The Saga of the Garage Build part 8

Miracles will never cease ....the builder actually turned up when he said he would and actually did some work

Progress ..... WHOOPEE

Maybe very soon we will be able to look out of the front window and not see this view :)

We can only hope :)

The Blessed DSS Part 2

How to start this post ...I could not be more annoyed with these people and their rules ...

A bit of background is in order I think so here goes ...

I Came out of work in June of last year and despite an average of 6 applications sent off every week since then have not succeeded in landing another job ...

Naturally I signed on ....to be caught in the DSS trap part 1 ....under the new rules you cannot work on agency more than 15 hours 59 mins in a week without having to sign off and then wait 8 weeks while they process the paperwork to sign you back on again when the temporary contract ends ....

So much for agency work then ...

Then the Missus was made redundant ... could it get any worse ?

Its the DSS ....of course it could

Under the new rules as a dependant on me she is not allowed to sign on in her own right so she is added to my claim ... another 8 weeks without money with bills piling up ...jeez

When paperwork finally sorted out ...I get an extra £5 per week for her being on the dole as well ...(remember this fact) ....however we were now entitled to help with the mortgage ...this took about 2 months to sort out but when the dust settled ... we had enough in benefits coming in to keep us just above the breadline....

BY now of course our savings are wiped out ...the money that we got from my industrial injury is gone (allthough we do have the garage to show for that ...if it ever gets finished) and I have had to sell my car to keep food on the table ..

Then  ...some good news (or so we thought) ... THE MISSUS LANDS A JOB

THEN when we declare this good news the DSS STRIKE !!!

Due to this good news ....

1. MY benefit is now stopped as the missus is earning more than the threshold (£120 per week whoopee)
2. The mortgage relief is stopped .....

So from breadline ..we are now in danger of going under completely ...what to do now I dont know ...the missus wages will not even cover the mortgage payment let alone that the other regular bills and  ....oh yeah WE STILL HAVE TO FUCKING EAT !!!!!!

and now the DSS want me to attend a job start interview on Tuesday ...

Let me see ...I am receiving NO BENEFIT, our mortgage relief has been STOPPED ...and you bastards want me to waste my time attending one of your useless interviews where a DSS jobsworth will tell me that I am not looking hard enough for work .....YEAH LIKE THAT WILL FUCKING HAPPEN !!!!!!!!


Bastards

The Saga of the Garge build ...part 7

The Story so far

Made arrangements for Builder to call on Saturday 13th March to confirm when he would finish the build


THIS TIME I WANTED IT IN WRITING


Miracle of miracles he turned up ..with lotsa apologies and a box of choccies for the wife ...


He also brought along the piece of paper I had requested ...

 The revised Timetable ....he is due to turn up 24/3/10  with a projected date of completion 1/4/10 and i have this in writing .....

we shall see .......

A Little Trip to Wales

Missus decides she needs wicker baskets and as we have only found one shop that sells em a little trip to Wales is in order ...

 First a stop for Breakfast at THE best diner in North Wales.



The food is of a uniform High quality always, the place is clean and staff friendly


if ya wanna find it its right there on the A55 just after Chester ... ignore the Subway and Maccy D's on the same layby and give your tastebuds a treat

On way to Anglesey we decided to slip off the A55 and check out a craft shop just past Caerws - so glad we did epic old furniture at prices you wouldn't believe .. like a solid oak dining table big enough to seat 8 - with 6 chairs and all for less than £600 and many more ... a worthwhile stop :)


Then onto Anglesey to the place with the longest name in the world :)

and to the shop located at the station (the ONLY place we've seen wicker baskets for sale)

Unfortunately when we get there....

THEY DONT STOCK EM ANYMORE

But they do stock some nice models :) - added a Hurricane and a Mosquito to my collection :)

Feeling a little downcast at not gettin what we set out for, but glad of gettin out of Warrington for the day together we decided to check out Beaumaris and after tootling around the town centre for a while I took a wrong turning down a back street and BINGO a shop selling wicker baskets - YAY :)

Now all we need is somewhere to stop (not easy in Beaumaris) - nipped into a side alley and was amazed to see a van ... with 2 Warrington Wolves stickers on its back doors (what an omen)

Bunny gets her baskets ... we have a nice day out in Wales and the mighty wire stuff Bradford 33 - 8 to round off an almost perfect day :)

The saga of the Garage build ...part 6

To bring our story up to date :)

Builder due to be with us  ...the end of next week ...

Thursday March 4 ... No builder ...no answer on phone


Friday March 5 ....No Builder ... No answer on phone - left message to contact me before end of day or very latest Saturday Morning


Saturday March 6

11.30  Rang Builder ...no answer again  - left following message on his answer phone

"OK this is the 7th time you have broken your word and have been unreachable - thats it Im calling Trading standards on Monday"

11.31 Builder rings  :D  ..... sent him a busy signal

11.33 Builder rings again .....let it go to voicemail ...no message ....(revenge is sweet)

11.35 Builder rings again ....sent him a busy signal

11.40 ... recieved text from builder .. it read ......"Can you phone me please I cant retrieve voice mail"

Im enjoyin myself by now so I let him sweat it out til 12 (anyone else believe he cant get voicemail on his mobile ?   :D :D)


1200 - rang Builder ....it went to answerphone ...left no message

1201 Builder rang :D :D

"Hi Ive been away in Shrewsbury on a job and didnt have my phone with me"

Who goes that far and doesnt carry their mobile ...and if his van is off the road.. how is he getting there ?

"oh really ...you said you would be with us the end of this week"

"yeah ...this job is taking a bit longer than i expected"

Followed by a long list of his woes ...which of course I deeply sympathised with

"so how long is this job gonna take and when can we expect you ?"

"10 days - 2 weeks at the most then I will be there to finish the job"

Yeah right

"I'll arrange for all the remaining materials to be delivered next week - that way you can see where your money went, and everything will be there ready for me to finish off the job"

"thats fine - that will buy you a week of grace with the wife and at least everything will be here"

"you have been more than patient with me, I wont let you down"  anyone else buying this line ?

"and I swear - once that job in Shrewsbury is done I will be with you" - Yeah Ive heard that before

"OK - heres my counter proposal ...1, by all means get all the materials delivered ....2, keep in touch and let me know when they are being delivered so I can be in to receive and sign for them ...3, next Saturday when you get up come down here for 10 minutes and bring with you the following ..... A piece of paper with your restart of work date, estimated finish date and a record that the job is fully paid for and sign it .......bring that and we are golden"

there is a pause at the other end ....

"OK thats fair I suppose - I'll see you next Saturday"

"and I will hear from you during the week regarding the deliveries ?"

"yep - no problem"

"and you will have your phone with you and answer me back promptly ?"

"OK - thats fair"

"fine - I'll talk to you next week and see you next Saturday then ?"

"OK no problem"

Amazing what the threat of bringing in the heavys will do aint it ? :D :D

we await developments next week