R3OK

Al the best Don. Happy Birthday! 

"I keep hearing this, Milly and my reluctance to speak ill of the recently dead is fading.  Hitler, Stalin & Pol Pot were huge political forces.  I'm not bracketing Thatcher with those three; just using them as an illustration.  Being a huge political force is no excuse."

It's an excuse for at least a week of tributes, recriminations, reminiscences and funeral preparations/funeral/aftermath.  Apart from that she's going to figure in school history books, as do Hitler, Stalin and Polpot. Iron Lady ad infinitum.  This will eclipse everything else and might be "a good time to bury stuff while people aren't concentrating" - at least I think that's how it went on another occasion.

Love her or hate her she was a huge political force  but I'm with Mary, there's going to be nothing else on the news until after the funeral. 

How I'd love to contribute to this intelligent and well-informed thread.  Problem is the only two films I've seen this week are The Croods and Jack the Giant Slayer.  When all the kids have grown up I'll look forward to seeing something really grown-up! 

Quote from: Milly Jones on March 12, 2013, 12:24:20 pm

There's a guy on Facebook who advertises pianos for sale and offers them for auction online starting at 1p.  Now he's hung something on a tree somewhere in the UK and whoever finds it gets a free Yamaha.  It's driving me up the wall!  We're desperate for a new piano but it's not really practical to start looking up trees all over the place.    Apparently we're allowed to ask questions for clues but he only answers 5 a day.  So far it isn't in the North-East or Liverpool.    I suppose I have to prioritise now between continuing to refurbish our new home or splashing out on a lovely new piano.  Decisions, decisions.

Have you tried requesting a piano on freecycle? People are often desperate to find good homes for unwanted good pianos. Unless it's actually only a new electronic piano you're after? In which case ignore what I've just written!


Thanks M-J.  No I don't want an electronic piano.  Will have a look at freecycle.  Thanks again.
Sorry this is on-topic...

Even Ann Widdecombe - who is absolutely convinced that Philpott was the type of person who used the benefit system as a means of getting a bigger income than he could through work - specifically rules out any suggestion that there is a connection between the welfare system and the death of those children.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-22018006

I saw that.  I thought she was extremely fair.

If you look at my original post that seems to have started all this off, I made no mention of benefits, scroungers or anything else.  I've been reading back over the posts and my opinion is always the least popular.  I can live with that, but I don't know, every time I come on here I seem to make waves with the most innocent of waffle.  I did last time and it is never my intention to do so.  I shall take another long break and maybe just lurk occasionally.  I hate to cause dissent - life's too short.  Sorry for apparently putting the cat among the pigeons once more.  Back to real life.

Regarding Philpott being an uncommon criminal.  Aside from the fire itself which is fortunately very unusual, he is unfortunately a common criminal.  Violence, domestic abuse, road rage etc. Before anyone asks if I know this from the Daily Mail perhaps I should explain that for a while I worked in our local police station in the admin department and after that I was a legal secretary for 20 years.  Again first-hand experience dealing with the local populace.

I don't know how my post about the Philpotts' possible sentence has escalated into this.  I'll leave it to you all now but will continue reading with interest.  I am genuinely interested in how we can improve everything and just wish it would happen.

Quote from: SJH on April 03, 2013, 10:56:27 pm

Quote from: Milly Jones on April 03, 2013, 10:45:41 pm

Whilst not an expert like yourself, I do know first-hand about the subject because of my elderly mother.

That's an odd coincidence. I care for my mother at home, so have first hand knowledge of just how complex, adversarial and incentivised to deny benefit the system is.

I don't think I'd better continue contributing to this conversation.

As you have that first-hand experience (and I am very sorry that you have had to have it), please do continue to contribute to it if you have further observations to make; I have every sympathy with anyone who even tries to "work" the benefit system - by which I specifically do not mean trying to take undue and/or unfair advantage of it but to try to ascertain due rights and entitlements within a system that seems almost designed to discourage all but the most dedicated and determined (as well as needy) applicants.

I cared for my mother at my home for 18 months when she first was diagnosed as being unable to live alone.  During that time I looked after her 24/7 whilst juggling a child and an occasional unruly step-grandson.  The latter is now employed thank goodness, has been for a while and seems to be settling down at last.
But getting back to my mother, during that time I was entitled to absolutely nothing in the way of attendance or care allowance because although her symptoms are serious and chronic they are not terminal.  Interestingly when my late husband was diagnosed as terminal, I did not apply for any benefits but they were applied for on my behalf by people sent from a local hospice to assist.  I didn't ask for any assistance at any time but lo and behold an allowance started to be paid into my account and I hadn't signed any forms at all.  In the end looking after my mother (particularly when she has difficult long-term emotional and psychological issues as well) became too much for me.  Much as I still feel 25 years old inside, sadly the rest of me is one hell of a lot older.   As soon as I got her into sheltered acccommodation, a lady came round to see us to discuss her entitlements and of course incapacity benefit is one of them.  Obviously the current changes will mean we have to go through it all again but I don't have a problem with that.

I'm well aware of the corruption in the benefits system and I'm aware of the concerted campaigns to make everyone in it look like scroungers.  I really do not think that a normal intelligent person would take the latter view no matter how many papers were read on the subject.  I certainly don't.  Philpott was a common criminal and hopefully will be treated as such to the full extent of the law today, but sadly he was also milking the benefits system to the full and this was bound to be reported as an example of what can go wrong.

I'm sorry but I just can't take the view that we offer benefits to everyone and rely on people to be honest.  We just cannot afford to do this.  We're in a double or triple dip recession and whether as a result of corruption or not our finances are in a dreadful state.  Besides that, I have a very low opinion of the honesty and morality of the majority of the human race at any time.  As the saying goes, the more I see of people the more I love my dogs.