Toward the end of last year I read
My Life In Houses by Margaret Forster. I'd not read any of Forster's books before but it had popped up on my Amazon suggested reading list because I'd looked up Angela Thirkell's - Three Houses. A couple of people suggested her other autobiography "Hidden Lives", which I ordered and picked up from the library van. Now I've just finished and enjoyed that - though it's not a particularly happy memoir - and thought perhaps I should check out her fiction even though I assumed they were a bit too literary for my taste but 'Diary of an Ordinary Woman' sounded interesting. Now here's the weird bit ................. I went to Leiston this morning for milk and to check out the new EACH charity shop, in fact I went round all 5 charity shops we now have and found nothing I wanted/needed at all. So heading back to Co-op, passed the hardware shop which has a basket of (usually tatty) second-hand books outside with a SCF collecting box attached, and there, sticking up in the top was Margaret Forster - Diary of an Ordinary Woman. How odd is that! needless to say I popped 50p in the collecting box and the book into my bag!
It's sods law that the day after I posted Cols doctors note form thing off to an office up north, attaching a stamp (to apply for any benefit he might be entitled to) we then get a letter in the post containing a pre-paid envelope for us to use? Damn - my efficiency cost me 54p!!
But before that note could have possibly got to the right place we had a letter to say he is eligible for £73 a week - that's good but in another letter on the same day, we had a giant form to fill in and return which says if you don't return it you won't get the £73 a week!
In all the 34 years Col worked for the County Council he only twice had more than a week off work and we never claimed a thing when he was self-employed and unable to work due to the heart problems. So it will be quite an 'adventure' claiming anything - but I fear not in a good way!
Thank you for all the comments yesterday
Back Tomorrow
Sue
