hours ago, crookesey said:

Why not? They could then charge at the hourly rate, with their habit of sending half the total work force, it could subsidise future council works substantially.

This is unfair. As a council tenant my repairs have been effectively carried out by a single operative. As a previous home owner I accepted the responsibility and cost of maintenance, as a SCC tenant I have a contract for repairs and maintenance, costs of which are included in my rent payment