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2005-12-02 @ 9:36 p.m. |
Friday Update |
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fr. F. dormir to Websters Dictionary 1913
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Very long time - no entry so a short recap. The charity is no more and I am back at HQ. Granny did not fade away she has rallied and is back home with us all. Clearly all those prayers were answered. Whatever happens we should have one more Christmas together and I'm grateful. I have now lived in my lovely flat for a year last Saturday. The housewarming went exceedingly well. So well there was community singing at 2am and we were all swearing never to drink again on Sunday. We must be ageing as it took until Tuesday to recover. Alcohol has never made me ill before. For mor eon my life in the last month or so see my LJ and scroll backwards. There's probably more detail there than you wanted. I'm writing more and more in my LJ becasue it's easier so please bookmark it. I am at home in solitary state because K is out. I could have gone too but I decided I needed an evening at home. I�ve had fresh veggie soup, new bread and some Belgian chocolates E gave me when I left the old place. I am if anything slightly over full but think I�ll have a nice glass of wine before retiring to a hot Lush bath and bed with a book and my notebook. It's been a long fraught month. Slightly amusing interlude in Sainsburys on the way home. I nipped in to buy the aforementioned new bread just as their computer system crashed and all the tills ceased. I got my bread anyway and joined the queue to wait for the server to reboot. Then the Manger came around handing out �2 vouchers to apologise which as I�d only bought a 77p loaf meant a profit of �1.23 � Result! I�ve been back at HQ two days and I am exhausted. There hasn�t been much in the way of work to do and what there has been has been very basic and aimed at least two grades lower than me. However so long as it is temporary I won�t complain. It has been nice seeing people again it was quite overwhelming to see how many people were pleased to have me back. Either they meant it or are excellent liars. It looks like I may be allocated to cover a policy team for a while and there�s a potential post in London Challenge. This has real potential as it�s something that really really matters to me, being born poor shouldn�t mean you are denied a good education or are destined to stay poor and of course it�s all about the city I love. The short journey is a pleasant change no tubes or buses just a brisk 15-minute walk as I get off the train. So far I�ve managed to stick to my resolution to walk to and from the stations, go for a walk at lunchtime and take the stairs to the third floor and not the lift but it has only been two days! A non-job is going to get dull though as the Internet policy is now stricter I assume that they have had problems in my absence and in any case it�s probably not sensible to look at ebay, LJ, Diaryland, fanfiction sites or anything else of that ilk while at work. I�ll stick to checking gmail in my lunch hours and looking at BBC news, Times online and Amazon all of which are acceptable for a civil servant and do not violate the �taste and decency� code. I have also received a gratifyingly swift and appropriate response to my letter to my MP. He passed my letter on to the Managing Agent for Crown Estates, who apparently passed the management on to the nincompoop currently dealing with my freehold. The Managing Agent telephoned this afternoon to assure me I was not the only person to have complained of Mr G�s ignorance and rudeness and that the matter was in hand. He also asked if he could please my telephone number on to several of the more elderly residents so I could explain to them exactly how I had forced the broker to reduce the premium by almost 50%. What could I do but agree? It has been pointed out that we need a residents association to arrange a co-ordinated response from the 70 odd properties in the development. I agree we do but have not suggested this for fear I would be the one who ended up running it. It may not be very community spirited but I have enough to do. Is anyone else appalled by the proposed changes to NHS dentistry in January? Poor Bevan must be turning in his grave. Whatever happened to from the cradle to the grave? Apparently we are no longer going to be allowed a �family dentist� you cannot register with one practice anymore and the eligibility for check ups is going to be reduced from every 6 months to every one-two years. Clearly the poor will be recognisabel by their mouths of rotting teeth as they were in Victorian times. Worse when one has toothache one is supposed to ring the hopeless NHS Direct who will decide if you need to see the dentist (I�m 28 I can decide this for myself thank you very much.) and direct you to one in your health authority with an appointment free. This could be as much as 6-8 miles away � further in rural areas. What if you don�t drive? Not to mention you cannot choose your dentist who knows what butcher you may get assigned to you. All this is to supposedly make the system fairer and increase access to NHS Dentistry. I can�t see how. I will be opting out I refuse to allow a nanny state or a telephone operator (qualified or not) to decide on my dental care. I will find a dental plan, pay through the nose and remain a patient at my current practice. I do not want to end up with false teeth thank you very much. So I am voting with my feet and becoming a private patient if I have to do without other things so be it. Just like medical care it seems paying is the only way to get decent care so what happens if you cannot afford it. A sad indictment of our Government and their so-called �fairer Britain�. STOP PRESS: My little sis has just passed her driving test. She is ecstatic. I am very afraid take extra care in South London and Kent this weekend. You may laugh to hear one insurance company quoted in excess of �10,000 to cover her. Dad eventually obtained insurance for her at 40pcm plus 14p per mile between 6am-11pm and well over a �1 a mile between 11pm and 6am. The first 100 miles between 6am-11pm are free but even so it could prove expensive. The put GPRS in your car to record your mileage.
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