Last weekend I and the current Mr Randomadviser, went to a gig. It's one of our favourite ways to spend time together. Sometimes its a way of combining visiting exotic places (Cardiff, Southampton, Liskard), spending quality time alone together and seeing our various rock and music gods and (mostly) hearing quality music. Sometimes its more a case of appreciating the performance than the quality (Meat Loaf), other times the music itself is outstanding.

Lately though there seems to have been an explosion in people attending the gigs I've been to just to get drunk and talk or yell at their nearest and dearest and mates.

Now, I may just be wrong, but isn't it cheaper to go to the pub? After all, it doesn't cost upwards of £35 to get in to a pub, there is space to either stand in a mob looking at each other or take a more leisurely approach and sit round a table.

If I go to the cinema, its to see a film, ditto a play, am I alone in thinking that the music is the thing we go to gigs for?

Oh by the way with my adviser hat on, beware forums and free adds with offers of puppies for free- they are usually a scam and have to my knowledge cost several people quite a bit of money- and you never get your puppy.

Tuesday 1st Dec

It's been a while since I last posted, but coincidentally, today I had the swine flu vaccination, so far no side effects. Recently there was a protest in a local shopping centre with a bunch of nutters protesting that the swine flu jab was a way for the government to gain mind control over the population! Well, I'll let you know if I get an urge to vote labour- oh wait- too late I've already done that at all the general elections since I was 18.

Its slowly coming round to the time of year when people don't seek advice about their problems so much, so its quietened down to a dull roar in our waiting room. Just the usual debt, sick people told they have to work, poor people struggling to feed their children, immigrant women unable to get benefits even though their children were born here because their bastard of a British husband has beaten them up and thrown them out onto the streets.

Be a bit afraid, I think

Your friendly neighbourhood adviser has been struck down by the swine flu, all the hype was right, it is a nasty flu and if you get asthma you will need an extra supply of Ventolin. I have to say the last time I felt that ill I was diagnosed with pneumonia!

However, today I am feeling better, shaky, but better, but the husband and daughter have both reported feeling like they have a "throat" thing, so I'm expecting to be recovered in time to look after them!

The governments advice to have good manners and cover your mouth when coughing and "catch it, bin it, kill it", rings a little hollow while you are struggling to just breathe. I'm afraid the last thing on my mind was washing my hands!

Still, I'm due for the routine flu vaccine in 2 weeks time and I expect to be called to the pig vaccine too. Its a bit late, but I will have them anyway just in case.

Its Sunday evening

again, where did the weekend go. There is crap all on the tv, so I'm listeming to marilyn manson on spotify while writing this.
Wow, I think Spotify could replace everyone's record collection, especially mine, if it was a little easier to use. I havent been able to set up a playlist yet although my H has.
I have been rambling through all the music I used to listen too, and some I never listened to before. I highly recommend giving it a go

Back to work

Its funny how the effects of two weeks hols can disappear within moments of getting back to work!

Still, the clients continue to be eclectic, one nice lady was in search of the local AA meeting, but couldn't find the venue. Still, this is where google comes in to its own!

Weirdly two clients in one day, both moving back to live in the UK specifically to claim benefits and use the NHS as their money/insurance has run out- both had spent substantial time paying their taxes in other countries, these sort of clients are usually a bit disappointed in the amount they can claim and the hoops they have to jump through to get it.

As another lady said to me, given the broad and inquisitive nature of the questions the DWP insisted in asking her brain damaged, terminally ill husband, she couldn't understand why any one can actually cheat the system.
I know what she means if some people turned the energy and ingenuity to work as they do to being on benefit, they could be dragons in the den on tv!

Well

I never had a chance to get back and report on my daughters exams results, so here they are now.

A art, B RE, C English language, literature Sciences, D History, ICT, French, E Maths.

I think she's a bit like me, arty but I don't understand how she can do so well in science and not maths. I suppose it doesn't matter too much as she's got what she needed for the school to let her do A level Art, Photography, Sociology and Philosophy and Ethics in 6th form. Considering her middle school struggled to get her to read and write she's done extremely well. It really pisses me off when the media go on about how exams are dumbed down. the level of work and analysis that went into the work she has done was far deeper and expansive than anything I did at school.

Its the same with work, to the media everyone on benefits is a scrounger, I suppose it harks back to the Elizabethan concept of the undeserving poor- after all, disaster or terminal disease never strikes the deserving. I've met some very distressed sick people whose life has fallen apart because of the lack of a social security net. For example, the lady with life threatening bowel cancer, sacked from work because the employer doesn't want to pay sick pay (perfectly legal to sack someone in this circumstance), repeatedly asked to attend work focused interviews by the DWP, has to wait weeks to get help with her mortgage from the state, it a race between the money coming in and the bank taking repossession. Meanwhile, the credit card chases her with phone calls five to ten times a day, and the council sends the bailiffs in because there is a bit of a shortfall in her council tax payments. Its a good job she doesn't have to pay for her prescriptions now, cause she hasn't got the money for food- most people wouldn't know how to manage on £64.30 a week to cover the bills and food.

Yes there are some people who lie to get benefits, but they are far fewer than those who have no choice but to rely on the mercy of the state.

I'm glad I'm still on holiday

Daughters birthday

It was her 16th yesterday, it seemed to go well, shopping with a friend in primark and new look and a film- the time travellers wife. the presents seemed to be well accepted so and all round happy day finished off with a dvd-twilight, and Spanish cava.

anyway today is gcse results she says she isn't nervous, but I'm having butterflies as the time approaches to go to school to get them!

Holiday time

I'm on holiday, and its not before time.
The stress at work has been horrendous, with the bitch who has been bullying us appealing her sacking and her trying to muck rake. all her crap is refutable and shes made a fatal mistake in producing clients case records as evidence as its instant dismissal to have these records outside the office, but she does go on and the investigation seems to require a line by line refutation of all her allegations.
This was oddly satisfying , but vastly time consuming and took most of two days last week to do.
One thing that has disturbed me was the letters she got some colleagues to write in her support- what a poisonous bunch they are- fortunately one was leaving and the other has gone off on along trip, so I won't have to pretend I don't know what they think of me

if anything happens in my staycation appeart from housework i may be back later

Wednesday half way thru the week

I'm sitting her at work, waiting for the last adviser to finish with a client, its been a very variable day. Ranging from a very ill person needing help with an appeal against refusal of benefits, a person wanting to know if they need planning permission to live in a caravan in their garden (yes), to finalising a draft financial statement for the client approval. There were many other clients as well, I am frequently amazed how many people come through our doors and how few are turned away. This is completely due to the gereousity of our volunteers and the amount of time they are giving for free- thats not to say that the paid workers don't work hard too, just that the people working for free are wonderful.

Still experimenting

bear with me i'm just starting to get to grips with this blogging stuff, it will get more interesting i promise.

So, we have swine flu in the family, me and my scarey daughter have just been to the late night chemist to get tamiflu- for the daddy, he ticked all the swine lines boxes so, the pharmasist says, the drugs will cause dihorreha and vomiting, so wots different from pig flu?
I'm sleeping on the sofa tonight, would be happier if they gave out oxygen masks and clean rooms.
will we survive?

I don't like Mondays

Today I was assessing learning, looking at caserecords etc, well its sometimes difficult to understand the complex mix of what people ask and what my colleagues tell them.

If what i was reading today is anything to go by, either the people size up their adviser and ask questions accordingly, or the colleague has no *competance/memory/heard a different question/can't be arsed/forgot to write up more than half the interview (*delete one or more according to taste).

The mystery deepens when i take into account the fact that many people come back repeatedly for more from the same colleague, indeed, get quite put out if they can't see that one!

Of course, there are those who record everything in minute anal detail, these ones I can assess as competant, however they re also more likely to a. piss off the person, b. have a complaint made against them, c. have frequent visits from those who feel they can't shit without checking out if they have to inform someone.

I ask you, do people want accurate advice or their ego's pandered too? My assessment is - both, but not everytime and it depends on the colleague.

Hi Ya

This is an experiment, blogging from my desk at work, though my home page.
Its been a difficult day as we lost internet connection for most of the day ( it came back just now) as most of our systems rely on the use of the internet, we were reduced to using back ups and recording on word. since we gave up the ghost at 3.30, not much work has been done except to muddle through with those poor souls who struggled through the torrential downpours to get to us. I know its not monsoon weather according to those who have experienced the real thing, but it seems a reasonable subsitiute to me.

Oh dear

Iwas asked today to read the statement of one of my colleagues involved in the grievance procedure. suffice it to say i was shocked at the treatment they had received from our sacked colleague. as the fallout rumbles on, many have commented that they were dismayed at the sacking, because the sacked one had been good at the job. Although one did say that it reminded them of slightly similar occurance some time ago and went on to say that you can never tell.
The report also included some things that had apparently been said against me and another worker, questioning our competance etc,
I'm the first to admit to not being perfect, it still surprises me that others are willing to work with me and take advice from me, but, the other worker, well thats different, they are a highly skilled compteant worker, whom i respect. and fully deserve to be where they are.

A long standing worker of over 14 years retired today, its very sad to see someone leave, i know we are not getting any younger, but Brian was always unfailingly polite, very hard working and accepted me and all the others we worked with, with our varing degrees of ability. I felt, feel very sad, but we move on and i look forward to seeing him at the christmas party.
I think i was feeling particularly emotional as my dog was in the vets all day with a suspected dislocated shoulder-after two xrays and lots of tlc it turned out to be a bad sprain, the only downside is she cant go any distance for 2 weeks-she's not going to like that!

Just another monday

My turn today to advice session superviser, oh joy. 5 debt cases, an employment one, a misselling of endowment/investment, an insurance complaint, bankruptcy forms and half a dozen sugnpostings-no one looks in the phone book anymore. and one adviser phoned in sick with swine flu, apparently its quite easy to get the tamiflu, she just phoned up and asked for it.

same again tomorrow i suspect.

now the fall out

I have been so busy since my last post, Wednesday. Things with the colleague worsened, there was a secret meeting and we were asked not to get to work before 9.30 on Thursday. well when i got to work, i was told the **** had been fired. management were all a bit shell shocked and are now trying to find someone to take over the work.
This is where it got more difficult in some ways as stuff started creeping out of the woodwork. ie jobs they had not completed, work just not done, strange documents on the project laptop. distressed people contacting us because they were expecting stuff to have happened that hadn't.

In amounst this was all the usual enquiries; old lady: my daughters got me to sign something and now she owns my house. young family we can't pay our bills, single parent domestic violence victim, overpayment of benefits.
on wards and upwards.

Well I never did

Just yesterday had a fairly common enquiry, i've got toothache where can i get an nhs dentist? we went to the nhs direct web site, where you can usually find this info and stone me, the WHOLE site is devoted to pig flu- we could only conclude that for the duration of the pandemic, no one in england and wales will have anything else wrong with them. NHS choices was a bit more useful, at least after you had waded thru all the swine flu crap you could get a list of every dentist registered in our area. So the achey toothed client was left to phone round.
I hope no one out there needs to find out if they have appendicitis, or if their kid had measles!
The colleague problem refuses to go away, one person of sick with stress? I'm not sleeping and I know for a fact that nor is the manager. I'm not cofident of a happy outcome, think I will go see the doc myself, if i can get through the swine flu halt and lame.

Just another Friday

Todays questions were the usual stuff,benefit,debt,how can a landlord get more money out of a tenant. The bully didnt come in today,but phoned to say they wpild be in Monday. Oh deep joy. still dont know what is going to happen. jist have to wait and see.

What can you do?

I work for an independent advice giving organisation this you would think would be the perfect place to work and have your rights protected. You would be mistaken. This shonky organisation cares only for its reputation. If a colleague calls you a liar, thats considered fine. If that colleague bullies other workers, thats also fine.

I'm not sure how I can continue to help our volunteers give advice to people about work issues and not feel it stick in my throat.

Let me tell you what I mean.

Just over two weeks ago I witnessed a "colleague" embark on a rant about the quality of a volunteers work. Shouting the odds to another colleague, in the open office, with other people in ear shot. Now I am not saying there was no cause for them to complain, only that they chose to act in a manner which is contrary to our organisations dignity at work/anti bullying policy. This person is physically intimidating and frequently has driven others into tears. Because of the nature of this "persons" behaviour, no one has been willing to make a complaint.
I decided to take that step, and approached a member of the management, and after some discussion I agreed to think about making a formal complaint. As I left the meeting another colleague approached me and asked for a confidential chat. They then told me a catalogue of events, with this person being relentlessly bullied by the "colleague". But they did not want to talk to management. I felt that I had not choice but to mention this when I went back with my formal statement.
I was later informed that there would be an investigation of my complaint and I was aware that other colleagues were interviewed, including those present at the incident I had raised.

Today there was a meeting with the "colleague" and a manager. It would appear he was also intimidated by this person, to the extent that he took her word that nothing happened. He said lawyers had advised him that as "all these things had happened in the past", there was nothing he could do.

This happened on a day when i helped 4 people with their debts, one person with a complaint about a bank, and discussed introducing a new way of helping people with debt.

If I said I was pissed off, it would be a bit of an understatement, not sure what to do, so I thought I would blog it from day to day and see where it takes me