Ed Vaizey

57 responses to “I should be so lucky…”

1. Sue said on December 8th, 2007 at 3:02 pm:

   Brilliant Ed, simply brilliant

   And not a single thing for me to complain about as it’s all “LOCAL” - YAY

   By the way, you don’t happen to have Jason Donovan’s address do you? I need a place to stay next month when the repair work is done on my (flooded) house, and am having trouble finding anywhere - I thought Jason might have a spare room!!! (Kids?, what kids? They can stay at the house with hubby!!)

2. Tizzy said on December 8th, 2007 at 4:45 pm:

   You think she’s the only one that’s got sugar? Honey, I can offer fructose, glucose and lactose, with whipped cream and a cherry on top.

3. Marquee Mark said on December 9th, 2007 at 12:27 am:

   On culture, don’t forget that we also have the last resting place of the writer who has sold the second greatest number of books on earth. And second is not exactly anything to be ashamed of - okay, the top slot is held by a one-hit wonder who wrote nothing else - but then, how does God top his seminal work, the Bible?

   So respect, please, to Dame Agatha Christie - in Cholsey Churchyard.

4. Marquee Mark said on December 9th, 2007 at 12:30 am:

   Tizzy, just don’t offer us soft Brown. Having soft Brown in No.10 is enough!

5. Sue said on December 9th, 2007 at 2:12 am:

   Excellent point Marquee Mark - but Dame Agatha is not the only literary person to be associated with this area:-

   Sir John Betjeman, Poet Laureate, lived for a time in Wantage.

   The Church of St Peter and St Paul, in Wantage, contains tombs of the Fitzwarren family into which Dick Whittington - four times Lord Mayor of London - married.

   Tom Brown’s School Museum is housed in the 380 year-old schoolroom in Uffington, which featured in the book “Tom Brown’s School Days”.

   St. Mary’s School in Wantage (alas no longer here) was supposedly the inspiration for the books and films of St. Trinians!

   And it might be worth reminding Kylie that some cute racing drivers pop in now and then to the Williams, F1 building in Grove.

   And Tizzy, I’m in shock!!

6. canvas said on December 9th, 2007 at 3:03 pm:

   Ed, if Kylie is hoping for some privacy in Didcot - then you best not scare her away!

   Perhaps you could arrange a blind date for Kylie with one of your friends? Apparently, Kylie is conducting an online manhunt on Soulmates website.

   http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/lostinshowbiz/2007/11/kylies_online_man_hunt.html

   The only local celebs that I have in my hood are Jamie Oliver and Germaine Greer. LoL

7. Tizzy said on December 9th, 2007 at 5:06 pm:

   Charlie Brooker, Dick Francis, Kenneth Grahame can be added, too. I may have a trawl later to see who else I can find.

   As a toddler I sat on Betjeman’s knees and he bounced me up and down, though I have only a very vague memory of this and depended on my parents reminding me when I was older.

8. Ezra said on December 10th, 2007 at 11:23 am:

   George Orwell, born Eric Blair, is buried in Sutton Courtenay churchyard, along with former Prime Minister H.H.Asquith.

   But none of this has anything to do with Didcot, which remains hideous and a cultural desert. Hardly surprising given that it is little more than a settlement on a railway junction.

   Historian Hugh Trevor-Roper (Lord Dacre) lived in the Old Rectory in Didcot until his death in 2003.

9. canvas said on December 10th, 2007 at 9:45 pm:

   So, in The Londoner’s Diary, in the London Evening Standard, this ‘open letter to Kylie’ gets a rather large mention…

   Ed, I hope you are prepared to give Kylie a private tour of Didcot…look what you’ve started…

   :)

10. Tizzy said on December 11th, 2007 at 12:03 am:

    Mmmm, LES, eh?

    Mrs G Brown happened to let it slip to the editor of the LES, via her friend Ms Lette, that she and hubby had dined with Kylie earlier this year in an attempt to up his profile.

    Nope, not even Kylie can do that.

11. Sue said on December 12th, 2007 at 11:17 pm:

    Hey, Ed, have you had a reply from Kylie yet?

12. canvas said on December 16th, 2007 at 11:13 am:

    Ed, Did you see Kylie on the X-Factor? LoL

    Ed, I do wish that you more consistent with your blogging. How you expect to build a loyal blog community without showing some commitment and dedication?

    It goes both ways. Interaction and consistency makes for a good blog. Come on, play the game!

    My mother used to say to me - if you can’t do something properly then don’t do it at all.

13. Tizzy said on December 16th, 2007 at 5:40 pm:

    Poor Rhyd - he was robbed.

    Apropos my comment above, have you seen the pics of Admiral West with Ms Lette?

14. Sue said on December 17th, 2007 at 3:41 pm:

    Rhydian certainly was robbed - by none other than Ms Kylie Minogue. Ed, I hope you’re ashamed of yourself!! Oh, wait, it’s not your fault, but you’re my MP, so I’ll blame you. Or Gordon Brown. Or Darling Alistair….it certainly wasn’t my fault even though I didn’t vote

    I am so fed up - thought I’d come on here for a moan. Was told last week that we have to move out of our house for the entire duration of the repairs, which will be something like 2 months. Trouble is, we can’t find anywhere to go. We can’t go to a bed and breakfast, cos there are no facilities for evening meals and the kids would go mental crowded into a little room for 2 months. We can’t rent anywhere, cos rentals are mostly for a year (6 months if you’re lucky). There’s nothing within Wantage or Grove that caters for things like this, which I suppose is a good sign in that it’s not normally needed. Anyway, we’re stuck, will probably have to hire a caravan, but even then I don’t know if it’ll work, cos we can’t park it in the street (or can we - Ed?) and there’s not much room to manoeuver (sp?) it behind our house where the garages are.

    Anyone got any (sensible) suggestions?

    In the meantime I’ll go back to moaning about how Rhydian was robbed of the X Factor title. How that pip-squeak of a karoake singer managed to win over someone with pure talent, well, I’m gobsmacked. Rhydian had everything - talent, the X factor, talent, was cute looking once they stopped bleaching his hair, has talent, oh, and can sing in tune Anyway, he’ll go on to do really well, and Leon will disappear without trace.

    I hate Christmas, especially this year. I should have gone all out and decorated the house as much as possible, but I’m too depressed to care, and the kids aren’t bothered, they just want their presents (and their home back to normal).

    Ed, are you ever going to blog again? Please come back, it’s lonely on here without you, and when you’re away we get to moan about stuff that you’re not interested in. You moaned on here, not long ago, that you weren’t getting any comments - now that you are, you’ve gone Stop dreaming about Kylie and come and talk to us!!

15. Tizzy said on December 17th, 2007 at 5:17 pm:

    2000+ years on and STILL no room at the inn.

    Possible actions:

    If you are moving out because there is a risk to your health, get on to the council and/or tell your insurers to sort a place out. Councils have statutory duties under certain conditions to you - especially when you tell them that you will not be paying your rates, suing them for a lack of duty of care for your kids and are reporting them immediately to the LA Ombudsman. Get on the phone to the CEO now, tell him/her that you’ll be naming and shaming on a number of forums and that your mate Ed will be round to look at their expense accounts.

    Have a chat with your boss (both of you). They’ll probably have contacts and clout.

    Ask Ed to have a chat with the University Land Agent - they’ll have various empty properties around the county. I’m afraid it’s been a long time since I was there so don’t have a name.

    Write to Richard Branson (I think he still has a pile near Kidlington). He’s well up for good publicity. Ditto Williams F1 team. In fact, any wealthy face you can get hold of asap. They are surprisingly helpful when you explain your position.

    That’s from the top of my head - if I think of anything else, I’ll put it up here.

    SOS - Save Our Sue! Please Ed, help. It’ll give you a warm, tingly feeling inside to know you’ve helped a family at this time of year.

16. Sue said on December 17th, 2007 at 6:20 pm:

    Thanks Tizzy!! I’ve been on to the Council to see if we can have permission to park a caravan in front of our house (not on the garden cos it’s too small and we have no driveway). Have sent them a Google Earth image of our street so they can see the layout - was told they’ll deal with it urgently, so will wait and see. Hubby thinks we’ll get it round the back of the house - maybe I just worry too much

    We’re having a meeting tomorrow with the builders etc and will get a start date (was told originally it would be 14th Jan, now we’re not so sure. I do know we’ll be at home for Christmas and the new year cos I refuse to move the kids during the “festivities”. I just want everything sorted this week if I can, cos I’ll only fret and worry about it over the holidays when nobody’s answering phones or doing any work!

    I guess I’m just having a bad day today - everything seems so overwhelming, and I know we’re not the only family going through this, but I think most families were more sensible than us, and moved out after the flood rather than 5/6 months later

    Hmmm, the last time I had a good cry over all this, Ed popped round - sob, sob

17. Tizzy said on December 17th, 2007 at 8:17 pm:

    In all honesty, give up on Christmas this year. Don’t put any more pressure on yourself than you need to. OK, the kids need their pressies but they’ll just have to go without the usual dinner, tree etc for this year. Put the money you save towards a January weekend break at EuroDisney - they’ll have something to look forward to, at least.

    I don’t understand the mentality of people you are dealing with; somebody should have been making things happen on your behalf a long time ago.

    Are you with Norwich Union, by any chance?

18. Sue said on December 18th, 2007 at 12:13 am:

    I have given up on Christmas - the kids will get lots of pressies, and we still have our cooker so can do a small roast dinner, but no tree, no decorations, I haven’t even had the ooomph needed to send any cards this year, it all seems so pointless, which is pathetic cos I love hearing from people at this time of year. I have decided, tho, to send out new year letters when I’m stuck in the caravan with nothing to do!!

    I waver between anger and confusion. Angry because no-one tells you what to do when you’re flooded. There’s no advice for dealing with the insurance companies (and mine isn’t NU), there’s no advice about how to prepare for the repair work to be done. I’m angry at myself as well, for not realising a few things several weeks ago which I’m only just realising now - things like arranging storage and removal of our furniture while the work is done, as well as sorting out somewhere to live.

    I’m angry at how long everything is taking. But then I have to remind myself that thousands of people were flooded at the same time as me, and they all want their homes repaired as quickly as I do……but then I see some homeowners who have their homes back, and I don’t know why them, why not me? Then I get angry for being so selfish, and then I just get totally pi**ed off with the whole thing and just want to hide in bed until it’s all over. I don’t know how I will ever cope if we’re flooded again. I just want my life back

19. Sue said on December 18th, 2007 at 12:23 am:

    Ignore my last post - I’m over-emotional!! And I’m so angry I couldn’t think of anything that I’m confused about (I said I was wavering between anger and confusion - guess I’m just angry!)

    The summer floods are big news right now because of reports out about how badly prepared we were as a country. I’m surprised that we should think of floods in the same way as the terrorist threat. For some people there is no defence.

    Just thought of something I’m confused about - why Ed has gone quiet and why the flipping clock still hasn’t been fixed on here

20. Sue said on December 18th, 2007 at 1:46 pm:

    Groan - it gets worse. We’ve just been told we need to empty the entire house and move out for up to 3 months So now I’ve got to find rented accommodation which will take pets and a smoker (tho he’ll smoke outside) and only for 3 months, whereas most rentals are 6 to 12 months. I can feel a migraine coming on!

21. Tizzy said on December 18th, 2007 at 5:06 pm:

    Sue, what exactly is your insurance situation ie what are they obligated to pay out and what is negotiable? Why do you have to move out (don’t write this here) - according to the reason the council may have to act on your behalf. Get the right reason in writing and the cooperation of your local councillor. I would think that you have children would get you some bonus points.

    To me, it seems you have been too nice and polite to too many people. Don’t beat yourself up, beat up those who clearly haven’t been doing their job.

    You have got to call in some favours now, even write an open letter to your local newspaper asking for help. Ask Ed to ring the University and have a chat as your best bet. I’m not talking about student accommodation but the many, many properties they rent out to visiting academics and their families etc and a lot are very nice indeed.

    Get your pets vaccinations up to date in case you have to put them into boarding (if vaccs are more than a year out of date, this will take 2-3 weeks). The insurance company should pick up the tab for this. Get some quotes in writing - one that you want them to go to and two other much more expensive ones.

    You are a non-smoking family, OK?

    Ring Ed now, please.

22. Sue said on December 18th, 2007 at 5:33 pm:

    Tizzy, you are so kind with all your help - it means a lot

    Things are looking a bit more hopeful - my loss adjustor phoned to say that she has contracted a company which specialises in emergency rehousing, to find us somewhere to live next month. We have to move out because the builders are being so thorough - they have to rewire the house and as the electrics come from upstairs, they have to remove plaster and floorboards in the bedrooms, so now we get the whole house redecorated (which, when it’s all over, will be absolutely fantastic!) They need to redo the floors downstairs as well, so it’s simply much easier for them if all the furniture is removed. We were prepared for clearing the downstairs and using a caravan during the day, but now that they have to work upstairs as well, the only option is to move into a rented house for 3 months.

    I can’t fault my insurance company (More Than), they’ve been really helpful all the way through. My loss adjustor said that if we can only get a 6 month rental, then that will be no problem.

    I really don’t think I need to bother Ed about this, the insurance company is working on it now (maybe they’ve been reading here and took the hint LOL) We won’t put our dog into kennels though, she comes with us or we don’t go - she’s fragile and means the whole world to us - I honestly think she would die if she was in kennels all day. I don’t work, she’s used to having me or hubby around the whole time. My husband said that he would camp out in the conservatory with the dog if necessary; we’ll sort something out.

    I just feel so exhausted by it all. I thought today I’d be able to confirm the removal date, storage dates and dates for hiring the caravan. Then I could sit back and try and enjoy Christmas.

    One thing I do know - if we don’t have anywhere to move into, the builders won’t be able to do the work. I guess I should just stop worrying so much. It’s not as if they can force us out if we have nowhere to go!

    Interestingly, I was chatting to one of the contractors today, and told him that I couldn’t bear the thought of living in a caravan for 3 months. I said that I realised lots of people have had to do that, but I’d find it too claustrophobic. He said that a lot of people are suffering from this very thing - an added nightmare to the aftermath of flooding. When I hear stories like that, I realise how well off we are!

23. Tizzy said on December 19th, 2007 at 2:27 am:

    Good grief, if that’s what you call ‘looking up’ you are definitely a half glass full person!

    Will you please keep logging your problems, however small they may seem to you, your feelings and, well, keep a sort of diary going here.

    Why? Others should be able to see what a typical family has to put up with when hit with flooding before this useless government implement building thousands of houses on known flood plains. They are bringing a whole new meaning to bog standard.

    There are effective measures they can put in place, yet the report from Sir Michael Pitt has upset those affected. This is a quote from the Telegraph:

    “There was some surprise that Sir Michael should in part blame homeowners for being flooded in the summer.

    MP Laurence Robertson, Conservative MP for Tewkesbury in Gloucestershire, said he found it “extraordinary” that the report appeared to put so much blame on the householder.

    Photographer Tim Aston, who will be spending Christmas in a caravan, said he was upset that the report implied that home owners should have done more.”
    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/12/17/nflood317.xml
    (it includes a link to the full report)

    Yeah, getting a torch will sort it.

    Even if you don’t do it here, write *everything* down and send YOUR report, with photos etc,to him (the linked report has the details of where you can send it up to end March).

    Trevor Baylis, inventor of the clockwork radio, lives on a small island in the Thames that is forever being flooded. He has come up with some fairly simple ideas to minimise the effects. One thing I remember he’s done, seeing that your house is being rewired, was to ask the electrician to ensure both the wiring and sockets are clear of the ground by some 3-4ft.

    Don’t forget to ask for your Part P (that’s another laugh - 2 years on and we still haven’t received ours!)

24. canvas said on December 19th, 2007 at 8:06 am:

    Still no blogging from Ed??!!

    What’s the point of saying you will post on a daily basis if you have no intention of doing that?

    ?

    :)

25. Sue said on December 19th, 2007 at 11:16 am:

    Yeah, I’ll keep blogging here, heck Ed isn’t, so I might as well!!

    It actually helps me to write things down.

    And I do try and see the positive in things, but the truth is that I’m thoroughly depressed and upset at having to move out of my home for so long and that we have to, effectively, move house twice in 3 months. Moving house is one of the most stressful things you can do, and we’ll have to do it twice, and I don’t want to do it at all. Everybody tells me how wonderful my home will be when it’s all finished, but I’d give anything for the flood not to have happened and to have my old shabby carpet and falling-apart sofa back - and to have my life back.

    I feel totally overwhelmed by it all, I look at the entire contents of my house and realise what a big job moving out is going to be. To be honest, I just cry whenever I think about it.

    That article you linked to in the Telegraph - another paper had a similar item and some people had commented on it. One bright spark said it was our fault because we “chose” to live in flood plains. I was so angry - I wrote a stinging reply, but they didn’t print it!

    I can’t deal with this right now - I’m going to wrap presents - should have done it sooner, as both kids are off school with tonsillitis I’m sure it’s because the house is so bitterly cold without carpet and just bare walls.

    Thanks Ed, for letting me take over your blog!!

26. Tizzy said on December 19th, 2007 at 6:49 pm:

    Maybe your reply to the idiot is waiting for moderation - common problem

    Really sorry to hear about the kids, on top of everything else. Any idea when your loss adjustor will find you a house? If they are picking up the bill for removals, ask if they will pay for the wrapping.

    Out of interest, did the council help clear the debris, free of charge? Also, ask them if they will refund/reduce your rates while you’re out of the house. Take meter readings of electricty etc, and charge usage to the insurance as part of building repairs. Don’t forget to ask BT to redirect your phone calls, ditto Royal Mail (any charges - yep, to the insurers). If they cover every loss then we’ll big them up here and elsewhere.

    Part of the problem with some local flooding is due to negligence by the council eg blocked drains, pipes etc, and the insurance companies are suing some of them. The council then track back to the reason for a blockage and sue those responsible (eg builders who dump cement).

    As said earlier, people should be doing their job, not blaming the householder. This government has set the gold standard for this attitude - not me, guv.

    Are you involved with any action group to ensure the council puts effective measures in place to minimise problems with future flooding?

    If I was you I, too, would be dreading the next few months. There will be a newly renovated home at the end of it but that hardly touches what huge stresses all of you have been under for months and still nothing to show for it.

27. Tizzy said on December 19th, 2007 at 6:51 pm:

    Quite tragic that all this should come under the title ‘I should be so lucky…’

28. Votedave said on December 20th, 2007 at 6:26 pm:

    Ed, when you next see David Cameron, could you ask him why the forums have been removed from Webcameron, and tell him we want them back?

    We’re not happy about it at all!

29. Tizzy said on December 20th, 2007 at 9:17 pm:

    Your boss has fracked up, Ed. Webcameron should NEVER have become wedded to the conservative home site. It’s pointless now.

    He should have put decent financial and labour resources into it instead of let it die like a parrot. Remember your debate this year on the switch to digital TV?

30. canvas said on December 20th, 2007 at 11:09 pm:

    What is it with Tory politicians!! ggrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

    They can’t blog properly!

    David Cameron just copped out bigtime. What a disappointment. DC just turned into ‘one of them’ - the politicians who talk - but they don’t listen!

    He better bring back the Webcameron forum quickly! Who on earth wants to watch those boring videos on Conservatives.com?!

    oh dear - DC has lost the plot - and Ed has gone AWOL.

    DC lost his mojo.

31. Sue said on December 21st, 2007 at 3:05 pm:

    Why is my post awaiting moderation? Who’s moderating it?

32. Sue said on December 21st, 2007 at 3:07 pm:

    This is weird, my last post has a note saying it’s awaiting moderation, and yet my very last post got through with no such comment.

    Is it because I put a couple of links in?

    If so, that sucks, cos if Ed is away it won’t be moderated till next year, the way things are going

33. Tizzy said on December 21st, 2007 at 6:28 pm:

    Which blog/forum, Sue? If you mean here, maybe there as been a directive sent from on high.

34. Sue said on December 21st, 2007 at 8:45 pm:

    It’s this blog Tizzy. I’m going to try again, I’ll remove one of the links, see if that works

    [b]copy of post waiting for moderation[/b]

    A couple of links about the long-term affects of flooding

    http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/humber/7152427.stm

    Tizzy, you asked me some questions, I’ll do my best to answer them.

    - Yes, the Council did clear debris free of charge, but they would only do one collection per household, so if we wanted them to take away the sopping wet and infested carpet, but hadn’t yet cleared everything else out, then we were stuck. However, our “renovation company” who were assigned to us by the Insurers, have been happy to come back countless times to collect flood damaged goods.

    - Apparently we don’t have to pay our Council Tax for the period we’re renting, but this is because we’ll have to pay it on the rented property. Any difference we’ll charge to the insurance company.

    - Good advice about meter readings etc. Thanks for the tip.

    - You said in a comment further back “Don’t forget to ask for your Part P” - What’s Part P?

    I’ve just received an information pack from the “Alternative Accommodation Agency”, and they can’t proceed until they have received our signed authorisation - well that won’t happen till after Christmas now, so it’s going to be another week or two before we hear if they’ve found a house for us.

    I think Ed might be on holiday, can’t think why else he’d leave his blog for so long. If he’s got any sense he’ll have gone somewhere sunny, and will soak up enough rays to help him cope with the long bleak winter.

    In the meantime, I’ll have a few days of not waiting for the phone to ring, of not constantly checking my emails to see if the Loss Adjustor has any news. A couple of days to be a couch potato and watch all the happiness on the soaps on t.v.

    On a more positive note, my kids, who were being home schooled, but who returned to formal schooling in September, have both got excellent reports, and my son’s French teacher even sent a letter home saying how good he is in class and how thrilled they are with his progress….That was more than enough to put the smile back on my face (but the tears are always under the surface )

35. Sue said on December 21st, 2007 at 8:47 pm:

    Looks like this blog doesn’t like more than one link at a time

    Here’s the other link I tried to post - about the floods

    http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/7143959.stm

36. Marquee Mark said on December 22nd, 2007 at 7:58 am:

    Perhaps Ed would care to confirm that he is not in fact dead - and so we don’t need to prepare for a by-election?!?

37. canvas said on December 22nd, 2007 at 12:57 pm:

    Dizzy sums up the death of Webameron perfectly in his blog.

    “2008 hails the death of WebCameron
    Oh dear. In May this year Webcameron was redesigned. The changes made a site that was quite free and open, restrictive. At the same time much of interactive functionality was removed. Now the site has been merged into the main Conservatives website instead. The forum has gone completely, and the functionality of commenting is basically a pile of crap.

    What started as an innovative and brave idea has been gradually reduced to the all too typical corporate malaise of banal discourse. Funny that it should happen as the polls start to become better and better and the need to control a message becomes ever more important. A quick look at the reaction to the change tells you all you need to know.

    The email sent out to registered users yesterday opened by saying “[t]here are exciting times ahead for Webcameron”. Well that’s nonsense, there are boring time ahead for Webcameron in 2008 because it is now just an add-on to a corporate website where even more interactivity has been removed. ”

    And I thought DC had his finger on the pulse? What a disappointment.

38. canvas said on December 22nd, 2007 at 12:58 pm:

    “Dizzy sums up the death of Webameron perfectly in his blog”

    Webcameron too.

39. Tizzy said on December 22nd, 2007 at 5:06 pm:

    The second BBC link was better wrtten in that it at least touched on the hidden costs eg

    QUOTE
    Another knock-on effect he had seen was “horrendous debt” [up to £20K] being incurred by victims while they were displaced from their homes, Mr Hendy said.

    Mr Hendy works as an intermediary between victims and insurers

    “Insurance companies do not appreciate the additional costs”, he said. “Most are living on takeaway meals, they are having to take their washing to the launderette and are taking the children out in the evening because there is no space in the caravan to play” END QUOTE

    And, of course, the tremendous spirit-crushing stress that seems to be recognised but very few people assigned to champion each family and take those calls, emails etc on their behalf.

    ———–

    Part P: http://www.partp.co.uk/consumer/consumer_what.asp You should ensure that, as part of the contract, the electrician is qualified to issue Part P and that a certificate will be issued to you. As the link indicates, it is a legal requirement. There is a list of them on the link so check yours out. If they aren’t on the list, contact them - very helpful people; ours had not got on the list (it was new-ish then) but they did know about him.

    Our experience is that we never received actual paperwork but we have checked, and our house has been registered both on the Part P dbase and with our council. Might try chasing them up in the new year, now it’s on my mind again!

    ————

    I was interested in what happened to thousands of home contents, given our Brave New World attitude towards landfill sites. Another bit for me to chase up.

    Seems like things are inching forwards and as people always say, one day you’ll look back on this and have a laugh about it. Not. But great news about the sprogs :

    It’s probably futile to wish you a Joyeux Noel but I will be thinking about you. I’m not going anywhere (every day is a working day here) so if you want a chat here or on Rejects, at any time, feel free!

    There’s always the Chinese New Year to look forward to

40. Sue said on December 23rd, 2007 at 2:26 am:

    Thanks for the info about Part P - I’ll look into it after Xmas. I’m putting everything flood related on hold till the new year. I figure even I could use a holiday from it!

    Just to comment tho - I claimed for take-away meals and for mobile phone costs - I was horrified at how much we spent on take-aways for the first couple of weeks, and that included buying sandwiches for lunches as well as evening meals for four people - it soon adds up. We tried to get a cash advancement to help us in the first few weeks, but were refused, so we had to use our credit card. We had to buy shoes for the whole family, and towels as we had stupidly used them to try and stop the flow of water. We also had to buy a load of cleaning products, bin bags, rubber gloves, especially the heavy duty ones for pulling up the carpet.

    I’m thinking of claiming for hair dye - to cover up the excess grey that’s appeared since all this started I wish I could claim compensation for all the heartache and tears, the loss of sentimental items that have no cost, the loss of works of art that the kids did, that will never be replaced; and I think the biggest loss of all is the feeling of security in my home, that I will never have again whenever it rains.

    On a bright note, I met an internet mate for the first time today. He’s a fellow Google Earther (click on my name to see my website with links to Google Earth) He was house hunting in Grove and popped in for a visit. He was even nicer in real life than he is in the cyber world. I was just wondering how many other people have met up with cyber mates. Maybe it would be good to have a change of topic from floods to fun meetings, at least till Ed gets back from wherever he’s disappeared to.

41. Sue said on December 23rd, 2007 at 2:31 am:

    I wish there was an edit facility

    I forgot to wish everyone here a very Happy Christmas and a peaceful 2008.

    Oh, and don’t forget to vote for Ed on Iain Dale’s Diary - his end of year Politics Awards http://www.iaindale.blogspot.com/

42. Tizzy said on December 23rd, 2007 at 5:31 pm:

    Re voting: already done

    Seasonal best wishs/Happy Christmas (take your pick) and a blissful New Year to Ed and all those here.

    Tiz

43. canvas said on December 23rd, 2007 at 6:48 pm:

    Dear Ed, How do you think it will go down with the public that MPs want a 10% pay rise???

    Just wondered what your thoughts are on the matter…

    :)

44. Sue said on December 24th, 2007 at 1:02 am:

    It’s Christmas Eve - just thought I’d blog it

45. canvas said on December 24th, 2007 at 11:43 am:

    I guess Ed has given up on blogging until 2008??

    Careful what you wish for Lol

    Merry Christmas to all.

46. Alice said on December 24th, 2007 at 6:45 pm:

    Happy Christmas everyone! And Sue, best of luck with everything x

47. Sue said on December 25th, 2007 at 2:04 pm:

    Thanks Alice

    And a very happy Christmas to everyone, especially Ed, wifey and baby!

    How about a new years resolution for Ed - to blog more regularly, and to reply to our comments

48. Tizzy said on December 26th, 2007 at 4:44 pm:

    How did it go, Sue?

49. Sue said on December 26th, 2007 at 9:51 pm:

    It started out okay, but then we were watching this video that a relative had done of our wedding anniversary, and everybody saw me kissing my father-in-law Hubby threw a few punches and I threatened to walk out unless he forgave me, and then I fell down the stairs but only got a small cut on my head, and the paramedics believed my daughter when she said I was okay (I wasn’t, but I’m a good actress!). Then we found out that our daughter had been having an affair with one of her teachers, and so hubby started hitting him as well, and then he was arrested, so the rest of christmas day was really peaceful. Then we found out that my mother-in-law, who we thought was dead, was really alive and living in Panama, and that she had faked her death to frame my lover. While hubby was banged up for hitting daughter’s teacher, he admitted that his mother really was alive, but that he’d only found out earlier that day. So they let my lover out of prison, and we decided to make a new life together, but only after my child was born to the surrogate who was having the baby for me. She’s not happy about that, cos she secretly fancies my husband, so there’s going to be lots of fighting over the coming months about who gets the baby. And to top it all off, the Titanic nearly crashed into our house but the Doctor saved the day. Though I did find out later that he lost Charleen, and he didn’t fancy going off with Mr Bucket and his million quid, so he’s roaming the universe alone again. I keep telling him he should take me, but he just says “who”?
    *
    *
    *
    *
    *
    *
    and in all seriousness, we all survived christmas day, and I’m so glad it’s over, but now it’s over I can’t stop thinking about all the cr*p I’ve got to do in order to move house for 3 months. Oh, and I’ve got a throat infection, and need to see the doctor in the morning cos it hurts so much But at least I had one day when I forgot all my troubles, and I’m really grateful for that. In all honesty, it was probably one of the best xmas days since we had the kids, cos they’re at the age now where they don’t need us to help them set up their toys or games, but can go off and do their own thing. So, it was more relaxed, and again for that I’m grateful.

    How was your day? I hope it wasn’t as “dramatic” as mine

50. Tizzy said on December 27th, 2007 at 4:55 am:

    I did diddley squat. It was ace! Food was buffet-style and was prepped on 24th. Try it out - it’s so much easier.

    Did you see one of the roads in Dr Who was named ‘Donovan Street’? (Neat segue to this original blog!). I’m a big fan. Have you your kids been scared by any of the episodes?

    PS you might want to comment on yesterday’s dizzythinks.net re the proposal for a mosque + call to prayers in East Oxford. No registration needed, use the ‘nickname’ option. If you’ve logged on recently to Webcameron Rejects ( webcameron.informe.com ) you’ll see Dizzy has lent a shoulder regarding the fiasco. A bit further down his blog you’ll see his comment about it all.

    Final word (for your throat) - Benalyn.

51. Sue said on December 27th, 2007 at 11:48 pm:

    We’re huge fans of Dr Who, but it was interesting listening to my 11 year old daughter’s comments on Xmas Day whilst watching that episode. She said that it wasn’t fair that it was always the fat people that got killed, and always the good people. She wasn’t grossed out by the “head” but she didn’t like the angels. I think the best episode in terms of being scared, was the one with the little boy during WW11 calling out for his “mummy”. Now that was spooky

    Hubby dragged me to the doctor today, and I have tonsillitus. I have to rest, at least for the next week, so I have given myself permission to put off worrying about our house move for another week. But I can’t stop worrying about further flooding. There’s an item in today’s Wantage and Grove Herald (http://www.heraldseries.net/news/hswantagenews/display.var.1926470.0.airfield_plans_set_for_spring.php) basically saying that new housing WILL be built on Grove Airfield, and it’s a matter of “when” and not “if”. I’m devastated, though it was always inevitable, but I honestly feel like I’ve been hit in the stomach. Without housing on the airfield, there is a chance that we won’t be flooded again. Build hundreds of houses there, and it’s almost a certainty. I look at my house, at the state it’s in now, knowing that it’s going to be at least Easter before we will have our home back to normal, and the thought of having to go through all this again is more than I can bear.

    I can be strong for my kids - I’m forever telling them that if we flood again, sobeit, we flood, we’ve survived this flood and we’ll survive another one. But deep inside, I’m bawling, cos I don’t want to ever go through this again, and I don’t want my kids to go through it again either. (pitiful moan over - for now )

    Thanks for the mention of dizzy - I had seen his comments - I have been going onto Rejects daily, just haven’t felt much like posting - it’s cathartic posting here cos with Ed gone, it’s pretty much my blog now (sorry Ed, I’ll shut up if you promise to come back!!)

    Awful news today with the assassination of Benazir Bhutto, makes my problems seem pathetic by comparison

52. canvas said on December 28th, 2007 at 1:11 pm:

    that’s funny, is is now
    SUE, SHADOW MINISTER FOR CULTURE?

53. canvas said on December 28th, 2007 at 1:11 pm:

    OR ‘IS IT NOW’? no edit button!! gggrrrr

    has ed quit??

54. Tizzy said on December 28th, 2007 at 5:57 pm:

    Is that the old RAF airfield? If so, my dad took me driving there when I was about 10 or 11!

    Maybe there’s a clue about the risk of flooding in the Council’s name ie *Vale* of White Horse.

    The article didn’t read that the housing was a fait accompli to me but you probably know what’s really going on. It’s worth checking out the following:

    Check out the plans for sewerage - a popular one for dragging out planning permission. Also, and you’d have to double-check this with Ed, I seem to remember that, with the appropriate support, he can get an Act of Parliament passed to protect the area. One was passed on a couple of acres where I used to live so it certainly can happen. That, and contact your MEP, who can enact a protection through the EU. Enlist the help of the local botanical and zoological experts. Luckily you’ve got plenty around your area . Finally, look up who sold the land and when in the past n years, and what was paid (through the Land Registry or get the local newspaper to help). Sometimes you can find interesting bits in the deeds…

    Join the residents protest group, create a forum for them (if they haven’t already), look up other UK residents forums (loads of them) and see how they beat ‘them’. Get yourself and others elected on the council, write to Private Eye and ask them to look into it. Contact CPRE and other large orgs and see what they can do. All of this should have been ticked off by a residents group but sometimes they get nobbled, hence the forum, so that everyone has an easy opportunity to scrutinise what’s going on in their name.

    Why aren’t they writing on here????

    Better stop; sorry, I get carried away.

55. Sue said on January 1st, 2008 at 1:59 am:

    HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE

    I’ve just been boogying with Take That (wish it was for real LOL), was a happy start to the new year for me.

    I hope this year is a good one for all of us, and that Ed will come back to his blog

56. Sue said on January 8th, 2008 at 5:46 pm:

    I wanted to do a final update to “my flood blog”

    Our insurance company employed a property-finding agency to find us a house to rent for 3 months. Today we went to view the house, liked it and asked to rent it.

    Lots of phone calls later we’re told to go to the Letting Agents to collect some forms to fill out. Whilst there, my husband was asked if he was employed. He replied that it was a very “PC” comment and discriminatory - at which point the lady became very hostile and said that hubby was being aggressive, and she didn’t know if the landlord would want an aggressive person renting from him. Hubby went on to explain that he is employed, but is on long-term sick leave, for which he was receiving Incapacity Benefits. Apparently the landlord’s insurance prohibits him from renting to anyone on benefits. We’re hoping that as hubby is employed, that this won’t be a problem - though Ms Witch of the Lettings Agents might put her broomstick into the mire and cause us problems simply because she’s having a bad day

    I can understand that it might be a financial risk, but our Insurance Company is paying all fees and rental, so our personal circumstances should not be an issue. Hubby is now worried that we might have lost the house - I feel like slitting my wrists, I just don’t know how much more I can take of this. It’s not the first time that we’ve been treated like vermin following the flood, which I would like to point out, WAS NOT OUR FAULT. WE DIDN’T FLOOD OUR HOME DELIBERATELY. WE DIDN’T ASK FOR ANY OF THIS.

    On top of this we need references - now I perfectly understand the need for this, and it wouldn’t really be a problem apart from the fact that we’re anti-social gits who never see anyone, I’m agoraphobic and only know the Chemist and my GP, (oh, and Ed!!), and hubby is even more anti-social than I am - but he can at least give the name of one of his work mates as a reference. I’m stuck - Ed, any chance you’d be my referree??!!

    The kids are so worried, because it’s obvious to them that something is wrong. I’m waiting for the phone to ring, to be told that we can no longer have the house because of a stupid misunderstanding.

    The misunderstanding is this - hubby thought it was discriminatory to ask if he was employed. He had no idea it was to do with the houseowner’s insurance. The lady at the Lettings Agency has taken an immediate dislike to hubby, branding him aggressive. She’s within her rights to advise the houseowner not to rent to us - despite the fact that our insurance company would be paying for 6 months, whereas we only need the house for 3 months.

    I don’t want to leave my house after this. I want to go to sleep for 6 months and wake up when it’s all over. I want my life back, my peace of mind and my sanity. I want my self esteem back, cos witches like Ms Letting’s Agents have a habit of making me feel small and unworthy.

    I don’t want to do this any more

57. Sue said on January 8th, 2008 at 6:59 pm:

    The Property Management company who are finding us a house, have advised us to “walk away” from this rental. It seems that it’s not just us who got the sharp end of Ms Witch’s tongue, and having spoken to my removal company, they’ve also had bad dealings with this particular lettings agency.

    I feel so relieved, like that proverbial huge weight lifted from my shoulders. I’ve had a good cry, and that helped too!

    We’re looking at this as a positive step - it will give us more time to sort out the clutter and decided what will go to storage and what will stay with us. So, I can relax again; I might even start doing some of my hobbys again!!

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