General Chat

Sallie, Has Richard contacted them and told them he is out of work and unable to pay the full amount. I think they are supposed to arrange with him to pay of so much a quarter or something. But he need to contact them not just sit there and stew over it. I do think that when they see a bill going up a lot they should contact the person to inform them. We are with NPower and pay DD monthly, if they think we are using more than our DD will cope with they contact us. If I were Richard I would query why they let it go so high.

Hi Girls,

Jean, Richard has been living in his flat for over seven years, so it isn't that. The problem is Sou----n Electric, they tend to NOT read the meter, and just send out estimated bills. Janet, ( my friend ) tells me that it was on Watchdog not so long ago, people thought that the meters had been read and that they had paid the full bill every quarter. Then when they queried a high bill, they were then sent a new bill which was even higher. It just seems unfair that all those people had paid the bills they were sent and thought that it was all paid up, and then to be presented with a bill that was much higher. Oh Jean, there is no stopping you making the cards. Well done! I'm hoping to do a couple of cards tonight, I have to start, because it's both Jennie's and Janet's birthday on 29th May. Trouble is it's been a bit of a funny week, so haven't been able to get down to doing much.

Sylvia, Richard's bill was for just one quarter, so I think that Sou----n Electric need to get their act together. I'm just wondering if there is a place that he can go to, somewhere like Consumer Advice, but not sure if we have anything like that here, apart from BBC Watchdog.
I was telling Alun about your trip to Halifax for Christmas, he is quite envious. He tells me that if we were living in Canada, that's what he would love to do. As you might already know he's a steam train enthusiast, but still has an interest in other trains. I hope MJ's trouble settles down soon. Bless him!

Mo, I've been annoyed about the bill since Richard told me about it. Like you say, they sit in their offices and send out these bills, and cause a lot of stress and worry to people who think that they haven't got any debt. Of course with Richard being out of a job at the moment, he's worried about finding the money to pay it, and that he will be cut off. Pleased to know that your nephew have finished his radiotherapy for the moment, I hope he'll get some good news when he sees his Specialist in June. It's such a shame that your granddaughter doesn't let her mum know how she is, surely she must know that both her mum and you worry about her. How is Roly doing? I hope he's okay.

Ann, it's lovely to go away for four weeks, but there's so much to do before going. I'm so pleased that you are feeling better now. The holiday will do both you and T the world of good.

We haven't heard from Debbie, Marie, Huia and Julia for a while. Hope they're all alright. I wonder if Marilyn is away again.

Well I'm off to make our tea now, it's Alun's Model Railway Club tonight, so I'd better get going.

Speak to you all later.

Love and best wishes to you all. Sallie xxx

Sallie I was telling D about Richards big bill, and she reminded me about a simular thing happening to her years ago, it seemed the previous tenant hadnt had the meter read on leaving so she was being charged for their account , she didnt know she should have had the meter read when she moved in... wondered if this was what has happened with Richard....

Love Jean xx

Morning everyone, my word what a lot of chatterers you are, I have been busy with the cards, Sallie, cant stop, I am totally lost in doing them, so many new styles to have a go at....and I am doing another album too.... J has to prise me from the crafting now I could stay there all day.....lol.....
Sylvia, hope the phsyio went well. and also hope the little one soon settles and no more upset for him, blimey we are just looking for a few days away now, Christmas is so far a way, but it is a good idea to beat the deadline to visit your family.....

Sallie, what a shock for Richard, we had the meter read yesterday, and the man was telling J they only send out bills once a year, we have just changed our supplier so have no idea if it is cheaper, but we do it all on line so should be able to check.. he also said there will be a merging soon of all the suppliers, so that should be fun,

Mo darlink, I know exactly what you mean about your granddaughter, enough said...lol... you really must try harder at the darts, do you want me to have a word with Eve, maybe she doesnt reallise how important it is to us, well we have to get the bets on in time.....

Ann, have you got your suntan lotion packed and the trendy glasses I know you like to wear...seriously though, I am sure you and T will have a lovely holiday, we are all envious of you 4 weeks away , utter bliss, we look forward to hear from you, happy holiday .....

Hi, to Debbie, Marilyn (who we dont seem to hear from is she away again?)Liz hope all is well with you...Julia, Marie, and not forgetting Huia..


Bye for now, love Jean xx

Mo


they're planning on coming to this side in July for 3 weeks

They have to show young MJ off to all the "adopted" family that we have here.


But they want to combine their trip with M's defense of his PhD exam ................. and they won't know when that is until much closer to the time. Apparently they will get 6 weeks notice of the date, so they will wait till then to book any tickets.



s
xx

Hi Sylvia, sorry I nearly missed you then.
Oh my,have you got to wait till christmas,till you see young Matthew again.
Still the first christmas with a grandchild is very very special,and you will both enjoy it.
Go to go to bed now,sorry,can hardly keep my eyes open. Love Mo xx

Good grief Sallie,thats an enormous jump from £400 to £937 for richards electric bill.
Have you checked the readings for yourself,as sometimes even the meter
reader can put the wrong numbers down.
How the heck is he supposed to be able to pay that amount,when it has been their fault for not doing the reading in the first place. And why leave it this long.
Oh I am spitting feathers now,it's o.k for these big suppliers,to sit in their offices somewhere,and send bills out to people,causing them heartache,when the customer has paid the original bills thinking they settled their debt to the supplier.
Sorry Sallie,I should not be ranting like this,but I do feel for you all.
My nephew has finished his radiotherapy,and has to see the specialist in june.
No news on my grandaughter. Even my daughter has not been able to catch her at home,to speak to her.
My daughter has not even been invited to view my grandaughters new home. And whenever my daughter goes to the house GD is never in.
She is such a frustrating child,I feel I want to shake her at times.
Not long now then Ann,till your hols. If I don't get to speak to you before you go,have a lovely time,and don't forget to come back and let us know how you enjoyed it.
Have a safe journey,and take care off yourself.
Night Night,god bless you all. Love Moxxx

Glory be Sallie!! How long a period was that bill for????



Today we started the process of booking our next train trips to Halifax and back ........ for Christmas!!! The travel agent is checking it all out for us.


Very very early, I know. BUT the province is bringing in a new tax on July 1st, which will add an extra 7% to everything, including a lot of things which are not currently taxed at that level.

We have 2 types of taxes on goods and services that we buy (ie, similar to your VAT). There is the GST which is Federal tax, and is currently 5%, then there is the provincial PST, which is 7%. We will be moving to HST (Harmonised Sales Tax), which combines the two taxes for a total of 12%. The new tax will be applied as of May 1st to anything bought that will not be delivered or used until after July 1st ..... hence trips, next season's tickets to theatre, opera, sports, etc.

Nasty little b*****s aren't they?

The HST will apply to many items that are not currently affected by the PST ...... including hairdressers, physio, magazines, restaurant meals, etc etc. The province has had to make exceptions for a number of things, including children's clothes which have traditionally been PST free for the last 50 or 60 years, and books, and also for some special interest group industries.

Despite these exceptions, about 82% of BC'ers are very anti-HST. It moves taxes on goods and services from businesses to consumers ......... so will make everything much more expensive for us. It would add 7% to the train tickets for us, for example. It also would add the extra 7% to new houses costing over $400,000 (exempt under that price) ........ in Vancouver and area, that is actually a very cheap house or condo!!

But the business world loves it!

The really nasty thing is that the provincial government (Liberal party) campaigned on a promise NEVER to implement this new tax. Then announced 3 days after the election that they were joining with the federal government to do it. Can you spell VOTER ANGER???????

There is actually a petition going round for recall of the HST, but it has to collect over 50% of the signatures in ALL ridings in the province, . Very difficult to do methinks!!



We are looking at leaving here on December 14, arriving in Halifax on the 19th, and then leaving Halifax on December 29 ............... and spending New Year on the train, probably somewhere in northern Ontario.


J asked us on our very first morning over there if we wanted to go for Christmas, and then said "we're expecting you to say yes, you know!!".


Sallie ..... we go away so often during the summer (up to the cabin etc) that we settle back into routine very quickly!!

I hear from J that MJ is having some very fidgety, gassy evenings, so they're having to work hard to stop him crying and settle him down! He's 7 weeks old now, so hopefully it will all end soon.




sylvia
xxx

Ouch, that is quite a bill Sallie.

I am at the stage where I wonder if it is all going to get done before we go. We have to tie up all the loose ends before we go for 4 weeks, pay bills etc (credit cards). and generally have everything in order. yes thanks I feel fine now.

Hi All,

Mo,so sorry you and Eve lost at darts on Monday night. I would have been very nervous, and would have started to shake too, so you're not on your own. Have you had any news of your granddaughter and nephew lately? I've been wondering how they're both getting on. Nice to hear that your son and girlfriend are settling down okay in their new home.

Sylvia, hope all went well at physio for you. Have you got back into routine at home now? I hope that MJ will soon get over his tummy problem. Sending him hugs and kisses!

Jean, are you still busy making cards? We haven't heard much from you lately. I've been busy doing the washing and ironing today and then the weekly shop, so I'm now having a bit of time on here.

Ann, just a few days before your holiday. Are you almost prepared to go. Hope you're feeling better now.

Debbie, Marie, Liz, Huia, Julia and Marilyn hope you and your families are all okay.

I'll speak to you all tomorrow.

Love and best wishes. Sallie.xxx


Richard is having problems with his electric bill, he received a bill for £400, so he rang S------n Electric up and asked them if they could check that it was right, because he thought it was a bit high. He got a letter off them yesterday, telling him that the bill wasn't correct and that the revised bill was £937. My friend was telling me today, that S------n Electric has been on Watchdog because they very rarely read the meters and just send estimated bills to their customers. So when a customer queried a bill,
they were then sent a bill for the true amount. Much higher than the first bill.

Hi Mo and everyone


it was a physio day today, and that always seems to mean that I am out for most of the day!! Hence why this is my first visit to GR!!




sylvia

Hello girls.
I agree with you Sallie it is very quiet tonight. Even I am late looking in.
Just to let you know Sallie re-darts last night. I was entered into the pairs,
with my friend Eve,we did exceptionally well,but we lost in the semi-finals,to the eventual winners.
To get this stage we had to get through four rounds,and won each game 2-0.
We were up against real trophy hunters,for most off the night,who were so shocked that Eve and I were playing so well.( Mind you,we were surprised as well )
But we enjoyed ourselves. But by the semi-final's, I was a bag off nerves,
and so was Eve,and we went to pieces,and could not get anything we were aiming for. But hey ho,thats how it goes.
We have got our next round off the sixes,on the monday after the bank holiday. So a nice peaceful bank holiday for me.
Our son and his fiance,are now fully in their house. But we keep getting phone calls that go like, "Mum,have you still got so+ so at home " I don't know why he does not understand the word,thats it ,all your gear is now at your house.
He phoned me this evening,and they can't find their iron.
I will be happy when they are completely unpacked,and everything is put away.
I am sorry to hear that Jennie is still having a few problems. So lets pray that if she has the vit d, that it does help her.
I know we mums do worry,over our kids. But thats us mums for you. Keep your chin up love,and stay strong.
Well I hope everyone is well.
Love to you all. Mo xxx

Hi All,

Where is everyone? It's very quiet on here tonight, hope all
is okay with you all.

Mo, did you go to play darts last night? If you did, I hope your team won. Also hope that your son and his girlfriend have managed to get everything straight in their new home.

Jean, I sent you a PM earlier on.

Thinking of you all.

Love, Sallie xxx

Hi Liz,
Thanks for the information on vitamin D. I did mention to Jennie that she might be suffering from fibromyalgia, it's difficult to know because aches and pains in the joints and fatigue are sometimes symptoms of Crohn's. The IBD nurse she sees, has told Jennie that with the new medication she's now on, she shouldn't be feeling any of the symptoms, so decided to do some blood tests to try and find out what else it might be.

There always seems to be a problem, just when things are going okay-- oh well, all these things are meant to try us, I suppose.

Going to cook our tea now, so I'll speak to you all later.

Love, Sallie xxxx

Hi all

Sallie, I had to have a vit d jab last November which has helped with my hair growing back but not with the fatigue which is disappointing as I really need more energy. I am also taking vit d and calcium tablets - it's all a bit new, this vit d deficiency tack, so it's trial and error to some extent but my gp spoke to a consultant she knows and he explained all about it. I have to go for more blood tests later in May and see if things have improved.
I did have a thread up about the vit d but it's easy to google and find out more.

I wonder if Jennie has fibromyalgia as aches and fatigue are all part of that miserable illness.
Hope she gets on ok. and that she doesn't have fm, it's not easy to treat with anything much only usually painkillers and maybe amitriptyline to help you relax so you are supposed to sleep better. Fm causes poor sleep so that you never wake up feeling refreshed. I have had it for years.

Off to bed now, it's light and there is a lovely pink haze on the horizon.

Lizxxx

Mo, are things almost finished in the new house? At least they have some nice weather to get sorted, much nicer than moving in the winter time.

I found out from Jennie this evening that she's low in vitamin D, she received a letter from the hospital this morning.She also suffers with aching joints and fatigue, have done so for a long while, so it was decided at her last appointment with the IBD nurse that they are going to try and find out the cause. It's now been decded that she has to go and see a Rheumatologist, and in the meantime she has to have a prescription for some vitamin D tablets. She told Alun all about it after she had seen the nurse, but decided not to tell me until she knew a bit more, so that I wouldn't panic and start thinking all sorts of things wrong with her.

Ann, hope the shingles have more or less gone by now, and that you are feeling much better, especially as you are going on holiday on Sunday.

Liz, I've been reading your thread, sorry to hear that you are slightly asthmatic, I hope you get on okay with the inhalers.

Huia, just wondering if you've cooked the mushrooms yet?

I hope all is well with Marie, Julia, and Debbie. We haven't heard anything from Marilyn for a while, hope all is okay with her too.

Thinking of Jean and Sylvia.

Love to everyone. Sallie xxx

Oh my word Sylvia,what a shower,in more ways than one. The segregation between families,happens at weddings as well. At the reception,it ends up as us and them. And it appears that someone has built a brickwall,that neither can cross.
I hate it when you have one upmanship. It's like saying "we can afford to spend more than you " when at the end off the day,it's the thought that counts,not the price off a thing.
And as for wrapping presents,over here it is the done thing to get paper. But the younger folk now seem to be going over to bags,for their gifts.
Liz, we watched the programme about the bears as well. It was very interesting,but I would not have liked to have been in their shoes,when that bear was so close to them. Ooooh I would have had to change my undies in a hurry.
Ahem Mrs Jean you saucy minx,how the heck could you have forgotten my name,especially as I am so close to your heart.......I give you indigestion don't I. Lol Hope you are o.k my love. Dont work to hard on that friendship album,take a little you time,and relax.
Sallie, yes it was both off us at our sons house,but Roly did most off the lifting and lugging,with my son. But as far as we are concerned,we have finished our bit,it's now down to them to get things sorted.
Ann don't worry about Jean's card making,what she has not told you is that she has a manufacturing company in her shed,and gets them to print them out for her,whilst she is having a nice cup off tea.LOL Only joking Jean,I know you work like a trojan at doing them,and get great satisfaction
in doing so.
Hi Huia and Debbie not forgotton you both.
Well I must go,I have got darts tonight.
Love to all Mo xxx

Hi all,
Huia, I am sure that the vintage cars will have made some impression on Phil, at least it was something to watch and maybe stimulate.

Sylvia, welcome back, the baby shower sounds like all I thought it would be sounded horrendous, for the people attending's benefit, one upmanship and not really for the baby who an only wear so many outfits. Sorry to hear that he has a gastric problem. I am sure my friend's granddaughter has the same problem with acid reflux, her Mum had to be very careful what she ate as she was feeding her. I think they said she would grow out of it.

Mo, Sally Jean, Hi all busy, especially Jean who is putting me to shame with her card making these days.

Hi Everyone,

Sylvia, good to see you home, we've missed you on this thread. I enjoyed reading your account of the baby shower party, as Jean said, ' I felt as though I was there in the room with you all' . Like you, I would also have used wrapping paper instead of a gift bag for MJ's presents. Glad to hear that you enjoyed your 'working holiday', I'm sure you are missing all those cuddles with MJ now.

Huia, glad that Phil was able to go outside and watch the
vehicles drive by. I hope you enjoy the mushrooms you picked, and are able to take some into Phil.

Jean, I thought that you were busy with your cards, I couldn't get much done over the weekend, with having Richard here, and of course Jennie and Michael also came for lunch yesterday. I haven't received any post yet , but I'll let you know when I do.

Mo, hope your son and his girlfriend are nearly sorted in the new house. If I can remember rightly, I think that both you and Roly are helping there today, too. You both sound like us, always there when they need us. I think i was born to be char lady! Ha! Ha!

I must go now, have a few things to do. Speak to you all later on.

Love and best wishes. Sallie xxx

Morning all, Sylvia you write a wonderful picture of the shower party, I was there in the room with you...lol...what a to- do... good job you were there fo the littleones sake, I hate it when folk make the baby be like parcel to pass round, at least he seems to be so relaxed with you. which is lovely..
I was telling J about your long train journey he was amazed that you stayed on the train for so long, but I would love to do something like that...the swiss railways would be good....
I have been busy doing cards , but havent forgot you, who could forget That woman,,,whatshername.... ah Mo,.....and shortly I am doing a memory friendship album so I will be missing again, but will look in well I need to otherwise she will get a bit above herself.....lol....so bye for now. loveand hugs for everyone.

love Jean xx