Latest Moan From You and Me 2025

Out of the 2 you mention, I know which one I would prefer and it isn't Thatcher.

 

That was my initial reaction, then I read the article and it seems it's something the pension firms actually want to happen.

 

Got some misdelivered mail today - correct house number, wrong street. Normally I'd just bung it back in the post box next time I passed one (and remembered, sometimes they ride around in my bag for a few days ...). However this one was addressed in a child's hand to "Aunty Jane" and looked like a birthday card, so I felt I had to go and deliver it myself. Luckily it was a short walk and I just managed to get back before the heavens opened again.

After I'd posted the card I was walking back down the street and found the postman there doing his delivery, so I let him know.

I wore my stepcounter watch and the Royal Mail now owes me 2400 steps.

 

Indeed! A politician with a plan, and the steel to enact it, can be a good thing … or not, depending on lots of factors but, in particular, what the underlying philosophy is. Free market libertarianism hurts the many. Even if the extent of the devastation was not foreseen, the damage the trajectory of travel would cause should have been clear to its proponents.

 

But also, with analogue being phased out for digital, how can you contact anyone in emergency?
Our power was down from just after midnight on Friday and was restored at 22.10pm on Sunday evening. Even if you have a mobile phone, you can't charge it unless you have a car.

My elderly parents thankfully have a wood burning stove in the kitchen, but if anything did happen to them, how can they contact the emergency services.?
I have gas hobs in my house, so I was able to keep them supplied with hot drinks, soup and stew etc etc.

We got it bad, I have got quite a lot of damage, glass to be replaced, polytunnel covers ripped to shreds, fence down and my parents front garage door, totally destroyed. But what winds me up is the the lack of information and trying to contact those in charge.

For our area online it was saying, on site, expected time for power to be restored 18.00pm on Saturday evening. When I checked at about 18.30pm as we still had no power, it was stating, power restored, at 17.11pm, yet 4 villages were still without power, 417 dwellings. Where they had been working at, they had already left and trying to report it, you just hit a brick wall.
With us expecting the power to be restored, my parents said they would rather stay at home as I was going to book them into the Premier Inn, they still had rooms, when the power did not come back on and eventually got in touch with the Premier Inn they were fully booked.

 

For the mobile, it's a good idea to buy a powerbank and make sure you charge it when the storm is due. Of course you've then got to hope that the masts still have power..

My mobile will easily go a day on one charge, sometimes it's still at 60-70% when I go to bed. if I was frugal and didn't play any video etc I expect I could get 2 days or more out of it.

I've also got some nice little emergency lights I found in Lidl. They are plugged in to the socket and act as nightlights normally, turning on when they detect you. But they also charge up and turn on when they detect the power is out. You can then lift them out of their holders to use as torches.

No solutions for cooking or heating though. I'd just have to wrap myself up in my sleeping bag (rated to -10c) and eat cold baked beans. Luckily I'm in an urban area so power outages are rare. I can generally expect 2-3 (separate) days a year without water though due to the ageing infrastructure.

 

Yes, a water outage is far more common here than a power one.

 

What's the rules for leaving childen at home when you go out? even for a short walk and childen under 5 years old

 

There isn’t a legal age limit for leaving children alone. NSPCC and Government guidance encourages parents to use their judgement before leaving any child home alone – especially those under 12 years old.

 

I imagine the power companies are working flat out to fix the lines though. What more can they do?