Alfie has been scratching a lot lately. I know that all dogs do this, and it can usually be caused by fleas. He hasn't got any nasty raw patches on his skin and his coat hasn't gone dull which is usually a sign of the presence of fleas, but just in case he had any little visitors, I went into Morrison's and had a look in the pet section for some sort of treatment. I chose Bob Martin Clear Spot-On. I think we've used this before when we had two dogs, but having spent so much time in hospitals with Carol over more than eighteen months, unfortunately Alfie has been neglected to a certain extent. Which was the same regarding having him groomed and the rather unpleasant matter which had built up under his eyes, which is more or less now under control. He doesn't like me touching either areas when I attempt to clean these areas with cotton wool soaked in water. I think he enjoys the fuss and readily comes to sit on my knee, then growls noisily when I go near with the cotton wool. Strange little dog that he is! Take his collar and harness off Alfie and he wonders what on earth is going on. You have to take them off because the flea treatment won't work properly. I went to put his collar on and he started barking and yapping, no doubt thinking he was going out for a walk or something else. But no.
(Monday)I've been into the Council offices to give them details of the Teachers' Pension payments. I had to because otherwise if they knew I had it without them knowing I could be done for fraud. I had to sign in at the touch-screen computer at the reception and then took the ticket with the number on and had to just sit and wait. It was probably around 45 minutes before I got seen.
I'm supposed to get what is called a 'Death In Service' payment. I didn't know about this until Chloe mentioned it, because she is an art teacher. The HR department kept badgering Carol to get her to be 'medically retired.' I can see why now. Even though she was on 'Sick Pay' and supposedly still on their books as an employee, as soon as she signed anything so that she was no longer officially an employee of Milton Keynes Academy, then they could avoid paying me anything such as the 'Death In Service' payment. I have given various bits of information to Chloe who is passing it on to the finance department at the school where she works and they will deal with this for me. I'm just annoyed that nobody let me know what I was entitled to. You don't get any sort of support to find out what benefits you can apply for (except, of course, the C.A.B. lady who works for Macmillan.)
I've got to clear out a lot of stuff if I'm to ever move from this house. There's loads of stuff in the smaller bedroom. It's piled on top of the bed and if you move some of it there'll be an avalanche. I can't deal with Carol's clothes. I'm going to have to get someone to help me. It's all far to personal. I know it sounds crazy, but that's what usually happens when someone dies and there are clothes and other items left behind. It can go in bin bags and go to a charity shop or somewhere where it can be recycled or sent to places where this stuff can be used. I'm sure that's what Carol would want. Just writing about this on here is sort of therapeutic and I can deal with it. It is taking time. I know we have lots of books. I do tend to hoard to some extent. Paperbacks can be given to a charity shop, particularly those books that I've read once and won't ever likely read again. A lot of hardbacks are useful, a lot of art books, particularly Dorling Kindersley stuff, and history books or those connected to my interests regarding cinema, animation, history or similar.
I would never have known how to get this payment unless I'd contacted Carol's union, the N.A.S.U.W.T. I had no idea how I would go about claiming anything, so I rang the area office and they sent out the relevant paperwork for me to fill out. It wasn't until I got a more recent telephone call from a caseworker that I was told that if I went to the Teachers' Pensions website and downloaded the form to fill in and then printed off that I was able to take things further. I had to get Carol's employee number from Milton Keynes Academy and put this on the form and then post off that things began to move. I only knew I had received a payment when I went to my bank account on line to discover the money had been put into the account. No letter at this point to inform me of how they had worked out the payment, so I rang Teachers' Pensions and they told me that a letter had been posted out, and quite by chance I got the letter in the post a couple of hours later. Just a coincidence really.
(Tuesday) I took out Alfie as usual this morning. He just won't let me forget him. He sits on the sofa when I'm working on the laptop and stares at me. When we eventually went out, we did the longer walk, ending up walking along the redway that runs alongside Marlborough Street and then back home along the redway from the hospital and going behind the house. It was still chilly but the sun did eventually make an appearance.
I've been out this morning, to Homebase. I wanted to get some plastic boxes in which I could pack such things as books, DVDs and other items, so that it can be taken to a charity shop or shops. I wasn't expecting to find such a good selection in the area where you walk in. A larger, deeper, box and a set of several shallower boxes, which are ideal for packing paperbacks. They have lids and should fit in the back of the car quite comfortably.
I have done the first shift, for want of a better word, clearing out some of the stuff in the small spare room. I have two boxes of paperbacks packed up. I can't spend too much time on this. I'm not really supposed to lift heavy items, but there's no other way of getting this job done. If by chance I move from this house, all this will need to be done, so I've decided I have to start on it. I can do all this is small stages which means it's likely to take some time to complete. Some paperbacks taken off the shelves in the living room, which means I now have some vacant space. Just great to have started on this job. I've been thinking about it for some time, but hadn't thought how to go about it. But I still have to sort out Carol's clothes, shoes and other things which I just can't touch. I know it sounds crazy, but it's too personal. I will get around to it eventually, but not at the moment.
(Monday)I've been into the Council offices to give them details of the Teachers' Pension payments. I had to because otherwise if they knew I had it without them knowing I could be done for fraud. I had to sign in at the touch-screen computer at the reception and then took the ticket with the number on and had to just sit and wait. It was probably around 45 minutes before I got seen.
I'm supposed to get what is called a 'Death In Service' payment. I didn't know about this until Chloe mentioned it, because she is an art teacher. The HR department kept badgering Carol to get her to be 'medically retired.' I can see why now. Even though she was on 'Sick Pay' and supposedly still on their books as an employee, as soon as she signed anything so that she was no longer officially an employee of Milton Keynes Academy, then they could avoid paying me anything such as the 'Death In Service' payment. I have given various bits of information to Chloe who is passing it on to the finance department at the school where she works and they will deal with this for me. I'm just annoyed that nobody let me know what I was entitled to. You don't get any sort of support to find out what benefits you can apply for (except, of course, the C.A.B. lady who works for Macmillan.)
I've got to clear out a lot of stuff if I'm to ever move from this house. There's loads of stuff in the smaller bedroom. It's piled on top of the bed and if you move some of it there'll be an avalanche. I can't deal with Carol's clothes. I'm going to have to get someone to help me. It's all far to personal. I know it sounds crazy, but that's what usually happens when someone dies and there are clothes and other items left behind. It can go in bin bags and go to a charity shop or somewhere where it can be recycled or sent to places where this stuff can be used. I'm sure that's what Carol would want. Just writing about this on here is sort of therapeutic and I can deal with it. It is taking time. I know we have lots of books. I do tend to hoard to some extent. Paperbacks can be given to a charity shop, particularly those books that I've read once and won't ever likely read again. A lot of hardbacks are useful, a lot of art books, particularly Dorling Kindersley stuff, and history books or those connected to my interests regarding cinema, animation, history or similar.
I would never have known how to get this payment unless I'd contacted Carol's union, the N.A.S.U.W.T. I had no idea how I would go about claiming anything, so I rang the area office and they sent out the relevant paperwork for me to fill out. It wasn't until I got a more recent telephone call from a caseworker that I was told that if I went to the Teachers' Pensions website and downloaded the form to fill in and then printed off that I was able to take things further. I had to get Carol's employee number from Milton Keynes Academy and put this on the form and then post off that things began to move. I only knew I had received a payment when I went to my bank account on line to discover the money had been put into the account. No letter at this point to inform me of how they had worked out the payment, so I rang Teachers' Pensions and they told me that a letter had been posted out, and quite by chance I got the letter in the post a couple of hours later. Just a coincidence really.
(Tuesday) I took out Alfie as usual this morning. He just won't let me forget him. He sits on the sofa when I'm working on the laptop and stares at me. When we eventually went out, we did the longer walk, ending up walking along the redway that runs alongside Marlborough Street and then back home along the redway from the hospital and going behind the house. It was still chilly but the sun did eventually make an appearance.
I've been out this morning, to Homebase. I wanted to get some plastic boxes in which I could pack such things as books, DVDs and other items, so that it can be taken to a charity shop or shops. I wasn't expecting to find such a good selection in the area where you walk in. A larger, deeper, box and a set of several shallower boxes, which are ideal for packing paperbacks. They have lids and should fit in the back of the car quite comfortably.
I have done the first shift, for want of a better word, clearing out some of the stuff in the small spare room. I have two boxes of paperbacks packed up. I can't spend too much time on this. I'm not really supposed to lift heavy items, but there's no other way of getting this job done. If by chance I move from this house, all this will need to be done, so I've decided I have to start on it. I can do all this is small stages which means it's likely to take some time to complete. Some paperbacks taken off the shelves in the living room, which means I now have some vacant space. Just great to have started on this job. I've been thinking about it for some time, but hadn't thought how to go about it. But I still have to sort out Carol's clothes, shoes and other things which I just can't touch. I know it sounds crazy, but it's too personal. I will get around to it eventually, but not at the moment.
No comments:
Post a Comment