Lifeboat Muster Point for TalkExiles - Thread 2

[Kucingsparkles]

Continuation of previous thread.

Gather here all ye refugees from the foundering ship of JTT, if ye be in need of "How the heck do I format my post?" "Why can't I edit my typos?" "What do those acronyms mean?" and most importantly, "Where is everybody that I used to know?"

Or just to chat randomly.

Gizmo is more of a chaser than a chasee - if there's a bird, cat, dog, or rabbit within sight, she's off. They're hunting dogs by nature/ breeding so we can't really complain.

Of course I know you, you idiot! I didn't know your username so I didn't know you were you, but I consider you a friend and a great bunch of lads!

I don't know what an OA/TOF kid is. I'm so bad with acronyms.

View from our kitchen right now.

Foggy!

Noticed it was colder than it has been this morning. Check my pay as you go gas metre and it had £0 on it. It had £9 on it last night. I will have a normal metre where I move on Saturday and while energy won't suddenly be actually affordable I will go from being robbed blind to robbed only partially sighted. I'm sitting in bed wrapped in layers under the covers until the flat becomes at least a bit warmer. It's taking it's own sweet time!

That’s beautiful @Ginmonkeyagain

It’s supposed to be snowing here (-1°C) but we’ve got bloody sleet instead.

Good luck with the move. Moving from a flat with a PAYG electricity (don’t think there was gas there) to one with a normal meter a few years ago was a massive relief. Remembering to make sure it was topped up was just an additional stress few people need, not to mention the cost of it.

Spooky fog, Gin! Here we have brilliant sunshine (but cold).

Ah ok, you'd know it if you had it. LittleBN was born with her wiring a bit muddled up. Her throat ended in a pouch and her stomach was connected to her windpipe. She had to have an operation the day after she was born. It was a major shock, wasn't picked up in scans so the first we knew about it was when she was spitting out milk rather than swallowing it.

The long-term effect of this operation can be difficulty in swallowing because the join where the throat is reconnected to the oesophagus can narrow over time. Thankfully she has not had that experience but when you referred to difficulty swallowing that naturally leapt straight to mind.

When I take over the country as benevolent dictator, the first ones up against the wall will be those who try defend making PAYG meters more expensive than normal power supply. It's absolutely ridiculous.

I think that making them spend every waking minute on treadmills, to generate electricity for the disadvantaged would be better!

Winterborne74

I don't envy you having to move at this time of year.

It’s Crows who is moving, not me.

PAYG is complex. It is a more expensive to maintain and set up infrastructure. Energy companies have to base prices on "efficient costs to serve" eg no major cross subsidies between payment methods.

It is also complicated by the fact people often have PAYG meters installed for debt so for some the prices are expensive as a portion of every unit price will be going to pay back debt.

Add in to the fact there is little market competition to keep costs down as no one really wants PAYG customers as they are, on average, people on lower incomes and many are, or have been in debt.

TL:DR there are reasons why it is more expensive, but it is really shit as it tends to be the payment method for people on lower incomes.

Doh!

Keep hearing cars getting stuck on the icy snowy road outside our house, and the salt box (also outside our house) is empty. I worry someone will skid right into macman’s car, as we’re on a sharp bend at the bottom of a steep hill. It was better yesterday, as fresh snow isn’t too bad to drive on, but the tyre marks all froze overnight and it’s lethal out there now.

Glorious sunshine here. The sprinkling of snow from a couple of days ago hasn't melted, and it's pretty cold. I'm definitely with bnbn on PAYG meters. I remember those bad old days!

I wouldn’t dream of driving in these conditions, but that’s fine, I’m retired now and don’t have to. When I was working I always saved a couple of weeks’ holiday to take ad hoc for snow (rare down here) and ice (much more common).

no one really wants PAYG customers as they are, on average, people on lower incomes and many are, or have been in debt.

which is why leaving the market to supply a public service is a really anti social way of running things.

The thing about pay as you go metres is you often have no choice. Mine was here when I moved in, it's social housing and I think maybe that's standard? I don't know. I've always been aware that I'm paying more but this year it has become almost impossible. I'm poor, let's face it even those who aren't poor are pretty poor at the moment, on benefits and paid fortnightly (that's going to change when I move which is a whole "you have to switch to universal credit" nightmare I'm refusing to think about until next week) . Thankfully, my supplier is all online payments and you can switch money between metres. Electric has not been a mare because of the extra government payments. I put £60 on gas on November 28th. I have moved £70 from my electric and as of this afternoon have £20 on my gas. £130 in two weeks!

Of course I could have had the heating off but I'd rather not freeze. As it is I'm wearing layers, fingerless gloves, woolly hat, blah. Last night Francis crawled under the covers and curled up next to me and it was bliss.

Thing is, I'm not alone in this and there are an awful lot of people in far worse situations which is terrifying. Still, at least that awful Jeremy Corbyn didn't get to be our prime minister and wreck our economy like what that lovely trustworthy Boris Johnson and the newspapers said he would. Fuck The Guardian!

It's snowing! I wonder if I'll ever lose the childlike joy I get when I first see snow.

Are you in/near Brighton @IReallyLikeCrows? It’s coming down quite heavily here now. I get the childlike joy too. It snowed quite a lot where I grew up and have some happy memories flying down banks on sledges and plastic bags.

@bignosebignose . Nope, I wasn't born that way and that must have been terrifying for you. Mine is a number of issues, including a very bizarre tendency to get thrush in my oesophagus which is generally something that happens to those with autoimmune stuff including HIV. When I have endoscopies about half the time they are slightly ruined because bloody thrush. There are various other things going on and usually twice a year I have a balloon dilitation (sp?) To widen the oesophagus. It's all fun and games!

I'm in Hurstpierpoint, @CyanCyan , so very close by. The children on the estate are loving it! It's proper thick flakes!