THE LYING DIRTY CHEATING SCUMBAG!

I have just watched a programme that has so sickened me.  It was about a woman named Nicole who lied and cheated her family, friends and strangers out of thousands of pounds.  How she did this was to set up a Go Fund Me Page and said she was very poorly with a rare form of cancer and needed treatment not available in this country,  She was so convincing that when the fraud team arrived at her parents house her parents and her son were so sure she was seriously ill,  they really believed that she was at deaths door and even the fraud team wondered if they had indeed got it wrong. She had hurt her family in her greed to get money. It made me so angry that somebody could be so greedy, uncaring of the pain to her family and of the many that sent her money.  Fortunately she was found guilty of fraud but what a sickening story.  When she told her family she was dying of this cancer she said the only help available to her was at a clinic in Spain.  The Go Fund me page was set up  and lovely caring people ( mostly strangers ) sent her money to help her to try to get a cure . Where did the money  go.  Well she was a gambler and it went on her addiction plus posh holidays abroad, fine clothes etc.  

As I am a person with a life shortening illness and being so well treated by the NHS here in the UK I was horrified to see that she even actually used treatment she had in our hospitals to bait her trap.  She had been in hospital to have a gall bladder operation and pictures were taken of her looking poorly in her hospital bed.  She used these pictures to say she was in Spain where she had to go for this special treatment costing around ten to twelve thousand pounds a month.  She needed months and months of treatment so clearly wanted the kind and caring people to pay for it.  We are a very caring nation and the money flooded in to her page. Fortunately there are fraud teams out there whose roll is to investigate these go fund me pages.  Many are found to be fraudulent but sadly also many go unnoticed whilst  the greedy people just rake in the money. 

This programme made me feel crazy and angry.  It is people like these that stop the ones really in need of help on go fund me pages to be taken seriously.  I for one rarely give to go fund me ones.  Unless I know it is an honest person I would not give as trying to find the truth is beyond my capabilities.  This is such a shame as the innocent are being punished by the greedy and guilty ones. Not sure of her punishment but she sure would have lost her friends who gave to her page. Her son and parents will also look at her differently from now on.  

It’s not been a fun year has it.  

As we moved out of 2020 and into 2021 I feel sure we all are all hoping for a better year - an end to this constant worry of COVID - a disease that seems not content to killing and isolating many but that also appears to keep changing its patterns and adding new strains into the mix.  It has and still is a terrible time for us all to endure, young and old alike.  All we can do now is hope that we are still here to get to the end of this terrible disease and begin to live a full life again.  Sadly it seems we are quite a way off this yet but each and every day brings us closer and closer to this goal.

The government are discussing whether or not  police, teachers and shop workers, army etc should get their vaccines sooner than was first discussed.  For me this is a no brainier.  These people are in the front line too, seeing so many children or customers  or heads of departments etc.  Of course NHS had to be first without a doubt but without shops, or certainly food shopping where the heck would we be,  Teachers too.  There are still children that need to attend school as parents working on the front line so let’s give them their vaccinations,  I am shielding so would happily give mine to any one of the above to go before me in the queue.  Anybody whose work brings them into contact daily with lots of people are a threat to passing on the virus. So let’s get police, teachers and those working in shops or with lots of people vaccinated so they are safe and unlikely to infect those not vaccinated. I just can’t wait to see and end to all of this.

On the COVID front I am happy to see that my friends George and Nicola Gaskin and their daughter are all recovered from their COVID.  I was very worried about them all but in particular for George who is very vulnerable indeed.  Each day I would look for updates and be fearful when there were none ( though I did get updates sometimes from them by messenger) but always dreaded worse news.  So thankful they beat this and hope they soon get their strength back. George is back joking on Facebook so it’s looking good. 

SNOW

How lovely to see the snow last week but my the disruption it caused.  My daughter was stuck for hours trying to get to work and in the end had to abandon her journey and return home.  School for Izzy was cancelled for two days.  We only received this notification just before Izzy was due to leave for school so we had a dilemma.  Clearly she could not be left home alone so grandad decided he would take her walking in the snow, both masked up.  What a delightful time they had,  Though the snow was too crunchy or powdery to make snowmen they found lots to do and returned home freezing cold but laughing and happy,  Hot chocolate was the order of the day on their return and we just had to hope that the cold air killed off any virus that Izzy could be harbouring unbeknown to us.  The following day was fine as Chris was working from home so we were left out of the equation.

Her school along with government guidelines sent out letters to parents attending school to really think if their child could not be taught at home.  We were dreading this.  Had they deemed that they could not offer her a place what were we to do.  Anyway we were fortunate that her parents jobs meant that her entitlement to schooling was good and true and she retained her place, though sadly her two best friends did not.  So now where there were 12 at the beginning of this reduced to ten then another reduction  it has hopefully finished at just seven children in her class.  The sad thing is she has gone from the happy girl loving to attend school to now being a sad little girl who attends without her friends.  There is nothing we can do about this and just hope that she adjusts as it appears that schools may be closed until after the Easter holidays. 

AMAZON

I am joining the group of Amazon shoppers.  Never thought I would but what can one do in these trying times.  It amazes me how we can find anything online through Amazon.  Colin has bought lots of things for his new bike and garage things ( men’s things he would say ) though many women also buy bike equipment and tools too.  I have bought a few things - one being a dye to dye my sons very expensive top that he dropped something on a long time ago and rather than deal with the stain it just got pushed to the back on his cupboard.  He showed me the top and told me how he loved it and could I get rid of the stain.  Despite many stain removal hacks it was not to be so I decided to dye it black.  Amazon delivered the said dye the day after ordering it and now the top looks great!  So pleased to have rescued this and so pleased we have Amazon cos no way would I have touted the high street looking for this dye. Another thing I ordered was a door draught stopper.   ( LOL. When I wrote door stopper and checked it said daughter stopper!  Danielle would not have been amused) This house is an echo one so we are tight and cosy EXCEPT for the integral garage door.  We do get a draught when the wind is really bad and it needs stopping.  Still waiting for delivery so hoping it works. It astounds me that anything one looks for can be found so easily.  Thank goodness for Amazon in these lock down days but hoping we all begin to shop again on the high street when Covid hits the deck. 

HOLIDAYS

We had been thinking we would be booking holidays this year but have now decided to just hang on.  We will likely if things improve later in the year to drive to Spain and bypass the dreaded airports and the need to fly disabled - I hate this- so when and if we do go this will be the way to do it.  If we go for a month it makes it a decent holiday.  We will need to wait until school is up and running as Izzy will need before and after school care too.  Though we do much in the care of Izzy, she is such a delight to us we are also aware of my illness and time is pressing.  This will be the only time we will have ever been away from her for so long and we are so thankful that we have FaceTime so we can keep engaged with her.  We will have to apply for new passports too soon and hoping we get the blue ones now we are out of the EU. 

Being good but sometimes so hard. 

We are abiding by all the government rules totally but oh how I wish there were circumstances where we could bypass.   We have a dear friend, one of a group that spent lots of happy times together.  Sadly she is losing her fight to cancer after a very brave battle indeed.  We are not allowed to go into her garden so can’t even stand at a window and talk to her.  This is such a sad time for so many people.  I hope I can eventually get to see her and give her a huge hug.  So many people are in this position now where they can’t be with their loved ones.  All we can do is stay safe and listen to the rules.  

My son has had to go over to Leeds to sort out his apartment.  Sadly his tenant from Kuwait had to return home due to COVID and the University not open. I hope he can fill it again soon but with these COVID times it may well be it is not rented out for months.  Such difficult times that touch so many  things

Right enough now as I need to catch up with Izzys blog.  Again difficult as we are not doing much to write down for her and nor is she but there it is.  The good days will return when we will will all join the real world again.  It can’t come soon enough for us.  

Warm love to you all. Stay safe and if you care to comment I will say a huge thank you here and now.

Carole xxx