Who's on your freebie list?

Being chronically single I have no need of a freebie list, everyone is a fantasy, but in a typical Friday afternoon type conversation, the topic came up in the office today.

Emma Watson seems to be top of the lost for the males of the department.

One of temps announced that she was supposed to be in his year at Cambridge, but chose to go to Brown instead, then stared wistfully off into the distance for a while.

Other contenders were Angelina Jolie, Kylie Minogue and Cameron Diaz.

Us girls definitely had a longer list!

Nathan Fillion, more so in Firefly/Serenity than Castle.

Alan Rickman, but only as Severus Snape or The Sheriff of Nottingham.

Jimmy Nail, Dennis Waterman - these were the guilty pleasures of the older lady (me).

Jason Statham and Bruce Willis also made the cut.

Do you and your partner have a freebie list?

Who made yours?

Silent Sunday - 16/08/15

Farewell Coventry Co-Op, hello even more student accommodation (probably).

After nearly 150 years in the Coventry city centre, the Co-Op is due to close on the 24th October 2015.

From its humble beginnings in Cook Street in 1867 it moved to its current, multi-storey location, in 1956.

For many locals, born and bred in the city, the Co-Op is the first point of call for many things, from electricals (if you are a member of the Co-Op which costs £2 for lifetime membership you could get some great deals), to school uniforms, to suites and beds.

It was Christmas, however, that the 'Co' really came into its own.  Theirs was THE Santa to visit.

There was the sleigh, sitting ride behind reindeer whilst scenery rushed past.

 

The tinkling bells on the harnesses.

The exit into a decorated hut.

The authentic fat, jolly Santa.

The wrapped gift.

It was fantastic.

I went every year, my friends went every year.  My friends are now taking their children and grandchildren.  

But it will be no more.

According to the Coventry Telegraph a plea has gone out for someone to carry on the tradition and take over the Co-Op Santa experience.

So what will be built in place of the shop?  My guessing, and many people seem to agree, is that it will be yet MORE student accommodation.  

According to a report on the Coventry Council website, there are currently more than 4000 purpose built student accommodation units in the city, mostly in the centre.  There are also more than 8000 units on or around the site of the University of Warwick on the outskirts of the city.  There is extant planning permission for a further 3300 units across the city.

This does not include the recent change in plans for the former sorting office in the centre.

Nor does it include the great swathes of the suburbs where houses are converted to HMOs and operated by private companies or individuals.

I have posted before about students taking over the city, and the influx shows no sign of abating.

My ideas for cost saving in the NHS

The cost of running the NHS is in the news again today, Monitor (the sector regulator for Health Services) have asked the 46 Foundation Trusts within England to review their finances due the expected deficit by the end of the current financial year.

We should stop providing free healthcare, other than emergency treatment, to non-residents.  Residency would be proved with an ID card which can only be obtained with proof of continuing employment.  Tourists would still receive cover as their insurance companies would be billed directly and automatically.

I have several friends in the Ambulance service - one of them told me a story of their dispatch receiving a call detailing a case of electrocution.  They arrived at the property under 'blues' to find the patient sitting drinking tea.  Asking when the electrocution happened they were told 'oh, about 3 weeks ago, but when I arrived in the country I was told I could get free treatment so I called 999'.

We are constantly being told that there is a shortage of doctors and consultants leading to vacancies in hospitals.  This is clearly not the case as those vacancies are able to be filled with expensive agency medics.  The Government should make the decision that with effect from the 1st April 2016, NO agency use will be funded within NHS hospitals.

Similarly with nurses and support roles.

Non-clinical supplies should be purchased from wherever gives the best price, not just from an 'approved list' of suppliers who charge 2, 3 or even 4 times the amount available on the open market.

Stop using taxis to transport notes and drugs.  No-one is discharged instantly, so there is time to have any prescribed drugs ready for the patient to take with them.  If notes need to be moved across sites, there are porters who would be able to do this using a pool vehicle.

Stop restructuring!  It costs millions to implement new structures which could go on patient care.

I'm not having a good day.

It's been a while since I mentioned my depression, or at least I think it has.  But today has not been a good day.

I did not sleep well, waking up every hour or so until midnight, which was when I received a text with my exam results (we have to wait almost 2 months for the results so why they have to be sent out at midnight I don't know, another few hours wouldn't hurt), at 6am I gave up but felt more drained than I did when I went to bed.  I failed, by the way, but this was not unexpected.

I dragged myself out of bed and went to do the 'big shop', I had decided to try a different store today and it really threw me off my shopping stride - I seemed to buy half as much as usual, but paid twice as much.

The rest of the day has been a bit of a blur.

I have managed to wash my work clothes but nothing else.

I wanted to sort out the downstairs cupboard/junk room.  I haven't.

I should have gone and collected my prescription.  I haven't.

I needed to go to the bank.  I haven't.

I haven't attended to my vegetable patch for weeks.

All I have wanted to do today is sleep or eat or read or gamble or drink.

This may be a reaction to everything going on at work at the moment, or it could just be an escalation of my usual summer blues, or it could be a mixture of both, but I don't like it.

I want to go to bed and not get up.

I want to run away and not come back.

I just don't want to be here.  Alone.

Style XL - 18th & 19th July 2015

This weekend I was lucky enough to win weekend tickets to this event which was being held at The Paragon Hotel in Birmingham.

I've never been to an event like this before so I had no idea what to expect but I ended up really enjoying myself.

The function room was set up with a catwalk down the middle, this was lined with chairs, with round tables further back.

Vendors stalls lined the walls - Apples & Pears Clothing, Topsy Curvy, Scarlett & Jo, Simply Be, Yours Clothing, Bon Prix (who I won my tickets with) and Curvy Kate - to name just a few.

There were pop-up changing rooms for trying things on and a pop-up Pin-Up Parlour offering haircuts, up-do's and make up.  I had my hair styled in Victory Rolls and I loved it!  I just need to learn how to do it myself now.

I loved watching the fashion shows and seeing the clothes being modelled.  I did miss one show as I was having my hair done at the time but saw all the others.

Alll the models seemed to enjoy themselves, despite being nervous - they were all friends, family and volunteers, no professional models here - and I think that made it all the more enjoyable to those of us watching.

There was a raffle to raise funds for MIND which I was happy to support being as Mental Health is an issue which affects me, and I was lucky again!  This time I won a Crabtree & Evelyn set.

I spotted several bloggers whose blogs I follow, but was too nervous to go and introduce myself, I wish I had done now.  I also wish I had taken more photos than I did.

I wasn't able to attend last night's session nor today's so missed a lot.  But I thoroughly enjoyed myself for the session I attended and will definitely be going again.

So come on Leah, when is the next one?

Silent Sunday - 19/07/15