If your a regular reader you’ll know I’m not a Hanging Basket type of geezer. But, a dear friend Lesley (surname withheld to prevent unwarranted attention 😜) Bought ‘her indoors’ some hanging baskets for her birthday and I can’t believe how beautifully they have grown, so I thought I’d share. Thank you Lesley xxx and Happy Summer everyone 😀
https://www.adb.org                         Here’s a tale for you. This is Lucy, there’s no photo and Lucy isn’t her real name, because I don’t want her to get sacked. Lucy was born in the Philippines, having graduated from University in 1987 she then trained and worked as a nurse in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Singapore, eventually returning to Saudi Arabia she left in 2001. Working back in the Philippines as a private nurse she answered a job advert for nurses in the UK in 2003. There were over one thousand applicants and after stringent tests and exams twenty six were accepted, Lucy was one of them.
                  
 http://singaporeexpo.com.sg/                        © Informed Comment
Lucy was told that she would have to complete six months work in a Care Home and then she would be able to get a PIN number that would allow her to register and eventually work as a nurse in the UK (basically topping up her qualifications) After twelve months and several inquiries she was eventually told that the company had no money to put her through the qualification. She was contracted to thirty two hours, but as she lived in there were constant requests to ‘help out.’ In actual fact she often worked twelve hours a day. The fridge was chained and padlocked and she wasn’t allowed out. The only food her and her friends were able to eat was the food not locked in the fridge. This was 2003/4 dark days for residents of Private Health Care Homes, but as I have discovered contrary to Media reports they were dark days for the employees too.
 © Ordnance Survey
The manager told the Filipino girls on several occasions that she hadn’t asked for Filipino staff and didn’t know why they were there, she came across as a racist. The deputy manager told Lucy never to allow herself to be in the office alone with the manager. A male nurse from Pakistan who had been singled out because of his ethnicity was interviewed alone. After the meeting the manager scratched her own arm and accused the chap of attacking her which resulted in his dismissal. Lucy realised that she could take walks in the park that the residents used and by discreetly questioning visiting family members she discovered which bus took her into town. In this way she managed to get to the Citizens Advice Bureau, with help from them and sheer determination she eventually secured a transfer to Scotland where she has lived and worked as a live in carer for the past eight years. She is currently caring for my wife’s mother and this is how I heard her story. It appears to me that agencies that advertise abroad and offer dubious contracts (to say the least) are actually committing a form of people trafficking.
 © Visit Scotland
This is probably how my mum felt 😀
I can recommend this young lady, as what you might call ‘A Good Read’ 🙂
Number 4 v The Internet
What to do?
Keeping the children safe on the internet is a dilemma for us all, this I know.
4/5 seem to be doing ok but Number 4 just doesn’t seem to understand that it is not safe to:
1) Input personal details online without checking with an adult (me!) first
2) Not add videos however age related the site may seem
3) Should not download anything without asking first and should speak to an older member of the household if she is puzzled/concerned about anything at all.
On the computer (in the same room) she calls out ‘what is your phone number as I need to get some apps.’
‘Please don’t add any personal details,’ I say, ‘I will help you in a minute.’
‘Ok’ she says.
A second later I receive a text on my phone from the computer.
‘I thought I asked…
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When we relocated from Hampshire and country living to Beverley in East Yorkshire and town living there was a certain amount of apprehension. The name Charliecountryboy relates to birds, bees and trees, not as some people interpreted as a Country Guitarist who travels the world playing album sessions for all the major Country bands. (I wish). Now although Beverley is a town.
Less than a ten minute walk and I am heading back out into the country.
  
  
Beverley Beck is a 0.8 mile link to the River Hull and my ancestors (the Vikings) used to pop up and down here raping and pillaging, information I haven’t always divulged on a first date. In reality this is a generalisation because in fact they were really looking for farm land and trade. The raping and pillaging was just a side line. Over time the Vikings evolved into Yorkshire folk and disillusioned with the raping and pillaging malarkey concentrated on farming and trade. Over the centuries times changed, barges arrived and they built a lock
As more time passed the barges became obsolete and they were replaced by pleasure activities such as boating, fishing and a pleasant walk.
    
So, within fifteen minutes I am back in the glorious countryside, but at the same time I have the pleasure of the town, five minutes to the Gym, six minutes to work and ten minutes to the Theater. Yes I am a counter, if we were walking up a flight of stairs arm in arm, filled with passion and so much in love I would be able to tell you how many stairs there were when we got the top. 😉
But, back to the plot, there are two mysteries of the Beck that I haven’t been able to solve yet. Why would a tree grow on it’s side and where the hell did the submarine come from?
It’s the bimonthly Meet and Greet everyone!! Strap on your party shoes and join the fun! Ok so here are the rules: Leave a link to your page or post in the comments of this post. Reblog this post. It helps you, it helps me, it helps everyone! Edit your reblog post and […]
This is a tale my wife told me about her Dad which goes back long before this picture was taken. In 1954 times were hard he had no steady work and the house where he lived with his family was under a possible demolition order. They had some limited savings for a mortgage deposit, but could find no property within their budget and without guaranteed, steady work no one would lend them the money anyway.
One morning her Mum was preparing breakfast when her Dad noticed an old man sitting on the bench outside in the street. It was a small community and so it struck him as strange.
The old man explained that he had lost his pension book, had no money and had to wait several days for the Post Office to sort it out. Her Dad took him into the house and told his wife to give the man his breakfast. She explained that there wasn’t enough for two. At the time he was working as a labourer and  the cooked breakfast was the only meal he had to sustain him during his day’s toil.
“No matter,” he said. “The old man is in more need of it than I am.” His wife obliged and the old man ate heartily. When he finished his meal he blessed the house and the family, which although well received, was not taken too seriously. He was obviously not a priest, but leaving no name or information about himself he left never to be seen again.
Shortly after this episode my wife’s Dad was offered a full time, permanent job. He worked for that company most of his life. With a permanent job he secured a mortgage on a family home in a lovely part of Edinburgh and never looked back. It makes you think. 🙂
