Dead caterpillars, my Mum & Social Services…
Photo taken in August 2011, when I last saw my Mum…
Seems today a couple of things have moved forward but for different reasons.
Yesterday a meeting was held between my Uncle (my Mum’s brother) and my Mum with a Social Worker assigned to the case.
Following my contact with Leicestershire Social Services last week following her fire, they have moved very quickly to see that my Mum’s welfare is going to be OK. The meeting has resulted in my Mum having 5 visits a week, instead of the current 3, by a home-help-welfare-assistant (What do they call them now?). That will start on the 23rd.
Meantime my Uncle will cook an extra meal for her until the kitchen can be straightened out and the gas oven replaced with an electric one.
Additionally the Social Worker will be meeting with my Mum’s Doctor at Leicestershire Mental Health to see about getting a CPN (Community Psychiatric Nurse) to visit – the idea being to get her out and about.
As it is, she misses most of her hospital appointments, so I’ll be interested to see if they achieve that.
The nice thing is that the Social Worker has said to my Uncle that she’ll email me with the details… something I’m very pleased about as in previous years I’ve not really been kept in touch with things.
As for the caterpillar “processionaires”… yes, they’re dead (at last)… A nice bloke came this morning, removed the nest from the top of the tree to take away to be destroyed and we parted with 100€ 
Hello again Scooter…
After a gap of over 5 years, over Easter I brought my scooter out of the garage. It hasn’t been used since before my son was born and has hibernated ever since.
Sad really… but being a home Dad has meant that I’ve just not got around to using it and was even considering selling the poor thing at one point.
Instead here it is, still looking pretty good but needing a battery charge (or a new one) at least… Tyres seem OK, but I wonder if the fuel will still be alright in the tank or will it have sludged up?
My son’s eyes lit up when he saw it, after having a go on the pillion of my BIL’s mini 125cc bike. I’ve tried to break the news to him that my scooter will be somewhat slower.
My daughter seems captivated too…
Photos taken 31/03/13
Mum’s fire saga…
Now that we know my Mum is safe after this scary event, we can step back and call it a saga. A bit of time helps and sadly, for me, so does the distance. But that is reality isn’t it?
Since my last message, I have tried to call my Mum at a time she suggested. Of course, as with previous calls, I’ve not been able to get through – her phone goes straight to answerphone… Grrr…
Being a bit slow getting things moving along, especially as I’ve just finished a job for the local mairie, I have eventually got in touch with Social Services back in Leicester.
Currently my Mum is very lucky, as she has a home-help go in 3 times a week. However, the recent fire has put a new slant on things. People are perhaps getting upset about living next to, not only someone with schizophrenia, but someone who could be a danger to herself and perhaps others – i.e. the fire.
It is quite a difficult situation to which I don’t know what the solution is. Nothing changed there then.
Social Services have been back to me, not the same person I dealt with last year, but someone else. My Mum’s report has been passed to a Social Worker in another office elsewhere in Leicester, who will be meeting with my Uncle and the “home-help” to discuss where to go next.
Watch this space…
It’s roller time à l’école…
Starting last week, my sons local village primary school introduced roller skating lessons (or “roller” if you are French). We had bought Rémys’ some months ago, but we’d not really practiced a lot with him… naughty parents that we are!
So the week before the lessons started, we made a start, first Thumpah holding onto him then me taking my turn. Seems holding him while walking backwards is the best method. That way, he can lean forwards, bend his, knees and avoid crumpling into a heap on the ground.
Of course he has all the protection needed, helmet, knee and shoulder pads and hand/wrist straps. When Thumpah and me were kids, the only skates we remember had a wheel in each corner. Rémys are in-line skates… maybe we should have bought the old sort…
My Mum is safe and so is the house, thanks to my friend.
Tonight I finally managed to talk to my Uncle (Mum’s brother) on the phone after he emailed me his number.
My Mum is OK and didn’t seem too shocked about nearly losing her life in a smoke filled house. I’ve been told the Police & Ambulance service spent an hour trying to persuade her to go into hospital due to her pulse level and blood pressure being too high. She refused to go. So they advised her to find somewhere else to stay tonight while the house “aired”. My Uncle is putting her up. She’ll go back home tomorrow and depending on the state of the house, will be able to carry on living there.
It seems she had put something on to cook and had either forgotten about it or fell asleep in the living room. A friend of mine (and a good friend of my late Dad’s) along with a neighbour whose house backs onto my Mum’s back garden, noticed smoke coming from her kitchen window.
They quickly broke in and called the emergency services.
Had they not noticed the smoke, what *could* have happened doesn’t bear thinking about.
A report about the incident is to be sent to my Mum’s GP… So we’ll have to see what will happen now. Hopefully someone will sit up and take notice as last? My Mum has been seriously ill these last 35 years, since I was about 8 years old. Over that time we’ve been through some difficult times, yet the authorities have tended to take the stance that she is OK for her to “live in the community”. In the late 80′s she had spells in hospital, when she was first put on medication.
After nagging the Social Services last year, she now has a home-help go in 3 times a week. Despite this, my Uncle tells me that she hasn’t been using the heating in her house AT ALL. It has been cold here in France, but from what I’ve seen, England has had an even worse Winter than we have. So how can she live like that?
Cutting herself off from everyone, by unplugging her phone and not going to hospital appointments isn’t helping either.
Even so I will be contacting Social Services just to let them know I’m aware that this has happened at least. It is all I can do for the time being, until I hear about anything else. Will be calling my friend tomorrow – and will attempt to call my Mum on Saturday.
Past 1am now, so I’m heading for bed… hopefully I’ll get some sleep, as this evening has been just a tad worrying.
Just heard my Mum has had a fire…
OK – I’m sure some of you think it is a bit odd for me to post something about this on here… maybe I just don’t know what to do? Still a bit shocked. I haven’t spoken to my Mum in over 6 months; very sporadically before that even. She is mentally ill and tends to unplug her phone for no reason – so every time I call either I just can’t get through, or go straight through to answerphone. Which she never listens to anyway.
My friend, who lives hear her place phoned me tonight to say that she nearly had a house fire, had put something on to cook and then fell asleep in the lounge. All I know is that she is OK and has been checked over by the Ambulance people. My friend was about to be checked over when he called me – so couldn’t stay too long on the phone.
If any friends, relatives or neighbours living in Braunstone Town – near Braunstone Cross Roads, hear anything about this – could they get in touch please.
Thanks.
"It's hard this child-rearing..."
So I write a post about never being asked to work with brands and products and then BOOM! Along comes an email suggesting sommat, and it's a beauty.
Linked down there *Points down there* is an ad for the new Fiat 500 and I'm on it like a car bonnet for a number of reasons, and not just because I've been paid £5,000,000 for doing so.
Monday 25 March 2013: Flashy car!
A Dacia Logan MPV certainly isn’t flashy, but the sun certainly did the job… 
COOLPIX S2500:f/4.3:1/1000″:8.2mm:ISO 80
Sunday 24 March 2013: Boy in trees
Our friends son, Lilian had fun in the garden today with our two.
Bonne semaine a tous… and many thanks for the comments.
DSLR-A200:f/6.3:1/640″:300.0mm:ISO 3200
Snow pics 11 days late…
As I tweeted last night, I said I’d blog some photos of snow from 11 days ago… so here we are, my kids playing in the very last snows of 2013… In March, which is unheard of normally.
From our front gate we can just see the top of the local church, which looks rather nice in the snow.
Oooh look, snow… said Emma.
Gathering snow…
To make a mini snowman…
Took me ages to get a photo of Emma looking at me…
Meanwhile back with the snowman…
Mmm… yummy, but cold…
Don’t slam the door too hard…
Anyone for football, after my little snack?
Meanwhile back with the snowman…
Snow gone…?
