That Dress!

 

A number of people mentioned my African print dress. Here's the story... When we lived in Leicestershire, I sometimes went to the nearby village of Anstey. They had two two primary schools, and I did quite a bit of supply teaching in one of them in the early 2000s. In the centre of the village was a square - round it were a variety of shops; bakers, butchers,coffee shop, newsagent, PO, hardware store, hairdresser,  building society, chippy and florist. But also a charity shop and a branch of Nat West Bank. It was quicker and easier to drive to Anstey, park for free, and use that branch, than to go into the City Centre for my own bank. And back then, we occasionally had cheques to pay in. And if it was open I'd cheque out the CS. 

One summer day I found the dress on a sale rail. It was less than £5. I liked the cool cotton, and the vibrant print, and the amber 'glass' beads round the neckline. It was originally from Primark. There was a lot of fabric in the dress and I thought that even if I wore it just for the summer, I could recycle the beads and fabric for other makes. That was 2007! And every time I wear it, I receive compliments.

But the best was in 2008. I'd been at a Garden Party on a very hot day - but felt cool and comfortable. On the way home I was passing the big out of town M&S and I stopped to buy fresh milk in the Foodhall. 

As I queued, I realised two Rather Posh ladies behind me were discussing The Dress "it's exactly the sort of thing I want for the wedding. Bright, but cool, and comfortable. I love the print, and it's a flattering style... The beaded neckline is gorgeous" I turned round and smiled. One woman blushed, the other said "Please, where did you buy it? I'm going to a society wedding next month and that dress is so unusual, it would be just perfect..." I  admitted that it was from a CS. [didn't mention Primark, they didn't sound like they'd shop there!]

When I recounted the tale later, one friend said that my response should have been "Look, we are in M&S. Buy me a dress in here, and I'll put it and give you this one" I thought at the time that would have been a brilliant solution. But 16 years later, I'm glad I've kept my dress. It still sparks much joy.

Thanks for the kind words for Bob. He is learning to cope with his crutches. But it is both tiring and frustrating at times. George and Jacob decorated his big black boot with stickers to cheer him up! 

A Difficult Day

Seven years ago, we travelled up from Ferndown to the East Midlands, for the wedding of our good friend Steve from Kirby Muxloe. We had not met his bride before - he and Angela got together after we left KM. But it was a lovely day and the wedding was full of love and joy. 

They were so happy to have found each other. Sadly we will be travelling back to Leicester today for Angela's funeral. She died suddenly a few weeks ago following a fall. Steve says friends at church have been really supportive, and his faith remains strong - but these are truly difficult days. 

May God give Steve strength for this time - and may he know that there are many people who care for him. 

Cupboard Love

Years ago, before I understood this horticulture business, I was given a Christmas cactus.  It lived in the conservatory in Kirby Muxloe, and for a number of years it bloomed beautifully during the festive season. Then it didn't anymore. And one year it went brown and crispy [my fault entirely]

A couple of years ago, Liz gave me a cactus which produced leaves, but nothing else. However, I spotted an article about "helping your Christmas cactus to bloom" It advocated keeping the plant in the dark for around 14 hours each day, and in the light for about 10 [yes, that adds up to 24!] The article said within 6-8 weeks, you should have blooms. The plant is properly named a schlumbergera. 

So I am trying! When I get up, I put the cactus on the bedroom windowsill, and in the late afternoon I return it to the space in the wardrobe.

I've been doing this for just over a week, and I'm really excited by the appearance of the tiny pink buds. I do hope this works!

Acanthochronology is the name for the study of the growth of cactus spines over time. I guess an acanthochronologist somewhere worked out the patterns of light/dark times needed to produce blooms. I thank them for their efforts.

I'm currently giving the plant a little water each Friday. Is that enough? And should I be feeding it? if so with what? [I have bottles of tomato feed, and orchid feed to hand]

Coming Clean...For Less Than Half A Crown!

We all piled into the Skoda on Monday Evening for a special outing. A few miles down the road we encountered a minor RTA - which meant Bob had to reverse some distance up the narrow country lane.  The guy directing us said they did not need help. There was no room to pass - or to turn round - and we needed to get out of the way before the emergency services arrived. Back on the road again, and poor Jess was very sick. Having taken her and parents home, Bob and I began the journey again with just Rosie [avoiding the RTA road - although we did hear sirens] The three of us did have a good outing, in the end.

On Tuesday, we had to clean the inside of the car. "What do we have for cleaning carpets?" said Bob. I had tidied up all the cleaning stuff last week - and discovered I had a lot of carpet cleaning materials. Down the years, I have had reason to clean a lot of carpets it seems. Both here at Cornerstones, in Kirby and Ferndown.

We did discover on Tuesday afternoon, that the Little Scrubber has died completely. The LS was a freebie when we got the Vax Rapide around 25 years ago. The VR packed up in Dorset after 19 years, so I cannot complain that the LS has stopped working.

However the 1001 Troubleshooter Spray, combined with the Dr Beckmann Carpet Stain Remover [useful built in brush] seem to have done the necessary in getting the stains and smell out of the car carpets and upholstery.
We only have two rooms with carpets here - everywhere else is tiles and laminates, with rugs. So I do not think I need to invest in another Vax. I must ask around at church if anyone wants an [unopened] bottle of Vax shampoo! Do you remember this ad ?

And if you are really old, like me, what about this one?

How do you clean carpets? 

Or do you just have hard floors and rugs?

Mrs Moppe

In the Great Sort, I've unearthed, and emptied, three sets of IKEA Moppe Drawers. They're all around 25 years old. Over the years I've decorated the outsides in different ways. The 6 drawer set was covered with pages from an out of date Leicestershire A-Z map book. On of the 5 drawer units was decorated with "angels in art" after Christmas 1999, and was on my desk at school for two terms. The third set was covered in blue and white pages from a French Marie Claire Idées craft magazine. But they are all looking faded and tatty now. I think I may make them an autumn project and redecorate and repurpose them. 

I saw a 6 drawer set stained olive green in a CS for £9 last week. They were not very attractive imho.

How would you refinish these if they were yours?

We've Been Here Before! Welcome home!

We'll be up at the crack of dawn in order to get the final bits ready for Holiday Club. The title is Restoration Station - and we are looking at three incidents in the life of Jesus where he restored people to wholeness.[We can't call it The Repair Shop, because that name belongs to the BBC]

Bob and I have been doing Children's Holiday Clubs together for over forty years. We have some really great memories. 

Especially from our two decades in Kirby Muxloe - and I've been thinking so much about friends there as I have prepared for this club. 

The year we went to Kirby [1995] was also the year Gary Lineker came back home to Leicester to live, having retired from playing professional football. He was 33, and had never received a red or yellow card in any game - an all-round good bloke. He became the ad-man for a local company. This was the commercial which started it all.

Watching it makes me a bit homesick for Leicestershire - but also so very glad that 28 years later Gary Lineker still IS "Mr Nice Guy" . I'm so glad he is not afraid to speak out for those who really need it, and tell the politicians their behaviour is unacceptable. God bless you, Gary. [and please God, bless our little Holiday Club too...]

NEWS Report

The other week, Bob and I went with a small group of people from our village [mostly Parish Councillors and spouses] to look at the Norse Environmental Waste Services [aka NEWS]  plant on the edge of Norwich. It was a really interesting tour, and I learned loads about this state-of-the-art facility which has been open almost 20 years.

Recycling bin lorries deposit their contents onto a series of moving belts which travel round the huge building, and the various recyclables [card, paper, glass, certain plastics] are removed at different points.

At an early stage, there us a lot of hand sorting when stuff which really should not have been put in the recycling bins has to be weeded out and discarded. I was horrified to hear what the staff have to deal with.

Things like

disposable nappies

dead pets

bags of animal faeces

medical waste including 'sharps'

gas cylinders

ammunition 

lithium batteries

These things are all dangerous- some can pass on infection, others [batteries, ammunition and gas cylinders can explode or catch fire] Before we started we were given instructions in case of fire, and dressed in PPE. Here's a helpful video of what goes on

Much of the stuff which arrives is not recyclable. Dangerous items are removed and disposed of safely. Other stuff goes off to be incinerated. For every 15 tonnes like this that providesd the same fuel at 10 tonnes of imported coal. 

All the card goes out to the Far East - because they need to make new boxes for their manufactured goods. Sadly the price of used paper has fallen - recycled paper is made into cheaper stuff like newsprint and fewer people read a newspaper now [most read online] 

Glass is an issue - the Norwich Plant would prefer not to deal with it, and until recently we were told not to put it in our domestic bins, but to take it to communal bottle banks. This pre-sorted glass is much easier to process. [One half full wine bottle which breaks can ruin the whole bin load] But the glass which goes to NEWS is sorted, washed and sent on to make new glass.. 

Plastic drinks bottles and regular translucent milk bottles can be sold for food grade recyclables. Cans, aluminium and steel, are sorted and sent on too.

The council says we can put Tetrapaks in our bins - but they are hard to recycle, so they are sorted and sent to regular waste. Ditto some heavily coloured plastics [even if they have the recycle symbol on the bottom] Our guide said he loathes plastic flowerpots and Cravendale milk bottles

It is so important to check your labels [see here] There is a helpful page of recycling myths here. We had loads of questions. And got really surprising answers

What about shredded paper ? No thank you  Not even tied in a bag? Staff do not have time to sort tied bags, and they may contain contaminants- all tied bags and sealed boxes are left closed and sent straight to waste!

Why can't we have food waste bins like they do in other places [Like Leicestershire, and Dorset] We do not have facilities to deal with it. No 'bio digester' locally

Is it helpful to crush cans, squash bottles and flatten boxes? NO!!! Many of the machines sort by shape - they can 'recognise' a can, a milk bottle etc. Crushing slows up that process.

One member of the group spoke about living in Germany where everyone had 'domestic' bins, but there were lots of communal bins for different recycling easily available in the towns, and people used them, it was considered antisocial to do otherwise. Our guide said that in many countries, people understand their personal responsibility in this - but in the UK, people say "I'll put it in the bin, and somebody else will sort it for me" We all need to learn to sort it for ourselves and put rubbish in the appropriate bin [and where possible avoid using some things in the first place] Refuse, reduce, reuse, repair and rethink come before recycle in the sustainability scheme

So I encourage you to look at how you recycle - and PLEASE - remember every area is different, do check your local provision and instructions. [Our guide was Very Cross with the Government for not having a standardised national recycling policy!!]

He said the two really busy times of the year were the holiday season [and many of the people who visit our lovely county sadly leave a lot of ill-managed rubbish behind] and Christmas [when people are too busy having fun to think about responsible recycling]

So please think about what you use to wrap your gifts - avoid foil and glitter, and keep sticky tape to a minimum.

"🎵Brown paper packages, tied up with strings, 

these are the best for recycling things...🎵"

Fill It Up!

Today is World Refill Day - to raise awareness of the wisdom of re-using, and the foolishness of using single-use/disposable goods unnecessarily 

After the Big Plastic Count last month, I was sent this link to the "Living with Less Plastic Handbook". It is a free downloadable resource full of useful ideas, helpful to those starting out on this journey.  I have certainly used my Stojo Mug an awful lot this year, for hot and cold drinks. 
The nearby market town of Swaffham has a "Sustainable Swaffham" Campaign, aiming to make our area [Breckland] carbon neutral by 2035. A number of shops offer free refills for water bottles, and there are other eco-initiatives throughout the town.

Breckland Council has a whole section on "Eco Friendly Communities" on its website.

Look for stickers like these in other towns.

And please don't forget that 'refilling' covers many things. Use reusable vegetable bags at the supermarkets rather than taking a plastic bag every time you buy carrots. Buy dry goods in larger quantities in recyclable paper sacks or cartons, to decant into smaller containers when you get home. If you have a weekly date with your local chinese takeaway, ask them to refill your carefully washed plastic containers. Wilko sells grass seed in a box - or you can buy it loose in a paper bag [and it is cheaper too] 

If you are in a rural area, do look out for 'milk dispensing machines' - we have one at Dann's farm just up the road, and another at Abbey Farm, Binham, 20 miles away. It is a real treat to stop on the way home from a day out, and refill our glass bottle with a litre of farm fresh whole milk.

We buy our free range eggs from the local farm, and I have been using the same egg box for over 10 years [since the days when we refilled it at the end of our holidays, before returning to Leicestershire]

Do you have a favourite refill product?

Or a good tip to share?

Are You Being Served?

 When I was 5, I was taken to London to see Father Christmas In Selfridges. The huge store, opened at the start of the 20th century seemed like a Palace- especially with the festive lights in Oxford Street, and the colourful window decorations.

Aged 7, I moved to West Hartlepool. The big store in town was Binns. Not as special - but they had these amazing tubes, and the assistant put your money in, and they were whisked away to somewhere secet while your purchase was carefully wrapped for you

We moved to Norfolk in 1965, and soon after 1960s my parents began taking an annual holiday in Brighton. I loved the British Home Stores. This 1931 Art Nouveau building later became C&A and then Primark. But it felt stylish and elegant

I grew up, married, and in 1995 Bob and I moved to Leicester with the girls. I was fascinated by the Fenwick building [originally built for Johnson & Johnson in 1926, a family run department store]

Sometimes we'd take the girls to Nottingham, and marvel at the fabulous decorations in Zara - housed in the shop which was originally built in 1892 for Florence and Jesse Boot's growing empire.

The curved windows seemed very glamorous - and when the store first opened, one of the attractions was the new electric lighting - which made the glass sparkle and shine.

Down to Dorset in 2015, where Debenhams occupied the site of Bobby's Department Store [another building from the start of the 20thC]

Now back living in Norfolk again - and Jarrolds still stands proudly at the corner of the Market Place. [read the story of this, and other Norwich stores here]

 I must be getting old - but I like these old places, with their heavy revolving doors, ladies cloakrooms that merit the term 'powder room', a sense that the staff want to help the customer [and not act as if you are being a nuisance, because you are interrupting their phone conversation] The sort of shop where the Dowager Duchess [played by Maggie Smith, naturally] takes tea in the afternoon, having ordered some new silk camisoles for her grand daughter's birthday, and a picnic hamper for the family's day trip to the coast. 

Why all this nostalgia for the department stores of my youth? - because they are departing rapidly. Many High Street stores have moved online, or completely gone out of business. These glorious emporia, with wood panelling, huge windows, chandeliers, and an air of faded grandeur...are fading away. 

At best they are being repurposed into luxury apartments or hotels - at worst razed to the ground and replaced by ugly concrete structures. The group "Save Britain's Heritage" has produced a report called "Departing Stores- Emporia at Risk". They want to preserve these buildings in some way. I think this idea has some merit.

Having said all that, can I just praise John Lewis of Norwich [originally Bond's Store, and bombed in WW2, rebuilt afterwards, and now part of the JL Partnership] I recently took my friend [aged 89] to choose a dress for her grand[daughter's wedding. Amber, the staff member who served us could not have been more helpful. There is no need to book this "personal shopper" service in advance, either] We were seated in a comfortable area away from the main thoroughfare through the shop. Amber asked about size, style choices and colour preferences. She went away and swiftly returned with 5 different dresses [I was allowed to go into the spacious, curtained changing area, to help my friend with zips etc]  Amber waited outside, fetched different styles and sizes, and did all she could to help. She was knowledgeable, patient and unbelievably helpful. This was 'proper shopping' how it used to be, and I was glad for my friend. I've actually emailed the manager to tell him how good Amber was - she deserves to be recognised as a good member of staff. 

"Online, order tonight, get it tomorrow" has become the retail mantra. It is fast, convenient, and often cheaper than going out to the shops. But maybe when you go out for a 'shopping experience' you think a little more carefully before spending your money. And you take time to choose wisely, to try on the garment before paying...

Are there traditional 'department stores' where you live?

Does it matter if all our shopping is online?

Have favourite shops from your childhood disappeared?

Grace, Chris, Katy and Andy

Our SatNav is called Grace ['tis Grace that brought us safe this far, and Grace will lead us home] and she is mostly very good. However, she does have an odd turn of pronunciation sometimes. There are 3 characters who pop up regularly when she is guiding us.

Chris. This often appears when a placename includes the word Christ. So that big place near Ferndown in Dorset was Chris Tchurch

Katy She appears whenever there is a Market in the placename, and nearby roadsigns abbreviate it to Mkt. In Norfolk there is Downham M Katy, and Burnham M Katy. In Leicestershire there is M Katy Harborough

And recently we've heard another chap mentioned, Andy. He is on the new Northern Distributor Road round Norwich, where Grace told us to turn off for Norwich N Andy. [I had to check the sign, and realised it was Norwich, North and East]

Does your SatNav have a name? and is it prone to mispronouncing place names?

That's My Name, Don't Wear It Out!

 So here are nine products - can you name them?

Easy! you probably said

1. Pritt stick
2. Biro/Bic
3. Hoover
4. Stanley Knife
5. Crocs
6. Velcro
7. Elastoplast
8. Sellotape**
9. Pringles

I'm aware that non-UK readers may have a few different names like BandAid, ScotchTape etc - but you probably agreed with most of my answers.

Except not one of these items pictured is the pukka, branded product - the vacuum cleaner is a Sebo, the shoes are from M&S, the crisps are from Lidl ...

Whilst you might feel honoured to invent a product which becomes a household name, your company lawyers will be frustrated when other people infringe your trademark. [I could mention caterpillar cakes....]

The ballpoint pen was invented by Hungarian journalist Lásló Bíró and chemist brother Gyorgy. They patented it in 1938 in Paris [and again in the US in 1943] In 1945, Marcel Bich bought the patent rights from them, and founded his BIC company. But the picture above is an unbranded copy.

James Spangler, a night watchman in Ohio suffered from asthma. He made a gadget using a fan, a silk pillowcase and a broomstick to collect the dust. He gave one to his housewife cousin Susan Hoover, to see how she got on with it. She loved it and showed her husband William, and in 1908 the Hoover Company was founded.  [the picture above is a Sebo] 

Sellotape was first developed in the 1930s - made from Cellophane - and that name was trademarked, hence they change from the initial C to S.

Pritt stick is marketed by the Henkel company - and the inventor's young daughter called it a "Pretty stick". Frederick Bauer developed the saddle-shaped potato snack for Proctor and Gamble in 1956 - and in 2008 his cremated ashes were interred in a Pringles tube [these are notoriously difficult to recycle due to the mixed materials used in construction]

And Velcro was patented by a swiss chemist in 1955 - the name comes from the two French words velours [velvet] and croché [hook] - a hook-and-loop fastening inspired by the hooked burdock seeds which clung to his dog's velvety coat. Velcro refers to both the product and the UK company. 

When Steph had a Saturday job in Button Boutique, Leicester, she was insistent that I called their fastenings 'hook&loop' because it wasn't genuine Velcro. 
Six of these names are now in the Oxford dictionary - Hoover, Sellotape, Stanley Knife, Velcro, Elastoplast - and biro [which has lost its trademark status, although BiC remains ®]

The Velcro company has produced a truly cringeworthy video just in case you didn't know how much they value their name...

Perhaps I should end my blogpost ©Angela Almond!
 ** in the US it is Scotch Tape - and in Australia it used to be called Durex - this caused great embarrassment to a teaching colleague from Oz, who told his bemused class of 15 year olds to 'stick these homework sheets in your book with some Durex later'. Poor chap returned to the staffroom, and asked us "Did I say the wrong thing?"

And Love Spilled Out...

 The post brought a card from my dear friends Mark and Elisabeth

Last summer we were able to meet briefly in the Norfolk sunshine, which was lovely.  Like many people in the past 15 months, their plans for special celebrations have gone out the window.
Their Ruby Wedding Party cancelled, instead they are having a weekend away together.

Mark is Head of Chaplaincy at University Hospitals, Leicester. Elisabeth is a nurse. They are wonderful, caring people - Elisabeth has the strongest social conscience, actively promoting fairtrade, cycling, charities and all sorts of other issues. She and I have supported each other through joys and stresses of parenting, being the minister's wife, juggling work and family, health issues, and much more besides. 

Elisabeth also creates beautiful hand-made cards [like this one] The front is banded with ribbon saying joy, inside are photos from the wedding and a recent holiday. They sent these cards out to friends, to explain about the anniversary- and to say thank-you for friendship [they married in 1981, and we met them in 1982, when Mark and Bob started studying theology together]

What a lovely idea, to send such a card! Just the sort of thing Elisabeth would think of. And then I saw something else glittering on the table. As I opened the envelope, LOVE spilled out...

So typical of these good friends, they truly live out their faith - showing gratitude, sharing joy, and as they encounter people, love just spills out...

Would that there were more couples like Mark and Elisabeth God bless you both as you celebrate a long and strong marriage. God grant you many more years of love, life and laughter together. Here's hoping we can meet up again before too long...

Beetle Mania

No, not this- I was at primary school when screaming at John, Paul, George and Ringo was in fashion [1963-66]
But I am developing a mania [of the negative sort] about beetles right now.

We returned from a glorious day out, family picnic in the park, and I went to the front door to check for parcels. I looked at my rosemary bush and it was shining. It was covered in tiny little beetles - like ladybirds but with bronze/blue iridescent stripes. They were beautiful.

Bob went inside to check them out on the RHS website. He returned bearing less than cheerful news. The website was full of helpful information about the Rosemary Beetle aka Chrysolina Americana. 

A nasty little pest related to the Colorado Beetle. It arrived in Central London in the 1990s and is now widespread across the UK. [YouTube explanation here] The RHS are monitoring this carefully. [I really hope they do not reach the Norfolk Lavender Centre up at Heacham] Bob filled in their survey and sent photos of some of our affected plants. These pests eat not just rosemary, but also sage and lavender. Guess what is in our front bed? Exactly - those three- plus roses and a passionflower. And the beetles just chomp away at the foliage and flowers. 

My poor shrubs! Smothered in the things. The website says there is little that can be done. Nasty pesticides may also harm bees and 'good' insect life. I won't use them. So I'm supposed to pick them off one by one and drop them in soapy water. So I did that - but also cut off some of the branches which were thick with pests.

This rosemary is descended from one in a pot which I acquired in 1983 - before Steph was born. Despite my lack of green fingers, I have managed to root cuttings and leave healthy rosemary plants in five other gardens besides this one. It is pretty special to me. That's the bush I left back in Kirby Muxloe

The site says that the shrubs may survive. Or not. I rang Jenny, my Orchid-Mentor, in a panic. Would it be possible for her to nip round to the Ferndown Manse and take a cutting from that shrub please? Unfortunately not - the Church Work Party have done all the necessary jobs and fixed windows etc and the new temporary tenants moved in last week [Manses are often let out on short-term contracts in between ministers] 

But she suggested that I take four cuttings from my plant here- looking for healthy sprigs and avoiding the beetles. and hope that at least one of them takes root. I have to say that when I went back outside to do this, there were already 5 more beetles back on the shrubs. That's despite my diligent removal of all that I could find, and a serious baptism of fresh soapy water.[and I am a Baptist - so that means lots of water, not a mere sprinkling] 

Thank you Jenny for the suggestion. Lets hope it works. I take heart from the fact that one of the orchids is bursting into bloom again. I will get to grips with plants one day!

Do you have any experience of Rosemary Beetle, and how did you deal with it? Please tell me your shrubs survived.

Mug Shots [1]

Back in Leicester,  the wall over the sofa was where we displayed a lot of family photos - all black and white ones. We took them down when we moved to Ferndown, and for 6 years they have been in a box. Now they are on the wall in the hall. It took ages and lots of calculations to work out the best arrangement. And I know that there are a few more old pictures I want to add to the display. I must find the box of old photos, and get some frames for them. The newest ones are already twenty years old - so it is about time we had a few new ones [including the guys and the grandchildren]  We've left space at either end for these. 

From my visits to NT properties, I realise that the upper classes display their family photographs in silver frames on top of the grand piano. I do not have space for a piano, or money for silver frames. IKEA 'Ribba' frames suit me fine, thank you! 

Moving Stories #5 - The Box

The final Moving Story ...In 1965 I was ten - and we moved from Hartlepool to Norfolk. A friend from church had some sort of clothing business, and gave my parents some "suit boxes". I had a couple to pack the stuff from my bedroom. I still have one of them to this day.

It folds up, the corners slot together, and there are holes for a cord handle. It is very battered now, and I think this will definitely be its last move. But the various labels on it show what a varied life it has had. 

A's room

Wedding Dress

Electric Blanket

Bridesmaid's dresses

Gift Bags

In the move from Bexleyheath to Leicester it was Box 423. At that move, everything was tagged with Raffle Tickets, and carefully listed in a little book, because we were going into temporary accommodation for seven months.

That's not bad going for a cardboard box which is 56 years old, is it? 

The next few days [weeks?] will see us unpacking all these boxes and trying to fit the contents into a bungalow which was already furnished. There's going to be a lot of stuff which will not be staying,  and "why did we bring this?" questions, I am sure. 

IOU & I💓U

This is a long post - but I've spent a week debating whether or not to share it, and It is something that I feel strongly about...

 

This is Debt Awareness Week. This past year has wreaked havoc with the financial plans of thousands of families across our nation. Business have folded, people have been furloughed, lost jobs, had reduced hours and paycuts, others had to stop work because of contracting covid19 …it’s been really tough [conversely others have made vast sums of money through “greed and capitalism” – the rich get rich and the poor get poorer, as the old song goes] My immediate family have been ok, but I know others who have struggled. 

And there is still huge stigma about being in debt. People feel it is their fault, their bad choices – but that is not always the case. People hide their shame, and the unopened bills, and the situation gets worse and worse. I’m not judging anyone; I just want to say there is help available, and it is free and confidential and it can literally make all the difference. What follows is a true story…

A decade or so ago, on the Friday one week before Easter, I went upstairs to switch off my PC before going to bed. An email pinged in the inbox. I stopped and read it [despite telling myself ‘this can probably wait till morning’] It basically said

“You don’t know me, but I read your blog everyday. My life is a mess, I am in debt, my rent is overdue, I cannot pay the bills. I’m a carer for my disabled spouse. My only child lives on the other side of the world, and she is pregnant – she doesn’t know my situation. I can’t go on. I’ve put my affairs in order, and packed all my clothes for the Charity Shop. On Good Friday, I plan to take my life. I know that then my husband will be properly looked after by Social Services. I know that you are a Christian – so I am asking you to pray that God will forgive me for this. Thank you”

I called Bob – “I’ve got to help. Perhaps I could go and see her?” He wisely suggested I found out where she was. I sent a brief reply, saying I would pray, begging her to reconsider [how will your daughter explain to her child that her Grandma chose to die before she was born?] and asking her where she lived, and promising I would do all I could to help. The reply came back instantly simply naming a city hundreds of miles from Leicester.

Oh the miracle of Blogland! I had a friend in that city. I immediately emailed “Can’t go into details – but this is a life-and-death matter. Please give me the names of 4 debt agencies, in the N,S,E and W of your city” She was still at her PC – and by midnight, I’d been able to send these details to the woman in distress, saying “I promise you that any one of these will help, they won’t judge”  And I heard no more.

I prayed, I shared the briefest of details with church friends, they prayed. Good Friday came, and went... and I prayed, and wept…and I heard nothing. Then three weeks later – another email

“Sorry for the delay- my internet was cut off. A friend is letting me send this from her computer. I went to the debt people. They’ve sorted things out with my landlady, and helped me get everything back on track. Things will be OK now. Thank you so much. This has saved my life”

That was so wonderful to read. Then a few years later, a second email out of the blue. The lady told me she and her spouse had been moved into an adapted wheelchair friendly bungalow. People had helped furnish it, and others were tending the garden and growing vegetables for them. She thanked me again for my help and my prayers. I've heard no more since.

I was just a small link in the chain that pulled her out of the quagmire of debt. I think of that lady every year when it gets to Holy Week.

Don’t be afraid to ask for help – and don’t be afraid to offer help. Don’t let debt be a death sentence.