Being messed about again

Sometimes it can seem that you're surround by a Government run merry-go-round as having eventually got my money sorted for being unable to work even if felt up to it, we have another hoop to go through because the money that's supposed to help meet my personal needs has had a change.
In Britain, we have for a longish period of time given by assessment money to people to help meet the costs of disability such as adaptions, equipment, services or support outside of social services through a variety of differing schemes.
The last expansion of this came in 1992 with the replacement of Attendence Allowance and Mobility payments for under 65's by a broader mainly self certified scheme called Disability Living Allowance where you set out what your needs were and why, doctors and consultants would be asked  to verify the accuracy of you said and so you'd be given an award for varying periods depending on likelihood of it improving or not.
I remember applying for it in November of 1994 and because of my own situation was given an 'indefinite' award because mine cannot improve, quite the opposite actually so when in response to some concern about the potential for fraud, many people were sent to 'medicals' periodically effectively I was exempted not that much fraud really existed but it satisfied the man at the pub who thought so and so believed they shouldn't be getting it.
It is worthwhile considering what actually is the criteria to be considered because to simply have a condition of itself isn't sufficient, you normally need to show how that effects you, what you may need and how that help.
The example people tend to quote against automatic condition as qualifier is a person has a eye deficiency - let's say they are short-sighted - and while without correction they are impacted supplying a (inexpensive) pair of glasses enables them to get around so they don't *need* extra payments.
Two things I'd say from that is this presumes people have sufficient money after regular spending to buy a pair since free glasses ended for most people over eighteen in the mid 1980's and some eye conditions don't lend themselves to simple correction and are grounds to such as severe impairment or actual blindness.
Fuelled by what was seen as increased costs and the idea some with low care needs didn't really need financial help the then coalition government  in 2010 decided to change the system to something that had less provision for lower rate care needs and radically reduced distances  for showing a person was unable or virtually unable to walk with face to face assessments by people called health care professionals who aren't and don't consider anything from specialists to decide if you do.
This is called Personal Independence Payments (P.I.P's)
To date the governments own National Audit Office Report has shown this change has actually allowing for inflation resulted in more spending on disability payments not the anticipated reduction, more cases are won on appeal at expense and many reports from the health care professionals contain errors sometimes even whole falsehoods.
I received a letter late last week informing my INDEFINITE award was stopping soon and I'd have to make a fresh application for PIP so I now have to get a form and fill it out like I did for the Work Capability Assessment eighteen months ago and like I ended up to sort out my main income replacement benefit just before Christmas.
I finally after a long wait and a twenty-two minute phone call got the form coming to me soon.
Will this ever end as with me at least nothing can change for the better and to be honest they might as well of just passported me over as they all the information they need as I'm not getting any better as my body ages.

A message from Theo

Hello. It's Mr. Theo the 2nd here this Monday morning sitting here having been sunbathing after last weeks really sunny weather while this blogs own tries to figure out how to make the self timer work so I can take my own picture.
I think they've been going outside not that I get taken out much enjoying the fresh air and the strange case of the winter flowering species  that should be like the daffodils planted locally.

 You normal expect to see them in Spring but it appears to have come up early as have a number of blossoms too following a period of higher temperatures in the last few weeks here in the North-west Midlands.
That said it was blowing a strong gale last night when I went to bed.
I think they may be something different happening later on in the week here but I can't remember much being just a stuffied teddy bear but I think you might see something about it in a week or so.
Regards, Theo

Winter Littles Camp 2019

This week we go back about a week and a few days while I was away at the UK Littles Camp somewhere in the Midlands for a meet up that turned out a bit different than normal and not just because we were in a different location.

First off setting off on the Friday was chaotic in the extreme for damage near Norton Bridge that caused over 50 minute delays and cancellations on my train and on many others as it affected the whole West Coast Mainline between Scotland and London.
It was more by luck and following gut instinct I found a train within a few minutes to time although technically it too was delayed by over 50 minutes so arrived something like on time as I waited with a friend to pick up another person.

I like taking pictures so when I spotted this view nearby, I was rewarded with this lovely sunset scene that to me sums up Winter with the rolling hills in the background.
Arrival on Friday afternoon was made easier for it being roughly an hours drive from my friends as we went around the countryside and  through a  town  with walled gates that anyone familiar with this part of the Midlands would recognize.
We unpacked meeting Andi, Daisy and Suzy, putting the food we bought for the week away and had lamb shoulder steaks, mashed potato and greens while everyone else had various Indian foods ordered locally before making a bit of start on one of several jigsaws and I read a couple of comic annuals.

Saturday after getting up and helping set things up for breakfast, Miss Green had organized a cake and biscuit making cookery class where various biscuits and cakes were made in animal shapes such as Dinosaurs using moulds and a caterpillar  from swiss rolls covered in pink icing.
Fudge and I decided to make cupcakes - eighteen of them - using a commercial mix to which two eggs, a portion of margarine, milk and flour were added and whisked by hand before going in the oven.
Above is a few that were decorated with icing sugar, the shapes being cut out using a mould.
The midday meals were meat based salad buffets put together by Daisy and Suzy that were much appreciate with fries too.
Saturday saw Jillian's General knowledge quiz complete with pictures of famous stars in their earlier years you had to identify.
We had mainly fish and chips from a nearby chip shop (where else?) for our evening meal Caroline having places the order earlier  and being picked up just after the mad hour at the store.
It may of been had a little later than normal but I think the quality more than made up for it.
Sunday after going out was more a relaxing day and for tea we had various mainly steak based pies mashed potatoes and peas prepared by Miss Green with help from assorted others followed by  Sammy's home made Strawberry cheesecake having been made the day before was served which was delicious.

Across the days several jigsaw were done including a three dimensional Harry Potter one, one of Amsterdam and this one.
A number of people took advantage of this areas outstanding natural beauty - it has an official status to that effect - to go on walks.
Sunday night meant it was time for the "All purrpuss nekomimi Music Quiz" that was hosted by a certain Neko who has a lot to do with this blog that was run in four teams.
Amazingly there was draw so the Neko had to generate a tie-breaker that put Mr Paul's Tone Def's in the lead followed by the LKMFK's.
This was followed by Miss Green's reading of a farmyard story before bedtime, a ritual I very much like.

On the Monday, a good two cars worth of us walked two miles each way from a parking lot to visit the attractive  medieval market town of Ludlow which can be seen here with St. Laurence's church to the left with the castle, which we visited together with the towns market interacting with people.
Although I didn't make the very top, the Normans not really being into disability access, I did with assistance did get beyond ground level which was great for me personally.

This is Clun Castle that a number of us visited on Sunday as Fudge kindly offered take a few us with them which is more a relic of motte and bailey construction, quite a way up for which I did need a fair amount of assistance.
Monday afternoon was taken up with Alice's enjoyable Disney Princess treasure hunt that was staged in the place we stayed going up down a good number of stairs.
In the evening after the Chilli Con Carne that Karla and Caroline had made with cottage pie for one who cannot be doing with spices and rice that was delicious.

A couple of people left on the Monday due to work and related commitments but as unexpected we'd been allowed to stay an extra night and my train had been booked for midday when everyone had left by around ten am Tuesday, Miss Green and I went to the Shropshire Hills Discovery Centre to see the exhibit on the ice age Woolly Mammoths that were found at Condover, Shropshire in 1986/7 and how that part of Shropshire had changed over the centuries covering geography, history and agriculture to the present day.
It's interesting to note how this part of Shropshire played an important part in Great Britain and the significance of the Woolly Mammoth find.
This also included a film presentation in a mini film theatre with seating.
We went on to see the meadows plus a short walk that was accessed via the fire doors and returned where Miss Green enjoyed her cream tea and I had a choco pudding with cream all of which were sourced from local producers and made by hand in the pleasant cafe.
We then moved to a nearby rail station to catch my train straight home but not before seeing a freight train come through on platform one and arrive at the biggest and best rail station in the North-west Midlands, hopping into a taxi in minutes straight home.

Doing something like this doesn't take an ocean of organizing necessarily but does require a certain amount of planning and  co-operation which remarkably worked well even though unlike previous times there was no fixed rota with people just helping out as needed even if you were there to relax and enjoy being in little space.
Thanks to the various persons who bought, fixed and served food, loaded and unloaded the dishwasher, put on events that made things so enjoyable plus thanks to Suzy for organizing and Miss Green and Andi for finding and checking out the place.
As remarked upon in the main text, this time people really went beyond four walls in large numbers enjoying what the area around where we stayed had to offer both in ones and twos and even going as a group out, carpooling as necessary enjoying that time.
If coming to this place can have that effect, let me say this plain: Unless there's a good reason not to, let's return for another Winter because that wasn't just healthier for being outdoors, it brought people more together. This is what I feel we needed.
From a personal point of view this was easily the most rewarding Camp for not just being out but also for doing more challenging things such as getting about Clun Castle and walking to Ludlow and back being helped along the way.
It may of been difficult but your help doing this was so rewarding so to those who literally pulled me up and along helping me to do things I hadn't managed before many many thanks cos you can't know what that feels like.
Roll on Summer Camp.

Lessons Learned

As mentioned last week I was going to be away for a littles meet up and have only just arrived back a little lacking in spoons on Tuesday afternoon.
It may well of been showery when this picture was taken, but that wasn't the internal meteorological forecast because actually it was sunny inside for doing what I feel is the more important thing when you're away like exploring and visiting places and things.
 Not only did I behave myself, I found reserves of fitness as impacted as I am by my disabilities to do the things that until recently I'd of thought twice about like actually walking there and back to the castle in the background, enjoying the Whitcliffe Common Nature reserve along the way surrounded by trees.
It certainly wasn't easy for me with hilly terrain with some mud from the overnight rain difficult to walk through but I actually did it.
I like the things you can do indoors such as quizzes, colouring, arts and crafts and even the odd spot of cookery that connect to littles life in various sometimes not so direct ways but perhaps for me something more like a Brownies or Girl Guides camp  in feel and activities is what is more needed?

Pre-Awaytime

The first thing to say is the next edition might possibly be delayed a day or so which does kind of tie into this weeks edition because I'll be away for a few days and by coincidence I only arrived 12 hours before this usually gets published so I may be low on spoons.
The trouble with being low on spoons is I don't have then the energy to do things.

The time will be pretty much divided by organized events like quizes and the more spontaneous things which will be more spontaneous than usual in that it's the very first time we've been to this venue so we don't for sure what's possible although one person in the group has kindly made a list of attractions and other places we could visit plus it's winter so may be okay for walks which I like or possible not with rain although one plus for me is it's less distance home than usual.
Now for the ahem painful bit which is to say I'm very much a girl under adult authority which basically means if I mess up it won't be just a scolding but highly likely to involve a well spanked or caned bottom too for which their won't be much sympathy cos I do have choices about how I act even if some aspects of my life are badly impacted by medical condition such as my amazingly bad short-term memory.
I mean I might well fail a 'memory test' of one was administered as I'm always forgetting stuff even with an hour or less of being reminded but am just as capable of blowing a raspberry and just refusing to co-operate as anyone else.
It may be odd but this life works better for me.

Issues in AgeRe communities

Just nine day to go for I'm off so sometime next week after checking the weather forecasts I'll be in for some serious packing for the five days I'll be away although being Winter I wouldn't expect quite so much outdoor activity which give how hot it was last summer was a bit of a must.
One topic that is still rumbling around on Tumblr is the extent to which any individuals own points of view on transexual identity and politics are both acceptable and should come into anything they may do in a community such as moderate a discord server or run a community.
The idea doing the rounds implies that a person who has the view that dysphoria is necessary, questions the 75 or more quoted genders on Tumblr as actual genders not gender representations) or doesn't feel you can be non binary and either gay or lesbian is somehow unsafe to perform such a task.
To me that only would be an issue if the person was talking around specifically such issues which would strike me as being quite odd in a community of age regressors where you'd only convene to regress together  playing and talking as your younger self AND if the person was acting on such a point of view such as refusing to use your preferred pronouns, deliberate misgendering and generally being a prick.
I cannot say hand on heart whenever I regress I am thinking about gender theory, forms of sexual attraction whenever I play with my dolls or plushies nor colouring cos I know my gender and it's not an issue with who I play.
Nor would I say having been face to face with people that I have had someone push gender issues into play nor I have had cause to.
To me that's much more older student/adult conversation and debate really that doesn't belong in the regressive experience and so I feel holding such views so long as others are respected should not be seen as a bar to doing things that can help people enjoy their regression.
There are too many parallels with the witch hunt in adult LGBTQI circles going on here I feel on matters where there's no clear cut authoritative answer.
Inner kids need protection from that discourse but respected as they are.

A winter wonderland

It's been a bit of  busy week here with a few projects on the go, some work around my few days away in the middle of the month and some stuff involving the way the Government pays my living expenses.
We also did have some old school wintery weather when I went out so I took a few pictures one day and indeed it tried to snow hard on Friday but ceased by noon.

 Looking around after the baa's who'd been taken indoors, the smallholding had a fair coating of snow and almost certainly would of felt frosty under foot as I had to stand on a grass verge sinking into hole to take this picture.
The background is part of a wood that is wider toward the right that survived both road building and increasing encroachment of the built up area in a sensitive part of the North Staffordshire conurbation.

 The "Gatehouse" that leads to a privately owned park, well covered in snow.
I decided against trying to cross the road at that busy and usually dangerous  point in view of the slush and ice on the road.

The entrance to the park that leads to a big estate and a very famous hall, lake and surroundings although much is obscured by road looking very picturesque at this time of year.
At weekends people travel though it to get to the Cricket Ground set in the park for the local club which plays in the North Staffs league to watch them play, enjoying drinks and other light refreshment
In many ways we're most fortunate to have literally on our doorstep such lovely places to walk by and through.