SNP are bunch of numpties

Lots of people who live in england seem to think that in scotland we get far more than is our share of anything...That we get services or medical treatments that are unavailable down south...I have always said it works both ways...Money for things like the free personal care for the elderly means cutbacks in other areas...Likewise the money to help freeze council tax has been taken from elsewhere...Somewhere very personal to me is one area that the money for that came from...Westminster put aside a 3 figure million pound sum of money to transform services, respite, care etc for families with disabled children last year...Unfortunately this money was NOT ring fenced :o( Wales have spent the money on what is was supposed to be used for...Alex Salmond and co decided to NOT use it for the purpose given but instead to use the £34 million scotland was given to freeze council tax...Now in a totally seperate initiative the scottish govt has announced a plan to increase respite weeks for families over the next 3 years...Unfortunately the money they will give to councils to make this happen is also NOT ring fenced...So the councils can basically do whatever they want with the money...And some will be as unscrupulous as the current scottish exec have been and use it for other purposes...Respite provision in my city has been DRASTICALLY CUT in recent months...Many families of disabled children or disabled or elderly adults have had their respite cut to NIL by our council...Or have been left with barely anything at all...So scotland ain't all it's cracked up to be all of the time by the media trying to whip a frenzy of envy between us and the rest of the uk...Needless to say i am disgusted with what the scottish government has done...Ok most of this is far too late for me anyways but it isn't for others...Freezing council tax has only caused all kinds of financial difficulties for councils anyway...Sounds good but is really just an unworkable gimmick.

Went out and bought K's birthday pressie today but will only describe it or post pics after she has received it as am not sure if she has found this blog yet lol.

Good news

Am going to be a great auntie :o) ...Well i already am a great auntie or at least i like to think i am lol...My eldest nephew who got married 4 years ago is going to be a daddy...Yikes great auntie sounds so old doesn't it...My big sis is naturally over the moon...Long time to go yet though so just fingers crossed my nephews wife has a safe pregnancy

I have a craft fayre evening thingy at a local primary school at the end of nov...It's at the school one of my cousins sons attend...The kids are selling stuff they have made and they have outside stalls in as well...It will be cheap and cheerful jewellery rather than the sterling silver stuff...Doesn't mean design gets compromised just that i will use silver and gold plated components/beads instead of the real thing...It does mean i don't have long to do 101 things to be ready for it...That includes trying out packaging on the cheap andmaking business cards...So i better be 100% soon...I still feel wobbly and now have a cold and left with tickly cough

Oh we did have very light snow that didn't stay yesterday so G told me.

Pics

Sterling silver charm bracelet

Close up...Freshwater pearl, clear AB swarovski crystal and jet swarovski crystal

Bracelet of fine stering silver chain with freshwater pearls and clear AB swarovski crystals.

Close up

Matching earrings...Very bridal i think and there is a matching necklace...I hope to do a tiara to go with the set

Same thing but different colours of swarovski crystal

Again same earrings in different colours...I made these to use up colours i didn't like but they look fine on earrings

Same as before in pinks that is hard to see because of crap lighting on pic

This one is the 'summer' set to add to the 'autumn' and 'winter' from my old AOL journal

Close up of the earrings

Close up of the colours i decided were best for 'Summer'...Clear, light siam (red), peridot and a yellow the name of which escapes me.

This one is the 'Spring' to go with the other 3 'seasons'

I have no idea why this has come out pink but hey ho...Close up of the 'spring' earrings

Close up of the colours of the crystals i chose for 'Spring'...Fuschia, lime, clear AB and light emerald

Adding pics on here and writing bits beside them is much more of a pain than it was on AOL

Designs are my own and not to be copied please

Odds n ends

Before anyone says anything i know i didn't say what the audition was for last week...Am a bit concerned that this being an open to all and sundry blog i could get in trouble...Last year i realised that i had said too much (name of programme) when i really shouldn't have...BUT my AOL journal was private so not many knew...I do know that a group who got slightly further than M last time around had to remove stuff they had written on their website...If you wanna know ask me to email you

Going to Glasgow absolutely killed me...I spent thurs, fri, sat and most of sun in bed or on sofa wrapped in a duvet...I was barely able to go to the toilet let alone anything else...I still feel a bit jittery and wobbly...I have been on but not typing just saving as much as possible from a couple of websites before they disappear on fri...Speaking of fri that is K's birthday...She's going to be 21 this year Time flies a bit too quick these days cos doesn't seem that long ago lol...Tomorrow regardless of how i feel am gonna have to do mass tidy and clean up...Needless to say the boys haven't done much whilst i have been poorly...They have gone to shop or chippy but not cleaned or tidied Also there is a mini mount everest of washing to do...See i hate getting poorly cos chores just mount up...Mind you i hadn't felt like that for a very long time.

It has been bitterly cold here today...We were forecast for snow but we didn't have any...There may have been some snow in the shire though...The city tends not to get as much as aberdeenshire...Maybe the weather knows that aberdeen city is not part of aberdeenshire...That must sound daft but it is true...Since local government reorganisation in the 70's the city is seperate to the shire...Actually the village i grew up in the snow or rain often bypasses as well...It's all to do with the siting of the urban area and lay of the land...My radiator through here in the living room isn't working...The hot water ain't going into it so looks like am gonna have to call on the plumber soon.

Going to attempt to post some rubbish pics of some odd bits of jewellery i haven't posted a pic of before...Really do need to get a better camera but wallet says no can do lol.

Toodle pip tc xx

A real quickie

Ok we went to Glasgow despite me feeling like death warmed up...Actually make that death cooled down to minus goodness knows what...I look awful, sound awful and can barely move...The only reason me and M went to Glasgow was because he was auditioning again...Old readers from AOL will know he auditioned last series and now he's done it again...Is it wrong of me to hope that he doesn't get to be in front of the judges this time????? I just don't think i could hack tootling off to glasgow to sit around for hours again and most exciting thing to happen is you meet titch and titchier aka Ant & Dec...When we came out of the armadillo (audition venue) we saw people we know from up here in aberdeen...Am gonna phone one of them tomorrow to see how they thought they got on...At least M had a backing track this time...Oh and one of the researchers recognised him from last time which was a surprise...Oh well we hear before jan21st as that is when the auditions seen on tv are filmed.

Excuse me if i don't actually comment on anyone elses blogs in the next few days...My whole body was aching before we set off for glasgow and it's worse now...Tomorrow is going to be spent in bed or on the sofa curled up under a duvet feeling cack and probably the next few days as well...I was just kidding about sending this to anyone...I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy as i haven't felt like this for years...Just hope am able to pick up my glass at the weekend...That will be explained in another entry

Toodle pip tc xx

Icky

I had the doctor today for an appointment i booked over a month ago...I've to go back to gynae again ...I've not been feeling too good since fri and my gp insisted in checking me out...So i have a very nasty raging throat infection, chest infection and generally feel ugh...On antibiotics which i hope work...G has similar except he was at the docs last thurs and got steroids and same antibiotics...Steroids because he had upped his inhalers but was wheezing...They've not really kicked in as such yet :o( ...He won't go to docs on his own so if he's no better tomorrow he won't go along...Me and M are in Glasgow tomorrow..Gonna be fun and games with me looking like death and feeling even worse...Can't postpone as if he doesn't go tomorrow then that's it...At least am not having to drive as we're getting the train...Sainsburys have a deal on just now where you get a return fare anywhere in Scotland for £15...Anyways i can't sit here long as i do feel vile...Can i just waft this infection through the internet to you all though After all it's nice to share things :o)

SAAS saga finally sorted

G got a letter on thurs from SAAS about his Disabled Student Allowance (DSA)...It was another mess that would need sorting out and i wasn't about to do it lol...Had enough of getting some numptie on the end of the phone who hadn't a clue...On fri i phoned his disability officer but she had the day off and wasn't going to be in until today...When our post eventually arrived on fri (can be anything between 9.30am and 12.30pm) there was another letter...This time it was a cheque for the amount stated on the previous days letter...Let me explain why it was a mess lol...With the letter from them on thurs there was a list of what was requested by his university...The letter stated he would be getting the amount shown on that list...Said list of equipment being identical to the copy we were emailed before it got sent to SAAS...One thing was missing but his disability officer (lets call her J) explained today the money for the training gets paid direct to the training company...So that makes sense that it would be deducted from the total for G to be given...BUT that still didn't explain why the amount highlighted on the list of items was different to the amount written on the accompanying (sp?) letter...And the cheque was for the amount stated on the letter which was £550 SHORT!!!!!...Which is a pretty large amount gone AWOL...Oh and the other amount highlighted on the list (bits highlighted are paid to student) was £150 for consumables...That's the allowance for printer ink and paper for the year...So J phoned SAAS herself and she only had to be on hold 20 mins (lucky her) and yes they did cock up...So he will be getting the difference sent in another cheque.

I must interrupt myself here and explain to new readers...G is aspergers but he was diagnosed quite severely non verbal autistic when he was just turned 3...He didn't actually speak until he was 5 and he has come on so much over the years...Through some determination on my part, his part and managing to get the appropriate education he is now just started at university...It is a local university as he is still unable to live away from home...The course is a Masters in Electronic & Electrical Engingeering...Old readers from AOL know this already but thought i best explain cos am nice :o) Am pretty damn proud of him actually...In the UK students who have a disability or special need of some kind can apply for a disabled student allowance...It used to be disabled student grant (DSG) and DSA but now it is all classed DSA...DSG was for equipment you need because of your condition in order to participate on the course...You don't get money for anything any student would need as par for the course...G is getting a laptop with specific programmes on it he needs because of his dyspraxia...He's also getting a dictaphone so he can record tutorials, meetings etc...Also a PDA so he can try and be organised...He has a memory like a sieve unless it's academic lol...Now you still get the equipment part but it all comes under same header of DSA...The equipment part you only get ONCE during the duration of your course...The rest which is non medical help, consumables etc you get each year...That can amount to i think around £23,000...That would of course take into account disabled students living away from home who need to be in supported accomodation...As G is living at home then he is getting money paid to his university for a buddy he can meet up with weekly and for support from the NAS (national autistic society)...So hope this explains a bit to new readers.

So back to first chapter am just glad i didn't have to phone SAAS and try and sort it out...Am going to have the dubious pleasure NOT of clearing out G's bedroom in preparation for the company that everything is coming from coming to instal it all lolol...Once the other cheque arrives he can put both into his bank account...Then after the cheques have cleared he can order the equipment and hopefully not have to wait too long.

My connection has been like wading through a quagmire all weekend...Some times the boys were online on the Wii no problem and i couldn't connect with the PC and other times other way round and rest of the time nothing worked...From reading various message boards and some posts on blogs it wasn't just me but happening to lots of people...So either CWP or BT had issues along the lines somewhere...It's late so kip time

Toodle pip tc xx