MANAGING ON A PITTANCE

I have just been listening to Woman's Hour and a discussion about managing on a very low budget.  I have always had to manage on very little money so here's my experience and tips.  My husband has been an ordinary parish priest for 30 years,  There are no perks..... all fees go to the diocese and though we are provided with a house we have to find the money for heating and lighting (what is often a badly maintained building) from the basic stipend.  Contrary to what the tax office thinks we have never had the Easter collection as an extra.  That was phased out over 30 years ago.  And when he was a theological student we had no almost no grant so I leaned to manage on next to nothing.

BUDGET, BUDGET, BUDGET

It is essential to budget properly.  Look at what you must have to live healthily.

a roof over your head

heating and lighting
clean water and sewage                                                 
food
clothes and shoes
equipment for school/work
transport and travel
extras and treats

I have found from bitter experience, my own, my daughter's, and my son's, that paying for your housing is the first essential.  It is a fixed cost and will probably be the biggest cost you have.  If you don't keep up with your rent/mortgage/local taxes you will never catch up. It will just become a bottomless pit which will become the source of endless anxiety.  you may even have the bailiffs call or worse find yourself homeless.

Heating and lighting come next.  You cannot survive for long with candles and a gaz burner so make this the next priority.  Likewise the water charges.   A well insulated home costs less to heat and you can usually get help with the costs; sometimes there is no cost.  Close the curtains at night.  It helps keep the heat in.  Shut the living room door.  Have a draught excluder. Wear more clothes!  Simple, but it's surprising how many people wear a t-shirt and no sweater in the middle of winter.  Vests may be old fashioned but they keep you warm.  Wear a vest, t-shirt, sweater and cardigan when it's really cold and you won't need so much heating.  Wear pop-socks plus socks under trousers and your feet will keep warm.  Simple but effective.  If you are sitting still in the evening put a rug over your knees... cosy and warm.
If you are having problems with any of these costs TALK TO SOMEONE.  You may be entitled to benefits so ask.  We pay our taxes when we are in work so we can get help when we need it.  Go to the various Citizen's Advice services   
 citizensinformationboard.
This site gives you a helpline number to call as well as email contact information. 
citizensadvicebureau
They have offices in every town in the UK, staffed by trained volunteers who have years of experience.

AVOID 
any of the many, many companies offering short-term loans.  Their charges don't look much till you start to think about it.  If you need 'just a bit to tide you over' by the time you have paid it off you will need another loan 'just to tide you over', and on and on and on.  It's a slippery slope, though I'm not saying it's easy to manage without loans. It just adds to your problems in the end.  If you must have one then go to your bank and do it properly.  But remember banks are not your friends.  They exist to make money for their shareholders so they may not even let you have a loan.
Credit cards..... very high interest and if you don't pay it off fairly quickly you will land up with enormous charges that just get bigger.


It really is worth it to go without something until you can afford it. It's particularly hard when you have children and it's Christmas but if you get into debt so they can have all the things their more affluent friends have you will find you are in a hole which just gets bigger.  In these times of job cuts and redundancies you are not the only ones in this position.  Talk to your family and try to get agreement on what to spend any extra money on. You will be surprised how co-operative they can be.  And stick to your guns.


MONEY CONTROL
Look at when your money come in and inform your planning accordingly. 
Put aside the housing and fuel costs and NEVER borrow from it.  If possible set up monthly standing orders with the bank.  That way you don't forget payments and you can spread the payments over the year so you don't get nasty shock bills during cold weather.
Then look at what you have left and plan the rest of your spending.

AT THE SHOPS
Prioritise what you buy.  Food first then hygiene and cleaning items.  Clothes, shoes, treats come last.  If your money comes in monthly, bulk buy dried and canned food for the month (remembering your menu planning).  Stock up on soap, wash powder etc.  Make sure you leave enough money for fresh food for the rest of the weeks in the month.


FOOD

Always make out a menu for the week.  Look at what you are planning and see where you might have left-overs which you can use to make another dish.  Draw up your shopping list and when you go to the supermarket or market try to stick to it.  Avoid taking the children with you and try not to shop in a hurry or when you feel really hungry.  All these things help to increase what you buy.

Keep an eye on 'bargains'.  They are often not a bargain at all.
Try basic brands.  Many are very good indeed and if you hate the smell, flavour, whatever you haven't lost much but if you do like them you can save huge amounts of money.  If the children complain about the labels on the stuff in their packed lunch box talk to them and don't give in.  If you can't afford it they can't have it. Pack fresh carrot sticks, sliced apple, satsuma segments, celery, radish etc in little plastic boxes.  It's much cheaper than paying 50p or £1 for a tiny, ready prepared, fresh snack.  Bake your own cookies and flapjacks.  Recipes follow.
Avoid ready cooked food.  It is usually much cheaper to cook at home from basic ingredients and usually more nutritious.  This includes pizzas; they are very easy to make.  Recipes to follow.
Find ways to use left over food so you waste as little as possible.  Suggestions follow.

If you are really pushed try your local food bank, if there is one.  Your Citizen's Advice Bureau should have information.  Some will help out every week or they may have a policy limiting the number of visits you can make.


CLOTHES
Don't be too proud to visit charity shops.  Many of the clothes donated are hardly worn and some are brand new.  You can pick up good quality clothes for almost nothing.  Often they don't need alterations though a change of buttons can work wonders.  
Children's jeans look much the same.  Get them from the charity shop.  Likewise baby clothes.  Most are hardly worn because babies grow so fast.  If you regularly visit your local shop the staff will get to know you and look out for things you need/want/like.  Many charity shops have a board where they keep a note of customer requests, often for household items or prams/pushchairs.  Use it.  Staff will contact you if items you ask about come into the shop.
You may even find items suitable for presents.  And you will definitely find many books on many subjects and suitable for all ages, as well as CDs and DVDs.


TRANSPORT AND TRAVEL
Transport costs are a tricky one.  If you want to borrow books from the library, so you don't need to spend money on new books, you need to get there.  If it's too far to walk for you or your children then it's the bus, unless you can cadge a lift with someone in their car.  (Worth asking around for this.)  There are many other reasons for needing to travel...paying bills, hospital visits etc etc.
If possible organise things so you spend a morning or afternoon doing all the journeys on a one day travel pass. You will save time as well as money.

NEVER GO OVERDRAWN
If you work on a cash basis then you know when you have run out of money.  It can be more difficult to be disciplined to save for bills but you do not get bank charges.
If your money is paid into a bank then you must be really, really careful.  The bank is NOT there for you.  It exists solely to make money for the shareholders and you are not one of them. If you go into the red, even by 1p, you will incur huge and disproportionate charges...£30 or so for going into the red, £30 or so for telling you that you have gone into the red, plus interest on the debt, which now includes those charges the bank has just added to your in-the-redness.  You cannot win this one.  If you ask for a bank loan to sort it out, unless it's a huge amount you owe, they will make you take a credit card to pay off your debt and then you are stuck with credit card charges, which are much higher than the rate for a bank loan.  So, keep out of the red.  The system is weighted heavily against those of us on low incomes.
 
 
















 
 

SUPER SWEETS

POPCORN

This has to be the easiest snack/ sweet recipe.  All you need is a pan with a fairly thick base, a little oil and a handful of popping corn.

Put a tablespoonful of oil (any will do) and heat.  Put in a handful of popping corn and PUT ON THE LID.  If you take the lid off before the corn has finished popping you will get popcorn all over the kitchen.  I know this because I have done it!

In a few minutes you will hear the corn pinging against the pan lid. Shake the pan occasionally and don't leave the heat up high.  When the noise has stopped your popcorn is ready.

Eat as it is (don't burn your fingers) or add salt,  You can also add syrup and turn it to coat the popcorn but do it whilst it's still hot.

REAL ICE CREAM

This recipe developed because we had a glut of raspberries and strawberries.  There were too many to eat fresh, though we did try, so we had to freeze vast quantities.

You need a blender.

Into the blender pour a carton of whipping or double cream.  Add icing sugar to taste (any excuse!) and turn on the blender.  When the cream has thickened add  a similar volume of frozen raspberries or strawberries and whizz it all again.  It makes a terrible noise but it's worth it.  It should be creamy and very cold.

Serve immediately.  I haven't tried to freeze it again. It doesn't last that long.

Variations

1    Vegan alternative uses unsalted cashew nuts and maple syrup instead of cream and icing sugar.  This version is even noisier to make but equally delicious.


Soak 1 cup unsalted cashews in 2 cups water, preferably overnight.
Put into the blender with 1/4 cup maple syrup and whizz like mad.


Add the frozen fruit, whizz again and there you are.

2    Decadent variations add your favourite liqueur to taste.

3    Meringues    Simplicity itself, fill a meringue nest with the ice cream.  Put a fresh strawberry or raspberry on top to finish it off.  Impress your guests.

CLAFOUTIS

Another good recipe if you have a glut of fruit.  In our area of France it's cherries in June and everyone makes this.  Plus it's really, really easy.

In a shallowish dish put a layer of prepared fruit.  Some fruits will need cooking, some not.  It depends what you are using. If you're in a hurry leave the stones in the cherries.  Sprinkle 2 tablespoonfuls sugar over the fruit (unless you cooked the fruit with sugar to prepare it)
Then in a bowl put 2 tablespoons of sugar
                           1 tablespoonful of butter
Beat them together and then add 1/2 teaspoonful (or more to taste) vanilla essence
                                                2 large eggs
                                                3/4 cup milk
                                                pinch of salt (it brings out the flavour)
                                                1/2 cup of flour
and mix thoroughly.
Pour the batter (this is not a cake mix)  over the fruit.
Cook in the oven, 220C, mark 6 for 20 minutes and avoid opening the oven door.  It should be brown on top and set firm.


Best eaten as soon as it comes out of the oven dusted with icing sugar but is also very good cold with cream or ice cream.


TARTE TATIN
This is a bit more complicated but well worth the effort.  You need a shallow pan or dish which can be used on the burner and in the oven.  I bought one specially from Lakeland http://www.lakeland.co.uk/ but I also found a really old metal frying pan in the local Emmaeus in Thiers and that works really well.

You make the pastry first and put it in the fridge for 30 minutes otherwise it gets too sticky to use.  This is especially true in summer.
In a bowl mix  1 cup flour
                      pinch of salt
rub in             2 tablespoonfuls butter  until it looks like breadcrumbs.
Mix to a dough with approx 2 tablespoonfuls of cold water.  You want the dough to stick together but not be too sticky.  Wrap in cling film and put in the fridge for 30 minutes.


Prepare 8 small eating apples (Cox's give it a nice bite but any eaters will be fine).  Peel, core and cut into quarters.
In the pan/dish melt 7 tablespoons of butter over a medium heat.  Add 1 1/4 cups of sugar, allow to dissolve in the melted butter and then carefully cram in all the apple pieces in the pan (they'll shrink in cooking).  Turn down the heat.  Allow it to bubble and caramelise. It will take 30 to 45 minutes for the apples to be soft and the caramel to become golden brown but watch it doesn't burn.  Shaking the pan will help.  And you can carefully turn over the apples part way through the cooking to coat the other side.  Try not to break them.

Then take the pan off the heat and get the pastry.  Roll it out to fit over the apples, pop it over (don't burn yourself) and tuck it round the edge.
Put into the oven  220C, mark 6 for 25 minutes until the pastry is nicely brown. 
Leave a few minutes after taking from the oven.  Now comes the tricky part.  You need to turn the whole thing over onto a serving plate so the pastry is on the bottom and the caramelised apples on top.  I put the plate over the top of the pan/dish and turn the whole thing over in one 'smooth' movement.  I use an oven glove because it's all very hot.If you're lucky the apples will fall out on top on the pastry but if they don't use your wooden spoon to scrape them off.  Try to keep it looking neat.  Ideally you have golden apples in a neat pattern just begging to be eaten.


Allow it to cool and serve with cream.  Delicious, even if it falls to bits in turning.

RECIPES EASY PASTA

Basic tomato sauce for pasta

Suitable for vegans, easy recipe.  For 2 people use a medium can of tomatoes for 4 people use a great big tin.

1   Heat 2 tablespoonfuls of oil (the best you can afford) in a pan and add a chopped onion.  Stir occasionally so the onion browns but doesn't burn.

2   Add a stick of celery, very finely chopped. Cook for 5 minutes.

3   Add a can of tomatoes.  If they are not already chopped break up the flesh with your wooden spoon.

4   Add salt, pepper and a teaspoonful (or as much as you like) mixed herbs or herbs de Provence.

5   Lid on, turn down the heat and simmer for 20 minutes or longer.  A long, slow cooking time will help develop a good flavour.

6   You can serve the sauce just as it is or you can whizz it with a stick blender.


Serve with pasta and grated cheese on top.  You can also use it in lasagne or as a pizza topping. 

Pasta

You need a big pan so the water can really boil.  When you add the pasta it will bubble right up and if the pan is too small it will put out the gas!  I have done this many many times so pay heed.  Some folk add a little oil to stop it boiling up.

How much pasta you cook depends very much on the size of everyone's appetite but it roughly doubles in size as it cooks.  If you find you have cooked too much see the later recipes.

Basically you half fill a big pan with water and a tiny pinch of salt.  When it comes to a real, rolling boil then you add the pasta (take care not to get splashed).  Lid on, heat down, simmer 7 minutes and then check if it's cooked enough.  When it is ready, drain well (don't scald yourself) and serve immediately, preferably on hot plates with the sauce of your choice.


Easy bolognaise sauce


1   In a medium pan heat 2 tablespoonfuls of oil.


2   Add 3/4lb minced beef (the best quality you can afford) and let it brown.  Turn the meat from time to time but don't stand and stir it or all the juices will run out instead of being sealed in.


3   Cover the meat with boiling water.  Add a good handful of dried oregano, salt, pepper and a full tube of tomato puree.  Stir gently to mix it all up.


4   Lid on, heat down and simmer for at least half an hour.

Serve with pasta or use in lasagne.


Variations


To cut down red meat consumption and to cut costs add soya mince protein at stage 3.  I add 2 good handfuls to the pan and more water.  Soya swells so check you have added sufficient liquid.  Cook the sauce for longer so the flavours mingle properly.


Lasagne


You need 3 sauces and lasagne sheets.  


Tomato sauce    see above


Bolognaise sauce     see above


White sauce        


1   In a small saucepan melt 2 ounces of butter or margarine.  Don't let it go brown if you can help it.


2   Turn down the heat and stir in 2 tablespoonfuls of flour.  


3    Add milk, stirring all the time (this is the time to use a balloon whisk) until the sauce thickens to a thick cream.


Take it off the heat and stir a bit more to make sure it is smooth.


Layer up your lasagne

In your lasagne dish (it doesn't need to be a special dish, anything fairly shallow and rectangular or square is fine) put a little white sauce.

Add a layer of lasagne sheets.

Put in a layer of tomato, a layer of lasagne, a layer of bolognaise sauce, a layer of lasagne until the dish is nearly full, finishing with lasagne.

Add some grated cheese to the white sauce and pour over the top of the lasagne in the dish.  Add a layer of grated cheese.

Cook in the over at reg 4, 180C for 30 minutes to 45 minutes.  When it's hot through and bubbly, and the cheese is melted and going brown then it's cooked.

Variations

Use just bolognaise sauce with white sauce at the bottom and cheese sauce on the top.

For vegetarians lose the bolognaise sauce.  Use layers of tomato sauce and white/cheese sauce. (You may need to make extra white/cheese sauce.)


For vegans, make the white sauce using soya margarine and soya milk.  Use it as white sauce at the bottom of the dish. Put layers of tomato sauce and lasagne into the dish.  Keep a little sauce on one side and add dried mixed herbs/herbs de Provence to the rest of the white sauce and use it as a layer instead of bolognaise.  Use the reserved white sauce on top, no cheese.




 Left over pasta


         If you have a microwave:
 
1     heat through, add grated cheese and serve with ketchup.  Cheap, quick and tasty.

2     pasta and whatever sauce is left will heat up well.   Jazz up with pasta oil.  
  
Spicy Pasta oil

In a suitable bottle (ie not too big) put    

a dried red chilli 
a sprig of rosemary
a sprig of thyme
a few peppercorns (black, pink, red or green)
                                                      
Top up with olive oil or grapeseed oil.

Shake well and leave for 6 weeks before drizzling onto pizzas and pasta. 

3    Carbonara

In a large microwavable bowl put half a pack of lardons and heat for 20 seconds.

Add the cooked pasta and a knob of butter. Heat for 30 seconds.

Beat an egg and add to the pasta together with grated cheese.  Mix with 2 forks then heat for 30 seconds.

Keep turning the pasta through the sauce and heating for 20 -30 seconds until the egg is cooked (it looks like scrambled egg). Serve on hot plates with ketchup or spicy pasta oil. 

Variations

If you like it creamier then add cream to the egg and cook until the egg is creamy but not dry.

     If you don't have a microwave:


1   You can bake pasta in left-over tomato or bolognaise sauce in the oven, mark 4, 180c.  It takes about 20 minutes to heat through.


2    Make carbonara in a pan on the top of the stove, stirring a lot so it doesn't stick and burn.


3    Make cheese sauce and pour over cooked pasta.  Add grated cheese on top and bake 30 minutes mark 4 180c until bubbling and the cheese is brown.  Good with macaroni.




Make pasta salad.

1   Look at the left over pasta.  If it's in big pieces you might want to cut them into smaller bits for the salad.

2    Add cooked, cold, vegetables such as diced courgette
                                                          sweet corn
                                                          peas
                                                          diced beetroot

3   Add diced, raw vegetables such as carrot
                                                     tomato
                                                     celery
                                                     spring onion 
                                                     radish                   
                                                     peppers


4    Mix with a salad dressing, whichever you prefer.
 
Vinagrette

In a jar (with a tight lid!) put:
  
2 tablespoons oil.....olive oil preferably or any salad oil
1 tablespoon vinegar, wine vinegar if possible
1/4 level teaspoonful of dry mustard (you can use ready mixed but it sticks round the top of the jar)
1/4 level teaspoonful salt
1/4 level teaspoonful sugar


Shake really hard until it's all mixed properly.


It will keep in the fridge for several days.  Just shake really well before using.


Variations


add crumbled blue cheese

add a little lazy/easy garlic or a crushed garlic clove


add a couple of teaspoonfuls of chopped fresh chives


add a teaspoonful of Worcester or soya or chilli sauce or lazy/easy chillis


The variations are endless and depend on what you like.

RECIPES EASY RISOTTO

It occurs to me that anyone finding this blog will expect recipes so here we go.

 EASY RISOTTO

This is an easy, cheap recipe, suitable for vegans.

1   Heat a couple of tablespoons of oil in a biggish pan (the best oil you can afford, olive oil if possible) and add a couple of handfuls of rice per person.  Let the rice get brown but avoid it burning.  (It's not a disaster if it does burn a bit.)

2  Add a chopped onion and stir so it gets brown.

3  Now add a can of tomatoes, any sort.  It may spit! so be careful.  Add dried thyme or mixed herbs.

4  Add enough boiling water just to cover the rice.

5  Lid on, heat down, simmer to absorb the liquid.

6  Check after 10 minutes.  If the liquid is all absorbed add a little more.  Lid on.  Simmer a little longer.

7   Keep checking and adding more liquid as necessary until the rice is cooked.  The finished dish should not be too dry.

VARIATIONS

Loads of variations are possible.  Here are some:

use cider or white wine as some or all of the liquid

add chopped peppers, finely chopped celery at stage 3 or diced courgette,

add chopped mushrooms or cooked sweet corn at stage 6 

serve with grated cheese on top   

You will think of many more. 

WHAT USE IS THE JOB CENTRE?

All we ever seem to see and hear at the moment is how many unemployed people there are, how bad youth unemployment is, should we expect the unemployed to work as slave labour etc etc.

Unemployment is a huge problem, especially at a time of severe cutbacks in government spending.  This is having the effect of throwing thousands more onto the unemployment register, with the resulting drop in economic activity which in turn results in yet more job losses.

So what happens to those who have never had a job or only had one for a short time or who go from one dead-end part-time post to another with unemployed periods in between?  They sign on at the local job centre.  And what happens then?  Well, as far as I can see, not much.  You fill in forms, get an appointment and get sent off to tote your CV round local businesses.  You may get offered help to improve the CV and you may get tips on how best to interview but do job centres really do anything to help folk get a proper job? 

 If you have one of those increasingly popular (with employers) 0 hours contracts (ie casual work by another name) you may need to sign on if you have weeks with fewer that 16 hours or even  0 hours. You will find the system so organised that between reporting to the centre and your actual interview you get more hours in work so you never actually sign on so you don't get any money for the week or so when you had no paid hours.  Not a happy situation to be in.

The idea at the moment is to send these undeserving ones on unpaid work experience.  For some it does result in a job but for most it is a demoralising experience, and one which, should they decide they have had enough and quit, may cost them 2 week's allowance.  If these placements had proper training it might be acceptable but for many, including unemployed graduates, the work is little better than floor sweeping and shelf stacking.  It has to be asked whether some businesses are using these work placements as a constant stream of free labour instead of employing the staff they really need.  Questions are being asked and many firms are pulling out of the scheme.  Tesco has changed the way it offers these placements.  It now offers a choice of staying on benefit or receiving a small wage with a job at the end of a satisfactory placement,  So it can be done.

And what of all those who can't be offered a Tesco placement?  This is my solution.

Everyone who signs on is assessed on spoken English.  Whether UK English is their first language or not this needs assessing.  It doesn't matter how folk speak to family or friends they need a reasonable level of fairly standard English in the workplace, whatever the job. If a signee has a very marked accent, whether Pakistani, broad Irish, broad Scots, Liverpudlian, Japanese or whatever and if they are not readily comprehensible they need help.  This isn't racist or bigoted it's just common sense.  If someone says 'init' every couple of words they need help to adapt a more standard speech for the workplace.

Can the person read fluently?  We live in a literate world and if you can't read or you read badly then you are severly hadicapped when it comes to getting a job.  So if signees have poor reading skills they should get literacy classes.

Assess written English   Ditto.  If you can't spell common words and fill in a form you are severely limited.  Job centres should provide appropriate classes.

Can they add up?    Again if you can't cope with basic arithmetic, money and measurements there are almost no jobs for which you can successfully apply so you need lessons to fill this gap.

Do you get the picture?  Our politicians deplore the fact that many youngsters are leaving school ill equipped with the basics but no-one seems to want to plug this gap to help folk get jobs.  It wouldn't cost very much. Instead of over-paid consultants employed via their own companies, thus avoiding income tax, you contract properly qualified teachers, pay them the going rate (far less than any consultant) and since they will pay income tax the government will recoup some of the cost anyway.

Once people have the basics, and they could be required to attend classes with a good will or lose benefit, then you can look at other skills they need to get and keep a job.  Can they operate a simple office programme on a computer?  Almost every job now has some element requiring computer skills.  Teach them these basics.  It's a no-brainer.

Basic Food Hygiene  can be taught and assessed in a couple of days.  Likewise NEBOSH health and safety qualifications.  If you put claimants who need help through basic courses like these they will have much improved self esteem, not to mention a much improved CV.  they will become employable.

At the moment job centres do little or nothing to help unqualified people get qualified.  There is no reason why staff from libraries and the local college cannot come and meet groups to tell them what is available in their centres and encourage them to come and try things out.  Remember,  most  long -term unemployed people have low self-esteem, no confidence and may not even know where the library or college is.  They haven't the confidence to enrol for an electrician's course or a plasterer's course.  Surely job centres should be helping folk into work in whatever way they can, and this should include helping them to find the right training course.

My son has been in and out of work for 10 years.  In his experience the one thing which would have helped him into work would have been to learn to drive.  He asked about learning to drive so he would be more employable and was told it would not even be considered. This sort of training is never offered.  Why not?  It would be much more practical than the 'polish up you CV' route.  If you cannot drive then half the available jobs are closed to you.

How much does it cost to train as a forklift truck operator?  More than someone on benefit can pay.  Likewise the HGV qualification.  If we are serious about reducing unemployment we must put our money (probably not very much money) where our mouth is.  Or do we just want a huge pool of undeserving poor at the bottom of the heap so we can keep the trade unions in check?

12 THINGS MY DENTIST AND HYGIENIST TOLD ME

1        Use a good quality electric toothbrush.

2        Brush twice a day, no more.  You can damage the enamel if you over brush.

3        Don't use mouthwash straight after brushing.  You will wash off the active fluoride in the toothpaste.

4        Use mouthwash after lunch.  Don't brush a third time.

5        If you have sensitive teeth rub a little sensitive toothpaste onto each sore tooth before you go to bed.

6        If you are using the special Corsodyl gel make sure you have someone with you the first time.  Very occasionally there is an adverse reaction which may require hospitalisation.

7        Use a good toothpaste.  If you have sensitive teeth use a special toothpaste.

8        There have been some problems with the very latest Sensodyne toothpaste so if it hurts your teeth through the enamel (like it did me) stop using it.

9         If you have pain in the jaw see your dentist not your doctor.

10       If you use the Codsodyl gel don't use it at the same time as toothpaste because it affects the fluoride in the toothpaste. 

11       Use the little brushes to clean between the teeth each night.  Use the gel 3 times a week with the brushes.

12       Change the little brushes every week and your toothbrush every 3 months or less.

HOW I LEARNED TO LOVE MY DENTAL HYGIENIST

 With advancing age I daily expect to lose my teeth and land up with dentures, as our parents did.  I have had quite a lot of pain along the jaw in the last 6 months or so and have twice been to the doctor for antibiotics.  I go twice yearly for dental checks.

During the last 7 days I have had 2 visits to my dental hygienist, on the orders of my dentist.  Poor woman, I went in with so much baggage.  I started in as I was taking off my coat unloading all my negative feelings re dentists and hygienists etc

All through my childhood visiting the dentist meant pain.  I didn't have one visit which didn't hurt.  In those days Mum stayed in the waiting room whilst the child was taken into the dental surgery.  It never occurred to me that there was such a thing as pain relief and so each visit he would find a cavity, which hurt.  Then the next visit was the filling, also very painful.   I even had a tooth extraction with ineffectual pain relief and I felt everything.  Not until I was a teenager did it occur to me to mention the pain.  My mother had no idea that I was suffering.  She thought I was just making a fuss.  Not until I found a different dental surgeon after I left home did I experience pain-free dentistry.  To this day I tense up as soon as I walk through the door.
 

When I lived in the Isle of Man I had my wisdom teeth removed under general anaesthetic.  Alas, they removed all 4 and stitched the gums.  They left the stitches in for a fortnight which meant I couldn't eat because I couldn't open my mouth!  Great way to lose weight though.

Then the last visit I had had to a dental hygienist resulted in gum recession.  She told me to change the way I brushed, angling the brush up and under the gum.  4 years later I went to the dentist with generalised toothache and she told me my teeth were fine but that I had gum recession, hence the pain and to stop angling the brush up into the gum. I naturally blame that hygienist.

So I took all this in with me and unloaded it all onto my new hygienist.  And what was more there were no arms on the dental chair.  What was I supposed to clutch in  my agony?

She was brilliant and soothed me down.  When I said I expected to find her treatment very painful she calmly said she could 'numb me up' and that's exactly what she did.  So, although a bit strange and uncomfortable the root debridement was pain free.  When I had the second treatment on the other side of my face I did experience pain in a tooth she wasn't actually treating.  She stopped immediately and fetched the dentist, who examined the tooth in question and discovered a fracture in the tooth.  So now I have wonderfully clean teeth,  no infection in my gums and another appointment to fix the tooth.  And no toothache.

She also gave me a set of 3 little brushes to clean the gaps between my teeth and showed me how to use them, as well as a sample of gel to use 3 times a week with the brushes.

So, next time your dentist recommends the hygienist GO.  And if you have pain along your jaw line go to your dentist not your doctor.

FOOD BAGS

I have just given a bag of food to a lady calling at the Vicarage.  It's a few weeks since we had a similar call, though in the weeks leading up to Christmas we had many such callers.

In the last 15 years it has become quite a frequent occurrence.  People call and ask for food for many reasons, though it's not my place to ask for those reasons.  Some say they are waiting for their benefit to arrive.  This may be a fact or a con but unless individuals come too often we always give them something.  Some say they have just moved.  Some are very apologetic. And some are alcoholics, but they still need to eat.  Almost all who come are embarrassed to be asking for something as basic as food.

It's a sad fact of modern life that we get callers like this.  But I have personal experience of living on the breadline and family experience of staggering financially from one day to the next on benefits, and I know how it can be just too much to make the money stretch to buy everything you need. 

I have only ever turned two people away and both times it was because the individuals had come too frequently.  Once a week and we will help.  More often and they're taking advantage.  

Of course, we never give money.  If we did, the news would soon reach the ears of every con artist in town so we give food which we know cannot be turned into drugs or alcohol but only a meal.

WHAT'S IN EACH BAG?

Bearing in mind that callers may only have a kettle and no oven (we have had one caller who lived in a derelict building with no facilities at all) we put a bag of basics together.  

bread

margarine

teabags                                                         

milk

instant soups

pot noodles (in case they only have a kettle)

canned food such as beans, soup, ravioli etc

jam

At a pinch the canned stuff can be eaten cold.

It's a difficult balancing act to give enough for a couple of days whilst not making folk dependent on handouts.  In rare cases we know the people well and so can tailor what's in the bag to their family needs.

In one parish we had a family of failed asylum seekers.  Although we felt that the family should return to their homeland because there didn't seem to be a good reason not to, nevertheless we couldn't let them go hungry.  As failed asylum seekers they were not entitled to benefits and so had no income at all.  How many more are there in that position?  

We read in the press how food banks are becoming increasingly needed.  How sad in this day and age.

We live in an affluent country but in times of austerity and ever more stringent cuts in central and local government budgets how many more folk will arrive on our doorstep asking for food?

MORE RESOURCES FOR BURN'S NIGHT

A Grace Before Dinner, Extempore       1791

O thou who kindly dost provide
For every creature's want!
We bless Thee, God of Nature wide,
For all Thy goodness lent:
And if it please Thee, Heavenly Guide,
May never worse be sent;
But, whether granted, or denied,
Lord, bless us with content. Amen! 

  Selkirk Grace (1)

Some hae meat and canna eat,
   And some wad eat that want it;
But we hae meat, and we can eat,
   Sae let the Lord be thankit.
The last line is often varied to read-
And sae the Lord be thankit

                                                  Selkirk Grace (2)

                                        Some have meat and cannot eat,
       Some cannot eat that want it;
       But we have meat and we can eat,
        So let the Lord be thankit.

                          A Grace After Dinner, Extempore  1791

                             O thou, in whom we live and move-
                             Who made the sea and shore;
                              Thy goodness constantly we prove,
                               And grateful would adore;
                                                           And, if it please Thee, Power above!
                                                             Still grant us, with such store,
                                                              The friend we trust, the fair we love-
                                                                And we desire no more. Amen! 

To a Haggis   (in English)

(Haggis is a wholesome savoury pudding, a mixture of mutton and offal. It is boiled and presented at table in a sheep's stomach) 

All hail your honest rounded face,
Great chieftain of the pudding race;
Above them all you take your place,
Beef, tripe, or lamb:
You're worthy of a grace
As long as my arm.

The groaning trencher there you fill,
Your sides are like a distant hill
Your pin would help to mend a mill,
In time of need,
While through your pores the dews distil,
Like amber bead.

His knife the rustic goodman wipes,
To cut you through with all his might,
Revealing your gushing entrails bright,
Like any ditch;
And then, what a glorious sight,
Warm, welcome, rich.

Then plate for plate they stretch and strive,
Devil take the hindmost, on they drive,
Till all the bloated stomachs by and by,
Are tight as drums.
The rustic goodman with a sigh,
His thanks he hums.

Let them that o'er his French ragout,
Or hotchpotch fit only for a sow,
Or fricassee that'll make you spew,
And with no wonder;
Look down with sneering scornful view,
On such a dinner.

Poor devil, see him eat his trash,
As feckless as a withered rush,
His spindly legs and good whip-lash,
His little feet
Through floods or over fields to dash,
O how unfit.

But, mark the rustic, haggis-fed;
The trembling earth resounds his tread,
Grasp in his ample hands a flail
He'll make it whistle,
Stout legs and arms that never fail,
Proud as the thistle.

You powers that make mankind your care,
And dish them out their bill of fare.
Old Scotland wants no stinking ware,
That slops in dishes;
But if you grant her grateful prayer,
Give her a haggis.

Address To A Haggis 
 

Fair fa' your honest, sonsie face,
Great chieftain o' the puddin-race!
Aboon them a' ye tak your place,
Painch, tripe, or thairm:                                            
Weel are ye wordy o' a grace
As lang's my arm.

The groaning trencher there ye fill,
Your hurdies like a distant hill,
Your pin wad help to mend a mill
In time o' need,
While thro' your pores the dews distil
Like amber bead.

His knife see rustic Labour dight,
An' cut you up wi' ready sleight,
Trenching your gushing entrails bright,
Like ony ditch;
And then, O what a glorious sight,
Warm-reekin, rich!

Then, horn for horn,
they stretch an' strive:
Deil tak the hindmost! on they drive,
Till a' their weel-swall'd kytes belyve,
Are bent lyke drums;
Then auld Guidman, maist like to rive,
"Bethankit!" 'hums.

Is there that owre his French ragout
Or olio that wad staw a sow,
Or fricassee wad mak her spew
Wi' perfect sconner,
Looks down wi' sneering, scornfu' view
On sic a dinner?

Poor devil! see him ower his trash,
As feckless as a wither'd rash,
His spindle shank, a guid whip-lash,
His nieve a nit;                                                           
Thro' bloody flood or field to dash,
O how unfit!

But mark the Rustic, haggis fed,
The trembling earth resounds his tread.
Clap in his walie nieve a blade,
He'll mak it whissle;
An' legs an' arms, an' heads will sned,
Like taps o' thrissle.

Ye Pow'rs wha mak mankind your care,
And dish them out their bill o' fare,
Auld Scotland wants nae skinking ware
That jaups in luggies;
But, if ye wish her gratefu' prayer,
Gie her a haggis!

 
The Translation
 
Fair is your honest happy face
Great chieftain of the pudding race
Above them all you take your place
Stomach, tripe or guts
Well are you worthy of a grace
As long as my arm

The groaning platter there you fill
Your buttocks like a distant hill
Your skewer would help to repair a mill
In time of need
While through your pores the juices emerge
Like amber beads

His knife having seen hard labour wipes
And cuts you up with great skill
Digging into your gushing insides bright
Like any ditch
And then oh what a glorious sight                                                      
Warm steaming, rich

Then spoon for spoon
They stretch and strive
Devil take the last man, on they drive
Until all their well swollen bellies
Are bent like drums
Then, the old gent most likely to rift (burp)
Be thanked, mumbles

Is there that over his French Ragout
Or olio that would sicken a pig
Or fricassee would make her vomit
With perfect disgust
Looks down with a sneering scornful opinion
On such a dinner

Poor devil, see him over his trash
As week as a withered rush (reed)
His spindle-shank a good whiplash
His clenched fist.the size of a nut.
Through a bloody flood and battle field to dash
Oh how unfit

But take note of the strong haggis fed Scot
The trembling earth resounds his tread
Clasped in his large fist a blade
He'll make it whistle
And legs and arms and heads he will cut off                   
Like the tops of thistles

You powers who make mankind your care
And dish them out their meals
Old Scotland wants no watery food
That splashes in dishes
But if you wish her grateful prayer
Give her a haggis! 

websites:

http://www.worldburnsclub.com/begin/address_to_a_haggis.htm/
 http://www.bbc.co.uk/arts/robertburns/works/address_to_a_haggis
http://www.electricscotland.com/burns/haggis.html