About Me

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I'm 57 years old, working full time, wife, mother and grand mother, wishing that I wasn't working full time! I love and enjoy our children and grandchildren, our dogs and cat, our garden and allotment. I love crafts - knitting, sewing, crocheting, patchwork and restoring old furniture. I love to go to country auctions and love thinking that I've got my self a bargain!

Saturday 28 April 2012

Cruel cold fingers...........


(Our garden taken a few weeks ago now
right hand side is 'work in progress'!)


Evening All

I hope you are all fit, well and happy this weekend. We are all fine here life plods on doesn't it? I no sooner set off down the motorway for work each morning and before I know it I'm back on it coming home and then it's another week done!

Things are not brilliant at work - murmurs of redundancy are being bandied around and of course they just want more and more from you, it's getting to the point where they expect a 10 hour day packed into a 7 1/2 hour day - and what's a lunch break? I've forgotten what it is to have one now.

But for the time being it's a job and it is paying the bills and I'm lucky to have it (trouble is management know that and they don't want someone with age, experience and local knowledge, they just want what us old ones call 'newbies', people with a degree, under 30 and who come cheap and who aren't going to stay around for the next 22 years, like I have!) Sorry - I used to be so proud of the place where I work but just recently............well, words fail me).

I try not to watch the news if I can help it - too depressing half the time - but apparently we're back into recession - I'm not surprised, with the idiots we've got running this country. I don't think it matters who you vote for they're all there to line their own pockets and bolster their own ego's.

Although I must admit I would really like to punch Ed Milliband on the nose really hard - every time he opens his mouth and talks down that stupid nose of his I just want to punch him! and Ed Balls - he's another one I could easily punch in the gob - it would put paid to the drivel that comes out of it. Every time I look at Nick Clegg - I think that will teach you, jumping in to bed with David Cameron hasn't done him any good has it - he must rue the day and all so's that he felt a bit important!!

I don't know if it's my memory that's playing tricks but this recession is lasting so much longer than the other ones I've lived through.  In the 1960's my Dad always worked in the car industry and I remember that as a child he was regularly put on short time, because the car unions  had brought Rover etc., out on strike. I remember one year when my Mom made my little brothers trousers, shirts, pyjamas, and winter coat on an old sewing machine (before the days of electric ones) and my skirts, blouses, and nighties -  my Nan knitted all our jumpers and cardigans to save money too.

Then when I'd just started work (early 1970's) we had the 3 day week and the power cuts - I was a telephonist at the time and I can remember answering the old elastic pull cord telephone system by candlelight on an afternoon.

Then (late 1970's) when I was first married with my children all little - the prat I was married to worked in the same factory as my Dad and each night I'd put the news on and it would be so many more hundreds had been made redundant that week, and the car unions still kept bringing everyone out on strike - do you remember Red Ken ( I think he worked at the Rover plant) - he was forever on the news bringing his members out on strike. I used to hold my breath and hope that my Dad's place wouldn't be affected.

I'm sure at the same time we had the bread strike - again I remember standing with my son in his pram (it was what I call a proper pram - an old to me 'silver cross' high pram but it was brilliant) queueing up to get a loaf of  bread (this was way before bread makers were even thought of!)

But none of these recessions seemed to last as long as this one has......this one seems to have cruel cold fingers that just keeping squeezing us all tighter and tighter - when will it all end?..........

My Nan used to talk about the great depression - the way this recessions going it will match the 1930's one - that was when my Grandad used to dive into the canal to try to find some of the coal that had dropped off the coal barges and anything was broken up and burnt if they could use it to make a fire to keep warm (in the days before gas central heating).

Oh well (now I've thoroughly depressed myself and anyone that's reading this!) I'm going to sit by our wood burner and get warm - who would believe that it's the 1st May on Tuesday!!

Have a good week all Byeeee xx

6 comments:

  1. Great post, i agree with you, my dad worked for Ford and i remember short weeks and always struggling.OH is in the building trade so this recession has hit us hard ,harder than the others we have been through.
    x

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    1. Hi
      My hubby and my eldest son work for the same heating and air con firm and we're always worried too but it has been far worse on construction side hasn't it? - just makes you wonder how much longer it can go on for as there just doesn't seem to be an end in sight - take care xx

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  2. My Dad worked at British Leyland (can't remember what it's other names were).Always on short time, Mum's sewing machine going all hours...lots of filling foods and stodgy puds saw us through. During the power cuts I remember being cold. We had a gas oven and we would sit in the kitchen with the stove door open for the warmth. There was no heat at school, so we had lessons wearing coats and gloves.
    In the 1930s depression my grandaddy cycled from Yorkshire to the south to find work...just a few sandwiches to keep him going...he had a family he needed to feed...he found work in Coventry where he settled his family. Canada seems safe for now....recessions seem far away from here...but I remember.
    Jane x

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    1. Jane you made me remember that we always seemed to have stew on a weekly basis during those days in the 60's! I remember the candle light and not being able to watch Eric and Ernie on the TV when the power cuts were on. They did have it really bad in the 1930's didn't they - really we shouldn't moan and I hope Canada stays safe from recession - take care xx

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  3. Hi I remember most of that from the 70's very well.I do think this recession has been the worst I can remember in my lifetime and what worries me is there is no end in sight.All we can do is hope we will all get through it sooner rather than later.

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    1. lets hope it's sooner Anne - Take care xx

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