AWAKE.........

Hi Snowys Mum…thanks everso for your comments re my sewing…

I do feel for you Nurses all having to go through new and higher hoops.It seems there are less nurses and they are expected to do so much for far less money than other responsible positions.

As far as Amitryptallin goes…I was told a while ago it has a side effect of helping with headaches and sleep….anyway,it helps.

sorry about my spelling,I have been out of it for 6 years now.

In my day the Sisters used to say it would attract the “wrong”people to nursing,raising the pay.However,”a worker is worthy of his/her hire”and I feel kindness and goodness alone don’t feed the children or pay the heating bills.

I am so sorry they are having to resort to food banks.

having been a nurse/nursing assistant/private nurse,(not well-paid asmost people think-just very interesting )all my working life and never married,I have managed but only because I had a generous father and family.

also don’t have to run a car or feed a family-goodness it would be impossible.

Hoping all gets a little easier on the Ward.It is a very hard job you have got ,being in charge .

love Violet xxPS

PS,LacomtekpYour Mum looks so happy….I love those pics.My Dad had Multi-infarct Dementia,diagnosed by a Consultant but people kept insisting it was Alzheimer’s.Well…maybe get Consultants post and then I will believe you!Xxxx

Awww, Snowys Mum I really feel for all nursing staff and professions allied to medicine as their pay is a very similar scale, everyone is being asked to jump through more and more hoops now, so incredibly unfair, yet those at the top get good salaries, let alone those in junior minister level…..GRRRRRR! 

Anyway, we’ve missed you and are very glad to see you back and hope work isn’t too horrendous…..

Night night Fruit Loops, sleep well and stay safe, plenty of sleepy fairy dust for those who wish

Hugs xxx

Good morning all. I have come over to UK to visit our youngest son and his partner. She is a lovely girl, and it's the first opportunity we've had of meeting her, as they got together just before Covid struck.

They are living near Sunderland, and it's come as a massive shock to me the good old weather in Blighty. Having lived now in Spain for the last 15 years, we don't actually see a lot of rain, but I think we've made up for it since we arrived..it hasn't stopped! It's also the cold which has affected me, and with the combination of cold and damp, my arthritis is really playing up.

However, I have had a wonderful visit, lots of hugs from son at every possible opportunity, several pub lunches and lots of catching up...telephone and video calls just aren't the same are they? 

I'll try to attach a couple of pictures...the picture at the seaside is hubby and I...don't know if you can zoom in close enough, but his face says it all as far as coping with the wind chill is concerned! The second one is of myself and son.

How lovely, Dicha! So glad you’ve been able to get son-hugs! My kids are the best at hugging me, too! 

Morning all, it’s damp afoot but sunny here (at present!) so I hope it’s going to stay fine, I’ve got some washing on the go, would like to put it out if I can….and maybe trust it till I get home after the concert? Hmmmm……

Hugs xxx

Dicha we do like our NE winds here hope you manage to get some good weather whilst you are here We left NE to come over to Cumbria on Saturday ..pouring rain until at top of Pennines when sun came out to welcome us to the west . Enjoy rest of your visit to family 

Re use of food banks.  I loved this post by a local lady who works hard in the community with Food banks and Food shares.   It totally recognises the working poor.  This isn't my local food bank but I actively support my local one as it turns no one away. Periodically I organise my neighbours as just 1 item a household adds up but they may not like to take it.  I took 17 bags last month from them.  I'm doing selection boxes now.  Already have 6 and we've 2 weeks to go!  

My local independent vegan shop also has food-bank box.  I'm doing a vegan hamper for my daughter & son in law for Xmas so when I pop in to buy things I put an item in the box.  I put a selection box this week - vegan ones £3.99 so not cheap,  She said she donates unsold ones to food-bank just before close of Christmas rather than sell as reduced like supermarkets.  So kind and giving when I'm sure she too is finding it hard keeping her business going.  

just a quickie ,our food shares are to stop landfill only and all are welcome ,however food banks are for those in dire need,
they are not available to those on a full benefit . those on full benefits are not at threat of losing their.  Their home rent is all paid as is council tax, those who are working ,zero hour contracts, or who were furloughed for months with 80% of wages but 100% of the bills ,struggling to pay bills or eat ,those are what we do our food banks for . if you are running low on food then please by all means come to our food shares and take what you need ,but our food banks are only available to those who need it , people who work are struggling more than most and some are not keeping their heads above water no mater how they try , hence the post, sorry if this offends anyone but its the truth of the world we live in today ! those in employment have not or will not get the warm home discount, ,the cost of living payment or the fuel poverty payment , thank you for reading . 

Dicha & Lacomtekp. Loving your happy family pictures with everyone looking so well.p x

Lovely pics Lacomtekp and Dicha 

I do hope working conditions improve for you and your colleagues Snowys Mum . Are they wanting you to work outside of your contract? 

I found my first contract as a registered nurse (SRN in those days)..I think I started on around £2400/year. I recollect getting £32 a month as a cadet. Thinking back I can’t remember getting a really good pay rise, ever. Wonder how many unpaid hours I worked over 43 years Care service should be linked to NHS. Remember all the Cottage Hospitals?

xx

Hiya Flossie25 I started in 1981 as Auxiliary then did EN training 82-84 then RMN training 95-97 then degree 2012-2015..Aww the cottage hospitals seem a haven of calm and cleanliness, to todays chaos.

I only work part-time so expected to work extra constantly but come holiday pay....yeah that is just your contract hours. No we are used to that, its the role. Expected to verify death now, and then a nurse did it wrong so in trouble, not fair she's 62. Everything is on computer including meetings with consultants and families and it takes 3 hours and you're in a busy office with poor patients crying out for pain relief. So say sorry I must leave meeting as patient care 1st, so then get in trouble for that. CQC want us to write in daily online notes every medicine given in full, route, how patient accepts, including creams and why PRN given it not given. Policies and Procedures now go to your personal email with weekly reading list and they can see how long you have spent reading each one. In own time this !!! I could go on and on. Staff leaving in droves, we can't staff the place.

Sorry for venting but this is just a bit of it xxx

Oh that all stinks, Snowys Mum! I chatted with a physio not many years after I retired, what he told me about their new procedures made me so incredibly glad I’d retired! It was bad enough documenting everything (longhand) that I did every half hour for a week! (Often ending up with ‘writing this’!!!) 

Hugs xxx