художници на икониI am absolutely disgusted with this article in The Sun:

http://politicalscrapbook.net/2012/01/rod-liddle-disabled-the-sun/

At the weekend, I found an old CV of mine. I looked through it - I have a LOT of qualifications, which are very good and I PAID to do them. I have a lot of experience. When I had my first big ME/CFS relapse, I had just got engaged and was working my way to becoming a Microbiology Technician with a degree in Biomedical Science. I was unable to work for several years, mostly due to the fact I was rarely able to get out of bed. As SOON as I was able, I took a part time job (still not up to working full-time) so I could afford luxuries, like wedding rings. I was unable to return to my old career, so I PAID to completely retrain as an administrator. I took a crash course in office skills, over six weeks, and within a couple of months, had secured a full time job in admin. It was a constant struggle. I completely went without a social life in order to maintain my job - both would have been impossible. I would often go home on a lunchtime, for a nap, just so I could get through the day.

Finally, I found a balance. I was working full time for a while and was able to socialise (to an extent). Then, in 2002, another relapse hit and it was worse. Worse in a number of ways: this time, I was the main wage earner; we had a house to pay for; a dog. I tried to do everything right, this time. Fighting it was futile and because I’d tried to be ‘normal’ for too long, instead of admitting I was getting poorly again, it hit me harder. So, once again, I had to give up a promising career, lost friends (who wants to bother with someone who can’t go anywhere or, often, can’t even hold a conversation), had to cut everything back to keep a roof over our heads, had no social life and had to watch the world pass me by for years. It’s undignified to have to ask for help to do things (like getting upstairs or washing your hair), that you’ve always taken for granted.

What I’m trying to say is, who would choose that life? Who would say that this is a ‘pretend illness’ if they had any experience of it? I’ve had ME/CFS since I was 12 and certainly couldn’t have kept up this pretence for 25 years. I miss kick-boxing, dancing, being able to go out on my own, having an income, etc, but I’d still rather be me than that disgraceful excuse for a columnist, Rod Liddle. Bullies always attack those who are least able to defend themselves.

Ooh, I’m simmering with anger and am also quite upset. @RoyalMail (twitter name) should be ashamed of themselves.

I foolishly thought the intervention of @RoyalMail Twitter Team would mean this farce would get sorted out. However, after email tennis with them, I ended up feeling worse. Each reply I sent was responded to by a different person (some ore helpful than others). They said that, without the sender’s address (which I don’t have) they won’t consider my claim (although I did have the proof of postage, detailing where and when the item was posted). They emailed the sender, who didn’t respond - not my fault and why would she care, to be honest, as she got her payment. People have better things to do than help others, I guess. Why won’t they compensate me? Well, one person implied that we could both be requesting compensation - I pointed out that the sender didn’t need compensated: I upheld my part of the contract (unlike @RoyalMail). I also pointed out that they had all the details from the proof of posting, so would have had it on record, had the sender tried to claim. They didn’t want to hear logic.

They asked me to call them (despite me pointing out many times that I can’t do telephone calls when my ME/CFS’s bad) so they said they’d call me that day (last Friday) when hubby was home. They didn’t. Hubby tried to call them. Went through lots of menus (on his lunch hour) to hear the dreaded “we’re busy, call again later” message. Lunch hour wasted. They finally left a message on the answerphone saying someone would discuss ‘payment’ with us. WooHoo! At last, we thought, so hubby rang them last night. Person dealing with it wasn’t in, but hubby got same old story from person he spoke to. Back to square one, but he was told someone would ring him today.

Today? Still wasn’t the person who was supposed to be dealing with our claim, and was not interested in paying us. What really, really upset me was that they implied AGAIN that I was trying to scam them! This is despite me providing emails, receipts, etc. So, if you ever send anything through the post via @RoyalMail, you must be able to quantify it and, apparently, receipts just aren’t good enough. Talk about adding insult to injury. Don’t worry, I won’t let this rest, as it’s so wrong that they can behave like this. Hubby asked if they contacted Police when things repeatedly go missing - their response? They deal with it internally. Yes, by trying to blame the customers! Rant done, for now.

I am delighted to announce that Jonathan Morrell, of Real Radio (and formerly of Tyne Tees) has kindly agreed to join us as our special guest host at the Charity Event, in aid of Marie Curie (Newcastle).

Furthermore, we would also like to welcome local band, Toxic Melons, who have generously donated their time to provide live music at the event.

Remember, the event is to be held at Blaydon Rugby Club on 5th September 2009 and begins at 7.30pm. Admittance is strictly by ticket only and they are available for only £10 per person.

So, for a tenner, we’re offering: a door prize raffle entry, a buffet, a prize quiz, live music, a celebrity host and the chance to win numerous fabulous prizes. There will be optional raffles, tombola, name-the-bear stall and a craft stall, featuring some stunning hand-made jewellery. To purchase tickets for this event, please contact me via the form on this website and I will be delighted to sort them out for you. You can pay by credit or debit card, using Paypal or cash/cheque/postal order.

We have catering to arrange, so would be grateful if you can reserve tickets before 30th August, if possible. We look forward to seeing you!

We finally have a venue for our charity evening and, IF it works out as planned, what a fantastic evening it will be! If you’re in the North East of England and want to have some edfa fun, all for a good cause, contact me for further details.

Tickets will be on sale soon, and will include a buffet and entertainment. I will tell more as and when things are confirmed, but it’ll be worth it for one of Catherine’s entertaining quizzes alone - and maybe your team will win a prize, too? There will be (almost) all the fun of the fair, with tombola, raffle and ‘name the bear’ stalls and I know that there are already some great prizes on offer.

We aim to raise as much as possible for Marie Curie in Newcastle, and I’d like you to help us do it!