I'm bored. Really bored. I wish the end of the year phase would hurry up and pass. Come to think of it, I wish Winter would hurry up and pass. Even though it's nice that it's not fucktastically freezing cold, everywhere is muddy and saturated and it's horrible. Also I'd know if my claim has been decided as well. I could do with learning to hibernate; store some nuts under a tree or something and live off that for 3 months.
According to the human side of the Post Office my special delivery was delivered, however their useless track and trace website doesn't seem to agree. I guess I have to accept I'm being told the truth because it would be too depressing and utterly outrageous for these people to lie to me.
My god, but I've got £140 burning a hole in my pocket! I could spend that money sooooo quickly right now - and part of me thinks 'why fucking not, keep a little bit back, they wont' refuse your claim!'. But another part of me, perhaps more wisely, says 'don't be an idiot'! It would help if there were more things to do round here, but rural communities are really bearing the brunt of the Tory blight. There's just no support structures at all. In fact, aside from care work (which I really can't face doing) there's fuck all voluntary work other than sitting in a charity shop. I've done that before, don't want to do it again!
There's never been much support round here. I think most people don't see there's a need as it's populated by affluent retirees and Tory voting landowners. That just makes it worse. It would be something if I could travel without having to pay £7 a time. The local rag advertised on it's front page this week the government's new initiative for free travel for the unemployed, for one month only. What a bizarre notion; probably by the time they've processed your application for the pass it'll be the middle of January at least. That's probably what they are counting on.
And the woman I spoke to on the phone at the Post Office assured me she'd email me confirmation. Hasn't done so. I guess she misheard my email address (it's not a complicated or bizarre one since the JC made me change it because it originally scared Tesco). They better have delivered it!
I'm fortunate to live in a suburban area within a major conurbation, but even here public transport can be iffy, although not to the extent yours seems to be. But I know what you mean about support structures vanishing - even where I live a couple of local post offices have closed down in recent years, forcing many (particularly the elderly and disabled) to undertake difficult or even dangerous journeys just to access basic services. And of course all of this impacts others too, including jobseekers. I just love how on the one hand Tories and others will say "the unemployed should travel further" or "try harder" to look for work, while on the other hand they reduce or even remove the very things that can facilitate that - decent public transport, and a decent number of local post offices (not to mention rural broadband...). All in all the country is suffering, and people are suffering, and many of those are the very people who already lead precarious lives near the marjins of society.
ReplyDeleteI can understand your frustration with bureaucratic f*ck ups, I've been on the receiving end of a couple myself, and if I were you I'd keep your money, at least for now, and go and splurge as soon as your ESA claim comes through (and I'm sure it will).
Good luck for next year, I'm sure things will improve. :)
The package seems to have been delivered. I guess it just takes days for their online service to update. I think it would be too paranoid to believe three separate people have lied to me about that. All i can do now is wait and hope everything is in order. You'd think claims could be done at the JC, since they are being divested of most other activities. But obviously not.
DeleteThe bus fare increases tomorrow as well. This is not unexpceted. Every Januray they have a 'fare review' and make up a load of crap about rising fuel costs (they can afford to install wifi on their newest buses ffs). I said to myself years ago that if it ever rose to £5 a return i'd stop. Now it's £7! Of course what choice do I have?