Friday 23 September 2022

News catch up

 I will chuck this one out there while having a break from posting holiday pics. Yes there are more to come. There are some Alston pics, Weardale pics, and some waterfall pics, bet you are excited. 😄😎😆 

North Lincs Council have given me a Council Tax discretionary energy rebate payment to help with the cost of living. I had to collect my £150 from the Post Office using the letter they sent me, because they don't have my bank details. That was a nice little windfall. I went to Go Outdoors and spent £145 on new winter clothing. It was nice to be able to choose clothes, rather than buy whatever they had in a charity shop. I am chuffed with what I bought. 

The message on the bottom of this chocolate box is reuse or recycle. I am reusing two of them for my garden art project. They are stuck together. This is going to be the head of a scarecrow. 

It seems I have another cat. Mau Mau has been roaming the village for most of his twelve years. He has a home and goes back there whenever he feels like it. His owner sometimes asks on facebook if anyone has seen him. Most people in the village, including me, report back their sightings. Mau Mau seems to like my garden. I contacted his owner the other day, he lives two streets away, and he came round to see him. He is happy for him to spend time here. I said I would feed him, so it looks like we are sharing him. 
Can you see my new twinkly lights. Don't they look pretty. I think I need to spread them out a bit more along the whole length of the hedge. 

I'll be back tomorrow with some more pics. Toodle pip.   ilona 

15 comments:

  1. Thank you for being so kind to the lovely cats x Did you get your cost of living payment as you are on pension credit? I will not get it as £1 over the limit x

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    1. Thank you Anonymous. I am not eligible for pension credit. I got this payment because my house is in Council Tax bands A - D. This means 4 out of 5 households in England will benefit, including 95% of rented properties. People on low incomes in Council Tax bands E - H are also eligible to get it. Contact your Council if you think this applies to you. This is does not need to be repaid.

      There is a note on the bottom of my letter about supporting households with their energy bill. £200 will be taken off this years energy bill from October, and spread equally over the next 5 years. They say it is not a debt, no interest is charged and no credit ratings are affected. So this will be repayable. It is something I do not need, as many others have said. It will put everyone into debt. Even rich people will get it. It is a way to make their administration of the debt simpler. I will look for a way to refuse it.

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    2. I don’t understand….you think the £200 that has to be repaid will put everyone into debt but you accepted the £150 council tax rebate…that also puts people into debt (people as in the country). The £200 that has to be repaid won’t put the country into debt.

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    3. The country is already in trillions of £'s of debt, and they are planning on borrowing even more. There is nothing I or anybody else can do about that. If we all refused to accept the £150 it wouldn't make any difference. Might as well piss in the ocean. The £200 will be a loan which many people don't need. I don't need it. It's just a way of putting me into debt. I pay my way, I pay for everything I need. They should just give it to the people who are struggling to pay their winter fuel bills.

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  2. Mau Mau is lovely Ilona - I don't know much about cats - but I've heard they like to choose their own homes if possible x 🐈

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    1. This one certainly has. He lives in the Summer House. Comes strolling down the garden when he hears me putting food out. Friendly with the other cats.

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  3. I would like to see the new clothing from Go Outdoors please Ilona. I love to see your shopping! :) H x

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    1. Next on the list when the holiday pics are done.

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  4. hello Ilona
    The government have scrapped the £200 loan and now every household is to receive £400 discount on energy bills (not a loan) Full details at https://www.gov.uk/government/news/400-energy-bills-discount-to-support-households-this-winter
    It will be automatic discount to everyone paying by direct debit. Please check out how to receive it if not paying by direct debit.
    Love seeing your photos and reading about your travels. best wishes onlyjo

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    1. Thank you Jo. The letter I quoted from is probably out of date. I do wonder where they are getting all this money from that they are splashing around willynilly.

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    2. Printing it. H x

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  5. Mau Mau is a lovely looking cat, we lost our little ginger boy two weeks ago. He was very ill and there was nothing the vet could do. It's a very sad time. We've just got one cat now, our lovely black boy. We probably will adopt another one, there are so many of the poor things waiting for a good home and we love cats. Not just yet though, it's too soon, maybe in a month or two.
    Liz from Wales.

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    1. Sorry for your loss. Yes, the rescues are full. People are giving up their pets because they can no longer afford them.

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  6. The £200 Loan was scrapped by Rishi Sunak sometime in May and has been replaced by a £400 Grant that is paid directly to your energy company in instalments of £66 or £67 per month for 6 months from October.

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