nth attempt to post something and hooray, it’s working at last though \i do reset the fact that I have been forced to the desperate measure of using a windoze machine. So no excuses then. Might as weel cut and paste my comment on Seaneen’s blog http://thesecretlifeofamanicdepressive.wordpress.com/2010/02/15/the-underclass/
well said Seaneen! Know all too well what you write about, had my own rude reminder yesterday at the Jobcentre. One of those jumping through the humps that are point of life on benefits. Left with a headache but avoided what might have been judged to be hypomanic behaviour. some priceless quotes too – pity I did not start the interview with a caution. Really was a ‘does he take sugar’ event as all the questions were directed at the cmht support worker who’d come with me. Net result of the interview was that I was given the task of writing a real letter to the office that deals with payments asking inter alia why they had not responded to an e-mail sent to them months ago by my personal adviser, apparently ‘they’ must respond to me within 10 days. blah blah blah. point being that there was a continual but unvoiced dub text that i should know my place. herumph. but stay cool David, no point being angry at this stage one anecdote – he kept telling me to look at my bank statements but I managed tio insist that DWP’s record keeping better than mine and that she would find the information on the computer screen she was wont to hide behind. the saga will doubtless continue until I am dead or at least until the working age label becomes oap. This benefit business is all part of the bipolar life, from Spring 2000 until May 2008 my benefit status was unchanged and the money dropped into my bank account every fortnight. Then I decided that enough was enough and started work May 2008 with much help and support from the DEA at the Frome jobcentre. Had help because I am a recovering addict/alcoholic, over 50 and officially mad. Trouble was that I overdid the working stuff, collapsing in a heap October 2008. made it to my GP January 2009: rather than prescribe me some sleepers. she referred me back to the Community Mental Health Team. Back in the system, I tried various anti-depressants by the psych who seemed to me to be more concerned about the risk of hypomania rather than the grinding black depression, Carried on like this, ever more agrophobic and islated until I started drinking again withe the result that I was taken by ambulance to RUH for an emergency detox. Which worked and I have not drunk since. Without the booze to confuse things, the ant-depressants started to work with the agreeable result that I started 2010 in a wholly new frame of mind. Hooray! During the whole period I was receiving benefit in one from or another, not unreasonably the Working Tax Credit was stopped because I was not working any more: the tersm under which I had gone to work were supposed to be that my claim for Incapacity Benefit would continue where I’d left it in May 2008 but my claim was treated as a new one thus treated as one for ESA (Employment Support Allowance) which means that at the time of writing, I am getting less than I am supposed to. Current scenario is best described by Monday’s letter which WordPress does not seem to want to post into this blog,
Whatever, so now I wait for the result of the letter I was advised to wrute by a person at the Jobcentre who told me that “they have to respond within 10 days”. Not holding my breath since this is the same person who says she sent an e-mail to the same office back in July but “they” had dot replied (she was far too busy to have followed up an the e-mail herself), the same person who suggested that I go away and look at my bank statements to see how much I’d actually been paid – didn’t let her get way with that one; gently convinced her that she could in fact get payment information from the computer system she was logged in to. Just another day in the benefit system but I’m staying cool so far – if needs be i will escalate by writing to my MP who will then refer my case to the appropriate government department(s) which will then send a wtf is going on letter to the local office(s) which will then make damn sure that everything is in order.
Enough is enough, time to get on with real life by cooking a full on breakfast – much to do today – residents’ meeting in Nunney, visit from my care co-ordinator then more at the Black Swan
Warriet's Blog 
editor’s note – now visible from my base confuser but will I be able to comment the above from here?
ok, so that worked – now trying to update the original blog from herefrom here
nope still don’t work – just get the google chrome ‘aw snap’ screen.
http://www.google.com/support/chrome/bin/answer.py?answer=95669&hl=en-GB
Somone once referred to Oliver Cromwell’s ‘lumpen humanity’. Isn’t this what happens when dealing with ‘the system’? It wants to be proper and correct and fair -never forget that we have one of the few honest civil services in the world – but doesn’t really know how. Also, given occurence rates, there’s a liberal dose of fear about. ‘There, but for the Grace of God, go I’. My own experience suggests patience & the use of the ‘broken record’ technique works reasonably well.
broken record has not worked very well for me, best way has been to ask for and accept help, ale pozor! beware the agendae of those who would help – looking after the proles is big business nowadays.
lumpen proletariat – Marx
Sad when the Daily Mail readers won’t understand that he meant them too