I think maybe charity shops in rural Dorset are a bit different than in big cities. I asked about prom dresses yesterday. The people in Oxfam looked at me as if I were a bit mad. 
MrsS, I really hope there are some answers soon about your MIL.
Rudy, wishing you strength in dealing with the hospital stuff with your DM.
BD, you never know, maybe your email will just have the desired effect and shut your colleague up!
Oh how I wish I could afford a cleaner. That would remove a whole load of resentment from my life. Although I like to think that forcing my dcs to do chores does provide them with a vital part of the education. It is someone else's behaviour that gives me the rage. No, having a deadline does not mean you are absolved from basic household stuff. Doh! I still have to do the laundry, food shopping, cooking etc etc AND work, fgs. After 11 years of telling him home truths about these matters time and again, it is seriously tempting to reduce my input in the domestic area to the same level as his and wait for social services to come round and collect the dcs. 
Anyway, same old, same old...
BTM, my sympathies. Dd did both her GCSE orals last week, got an A* in both and then had 2 days off with severe chest pain. We had one rush visit to the GP, various tests. Looks like it was all down to anxiety. Not that she'll admit to that... God knows what it will be like during the 6 joyous weeks of exams coming up soon.