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Wednesday 8 October 2008

Doldrums

As it is more than a month since I wrote anything on my Blog and as several kind Bloggers have e-mailed me, to enquire of my well-being and whereabouts, I feel compelled to give you an update.
I am still struggling with health issues and up to my eyes in prescibed drugs it is difficult to find inspiration. With this in mind, I thought, perhaps I may have a general chit chat or even a 'rant'!

Here goes.......

DT and I are thoroughly depressed with the on-going financial failings of this awful Government. Everything we have both worked so hard for and saved for, to use in our retirement, is quckly fading away. When we both retired we were quite comfortably off, not now! We live in a quite large house which we would like to sell and buy something smaller but because of the current financial climate it is an impossible task without losing a lot of money. In the meantime we are using savings (what's left of them) to subsidise our outgoings.

Neither of us have ever been dependent upon the state, we have paid our taxes at higher rates and worked hard to save for later life. We are both in our early sixties and look forward to lots more happy years together

Then it was 1997 and along came NuLab...

'A new day has dawned has it not'?...... spouted the supercillious, grinning idiot Blair.....'No more boom and bust'....roared the brooding, so called, 'psycholgically flawed', Iron Chancellor Gordon'Prudence' Brown.

Our savings and investments (all in Blue Chip Companies), have lost three quarters of the value, in the time NuLab have been wrecking the economy, of this, once wonderful Country.
They are disappearing faster than an ice cube in the Sahara Desert.

I have been around long enough to see the damage sucessive Labour Governments can do to the economy, having worked in the Banking and Financial Services sector for most of my career.

My Father, who was a Master Printer and a staunch Socialist, was absolutely mortified when, at the age of eighteen that I announced I was going to vote Conservative. He launched into a lecture of how he and my mother had worked hard to make sure that I, and my siblings, had a good education, and 'this is how you repay us'. This made me smile because I knew, my mother, unbeknown to him, voted Conservative, however, to save the peace let him think she was of the same political persuasion as him.
I did point out to my Father, that the very reason he'd had made sure I'd had a good education was the very reason that I was able to form my own political opinions and not to be swayed by his assumed family tradition of voting labour. he harrumphed a bit but eventually we agreed to differ.

A few years later when he was managing a large printing works and having had several 'wild cat strikes' on his hands, he, according to my Mother, 'saw the light', and changed his vote to Conservative. he never did tell me about his change of heart. A lovely, kind but rather proud man was my Father.

Talk about a leopard changing his spots!

There....Rant over...I look forward to your comments my dear Blogging Chums!

54 comments:

  1. I am so sorry about your troubles. Times are rather depressing at the moment aren't they?

    But most especially I hope your health improves soon!

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  2. A great post.

    I too am sorry about your predicament.

    Try to hang in there - the property market has to level out at a point which is relative to what you want to downsize to. This will probably take about six months to a year from what I'm reading.

    And your health. Poor you. I can tell from your writing that you're down, way down from your usual ebullient self.

    Thinking about you both.

    xx

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  3. Hello Cherrypie:
    Thanks for your kind words. Yes, indeed these are depressing times and the last thing anybody with 'health issues' needs is financial worries too.
    Just reading through my post I do sound rather morose.
    We decided to cancel our Anniversary holiday this year and sit tight until things improve....Won't do any harm really...I feel rather selfish now when looking at people who are really in poverty.
    To allieviate my guilt I am going to send a donation to Oxfam....

    There, I feel better already!
    Di.xx

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  4. Hi Electro, Thankyou too for your kind words. on reading my post i do really sound rather glum but today i am feeling so much brighter but thanks any way.
    We will all have to 'batten down the hatches and draw our horns in'.....
    We've decided not to go away for our anual anniversary celebration but are going to visit our darling Daughter kirsten and her Husband Dean and of course our fab grandchildren Molly and Freddie....Can't wait...Dean cooks a pretty mean Steak with Bennaise sauce...
    We will go to our fav. The Inn at Whitewell in Feb. for my Birthday. Who knows, we may just have another Winter Wonderland..like last year.

    love Di.xxx

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  5. Hi Trubes - it's bad everywhere. I woke up to the news this morning that the market here in Canada has dropped terribly - again! And yesterday I received my statements and found I've lost thousands! But my house is paid for and like many, are hanging in there to stay the course waiting while things straighten out.
    And no date yet re my surgery! So frustrating. Thx for your concern. You hang in there, too, re your health. Now I have to go take all my morning meds! Blah

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  6. Trubes - ...but on the bright side you were not born Sarah MacCauley. I mean to saym just imagine.....

    Seriously, your losses on the "blue chip" portfolio is awful: I have a highly speculative pension so expect disaster - you do not. Could you get away for a week or two or preferably three to somewhere near but far, say Brittany/Normandy? Think of the saucisson, the excellent fromage and of course the apple beverages. Plus some great towns too - Paris is a day trip.


    This looks divine:

    http://tinyurl.com/5xtck3

    We might even head over there ourselves!

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  8. I am sure that your troubles are only relative, trubes. There is hardly a man standing who has not had an eyewatering revaluation over the past month. Even Gerald Grosvenor has lost a third of his billions, marked to market.

    The great thing is to carry on regardless, find those terrific wines for a fiver which, when decanted, smell and taste like dinner party claret, and to remain cheery, notwithstanding those long dark teatimes of the soul that visit us all.

    If we fail to entertain our friends at these times, we are a net addition to the gloom. I aim to be a net reliever of gloom...

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  9. "up to my eyes in prescibed drugs"

    It's the strictly unprescribed drugs that do it for me.....

    Far out.

    In fact, the further out the better.

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  10. So sorry you've been having a difficult time, Trubes :-( Poor health is just the worst, far worse than debt. But on the subject of finance - if you can possibly help it then don't do what my folks did in the market slump in the 80's; panic and sell. they lost nearly everything yet the market picked up again if they'd just held on.

    Have you looked at the 'House Doctor' aspect of selling your property? Although the market is slow at the mo.

    best luck trubeywan xx

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  11. Trubes, I am so sorry. Elby winces about his pension every time the fste shrinks. I don't have one so will presumably have to live on my wits till the end. I have started hoarding acupuncture needles (the very best quality) so you know where to come for a treatment. I'll swap for a tasty casserole...

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  12. Trubes...being a conservative on merseyside is a thankless task is it not?...I come from a very socialist family..for 20 years I got to vote for my own cousin over in Scotland exchange...or should I say I was supposed to!...anyway..chin up...perhaps boy cameron can stop the ship sinking as fast as it is.

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  13. I can't add much apart from I hope things turn out just about OK. My grandmother was born into quite a wealthy family and married well. My dad grew up in quite comfortable surrounding and they both lived off the inheritance from her husband who died when my dad was young. Then came the 70s and my gran's wealth was reduced to zero over a very short period, by the >100% taxation levied by the socialist government, inflation and the failure of many of the businesses in which her money was invested. She died massively in debt.

    All this talk of "fairness" and "social justice" we hear from the left is just spite, hatred and class war.

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  14. dear trubes...i am sorry you are having troubles now...it's not always fair and when you plan your whole life for something, seems that it should be there when you need it...however my dear friend...it is there...money comes and goes (i did learn that one the hard way) but your love for each other is the glue that will hold you together...sometimes things happen for a reason...sometimes we get so complacent in our happiness that we take it for granted...i am hoping that this financial woe will soon be alleviated from your problem base...i truly do because i know how stressful it can be...but my dear trubes never forget how truly special you are and the great blessing the both of you have which many will never have...all my love, Lisa

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  15. What a good post.

    I don't want to worry you further but I gather that under the new terror legislation laws 2009 there is to be a "we are allowed to just grind them down" amendment.

    don't let them.

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  16. Strange angry person! My be to come on my blog and buy moonpies? Very good and cheap!

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  17. Hi Leslie; Good to hear from you, sorry you still havn't got a date for you back operation.
    I guess we will just sit tight and limit our outgoing until the financial storm subsides!
    It is, however, so irksome when one puts ones money into what is generally considered a safe place, only to find it has lost most of the market value when it is most needed.
    Nevermind, we have our home and family and enjoy all the trapping around us. Just can't enjoy a holiday for a while without dipping into the dwindling funds.

    Keep smiling my friend,
    Hugs. Di.xx

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  18. Hi Tuskers, good to hear from you...Sarah Palin's a strange one isn't she, i can't really fathom her out.
    I have a sister who lives in Brittany so we may visit her soon....Good idea eh....We've got relatives in some rather nice places to visit so there is something to look forward too and they can visit us (as long as they bring their own food and wine, the Hertfordshire crew are a greedy lot)!
    We are not selling any stocks, just sitting tight until the crisis passes. I do hope your pension recovers.
    The thought of all the smug Politicians with their inflated gilt edged pensions and pay makes one incandescent with rage....Ooooh dear I'm still cross!

    Di.x

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  19. Hi Idle, thanks for dropping by. poor old Gerald my heart bleeds for him! At least he's got some family jewellery to sell...
    Nevermind cut backs are in order...Duckling in cherry sauce, washed down with a Chilean Chiraz for supper tonight and a home made fruit crumble.
    As you say 'all things are relative'.

    It is times like this good to know that one is not alone in these matters.

    Hugs returned from Scouseland!
    Di.xx

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  20. hello Unsworth I could do with a bit of thewacky stuff!
    Anyway welcome to my site sorry to induct you on such a gloomy note, ii am usually a cheerful little soul, nevermind it is quite therapeutic having a good old grumble.

    Di.

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  21. Hello Phillipa,
    Lovely to hear from you. Everyones' kind words have cheered me so much.
    We are not selling any stock just reducing our out goings and using savings for holidays at present, which, rather selfishly, I so enjoy.
    Will have a look at the House Doctor, although we,re not in a desperate rush to sell just yet, and hopefully when we do, the market will have recovered.

    Hope all is well down your way.
    hugs. Di.xx

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  22. Hi Lils, Thanks for dropping by. I hope Elby's pension recovers, should do in a couple of years...small comfort to know we are not the only ones in the boat!
    Still have a roof over our heads and food in the fridge...and Chloe (cat) still has prawns each day..though we may ask her to catch a mouse occasionally. te he!

    Love to y'all and of course Pig .xx

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  23. Welcome home Thud, good to hear from you.
    Yes Conservatives are a bit thin on the ground on Merseyside, but i am actively involved in changing that. After having met David Cameron and a few other leading people in the party i am convinced they will turn things around.
    We are just sitting tight until thing improve.
    Hope your little princess is well, all our lovely grandchildren are. Just seeing them warms my heart and soon makes me forget my troubles.

    Di.xx

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  24. Hello Blue eyes, good to hear from you. So sad your grandma lost everything in her dotage. As i keep saying we just have to wait until things improve.
    I loathe the spite filled hateful socialists, they are just to stupid to believe that there will always be someone richer or cleverer than you...I treat people as they are, not who they are and indeed what they have or havn't got.

    Di.xx

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  25. Dear Daisy; (Lisa),
    Thankyou for your kind words, you have cheered me up no end.
    Today I feel so much better after reading all the lovely comments on my site.

    Much love and hugs,

    Di.xx

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  26. Hello Bill Quango and welcome to the world of Trubes,
    Sorry that your first visit has started on such a low note but I appreciate you kind words.
    I frequently read your comments across the sites and have a lot of regard for them, we need more like you to sort the 'Buggers' out...keep up the good work!
    Di.x

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  27. Mu Tai Dong:
    You will have to excuse me, but my chinese is very lacking, although, I can read the menu from our local take-away and can cook a pretty Beef in black bean sauce!
    Got any jobs going in your place? Oh, and I do vely good flied rice...hope you uns=derstand my Cantonese.

    Does Hitchy visit your shop with his friend eve from the garden of Eden by chance? Ooooh we do miss him! I wonder if eve has completed her medical training?
    Welcome to my site BTW>

    Di.

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  28. @ Trubes

    Thanks for your courtesy.

    I think being cheerful can be a very good thing - in others. By contrast it's being so bleeding angry that keeps me going. Each to his/her own, I guess.

    Around here everyone speaks fluent Chinese - "two portions of 27, one 32 and a side of 43 to carry out".

    I wish you well - and cheerful.

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  29. It's a very sad state of affairs...I have been hearing similar stories like yours a lot lately....I don't think it is the political party per se that affects the state of things...it's the dim wits in the power seat that are such morons that they can't keep things running...but you know what...their pensions will all be just fine.....

    Sorry to hear you are having such a bad time but it is nice to see you posting again...

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  30. Unsworth:
    Thanks for your comments again, you made me laugh.
    Di.x

    Hello Smalltown,
    Good to hear from you again and thanks for your comments. I must say how comforted I am after reading all the kind and constructive comments on my blog.
    I really enjoy reading your blog and will be calling by later...you certainly live in a beautiful part of the world...Hope you are keeping well.

    Di.x

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  31. Look on the bright side, Trubes, you could be an Everton supporter.

    Oops!

    Seriously - it's good to see you back in the blogging world again and I'm sorry to hear that your health hasn't been good of late.

    I think that, like everyone else here, I'm taking the stoic view of the economy and believing that "things will work out" eventually.

    Not because governments make things work out but because ordinary people have a talent for muddling along.

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  32. Lakelander: That was a bit mean re Everton when you know I'm a 'true blue'. Nevermind we will, as you say,'muddle along'.I'm still baffling medical science with the pemphigoid thingy so still taking the vile steroids..causing weight gain , a face like a bullfrog and horrid mood swings...DT has never played so much golf.
    Good to hear from you and thanks for your comments.

    Di.x

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  33. Don't know how I missed this Trubes...I'm sorry you're getting this low, I think most people are really, and I don't believe a word of any government propaganda about how good the#re doing to make it all better.

    What really annoys me is that the party of business - the Tory lot, are just sitting around mumbling 'yes' to everything, and are not doing anything to put up an alternative case for a solution.

    I fear it all comes down to the fact that such generous expenses, salaries and pensions just obviate any attitude other than smugness in our political wasteland of talents.

    I wouldn't trust anything people like Alan Sugar say if I was paid to! Their world is far, far away from that of mortals.

    Anyway, cheer up - we're all here still; the right side of the grass eh...?

    ps. how did you know I'd visited but not commented? Thanks anyway!

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  34. Hello Scrobbles my old chum; You've commented at last, lovely to hear from you and thanks for your kind words; My Rheumatoid'flare up' seems to have settled down, so I'm feeling tons better, we went out last night for a lovely meal at our daughter's home and will be going out again today for lunch so that's an improvement.
    It tells you on your site under your 'friends and relatives' list on the left hand side who you've have visited and when etc.

    Hope all are well at Scroblene Turrets.

    love n hugs Di.xx

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  35. Good to meet you Trubes. I am so sorry to hear about your health problems but this was a wonderful post and I quite agree. Dont mention politiicans in this house!

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  36. My Grandparents House was a Polling Station in the town of Collingwood.

    My Grandfather and Grandmother were Tory. My Aunt and Uncles were Liberal and my Mother bless her voted CCF.

    So we had a sign for each and every Party on the Front Lawn.

    Democracy at it's best. Made for some lively Dinner conversations.

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  37. Hello Flowepot;
    Good to meet you too, and thankyou so much for your kind words.
    When Gordon Brown appointed himself as our PM, Darling Trubes, my husband, heaved a sigh of relief because he assumed that I would stop ranting about Tony Blair. I even thought Brown may be the better of two evils and I do quite like his wife, so unlike the vile Mrs Blair.
    How wrong I was.
    Brown's governance is even worst than Blair's..
    Lord knows what state this Country of ours will be in when they are eventually kicked out...they're dragging us all down with them..
    It will take years to recover.
    oops another rant..
    Anyway, Flowerpot welcome to the world of Trubes, I'm usually more light hearted than this., honest!
    I enjoy reading your site BTW.

    Di.x

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  38. Hello Tarf, Good to hear from you.
    I like the sound of your very democratic family...if only we could have an equal balance like that here...I truly have respect for others political views, apart from this terrible government, we have here in the UK. They have lied and cheated their way into power, i can't believe people can be so naive to believe all they say and do.
    It's like having Joe Stalin in power...frightening but true.

    Di.xx

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  39. Trubells, see Lils post re Desert Song...

    (Didn't you have a part in that once...?)

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  40. Scobbles of course I did have a part in the musical 'Desert Song'...I was the most beautiful blue-eyed blonde haired, long legged, baby camel..I have the pictures, if only I knew how to show them on my blog...

    Just celebrating Pippy's birthday

    Hic hic xx

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  41. Oh I love the desert song - all those riffs and blue heaven and you and I and sand kissing a moonlit sky, the desert breeeze....

    can't remember the rest but it was John Hanson wasn't it? He was on the generation game once.

    I've made my blog like Daisers so will add yuo Trubes and Scrobs if you want to email me?

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  42. Good to hear from you Pippy...I seem to have lost your e-mail address so will you ask Electro for it as I don't want to publish it on my site...I'll let kevin know.

    Di.xx

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  43. I saw one of your comments on Electrical Kev's blog and put it as the main post on my blog. Hope you are not put out by that thingy. I loves you.

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  44. Hello Ron Knee:
    Thankyou for your kind words and welcome to the world of Trubes;
    I am truly honoured that you have chosen to quote my comments from Electro Kevin's site on your site.

    Di.x

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  45. Have emailed you, Trubeywan.

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  46. Trubes, luv: JUST THIS ONCE AND JUST FOR YOU...

    YOUR HONOUR IS BEING IMPUGNED CHEZ IDLE (23 OCT). YOU NEED TO GET OVER THERE (AND TAKE YOUR DANCING SHOES WITH YOU).

    NOW!!

    PS: Grandad and I are still around peeking here and there, but usually keeping our opinions and comments to ourselves these days. But I felt you needed a bit of moral support on this one. Us lassies must stick together. Go get him, the cad!!

    PPS: No need to respond to me.

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  47. Hi Trubes *waves*, sorry to hear you won't be travelling to the smoke but I hope we can meet up sometime. How's things?

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  48. Hi Phillipa:
    Good to hear from you and I do hope you had a lovely time with your
    'babies' at half-term.
    I still see my 'girls' as babies even then they are nearly older than me. Ha ha!

    I would dearly like to meet up with everyone but, until the health issues are sorted, it's just not viable at present.

    Maybe next time!

    lOVE TO YOU ALL XX

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  49. Trubes...I hope everything is well with you...looking forward to your next post.

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  50. Hell Thud, good to hear from you, all is well in Trubeland, thanks.
    Will be cobbling together another little yarn shortly.
    Hope you and Mrs T and your darling little Princess are well.x

    Di.x

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  51. Looking forward to your next post :-)

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  52. I'm sorry to hear about your troubled times too. So many of us are suffering. But good health comes first. Take care.

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  53. Hi Blue Eyes, good to hear from you again. I am indeed working on my new post which I am pleased to say will be more light hearted than this one!

    Di.xx

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  54. Hello Ellee,
    Thanks for your comments, good to hear from you.
    These are, indeed, worrying times for us all.
    I don't know how Gordon Brown sleeps at night....then again he probably doesn't, according to all reports!

    Di.x

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I usually like to reply to your comments but for some reason when i do post a reply it just diappears, any advice would be most welcome,Thanks Di x

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