Concentrix - What Now? An Update and Thank You!

After all the excitement of Lynn's appearance on The Victoria Derbyshire show yesterday, great news has been announced with the decision not to renew Concentrix's current contract. After all the support that Lynn has received from readers of this blog, we would both like to thank everyone for all the signatures on the petition and the tweets and comments that helped with this very important cause. A lot of people have been asking about the next steps, as it doesn't end here. Lynn, and many people like her, are still without essential funds and there is a bigger fight to be won.

The Kindness of Strangers, an Unexpected Outcome

A couple of days ago I invited a good friend of mine to guest post about a subject that has affected her and her son very badly, when Concentrix put another family into poverty. I wanted her to have her say, because she was at her wits' end. It was yet another HMRC out-sourced agency that caused the immeasurable distress that she found herself immersed in. She, we, wanted to talk about how that pans out at the bottom. After the leaf has made its way through all the beaurocratic branches, all the facts, figures, number crunching, forms, tick boxes, etc, what does it actually mean to have nothing to live on? 

True White Mirai Toothbrush - Review and Giveaway

I love gadgets and I'm especially fond of toothbrushes. It might sound a bit bonkers, but I have always felt you should invest as much as you can in your teeth. Dental work is very expensive, not to mention pretty unpleasant! A little time and money spent now, could prevent a lot of pain, and even more money spent, later on. It's also reassuring to know you are doing the best for your teeth. You only get one adult set, after all. So, when True Company offered to send us a new design of toothbrush, worth £150, to review, how could I say no? Curiosity won me over and I couldn't wait to give it a try. The good news is, they have also agreed to send one to a lucky winner, so don't forget to enter the competition at the bottom of the post!

My Sunday Photo: Sunset Over the Severn Vale

Dear Mr Thompson #ConcentrixFamilyPoverty

A Guest Post by Lynn.

I have hosted a guest post before on the realities faced by individuals who are dealing with our broken and inefficient benefits system. There are so many stories in the press. Many, highlighting the poverty and distress that the cuts, austerity and mistakes have caused. There are some pretty horrifying statistics out there. Including people taking their own lives through the stress and fear that these departments cause. Once again, I have witnessed first hand the catastrophic affects these decisions, made in an office somewhere, usually based on a series of ticks on a list, are continuing to have on people I care about.

Appreciating our Little Car!

Living in a semi-rural area, you get the best of both worlds. Lovely countryside, with beautiful scenery and a peaceful existence, but also an impressive array of different shops and entertainment options just a short distance away. The frustration I have, though, is that it's very difficult to get around. We are lucky, because we have a rather old, but utterly brilliant car. It's utterly brilliant because, despite being middle-aged in car terms, it goes. That level of reliability is worth its weight in gold living here. 

10 Phrases You'll Recognise If You Grew up with 90's TV

Television has a lot to answer for and one of its legacies is catchphrases. There are obvious ones, usually originating from Bruce Forsyth, but then there are the less obvious ones, many of which have found their way into common usage and can be heard up and down the country, without any even knowing, or remembering, where they originally came from. Here, I will try and put that right. If you grew up with 90's TV, you may recognise some of these examples, if I've forgotten any good ones, feel free to add them to the comments!