11-07-25

Good morning, everyone.  It seems to have been a warm night but I stayed comfortable with one of my new fans.  I can recommend bladeless fans; they seem more efficient and definitely quieter than my old ones.

It feels lovely and fresh outside right now but the heat will build through the day so it's curtains/blinds closed, windows open, fans on and I have plenty of ice cubes in the freezer.

I've just taken a few garden photos.  Poor light quality but not to worry.

The cucumber I was measuring (front, right) is now 19cms.  I want it to fill out now!

There's three teenagers in this photo and another three higher up plus a fair number of babies.  I've looked up bread and butter pickles and will be hunting out my bigger preserving jars in the garage.  Yay.

Also, some of the tomatoes are showing colour.  I give them a week, maybe ten days, and I'll be picking enough to stop buying them.

The runner beans are sending out plenty of flower stems now.

The ones I sowed are white flowering (some did finally come up) and I am wondering if the plants I bought are also white as there's not a red one in sight.  Yet, anyway.

The hanging baskets are pretty - I'm glad I went for them after deciding I wouldn't bother!

Yesterday was a nice, restful day.

Chris and I had a great old chat in Chris' garden - we always have plenty to talk about.  It started during covid as neighbours looking out for each other and just went on from then although we had always had brief talks when we met in the cul de sac and we were colleagues at school, Chris being a TA although never my TA.

I did Groove online and had the fan blowing so it was quite manageable.  Lindsey showcased the Groove routines she has developed for August as pre-records.  She is pre recording one of all her classes - Step, Groove, Circuits, Strength and SET (I think that's it) and is making them available through August for a very reasonable £20 for the lot as many times as we want to access them.  She's going to be away all month for a well earned and deserved extended break.

That means no sourdough making for her.  Sad.

I exchanged messages with Alex yesterday.  I had popped several tasty looking recipes in his Cookidoo folder and guess what he chose.  Pizza dough!!  Classic!

Mind you - maybe I can get him bread making in the future.  That would be good.

Sadly, these lessons are having to stop as Alex has a work experience placement.  I have suggested that we find another time as I don't have fitness classes through August and he will see what spaces there are.  He desperately wants to work though and no way would I want to complicate matters for him.
And, talking of the whole Alex and work situation - here is something Beth posted on Facebook so it's not private or anything.  It's quite long and please excuse the language . . .

To best meet the needs of the people they serve, especially given the recent discussions around supporting disabled people into work, jobcentres must become more worker friendly. Sounds obvious right? After all it's the jobcentre... isn't that what they do?

I am Alex's appointed person, which means I deal with his job centre stuff for him, attend meetings with him etc. Alex may need support but he wants to work. With the help of a specialist organisation and the agreement of his job coach he has applied for and been accepted on an interesting course. He doesn't currently have any job centre obligations in this sense; he is not obliged to do the course but he is doing the course because he Actually. Wants. To. Work. 

This has caused some difficulty though! I called today to rearrange an appointment that we have been summoned to unexpectedly next week. An appointment that Alex won't be able to make, obviously, because he is doing a course. 

I assumed there would be no issue, after all he is Doing A Work Related Course, but I was treated to a lecture on how it is vital he attends all appointments, that only one cancellation is permissible, whatever the reason, and we would have to accept whatever alternative they sent with serious consequences meted out for not doing so should we be unable to attend the second summons. This has meant I have needed to rearrange a working day- because yes, I work actually- to accommodate the dwp... my own work activity being apparently as unimportant as Alex's!  

Had I less control over my timetable, or a less sympathetic team lead, and unable to make the second summons, Alex would have been sanctioned. Had Alex's work experience been two weeks, not one, thus missing the second summons, he would have been sanctioned. For missing a meeting to talk about what work activity he can do. Because he was doing work related activity. No exceptions, apparently. Neither of us are allowed to be ill!

Do you know what would suit the dwp OK though? If we were both sitting on our heineys waiting for jobcentre summonses but not actually working or taking steps towards work. Because then we would be available to talk about what we could possibly do to find Alex work. 

Facepalm.

Yes, if I can rustle up any spare energy- unlikely, I'm struggling- I will make a proper complaint but I'm fucking tired and I really shouldn't have to. He's doing a *work related course* . And I work full time. We are both doing our best. Come on jobcentre-  get it together... this really isn't good enough.

You really couldn't make it up, could you?

On to nicer things - today is Slimming World.  I will weigh, I know I have gained and I do care but will try not to worry or feel bad.  In our Slim Win chat last night we were talking about this same thing and encouraging each other.  I always come out of these chats feeling better about things.

Then Al is over and I realise I don't know whether he means he wants to make just the dough or a whole pizza.  Better ask via Facebook.

Time to go and get other things done.  Thanks for reading, everyone.  Have a lovely, safe, hydrated day and a good night's sleep.  xx