#winter fuel payment
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4 Things you can do right now to prepare for energy price rises in advance
With energy prices already increasing and set to rise even higher this winter, now is the ideal time to start making plans to reduce your costs and budget for your bills. Here are some ideas on saving energy (and saving money) to get you started...
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Important: If you’re struggling to pay your energy bills, you should always contact your supplier to access the help available to customers and not ignore the problem.
With every household in England, Wales and Scotland being given a one-off £400 discount on their fuel bills to help with the cost of living crisis, it just goes to show that the government is as worried…
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#bills#boiler#budgeting#energy bills#fuel bills#fuel payment#heating#home#household bills#household budget#insulation#money management#winter fuel payment
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Bad news, got back from the vet and my beautiful baby son is going to have to be put down soon, probably tomorrow or the next day, so send him best of wishes for his next few days~ Luckily, he's actually not in a lot of pain (for now, hopefully he won't be) and is acting pretty normal, so I'm hoping he won't suffer at all and everything will be peaceful for him.
#pet death tw#death mention#let me know if I need any other tags#I would post something to help pay for his euthanasia expenses or etc. but I don't know of any secure methods#since I don't know much about stuff like that. I've heard that like on paypal and ebay and stuff people can still get your real name#and some information from their payment receipts or whatever sutff like that. thats part of why I've held off on selling clothes and sculpt#res for so long is trying to find a way to do it that's the most safe. aside from literall yhaving to start an llc and open a business bank#account and run everything on an entirely sepreate thing just so it has no association with my name and etc.#and obviouskly I don't feel like figuring out all of that stuff right now lol#I am busy just trying to make my beautiful meatloaf son comfortable and spend some time with him whilst I can#It's sad. but I'm glad the issues were caught before he was in terrible pain or anything. So suprisingly it was actually a pretty easy#decision. I would rather him go out while he's feeling okay and relatively content then wait until he's in severe#pain or extremely lethargic or etc. So it seems all very sudden but . It's better that way for him.#anyway#of COURSE this has to happen during a heat wave also.. hhrgghhh...#more fuel for my vendetta against summer lol.. Not that it's the season's fault but. something bad happening in the winter#vs. seomthing bad happening in the summer which just adds an extra layer of 'oh yeah on top of everything else#you're going to be sweating and nauseous and chronically uncomfortable!' is like.. >:T#Also for him. part of the issue is lung cancer which has spread and caused a bunch of fluid to build up in his stomach (which is what I#noticed. even though he's acting perfectly fine and normal his stomach was weird and bloated suddenly)#but if part of the problem is his lungs (which look absolutely crazy on xray) then him breathing in hot shitty thick air is definitely#not as comfortable as if he were able to be nice and cool and snuggled in some blankets. etc. etc.#ANYWAY ghhb... send him much luck and positivity!! Really hoping he can make it through the next day or so without#taking a turn for the worst. So hopeing for a peaceful quiet exit and not like tramatic sudden things. etc. etc.#cross your fingers pray to your gods whisper to the night sky so on and so forth. whatever you do that's meaningful to you.
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did I stay up past the point of tired so I would maybe sleep through the furnace people coming tomorrow so I wouldn't have to be the one dealing with them, knowing I'll hear them when they get here and be unable to sleep from the anxiety anyway? perhaps
#charlie babbles#mom called in our last fuel-assistance tank fill for the winter and asked if they'd look at and clean the furnace but on a payment plan#and they went sure yeah absolutely#and that's great I'm glad but for My Issues reasons I can't deal with hearing the damage report directly lmao#hsjjegshkdhhejs I need to go to sleep
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Exact code to spot £600 winter fuel payment in bank account as thousands still waiting for free cash
Exact code to spot £600 winter fuel payment in bank account as thousands still waiting for free cash
THOUSANDS of households waiting for winter fuel payments worth up to £600 should look out for a code in their bank account.The winter fuel payment is made to pensioners to help them with the cost of
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#Exact code to spot £600 winter fuel payment in bank account as thousands still waiting for free cash#Money#News#Top#UK#US
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Just, I guess, a heads up if you’re wondering why I haven’t been up to my usual productivity outside of the fact that my health is on its way to the Danger Zone again.
Every. Single. Day. I think about how I almost had a safe, good home for my mom and my cat because of the amazing kindness that was given to us from so many generous people. But mostly, it was Eve. She helped plan all of this. She literally bought the house, worked out a payment plan with me that was beyond generous, and helped us get out of a horrible situation. She was there when I needed to cry about the well house flooding and the water pump getting destroyed. She was there to talk about fandom stuff and gardening and how messed up the credit system is. She was there when the wind hit the house so hard it scared us. She was there to be funny and witty and awesome. We talked almost every single day. She was a lifeline in a million ways.
And we had a home that felt secure, because of her. Finally. After years of suffering, and poverty, and abuse. After being homeless for the fourth time in my fucking life. We had somewhere to live that would be ours. Ours and Eve’s. We were so close, and we had all these plans to make something of this place to give back to people. Our food bank farm plans. Our meal delivery plans. Our cat fostering plans. Things we shared a love for and cared about together.
And then the worst happened. She died. Eve died. And we tried to pick up the pieces of these plans, tried to fix what we could on our own. All while grieving for Eve. We grew so many tomatoes and cucumbers and peas in 2022. We donated boxes full and it was bitter sweet because who do we share the joy of that with? We cried when the apple trees arrived, just weeks after she died. I broke down when I used the electric blanket she sent us when the temps got below zero. I couldn’t even think about thanksgiving because we were supposed to go visit Eve and spend it with her that year.
I think about this every day because we don’t have that now. Because of one person involved who just… doesn’t care. And they don’t have to care, really. That’s ok. I never once asked for anything other than a few emails from them, which don’t require them caring about us like Eve did. It just required a few minutes of their time.
But because of that one person not communicating, I am $7k in debt just to have a heat source. A heat source we installed ourselves and that I can’t afford to keep fueled. Because our original plan was to have an electric heat pump. I had an electric credit lined up (because I make so little income) that would have gotten us through this winter. I could have gotten a tax rebate from the state for the heat pump that would have covered almost the entire cost. But, because of that one person not sending an email, I wasn’t able to update the dangerously outdated electric panels to have the heat pump installed. One of which is in a collapsing well house… that also needs to be fixed. All these things require building permits and permission from the home owner. Which I couldn’t get. Because they didn’t communicate all year. And when they finally responded to one of my many emails, all they said was ‘Sorry, I was on vacation.’ They didn’t give any permissions, they didn’t communicate with the insurance, or do any of the maybe five minutes worth of communication I had carefully asked for.
And you know, Eve told me that I would get the house and some money to fix it if she died. To continue our plans in her memory. Something I never asked for. Something I never once even thought about after she said it because, how could she possibly die?
But she did. And I just don’t fucking care about being given these things because I’d burn it all down to have Eve back. I don’t want it at the cost of her. I don’t want it to be this way.
But then there’s my mom, and my cat who are in an unstable home now. That isn’t ours. That isn’t warm. That isn’t safe. That’s owned by someone who doesn’t want anything to do with it or us. And it doesn’t matter if I don’t want it, because if I don’t own this home I can’t get help from all these fantastic programs that help poor people like me to fix our shitty broken homes. So we are trapped here as it falls apart. We’re trapped here, under a massive amount of debt, in a broken, cold house, with no one who can help and no way to get out. Because of one person.
I think about this every day, just going in circles. There’s no way out. I can’t appeal to this person to do anything they obviously don’t want to do. It doesn’t seem to matter what agreements were made or how easy it would be for them to make a huge difference for us. I can’t save up to try to find somewhere else. I can’t work harder/more when my health has gotten even worse. And I can’t keep begging for help online. Not again.
So I’m just here, chewing off my own leg to try to get out and getting no where while my health and sanity completely disintegrate. I’m trying to keep up with everything as best I can, but I know I’m failing. I’m sorry. I know I’m failing.
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There is current campaigning of a mass non-payment strike in the UK, in response to energy suppliers further hiking up prices by 65% on Oct 1st. The aim is to get one million people to cancel their direct debits if the government doesn't listen and decides to go ahead with the hike in prices. Along with the rise in cost of food, petrol and mortgage, the cost of living will put further millions of people (1 in 3 of us) in the UK in fuel poverty this coming winter.
Please show your support, and if you're in the UK you can buy leaflets and stickers from the Dont Pay UK website, as well as further information about the plan. Get involved and organised in your local communities.
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Writeblr Intro
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📝 Hello everyone! I'm Kana, or @lazypanartist . I go by they/them or they/he pronouns. My stories are fueled by personal fantasies and found family, featuring both nature and the open road.
🌲I live in Western Washington, so we have a little bit of everything over here. Desert over the mountains, ocean, swampiness.. hot summers and cold winters.
✍️Writing-related ask and tag game friendly! I'd love to interact with other writers, and am open to questions about my stories and characters.
💲If you enjoy my writing and would like to tip me, the only payment collection I have is Cashapp 🙃 $lazypanartist if you'd like to donate.
🏳️🌈Tons of my characters are incredibly queer, though the stories don't all focus around this. I'm just putting the characters I'd like to have into little situations, just like any other.
🎨I'm trying to keep this blog centered around writing and the art related to such, just because this side blog is specifically for my writing and whatnot.
#writeblr#writing process#writing prep#writers on tumblr#writing#writers and poets#am writing#writers of tumblr#tumblr writers#artists on tumblr#nanowrimo prep#nanowrimo#writing community#writeblr community
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Charles Evenson meets Esme Platt for the first time.
1911.
Charles Evenson was twenty-five when he met Esme Anne Platt for the first time, she was a fresh sixteen.
It was a brief accidental meeting. He was calling on her father, chasing after an overdue payment, a moment neither would think over before realizing their fates were sealed that day.
George Platt’s loan payments were piling up. He blamed it on Mother Nature every month, whining Winter had simply hit their poor little farm harder than usual. Being one of the more junior members of the bank Charles had been given the countless farmer accounts, almost all underwater. He had spent the past month visiting the farms scattered on the outskirts of Columbus, warning men with wrinkled faces and calloused hands that this Spring better be a plentiful one.
The Platts were only thirty or miles outside of Columbus, it was an easy drive, almost pleasant. Worry sunk in his gut as he drove by miles of dry fields, brown thin leaves almost begging to be fuel for a flame. As he drew closer to where he knew the Platt farm was, nestled between much larger family farms, the fields were suddenly green. Almost as if someone had forgotten to paint the other fields.
The small white farmhouse came into view as he drove down the fruit-tree-lined driveway, flowers hung almost every window. An old hound lay on the front porch. It was a picturesque scene, very unlike what he had been led to believe by the owner of the property.
The white-faced hound howled as he walked up the front steps. He kicked at it, foot landing an inch from it, and it bolted into the yard. His fist hovered over the front door as it slammed into his face. A young woman came barreling through the door, she did not even look up as she stormed out of the house. If she had looked she would not have barreled into his chest. The force of the collision sent them tumbling backward, off the porch. They were a pile of limbs in the dirt driveway.
“Sorry,” the young woman mumbled as she jumped to her feet, already five steps down the drive, not so much as giving him a second glance.
He watched her with more than mild curiosity as he got to his own feet. Her long curly hair appeared unbrushed, she was wearing slacks too large for her, and she had utter disregard for other people.
“Do you know where I can find Mr. George Platt?” He called after her.
She stopped, turning on her heel, which made him realize only now that she was barefoot. “Senior or Junior?”
“I’m not quite sure,” he admitted.
“Senior’s that way,” she pointed past the orchard, “been dead ten years now.” Presuming they were done with the conversation she began walking again.
“And Junior?” He asked.
“Barn!” She shouted, gesturing to a large barn in the distance, not even looking back at him.
“Thank you, miss. Your name was?”
She glanced at him, not faltering in her step, “who’d like to know?” She grinned a crooked grin that showed off an almost endearing dimple if one of her top teeth wasn't chipped.
“Charles, Charles Evenson. It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance,” he moved to tip his hat, only to realize it still lay on the ground.
When she didn’t respond he laughed to himself, almost in disbelief at the absurdity of the interaction, turning towards the barn. He was interrupted by that same voice. He glanced up at her, she was now walking backward to appraise him fully. “Esme,” she shouted a remarkable distance down the path.
“Pleasure," he said, believing he was lying but smiling slightly. She rolled her eyes and turned back around.
#charles evenson#esme cullen#esme platt#my stories#this is a part of a bigger thing but i want to try posting more snippets#also yes the year 1911 is intentional something wild does happen later that day totally implausible coincidence but hey its twilight#i feel like i have to make the disclaimer this whole piece does not defend him i hope that's obvious but in case not
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the electrcity price cap rise came into effect last month (the government raised tha maximum amount people can be charged per year because the wholesale price increased so much so rapidly that pretty much EVERYONE was hitting the cap) by almost £700 per year
something hitting disabled people like me disproportionately. i don't have specialist medical equipment to run - thank god - but i do spend most of my time at home which requires... you know... power
my monthly bill just came in and my energy costs for a one bed apartment are now £120 a month. in summer (not that i run the heat in winter if i can help it, but still, this is the CHEAPER part of the year)
for reference my energy bills in 2015 were £35-40 a month on average. in 7 years it's quadrupled. i promise my benefits have not
i was already struggling and behind before the cap increase bc it was £90 a month then which is more than a single person can reasonably afford. now it's 33% more which is just like. insane
the energy rebate (actually a council tax rebate) in scotland is £150. one-off. about a third of the cost of the price hike this year assuming it doesn't go up even MORE
"cold weather payments" to help the elderly and disabled with heating costs have been £25 for as long as i can remember and are paid if the temperature in your area hits 0 or below for seven consecutive days between november and march.
meaning if you have 6 days at 0c or below, 1 day where it only gets to 1c, and another 6 days at or below 0c... nothing is paid. no cold weather payments were made for my part of glasgow last winter.
i'm only eligible for the warm home discount scheme as part of the secondary/extended list which most suppliers, including mine, don't pay out to.
the winter fuel payment is also only for the elderly, not disabled.
the child winter heating assistance payment is, you guessed it, only for parents. specifically only parents of disabled children though.
if you're a disabled adult who isn't about to drop dead of old age and did not yet reproduce then fuck you
anyway tldr i owe my energy company £300 (and rising) and still have debts from moving house so i am very strongly considering walking off into the highlands never to be seen again except as a cryptid spotted wandering the hills and wailing, prompting rumours of the existence of the bean sídhe in scotland
#getting the bf to stop cooking and living on protein shakes again#bc i have an electric stove + burner so cooking daily costs £20-30 a month in electricity now
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one day - a byler secret santa fic
merry christmas and happy holidays @foodiewithdahoodie !! surprise, i was your gifter! please enjoy this fic i wrote just for u :))) have a wonderful holiday season!
@bylersecretsanta
December 30th, 1989.
Winter break was coming to an end.
Which sucked. It completely and utterly sucked.
Small flurries of snow were silently dropping outside the tall windows; a small beauty in what would soon be a rush of midterm exams and stress and late nights and a little bit more caffeine than what was probably healthy for the human body.
Will felt a hand grasp his own, snapping him out of his daze. He smiled, squeezing back.
“This one’s pretty.” Mike motioned his head up ever so slightly, allowing Will’s eyes to drift to the painting Mike was referring to.
It was funny, considering how long they’d been together, that this was their first proper date. Alone. While doing something that required payment from another (Mike had insisted on paying despite Will trying to talk him out of it). After all that had happened to them over the years, there hadn’t been much time between them actually getting together, then immediately after having to apply for college, and then move out of state. Then, even after that, both Mike and Will were busy with college work and really everything that came with being a full-blown college student. So now, almost two years later, here they were, in Boston, visiting Will’s favorite art museum of all time, even if he wouldn’t have minded doing something he knew Mike would like better (like storming the nearest Starbucks and buying a coffee that was so sugary it barely counted as coffee).
“Hm?” Will leaned his head on Mike’s shoulder, which was covered by a green coat. He scanned the painting, and giggled. It looked like something Mike would like.
The painting itself wasn’t exactly a visual - like Will typically drew - it was more like a spattering of colors on a canvas, most obviously blue and yellow. Yet the spreading of the colors was mesmerizing; they swirled endlessly, as though desperately trying to meet each other but failing, again and again.
Then, finally, in the middle of the painting, they met - making a green dot, intertwining every colored thread navigating its way around the white canvas. The middle of the dot was a deep, mystifying green - as though it was extracted from green forests deep within an oblivion not yet touched by mankind. Yet - this artist managed to capture it perfectly.
It was beautiful. It was complex. It was everything any good artist could want in a painting.
“Yeah,” Will replied, smiling. “It is.” He sighed, smiling slightly. “I wish I could paint like that.”
Mike made a face, pulling away from Will to give him a look. “Are you kidding? You paint better than that. Much better. I - I mean, this pales in comparison to the stuff I see you paint every day.”
Mike had a habit of pretending to work on writing his essays in Will’s art studio because it “helped him think better” when in reality, he was actually just sitting on a worn green couch staring at Will as he blended colors on a canvas. Mike never ended up actually getting anything done.
Will’s lips quirked up in a small smile. “Really?”
Mike grinned, rubbing Will’s forearm affectionately. “Uh-huh. Really. Trust me, in five years, your gallery will be on display right…” Mike scanned the room in mock seriousness, and then pointed a finger at a random empty spot that looked rather out of place. “There. Right there. And all of the people who are obsessing over blobs of paint on a canvas will be looking at your beautiful art, and you’ll make tons of money and we can live in a big mansion together, and -”
Will laughed, laying his head on Mike’s shoulder again. “Okay, I get it. Thank you.”
But really, Will’s heart warmed at the thought. The thought of living with Mike - having a successful art gallery with that much love within it. Because Mike was always his inspiration, what fueled him to keep creating, to keep making others (mostly Mike) ecstatic with his art. Mike had always been encouraging of Will’s passion since the two were little, and Will had to draw green fire because he ran out of orange crayons; even with Will’s worst pieces that he had wanted to toss in the garbage, Mike had kept every one. It was Mike who gotten him this far in his artist’s career, Will hadn’t a doubt.
So one day, yes, Will would have his dream come true. But that was one day.
Alas, winter break was coming to an end.
Which sucked. It completely and utterly sucked.
The same small flurries of snow were silently dropping outside the tall windows; midterms were coming in mere weeks; but, despite it all, it was okay. And as Will felt Mike next to him, standing with him on this technical first date as he watched the endless blues and yellows intertwine into a magical green, his heart warmed in the midst of a maze of snow flurries littering the outside.
One day, he’d have their art gallery here; and one day, he and Mike would live the dream life together.
Will leaned over, stealing a kiss from Mike. Mike blushed, and then smiled.
One day.
God, Will loved him so much.
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In Tandem
Kotaro Bokuto x Reader
~ Does it really take two to tandem?
Genere- Fluff
This is a result of my procrastination but I really love writing about this sweet Himbo.
WC: 1.1k+
Spring has sprung, the flowers are in full bloom and the world is coming back to life after months of cold winter. Sun peers through your blinds as you blink away the remnants of your sleep. Feeling well-rested and alert you reach over to the phone on your nightstand hoping for a bit of decent weather on your day off.
To your surprise, it’s supposed to be unusually nice all through the afternoon. This excitement is soon replaced with a bit of sourness when you realize that Kotaro will waste the day indoors at his MSBY training and weight room sessions without ever getting to enjoy the day.
‘ I hope you get to see a bit of that sunshine today Kou, I love you’ you text hoping that maybe he’d be able to check his phone on a water break.
With the morning free from the responsibility you decide to make yourself some coffee. Mug in hand you move to sit out on the back porch of your home. The greenery, warm sunlight, and the songs of birds make for a perfect morning as you sigh in relaxed contentment. Sipping your coffee in peace, you savor the subtle notes.
You and your surroundings are at blissful peace until the thudding sound of the front door swinging open. The blunt crash causes the birds to scatter in a chaotic cluster of wings. Your head shoots up in alarm till you see the familiar toned head of your boyfriend through the screen door.
“Baby, I’m home!” Bokuto's voice calls through the entryway slinging his gym bag to the floor. Placing your cup on the table you rush back in through the screen door to greet him happily.
“Kou, you're home early. Did something happen at a practice?” you ask as he scoops you up into one of his bone-crushing embraces.
“Nope,’ he grins. “ I just forgot to tell you that it was a short session today. I got your text, Let's go out and do something.”
It's so cute how he jumps at the chance to spend the day doing something special. “I see,” you wheeze hugging him back. “It's not often we get a whole day to spend with each other, what do you wanna do Kou?”
He thinks for a minute, chewing the inside of his cheek in thought. After a second he perks up as if a light just appeared over his head. “We should rent bikes down by the water!” He exclaims with a childlike enthusiasm that you can't help but reciprocate.
“That sounds so fun Kou.” you praise “What time should we go?”
“Let's go soon, then we can eat lunch down at that cool place by the water,” he says balling his massive hands into fists out of pure unadulterated joy.
With this hunger-fueled deadline, Bokuto goes to shower off the stink of practice while you finish your coffee and get changed to the sound of your boyfriend's off-key belting from the bathroom.
~
Less than an hour later you pull your car over along the boardwalk. For a weekday, you are surprised at how busy it is. People are everywhere riding rented bikes and scooters and enjoying that sweet sweet vitamin D.
“We better hurry if we want to rent a bike before they are out,” you say quietly hoping you're wrong. The concern in your voice reaches the ears of your big boyfriend as he makes it his mission to get you on a bike.
“Don't worry, I got this” He says practically pulling you to the stand. People step back not wanting to be trampled in Bokuto’s path. Once you make it to the stand, you are not surprised to see there are no more normal bikes left.
“Excuse me,” you ask a tired-looking employee. “Do you have any more bikes for rent today?”
The man looks back at the near-empty lot with a shrug. “All we have left are tandem bikes and peddle carts, but the carts are made for groups of four.”
“That’s great,” your boyfriend cheers. “This means we can ride together. Let's take this one,” he says pointing to a baby blue tandem bike. The worker takes his payment as it is brought out to you.
“Can I steer?” Bokuto asks giving you the biggest puppy dog eyes he can muster. You have no choice but to relent in the face of his cuteness as you take your seat behind him.
Your trip starts out wobbly, not quite used to the seat as you pedal down the boardwalk. But a few minutes in you glide down the pavement like pros as the cool breeze off the water hits your skin.
Since you don't have to steer you allow your eyes to shut as Bokuto takes you down the boardwalk. Peeking your eyes open a bit you realize that you have a great view of the muscular back of your boyfriend. His muscles flex and tighten as he excitedly points out at the colorful kites that rise in the air.
You are so lost in the rippling of his muscles underneath his shirt that you don't notice that he is picking up in speed. Your pedals keep moving faster and faster till your legs feel like jelly keeping up with him.
“Kou, maybe we should slow down a bit you try to say as your words are lost in the wind you are generating. Even your shouts are smothered as Kotaro unbothered zips across the pavement with the strength, speed, and stamina that is expected of a professional athlete of his caliber.
With no choice you quickly remove your feet from the pedals, they spin rapidly as your ankles hover safely out of the way before resting on another bar.
You hold this position as your boyfriend pedals down the waterway not realizing that he is doing all the work.
Finally, he comes to a stop outside the ice cream parlor “Hey hey hey, we made it.” He cheers not even a bit out of breath from the excitement he just put you through
“That was fun, Kou,” you smile “I’m ready for ice cream though. After that, we can go and get lunch."
“Yeah me too, I love having dessert first,” he says with a grin, going in for a chaste kiss on your lips.
"Are you sure your doing alright? You're shaking a bit," he says looking at you in concern.
"M' fine, you say "I just haven't been on a bike in a while" you lie knowing that if he knew how thrilling the ride was he waould surely sluk in grief for the rest of the afternoon.
"In that case," he says opening the off-white parlor door for you eagerly. “We should take the long way back to the stand so you can enjoy it”
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Hey guys, thanks for reading!
If anyone is interested I will be posting for a milestone event starting next Friday and am looking for a bit more inspiration. If anyone has a request or wants to check it out click here
#haikyuu x reader#hq x reader#bokuto x reader#bokuto kotaro x reader#kotaro bokuto x reader#bokuto drabble#bokuto x you#bokuto fluff#haikyuu!!#kotaro bokuto#bokuto kotaro#msby bokuto#haikyuu#haikyuu fluff#Kōtarō Bokuto#Kotaro bokuto imagine#kotaro x reader#Kotaro Bokuto x reader#x reader
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What is he offering?
The Treasury had promised a £400 discount on energy bills for all households. That is part of the package announced on Thursday but there will also be payments for households who are struggling most with high bills.
Households receiving means-tested benefits will get an additional cost of living payment of £650 – in two instalments. Pensioners will be entitled to a £300 payment and those who claim disability benefits will receive £150.
These come on top of the £150 council tax rebate paid in April.
How will it be paid?
Those who claim the benefits attached to these payments will receive the money directly into their bank account, without having to make a claim.
The £650 will go to those on universal credit and other means-tested benefits. It will be paid in two parts, the first in July and the second later this year – so far, the Treasury has said “autumn”. To obtain the first one you need to have received – or begun a claim for – the benefits on or before 25 May.
It will be tax-free and not limited by the benefit cap, which restricts how much claimants can receive.
The pensioner payment will go to all those who receive the winter fuel payment and will be paid at the same time – in November or December. To qualify, they need to be over the state pension age between 19-25 September 2022.
The disability payment will be made to those who received non-means-tested disability benefits – or had made a claim – as of 25 May. The money will be paid in September.
Can you get more than one of these?
Yes. The Treasury says it is possible that some households and individuals will qualify for more than one of the special cost of living payments, as well as qualifying for the energy bill discount.
For example, a pensioner who is also claiming attendance allowance can receive the £300 pensioner payment and the £150 disability payment. A pensioner claiming pension credit and attendance allowance will also qualify for the £650 support.
How will the energy bill discount work?
The government originally announced a £200 loan that would need to be paid back over five years. That idea has been scrapped and replaced with a £400 discount or grant that will not need to be repaid.
In England, Scotland and Wales, the money will be credited to the accounts of customers who pay by direct debit or with cash or a cheque. For those on prepayment meters the money will be applied to the meter or sent in vouchers.
The Treasury says households in Northern Ireland, which is not covered by the same regulator, will receive equivalent help.
Will this cover my rising bills?
Energy bills rose in April, with the price cap for average household use up by 54%. With the war in Ukraine pushing up wholesale costs for gas, more pain is expected later in the year – on Tuesday the head of Ofgem, the energy regulator, said the cap was on track to go up to £2,800. That means a rise of about £1,500 over the year since October 2021.
Whether you will get enough help to cover your extra costs will depend on how much you spend on energy – this will be governed to some extent by how energy efficient your property is and how you pay for it.
A family who qualifies for the £650 payment will also receive a £400 discount and, depending on their council tax band, may also have received the £150 rebate in April. That comes to £1,200, which falls short of the headline increase in average bills.
A pensioner who qualifies for all of the help available will receive just over £1,500.
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Hundreds of thousands of older women are struggling as soaring prices cripples their finances, with many forced to turn off fans, cookers and even lights to save money.
Campaigners told The Independent women over 65 are among those hit hardest by the “apocalyptic” cost of living crisis as they warned their physical and mental health are suffering.
Researchers found 55 per cent of women in the age group are being forced to cut spending on everyday expenses, substantially more than the 44 per cent of men who said the same.
One in three women over 65 in England - the equivalent of 1.8m - are struggling so badly they cannot afford even a £25 monthly increase in their expenses, according to YouGov data exclusively shared by charity Independent Age.
Older women are also far more likely not to cope with a £50 per month increase in their costs than men, the figures show, with 54 per cent of women raising it as an issue compared to 41 per cent of men.
Independent Age’s Morgan Vine said the choices women are being forced to make are “very stark”. Her organisation speaks to elderly people on a daily basis, with many sharing harrowing experiences.
“We have heard from people turning off lights, TVs, and cookers,” she said. “One woman told me she only boils the kettle once a day.
“Women are eating microwave food every day which is not good for their mental or physical health. People can’t afford fresh fruit. All of this is meaning people are mentally very low.”
Ms Vine said another woman had been turning off her fridge overnight to save money on bills despite the potential health risks.
“There are lots and lots of women living in poverty in later life,” she continued. “There are more women than men in this situation in later life. The decisions people are having to make are having a massive impact on their physical and mental health.
“People have said to us they are in a constant state of vigilance constantly checking their bank balance. We are really concerned about the situations older women are living in.
“We think the government needs to provide more for those struggling under the cost of living crisis - particularly with news fuel will go up even more in autumn and inflation is causing food prices to rise.”
Ms Vine noted their research has previously found older women are one of the groups worst impacted by the cost of living crisis - with single older women hardest hit.
“We already know that women live an average of three and a half years longer than men, so are having to make their already smaller pensions stretch further,” she added.
She warned there are a range of structural inequalities which mean women in older age are more likely to be in a worse financial situation than their male counterparts.
The charity’s analysis of Department of Work and Pensions figures spanning from 1995 to 2020 found 20 per cent of older women in the UK live in poverty.
The data showed 27 per cent of single women live in poverty in later life, in comparison to 16 per cent of single men.
Jane Drew, one of many Britons struggling during the cost of living crisis, said she had endured “five years of freezing every winter” and was unable to claim winter fuel payment due to her state pension being deferred.
The 65-year-old added: “I am in too much pain most days to continue in work. It is pointless applying for universal credit as I own my own home. It is pointless applying for job seekers as no one in their right mind is going to employ a 65-year-old care worker with a bad back.
“I am living off profit from downsizing my home and that is quickly running out. There is about £4,000 left to last me until end of March.”
Ms Drew noted she has no savings as she never earned enough as a single parent to put money aside - explaining she is “isolated” because she can’t afford to go and meet friends for a coffee.
“I am dreading this winter,” she added. “I am already cooking on a camping hob so I don’t use gas during the summer. I am having strip washes all week, and a shower on Sunday and one on Wednesday when my son pays for me and my grandson to go swimming. This is not the retirement I was looking forward to.”
Almost 4 million women were impacted by a change which saw the state pension age increased from 60 to 66 for women born after March 1950 in the UK – with the United Nations previously warning the changes place them at increased risk of “poverty, homelessness and financial hardship”.
BackTo60, a campaign group calling for full restitution for women affected by the state pension age rise, lost its landmark High Court battle against the government last October but appealed the ruling at the end of July - losing the appeal. The state pension age rise was accelerated in 2010 and saw women reach parity with men, at 65, in 2018.
Julia Jacobs, who lives in the West Midlands, told The Independent she goes from one month to the next with nothing in her bank account.
The mother-of-four said she was dependant on her state pension due to spending most of her adult life bringing up four children and project-managing properties she bought with her former husband. Due to the state pension age going up, Ms Jacobs has to wait another four years to receive her state pension.
The 62-year-old said: “I sit in dark in the evenings to economise on electricity. It is lonely and isolating and I feel I am not part of society.
“My electricity bills have tripled this year. They made me feel quite sick. So I have turned off my radio and my Alexa. I have got rid of the freezer. Now I have just got a small fridge freezer. I’ve turned off my electric hob and electric oven and bought a 30 quid air fryer from Aldi. It uses less fuel.”
Ms Jacobs was working as a part-time exam invigilator on a zero-hour contract before the coronavirus crisis but is now living off life savings.
Deena Wild, who lives in Kent, said she has spent years being forced to live on savings intended for retirement.
The 64-year-old, who was also hit by the state pension age rise, said: “We live extremely frugally. We live on my husband’s wages. He is a general handyman.”
Ms Wild explained her 60-year-old husband, who has a bad hip, bad back and a bad neck, has been forced to “work flat out” as her state pension was deferred – warning the work is placing his health at risk.
“I am watching him decline before my eyes, I am watching myself decline through stress and anxiety. I have high blood pressure, heart issues and diabetes. I don’t sleep at night because my brain is overloaded.”
Joanne Welch, founder of Backto60, told The Independent: "There is no doubt about it, women are struggling. We are so concerned now. We are facing an apocalyptic cost of living crisis. There are tens of thousands of women out there in dire straits.
“It is happening to many vulnerable groups. However 1950s women are some of those who are least resilient to encounter this."
“Women are prisoners in their homes. Their incomes don’t allow them to socialise in the way many people are used to so the television is the only entertainment.
“During the recent extreme heat, there was a woman who was worried about putting her fan on because she couldn’t afford it. With extreme heart you need the fan on the whole time. I can’t believe some of the things I hear. They get so worn down physically and mentally, it affects their health.”
Ms Welch said many 1950s women who were impacted by the state pension age rise have accrued debts due to not having enough money to subsist.
“There are also middling women, who have now got their pension, who are keeping their heads above water, breaking even, just about living, but living a half life,” she explained.
“They planned to retire at 60, but spent up to six years waiting for their pension, and accrued debt, and were forced out into a job market when nobody wants to employ them.”
A spokesperson for the Department of Work and Pensions said: “We understand that many people are worried about the impact of rising prices, which is why we’re providing £37bn additional cost of living support, including £1,200 in payments for the eight million most vulnerable households.
“For people over state pension age, there is a wide range of further financial support available, including pension credit – which unlocks an additional £650 cost of living payment for those currently claiming it – plus an additional £300 top-up to pensioner households’ winter fuel payments later this year.”
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Timothy Winters
Today we had an old post of our liked by a poster named Timothy Winters, much to our surprise and delight.
It’s a British Isles thing, as many of us who went through the school systems over here will have encountered this poem in our early years, for the simple appalling reason it has never lost its relevance.
Timothy Winters comes to school
With eyes as wide as a football-pool,
Ears like bombs and teeth like splinters:
A blitz of a boy is Timothy Winters.
His belly is white, his neck is dark,
And his hair is an exclamation-mark.
His clothes are enough to scare a crow
And through his britches the blue winds blow.
When teacher talks he won't hear a word
And he shoots down dead the arithmetic-bird,
He licks the pattern off his plate
And he's not even heard of the Welfare State.
Timothy Winters has bloody feet
And he lives in a house on Suez Street,
He sleeps in a sack on the kitchen floor
And they say there aren't boys like him anymore.
Old Man Winters likes his beer
And his missus ran off with a bombardier,
Grandma sits in the grate with a gin
And Timothy's dosed with an aspirin.
The welfare Worker lies awake
But the law's as tricky as a ten-foot snake,
So Timothy Winters drinks his cup
And slowly goes on growing up.
At Morning Prayers the Master helves
for children less fortunate than ourselves,
And the loudest response in the room is when
Timothy Winters roars "Amen!"
So come one angel, come on ten
Timothy Winters says "Amen
Amen amen amen amen."
Timothy Winters, Lord. Amen.
(In some anthologies, that last verse is omitted)
The poem was written by Charles Causley, a Cornish schoolteacher from the little town of Launceston (where Siouxsie and The Banshees guitarist John McGeogh also lived). Legend has it was refused the post of Poet Lauriette because he was considered too radical, but that never stopped him being made a CBE.
When at 83 years old and in declining health he was finally made a Companion of Literature by the snooty Royal Society of Literature, he greeted this award with a sardonic, ‘My goodness, what an encouragement!’
(Since that time, the RSL ironically has become so dumbed down that J. K. Rowling and the scriptwriters of Doctor Who are Companions ...)
‘Timothy Winters’ was published in 1957 in his poetry collection ‘Union Street’. Causley had been in the Royal Navy in World War Two and was one of thousands that believed in the promise of the Beveridge Report, but by the late 1950s saw its emasculation by successive governments and vested interests result in thousands of children growing up in appalling conditions, despite the promise of the Welfare State that no one would be allowed to live in poverty, squalor and neglect.
School children were once entitled to a free school lunch to ensure they ate at least one healthy meal a day, and to those like Timothy Winters the morning’s lessons were often lost as they wished away the hours to the lunchtime bell, and any child welfare payments were often treated as ‘beer and fag money’ by the feckless parents of the underclass.
The reference to Suez is to do with the Suez Crisis of the previous year, which caused the collapse of Antony Eden’s government and triggered a recession due to spiralling food and fuel prices (nothing changes, eh?). Many felt Britain should not have been embarking on expensive foreign policy interventions when large numbers of British cities and towns remained bombsites twelve years since the end of the Second World War.
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For Cincinnati, Raking Autumn Leaves Was A New-Fangled Fad
Ho, hum! On these great autumn morns
I surely hate to wake up,
Because on the front lawn I know
There’ll be more leaves to rake up.
Do you enjoy raking leaves? Or are you more inclined to agree with Enquirer columnist Sam Hill, who composed the doggerel above on 18 October 1923? Mr. Hill, while bemoaning his annual autumnal chore, must have realized that his forebears did not share in his drudgery. All evidence suggests that almost nobody in Cincinnati raked leaves much before 1900.
For one thing, there were hardly any leaves to rake. Early photographs of Cincinnati depict mostly denuded hillsides. For much of the city’s existence, wood meant heat for Cincinnati households. Consequently, any substantial tree was nothing more than a fuel supply. The earliest records of men being hired to rake leaves appear around 1880 in the budgets of the parks department, and then only in certain parks. Burnet Woods, always fairly wooded, was raked each spring to clear out the flower beds, while Eden Park – mostly open fields until the 1930s – did not require that service.
Some of the earliest reports of people raking leaves do not involve lawns but roofs. Once a homeowner let a tree grow in the yard, the biggest concern was not leaves on the ground, but leaves piled on the roof catching fire. Sweeping the roof, a dangerous task, often fell unfortunately to children. The Enquirer [2 October 1871] relates one such tragedy:
“A little daughter of Mr. William Simrall, residing at the corner of Eleventh and Russell streets, Covington, fell from the roof of a shed on Saturday and fractured her skull. She was sweeping leaves from the roof when the accident occurred. Her recovery is doubtful."
Leaves were so rare in Cincinnati that railroad excursions were organized to convey city dwellers out to remote areas, such as College Hill, not only to see the autumn colors, but to actually bring some leaves back to town. Yes, Cincinnatians paid railway rates for the privilege of riding out to the burbs so they could gather leaves and haul them homeward. Why? To decorate their houses, of course. According to the Cincinnati Gazette [6 November 1874]:
“The bright tints of autumn leaves are very lovely for ornamenting our parlors, boudoirs, and dining-tables. Brackets and picture frames can also be adorned with them, and they add greatly to the beauty of one’s surroundings.”
The Gazette recommended lightly brushing each leaf with olive oil, then gathering bunches into bouquets tied and supported with wire and accented by acorns.
“Prepare a large number of these sprays mounted on wires, and then arrange them in vases, about picture frames, over mirrors, and as ornaments to lace curtains, and your apartments will present a festive appearance, although the dreary winter weather has browned the face of nature.”
The earliest advertisement I have found for a domestic leaf rake dates from 1930. No sooner had leaf-raking been adopted as an annual duty than it earned a reputation as a useless occupation. By 1930, the United States – and Cincinnati – had fallen into the Great Depression and a lot of men lost their jobs. With public sentiment opposed to “the dole,” government relief programs mandated that welfare recipients had to perform some work to earn their relief payments. The Great Depression closed factories and shuttered businesses, so leaf raking remained among the few make-work options. The newspapers were almost unanimously against it. The Enquirer editorialized [11 May 1933] that welfare recipients should undertake “real” projects like sewer construction:
“The Welfare Department workers will have completed a project of much greater value to the public than the pulling of weeds or the raking of leaves.”
An Enquirer columnist [27 December 1934] lambasted welfare projects as either boondoggles or make-work scams:
“The phrase, ‘public works,’ calls up in most minds either some elaborate project which will take years to finish and will cost millions of the taxpayers’ money to operate or else it evokes a picture of men raking dead leaves in the city parks from one side of the path to the other.”
Based on an overseas cable, the Cincinnati Enquirer [24 November 1931] issued a warning for domestic leaf rakers:
“A British earl dropped dead while mowing the lawn – and, fellows, the thing to do now is convince your wife that raking up leaves is even more dangerous than mowing the lawn!!!!”
It was not an idle caveat. Local newspapers reported the sudden deaths of Paul Smith, Mount Auburn (1921); Herman Gilbert, Walnut Hills (1927); Hanna Schott, Avondale (1930); Jesse E. Taylor, Hyde Park (1931); Alma Bickel, Mount Washington (1947); Carl Whittier McNary, Liberty, Indiana (1960); David H. Wharton, Covington (1969) and Frank X. Zerhusen, Lakeside Park (1965); all struck dead while raking leaves.
This roll of casualties does not include Chris Weller, Hyde Park (1944) or Adelaide Nagel, Norwood (1941) who were run over by automobiles while raking leaves. Not to mention Raymond Saunders, injured in 1938 at the city incinerator in Madisonville when a pile of leaves he was raking exploded, apparently because he had raked up a bullet along with the resplendent autumn foliage.
Leaf raking is not for the faint of heart! Be careful out there!
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NewsWire· 21m * UK GOVERNMENT ‘REASONABLE’ WORST CASE SCENARIO PLAN SAYS WIDESPREAD GAS SHORTAGES IN WINTER LIKELY IN EVENT RUSSIA LIMITS GAS SUPPLY - TIMES *6 MILLION HOUSEHOLDS FACE ELECTRICITY RATIONING, CONTROLLED BLACKOUTS DURING PEAK HOURS ----- NOW DO GERMANY!! The US and EU politicians are so stupid. They cannot think one step ahead. It was predictable. As soon as the demented old moron Joe took office, what did he do? Right! He destroyed the energy independence in the US. My fellow Americans, prepare to face a shortage of diesel this fall. Truck drivers will go first, of course. You will be waiting in line. Those, who has no idea what the Carter administration looked like, will have an opportunity to experience those "glorious" times.
I lived through Jimmy Carter's gas crisis! I was a driving teen and we would run out of gas standing in line. I lived in Florida at the time and we struggled to put food on the table. I became anemic! What the answer to anemia, MEAT!
The usual suspects claim it's not happening, not based on facts.
If truckers can't afford to run their trucks they can't deliver the food. We were in the trucking business, and my husband hauled flatbed, steel, and lumber. All of our friends own trucks, one is a milk hauler out of Ohio that delivered Milk to Walmarts in Florida.
How much do you think that gallon of milk is going to cost? And still, that senile old bastards are going to push electricity? Really!
Companies were adding a fuel surcharge to deliveries, but it doesn't cover the cost of fuel. Owner Operators need to pay enormous truck payments. They can't run older trucks because of all the regulations.
Also, older truckers are retiring and saying F**k this S**t! Were done! They have offered drivers as low as 18 yo positions, but our younger people are too damn lazy to try to make a living.
Mc Donald's and Burger King need deliveries too! Not everyone can work there, and people will not pay the price. What does that lead to? Like the carter admin, we all stayed home and ate beans and potato soup.
Does it sound depressing? It is. That's why I'm pushing you to stock up and be prepared. I personally know what borderline starvation is.
Fight back, use your voice and tell congress you are mad as hell!
Thank you, Anon, that felt good!
Love, JD 😜💋
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