AS: Tea and biscuits and GIN, the British thread

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  • I’m with the others,Piglet. I am sorry you did not get that job, but really! The way you have been treated is dreadful. Rude and totally disorganised. You are better off out of there.
  • NenyaNenya Shipmate
    Oh, that's horrible, Piglet. I'm very sorry.
  • Such idiotic and insensitive behaviour on their part!
    Sorry Piglet
  • Bugger. So sorry, Piglet.
  • PigletPiglet All Saints Host, Circus Host
    Thanks for all your collective outrage!
  • MMMMMM Shipmate
    Piglet, I've been following the saga from afar. What a downright shabby way to treat you.

    MMM
  • Sarasa wrote: »
    Oh Piglet, but it sounds like a place you wouldn't want to work anyway if they are that disorganised that one set of people can offer you a job without checking with the other set first. [...]
    Commiserations, Piglet. What other Shippies say. Sarasa hits the nail (of what might be their proverbial coffin) on the head. - Working there sounds very unhealthy!
  • Sorry about the job piglet. Then again, would you really want to work for a outfit like that?
  • Well, it would certainly be a challenge....

    ...but, as others have said, perhaps you're best out of it. Another, wider, better door will open.

    IJ
  • PigletPiglet All Saints Host, Circus Host
    You may be right, but it would have been a way in, and it may have been my misunderstanding as much as their disorganisation.

    As it was the nearest to a job offer I've had since moving here (and we really could do with the money) it's a bit disheartening. I've applied for a couple more jobs (one at the university, but a different faculty), so we'll see.

    In other news, we're going out of town this afternoon to have supper at the cottage of a couple of friends and stsy overnight, which should be jolly.
  • SipechSipech Shipmate
    Fiddlesticks! Anyone here good at living on a budget?
    Started a new job in July, got paid (higher salary than the old one) fine. Now, in the 2nd month of employment, they've changed my tax code. It was a nice, standard 1185L, but now it's D0, which is a flat 50% from everything.
    Upshot is, my net pay this month is 45% short of what I expected. Once I take off my rent and bills I'm left with...nada. The office is 5 miles from the office, so it looks like I'll be walking each way as the bus is now too expensive. It'll also be a month of prayer and fasting.
    Am trying to get an answer out of HR to see if they can make any amendments for this payroll period, but I'm not optimistic.
  • I doubt HR will be able to change your tax code: thesee things are handed down from the Taxman so it's probably best to ask him (or her) the whys and wherefors. I'd suggest it is because your projected income is now a good deal more than it was before, so the only way they can see enogh tax being collected is to ramp up the rate.
  • SipechSipech Shipmate
    I've just spoken with HMRC. New place was prompt in getting me started, but old employer didn't send the P45 promptly, so HMRC thought there was an overlap and I had two jobs.

    They've said they've corrected the code, but it won't get processed until next month. So I can't afford to eat for a month, after which I'll get a quasi-bonus.
  • BoogieBoogie Shipmate
    Sipech wrote: »
    I've just spoken with HMRC. New place was prompt in getting me started, but old employer didn't send the P45 promptly, so HMRC thought there was an overlap and I had two jobs.

    They've said they've corrected the code, but it won't get processed until next month. So I can't afford to eat for a month, after which I'll get a quasi-bonus.

    That’s something.

    Is there a food bank near you?
  • SipechSipech Shipmate
    There is, but that's not really an option. Consider the fact that I'm in full time work. Firstly, the foodbanks are generally only open for a couple of hours during working hours. Secondly, I would need a referral from somewhere like a job centre, which I have no need of nor could I access.
  • Can you borrow a bike from any of your work mates for the month? To help with the commute?

    Jack Monroe's website on how to cook on a shoestring - Bootstrap Cook - and a minimal bank loan?
  • SipechSipech Shipmate
    Wouldn't dare cycle. Not only have I not been on a bike in over 10 years, but the route to work takes me through some notorious hotspots for cycling deaths.
  • finelinefineline Kerygmania Host, 8th Day Host
    Sipech, yes, I live on a budget. It is possible to live on very little for food - especially if you go to the supermarket in the evening when food is reduced because it’s reached its use by date. Fruit and veg lasts longer than its date, and you can freeze meat, fish and bread. There is a Facebook group called ‘Feed yourself for £1 a day,’ which has lots of tips. As for bills, there is often a system where you can phone and defer the payment in some way - for instance, I think they do not cut off your water if you don’t pay it for a few months. I used to simply forget to pay mine, and they would send threatening letters, and then I would phone and pay, late, and it was all fine. I live on a very tiny income and it is possible.
  • finelinefineline Kerygmania Host, 8th Day Host
    Also you may find a colleague lives near you and could give you a lift, at least part of the way. Though a five mile walk is doable if you’re relatively fit - I’ve walked a five mile commute to and from work in the past, and preferred it to taking the bus. Can’t do it now because of health problems, so I appreciate not everyone can do it. It helps if you can find a nice route, through woods or along a stream.
  • finelinefineline Kerygmania Host, 8th Day Host
    Sipech, another thought occurred to me. If this is just for a month, and next month will be fine again, why not get a credit card and use it to buy food and a bus pass for a month? Then you don’t have to pay it for another month. Or if you don’t want a credit card, get a bank account that lets you have an overdraft. You can get bank accounts that let you do that, say an allowance of an overdraft of up to £1000 and you don’t have to pay for such an account. You just pay a bit of interest on overdrafts, but it’s not much at all.
  • Actually, the idea of a small overdraft is sensible, as long as you don't overdo it. It does give room for manoeuvre, which seems to be what you require just now (as well as more £££ generally, of course!).

    Your own bank may well offer such a facility, I guess.

    Best wishes.
    :wink:
  • fineline wrote: »
    Sipech, another thought occurred to me. If this is just for a month, and next month will be fine again, why not get a credit card and use it to buy food and a bus pass for a month? Then you don’t have to pay it for another month. Or if you don’t want a credit card, get a bank account that lets you have an overdraft. You can get bank accounts that let you do that, say an allowance of an overdraft of up to £1000 and you don’t have to pay for such an account. You just pay a bit of interest on overdrafts, but it’s not much at all.

    This is what I was going to suggest. I've had a period of my income going from not much to sod all and using a credit card to push back food bills has been essential. Bearing in mind I hate debt, pay everything off each month and don't really like paying for things with plastic, it's a pretty efficient method short term if you're able.


  • Indeed it is (I know whereof I speak), but it does require a modicum of discipline. Not implying that you haven't got that, but just saying....

    IJ
  • Oh yes, that's why I usually prefer cash for day to day stuff. You can see exactly what is disappearing from your purse.
  • Just so. You should see the look on their faces when I produce folding £££ at the Co-Op or Tesco checkouts!

    IJ
  • PigletPiglet All Saints Host, Circus Host
    If they're going to correct the cock-up in your next month's salary, then I'd go with the temporary overdraft option. It's not going to be for long, and you can't be expected to do your job properly if you've had to walk five miles to get there.
  • Sipech, I hope you can get something sorted soon. (Btw,I see from your profile we share the same birthplace).
    Greenbelt day, I’m off to stay in a noisy field. See you all next week.
  • PigletPiglet All Saints Host, Circus Host
    Have fun, Heavenlyannie - I hope you get some decent weather for it!

  • finelinefineline Kerygmania Host, 8th Day Host
    Bishop's Finger and Arachnid, I sometimes use a budgeting app, where you give yourself a specific monthly budget for various categories, like food, transport, bills, pleasure, etc., and then you keep track of everything you spend and make sure you don't overspend, whether it's by cash or card. Also you can make a savings category to make sure you have some put aside for emergencies. I weirdly enjoy budgeting - I like finding ways to spend less and I like the charts on the app showing me how much I've spent in each category and how much I have left.

    I went blackberry picking in the woods today and yesterday - the woods are full of blackberries and no one seems to pick them, and they are delicious free food. I put them in freezer bags and freeze them, and make blackberry porridge for my breakfast.

  • Blackberry and Apple PIE, too, of course?
    :grin:

    IJ
  • finelinefineline Kerygmania Host, 8th Day Host
    People always say I should make blackberry crumble, but I actually don't really like puddings and pies. I just make blackberry porridge and blackberry and banana oat cookies. Or I have them uncooked in fruit salad with yogurt. I've never made a pie - I don't think I know how to!
  • Well, fair enough - you're not obliged to cook PIE if you don't like it!
    :wink:

    My Old Mum used to make a wonderful B & A PIE - flaky, melty, buttery pastry...
    :love:

    Blackberries in fruit salad with yoghurt are also good, as I've recently discovered.

    IJ
  • FirenzeFirenze Shipmate, Host Emeritus
    You could also put them in a bottle with sugar and either gin or vodka.
  • finelinefineline Kerygmania Host, 8th Day Host
    Blackberries and gin does sound rather good.
  • PigletPiglet All Saints Host, Circus Host
    I'm very partial to blackberries with ice-cream. Sadly, we have to buy the blackberries, as I don't think they grow locally.
  • finelinefineline Kerygmania Host, 8th Day Host
    Ah, yes, I remember when I was in Canada, I was surprised never to see blackberries growing. Though where I was, I didn't even see them in the supermarkets. Wherever I've lived in the UK, I have seen them everywhere, like weeds, and especially now I live near woods.
  • Down here blackberries are classed as a noxious weed because they take over pasture. Farmers are compelled by law to spray them. This means that collecting is difficult as spraying is not always obvious. Pastures Protection local Boards inspect on occasions. The thorny bushes give good protection to small birds but also to plenty of snakes.
  • neandergirlneandergirl Shipmate
    edited August 2018
    Blackberries grew wild in the areas region of Eastern Canada I spent my childhood in, but not in the same abundance as blueberries, partridgeberries, raspberries, or even bakeapples/cloudberries. Tiny wild strawberries too - although those only in very specific spots. We picked bakeapples and blueberries to sell, and made turnovers, pies and jams out of what we didn't eat outright of the rest.
  • PigletPiglet All Saints Host, Circus Host
    Bakeapple jam was regarded as a great delicacy in Newfoundland; it's expensive, as you only get one berry per plant. I have to say I could take it or leave it - I'd really prefer jam made from raspberries or blackcurrants.

    Now I come to think about it, we did get blackberries a few weeks ago from a fruit-and-veg stall at the foot of the road, and I suppose they must have been local, even if "farmed". They were very good as I recall - must look out for them again.

    We're planning on going to the farmers' market tomorrow to get some fresh corn-cobs - there's a farm here that grows them hydroponically, and they're absolutely to die for - indescribably better than anything we've ever had from the supermarket - and you only need to cook them until they're warm enough to melt the butter.
  • Partridgeberries? You must have some strange game-birds in your neck of the woods; the British variety lay eggs!
  • PigletPiglet All Saints Host, Circus Host
    :mrgreen:

    Partridgeberries or lingonberries make very nice jam - because they're very tart, they can stand up to the amount of sugar that jam-making needs.
  • There's all sorts of magic in the bogs and on the barrens ....

  • ....much of which appears to be capable of being turned into GIN.

    Or JAM.

    Or SOUP.

    God is good....
    :grin:

    IJ
  • Amen :smile:
  • @Sipech, don’t give up the Foodbank as a possibility - if your local one is anything like the one here (“We don’t think anyone in our community should have to face going hungry“) then you’ll find they are pragmatic and only too pleased to help, regardless of referral or opening times. If they really need a referral then I’m sure they can help by suggesting which agency can help you, working around your availability. The Trussell Trust website can help you find your local Foodbank.

    So, I’m back on board after a brief break away, trying to remember my password!
  • daisydaisy wrote: »
    [...] So, I’m back on board after a brief break away, trying to remember my password!
    Welcome back, daisydaisy! And, did you remember your password?

  • PigletPiglet All Saints Host, Circus Host
    I know it's not reckoned to be very wise, but my passwords for almost everything are more-or-less the same. They mean something to me, but wouldn't mean much to anyone else, so I suppose in that sense they're as secure as the next person's.

    I'm waiting for some loaves to rise; as I was very short of white flour, they've got a higher than usual proportion of brown, and when I took the dough out of the machine, it felt very heavy.

    I hope I'm not making a load of bricks ... :neutral:
  • finelinefineline Kerygmania Host, 8th Day Host
    I've never made proper bread before. I think the whole concept of yeast confuses me, as I've never used it, and it seems complicated. But I like to make flat bread with self-raising flour and yogurt. Yesterday I experimented and made some blackberry flatbread by adding the blackberry and oat mix I'd made to yogurt and flour. It was rather nice. I melted cheese on top.
  • PigletPiglet All Saints Host, Circus Host
    Believe me, the concept of yeast confuses me too - why would a recipe for a bigger loaf require less yeast than a small one? I just add it and hope for the best.

    I've come to the conclusion that yeast is actually made from microscopic pixies, and whether the bread comes out well depends on their mood ... :mrgreen:
  • finelinefineline Kerygmania Host, 8th Day Host
    Ha, you're the first person not to try to convince me that making bread is oh-so-easy and I should just try it! :lol: Now I feel justified in my wariness of yeast!
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