Spring Shows and Festivals

The line-up for the 2012 Ramsbottom Festival (the North West's newest boutique festival no less) was announced this week. I got an early bird weekend family ticket for 'Im Indoors for Christmas (OK I suppose it was for me) which was a brilliant saving. Glastonbury is no good for me. I don't want to camp in a field of mud and have to queue for hours for horrible flooded toilets. Ramsbottom is great. We can all go if we want to, and it is so close we can just phone a taxi if we miss the last bus home. I can't wait.  I like to see live music, and on the Friday night I'll be there jumping about to The Inspiral Carpets. My 10 year old can have his first 'festival' experience too. http://www.skiddle.com/festivals/ramsbottom/lineup.html

I've been busy baking today. I 'don't do' baking, but my excuse is that my oven is so poor that it doesn't heat up to what I tell it to, is different temperatures in different places, and you can't predict how it will behave. This time next year will be a different story, when I have my new kitchen, but for now, I'm stuck with it. I decorated my 'Jubilee cake' for the Tottington Horticultural Society Spring Show last night. Harrison had suggested I did a street party and it sounded like a good idea. I must think a bit more before agreeing to these things in the future. I spent hours making miniature bunting then had to decide how to stick it up. I decided on cocktail sticks and my dad, @halegc, gave me some superglue. I don't think he'll do that again. Within minutes of starting glue was everywhere, and I was stuck fast to a cocktail stick. I had a job to complete though, so after setting @halegc the task of finding out a 'cure' I cut the stick so it was short and battled through. The 'cure' turned out to be nail varnish remover (I had none) or a quick trip to A&E as they keep something there for these occasions. Obviously I couldn't seek medical advice and would rather have walked round with a stick on my finger for weeks than tell a doctor in Bury what I'd done. Luckily, later on, after being soaked, it fell off.

I also have some home make sloe gin and rhubarb vodka. The vodka was particularly awful and takes the coating off your mouth, but I was persuaded to enter it (I think for comical value and to make other entrants feel good). I thought the sloe gin would be ready but when I went to decant some last night disaster struck. It had 'gone missing' a while ago, but I found it in a corner under the stairs. I had kept it hidden from before my holidays in February and was to finish it off when I returned. Unfortunately I forgot and the sloes were still in the jar. It was a lovely colour, but not a great taste! That's been entered too. I also made shortbread. Harrison is very impressed, 'Im Indoors isn't! The cherry and cheese (not together) scones were more of a disaster but one I'm blaming wholly on the oven. The middle didn't seem to cook, and one cherry scone is burnt on one side. They have all gone off for judging though. I couldn't enter a non burnt one as you have to show 3 of each, and I only made 3 plus a tiny one to taste! Finally I entered the photography competition that had to be on the theme of 'celebrations'. I don't think I'll need help carrying trophies home this time, but I won't give up.

A while ago my shoulder started hurting. I thought it was the arthritis that was diagnosed 6-7 years ago and then mysteriously disappeared making a comeback. It got worse and worse, and getting dressed each morning was a terrible struggle. Swimming in the middle of the day was also a trauma as it would take me twice as long to get changed then dressed again than it did to have the swim! I gave in this week and went to the doctors. I don't like doctors, hospitals etc so I had put it off as long as I could. A frozen shoulder was diagnosed, which I wasn't happy about. I (wrongly) thought that the cure for this was a big injection into my shoulder bone, which was one reason I was avoiding the doctors. I was prescribed some anti-inflammatory tablets to try before a decision is made about physiotherapy etc.

The tablets I have are enormous (and so they should be, the price I paid for the prescription!). I like to know everything about what I'm taking before I have them, so I trawled though the information leaflet and the British National Formulary. I wasn't too happy about the list of possible side effects and even unhappier that I didn't see the usual 'side effects are very rare but we just need to mention them in case' bit. By the time I'd read everything I was convinced that within days I would have (among other things):
A swollen neck and face (how could I tell?);
Blisters on my hands and feet;
Pus filled spots;
Alopecia;
Jaundice;
Hepatitis;
Death of part of my kidneys;
Heart failure
Insomnia;
Tinnitus;
Visual Disturbances; and my favourite bit of the leaflet
"If you think you may be having a stroke contact your doctor immediately".

I have only had 3 days worth and I can see no benefit just yet, but I still have a full head of hair, am not yellow, and my heart seems OK. Unfortunately I have a rash and am spotty. That should help clear the swimming pool when I go later though. Every cloud etc...

It must be awful to have something like this for years. I couldn't even fasten my pinny this morning! If I'm not around for a while, it could be the side effects.

Dear Mr Cameron

I've been very quiet on here as there is so much going on elsewhere. I have other things I need to finish off before I get back into blogging again but hopefully it won't be too long off.

However, this week I had sight of a letter written by a 12 year old girl to David Cameron. This had been written without any prompting and help, and she presented her parents with copies to send off to anyone they could think of. This 12 year old had heard her parents worrying and decided to join in the fight. I'm hoping this gets emailed to anyone they can think of to make some kind of an impact. Read on (I did seek their permission first and took the name out).

Dear Mr Cameron,

I am writing this letter on behalf of my father who has a disability. He was put into the Work Related Activity Group of the Employment Support Allowance instead of the support group which he should have been put in in the first place. Because of this he is losing £400 a month! Because my father has multiple sclerosis he is unable to work, which means he isn’t earning a wage. Now, the government are stopping any money coming into my father’s account by 30^th April 2012, however, if my father had been put in the right group (the support group) he would still be getting the money which we rely on every month.

I understand that I am only 12 years old, but I understand what is happening to this country and I believe that I should have a say in the matter. I also understand that you only receive a certain amount of money over the year and that you have to spend it on things that matter, but there is one thing I do not understand. Lots of money has been spent on new things for the country like new community centres etc. but why isn’t the money being spent so you can help people in need like my father. Some families cannot work because they are too ill, but if you stop their money coming in to their bank accounts every month then they will not have any money to rely on when they need it.

I do respect you and the government Mr Cameron, and I respect what you are doing, but some families like mine are not happy with your choices and as you are the prime minister, I think you should respect them and help them like you would help any other person that matters to you. If this country did not care about the money we earn or about the buildings we have in this country and we just cared about each other and help everyone who does not have a great amount of money, then I am sure you would not be receiving any letters off people asking for money and benefits because you would already be helping everyone who is in need.

I do hope that you read this letter and that it changes your mind about stopping money coming into my father’s account. Once again, I do respect you and I hope that I do not sound like I am being disrespectful to you.

Yours sincerely,

Personally I think this 12 year old must have been brought up very well to be so polite, and after a few weeks of being without this money she might have lost her respect for Mr Cameron and the government. Good luck to them and Mr Cameron, shame on you.