grafter83

That's fucking too funny- I'm stealing this as I also do brilliant impressions of Violet. B 🤣

I could say so much in response to this post- literally could talk for hours about the principles of care and how passionate I am about them, but I don't have the time or patience to write it all out lol. The most important thing I will say to you in response to your post is that being the best care worker you can be involves courage and the bravery to speak up when things feel wrong. This is very definitely not always easy, and socially you may pay the price. I can't lie, work wise you may pay a price too- I once was involved in a very serious whistle blowing case and ended up mysteriously not being booked for many more shifts by the agency I had successfully worked at for several years- even helping them facilitate staff training through that time. This should not happen legally but with a zero hours contract it's very easy to get away with...it also shouldn't happen morally as it discourages future whistle blowing- did I suffer very negative effects from that situation? Yes, absolutely. Would I do it again knowing what happened last time? In a heartbeat, wouldn't even think twice about it. I couldn't look myself in the mirror otherwise. Educate yourself as much as possible about the principles of care and the ethics involved so that when your gut tells you this is not ok, you are able to speak out with certainty, and also explain the 'why'. This may be enough to make some other carers stop and think about their actions in the future- it absolutely won't matter to some others though and those are the ones you are going to need the courage for lol. Bad practice can be a result of a culture within a care setting, and good carers may end up doing things they shouldn't as they really don't know better/understand the 'why'. Being brave is also important as you may be out into situations where you are asked by the organisation to do something above and beyond your scope of practice (happens more than you may think) and then you will need to advocate for yourself and stick to your guns. Being a carer isn't just assisting with the Activities of Daily Living, it's being a voice for those who may not be able to advocate for themselves anymore...sorry I have gotten on my soap box a bit here, this is a subject very close to my heart! The fact that you are on here making this post shows that you are coming into this with the best intentions, and is a great attitude to have, I am sure you are a lovely carer.

So. Many. Condiments!!! Our staples are sweet chilli, BBQ, red, salad cream, mayo, hot honey- but we have so many random ones too- my partner is worse than me, she spent almost 6quid on two sauces in Aldi the other day!!

Oh and a neck fan!! Bloody marvellous contraption!

SAGE TABLETS- an absolute must, saved my life in terms of being able to regulate my body temperature better/get rid of hot flushes. However these take a few days to kick in so not an immediate fix, but honestly I swear by them. Be patient with her, and understanding- but not too much so- this sounds bad but I will explain. If my partner was too accommodating I would perhaps turn into a rampaging cow... however, my partner is empathetic, but still wouldn't accept me being a bit of a bitch. This is good for me as if I was to be a bit of an unfettered bitch then afterwards I would feel even worse! Does that make sense? Maybe not, it's hot and I'm menopausal...🤣 Supplements in general if she isn't on any, helped saved my mental and physical health- DM for details if interested, but honestly there's a wealth of information available about these online. In terms of here and now- take some of the mental load of the home where you can, if you already don't (which by the sounds of you I'm betting you do). Invest in a portable AC if budget allows- if not a fan and ice/wet towels for a redneck AC 🤣. Bedding is also super important- you can get cotton moisturiser wicking light duvets, bedding and pillows- again, helped me massively. Also, pjs! I used to be a nakey sleeper but now that's far too sweaty and I'm actually cooler in XXL mens cotton t-shirts, and M&S do a nice pair of pj bottoms- cool comfort ones that are great- stick to her normal size tho, don't be tempted to get bigger for comfort, they run big. Apart from all of this, just carry on good sir- maybe show her this post. Bless your heart. The fact you care so much is actually pretty much all you need. You're a good egg.

North Wales!

What do you do?!

Came here to say this!!

A book about the area she grew up in with pictures of it during the time she would have been growing up? My grandad had dementia and enjoyed looking at books full of pictures of Liverpool from when he was a boy

Chuck a bit of sugar in, brings out the tomato flavour

We was....oh no we fucking *wasn't* WE WERE

I was walking through Liverpool, through the garden bit by the World Museum. Two smackheads were in the garden, one of them drops his pants and diarrhoeas all over the place before pulling his pants back up and moving on...it was the middle of the day and he made no effort to conceal it in any way!

Unfortunately a lot of this has to do with funding- if a service user is a danger to the public this requires them to be in a locked/secure unit which costs far more than if a service user is supported in their own home/a group setting. I worked in care for 20 years and saw many service users who had incidents in public due to being wrongly placed- it is, sadly, common. Bless you though, what an awful, scary thing to happen to you! I hope that you are doing ok. You have taken all of the right steps. If there is no response to your email/an inadequate response do push for information regarding action taken over this to ensure nothing is swept under the rug- another sadly common occurrence...

There are many different types of care environments, and yes nursing homes are one of them. You could try cate agencies- this may work well for you as you can pick and choose the hours you work.

Would you consider care work? There is never a shortage of these roles.

"I think tomorrow is a day something hat day!"

I know it sounds really silly, but give box breathing a try. It actually helps to reset the biological stress response happening in your body, which is instantly calming. It can be done unobtrusively, so you really can use it in any situation. You can find lots of instructional videos online but basically it's breath in for 2 seconds, hold for two seconds, breath out for two seconds, hold for two seconds- always through your nose. I suffer with anxiety and have really been surprised at the quick feeling of calm it provides- once we break the stress cycle we can start to think more clearly and rationally about our situation- anyway I could ramble on and on lol but I won't- hope it helps

Omg! No! That's hilarious, I have never heard of it- going to have to try and find that now 🤣

Aldi's jammy ones are much better than the originals now

Noooo....??

I love this reference!

My grandad would always give any child he encountered money for sweets- something that we had to steer him away from doing in his later years as it became less common and we didn't want anyone thinking he was being strange! Sad really.

Aww congratulations on your upcoming proposal! I just got engaged to my partner (last weekend) and I couldn't be happier, so my January is pretty great- despite having to pay £600 for new tires yesterday!

My Nan's brothers did this with a tin of peaches that were being saved for Christmas!

Reading that I instantly had a taste memory of pineapple hubba bubba with grit in...so am gna say yeah I think I must have done this at least once too lmao

The scouse in me (my auto correct changed that to spouse almost making this a whole other type of post) was why I was so nostalgic over this film!

.... And posting on reddit? Mate, what an epic fucking waste of coke 🤣

Shirley Valentine! Such a nostalgic, underrated film, I caught it on sky the other night and loved it all over again

It was tbf

Stop being so wasteful, next year don't throw it away- whack it on some chips

Check out r/leaves for help and support with quitting-and give yourself grace, your brain has developed flooded with cannabinoids, it will take some time before you feel good again- stick with the process, it will all be worth it!

C'mon- spill the tea

Honestly, possibly an unpopular opinion, but I can't bloody stand that pair!

That actually made me lol, enjoy your scraps

Tbf this was a post about environment not the job market or transportation system- but I have to say- I have a job, and have worked since I was 16 and all the ppl I know have jobs so 'no jobs' isn't really true now is it?

I hope so...but I also feel like it's right and proper to feel such pain at missing them- it's a testament to a live well lived and well loved, and they deserve that, cos they were just the best. I'm sure your grandma was too for you to miss her so xxx

I am 42 and we lost Nan 3 yrs and 2 days ago, and lost grandad just over a year ago. I am so incredibly grateful to have had them for as long as I did as an adult and I thought this would make it easier to be without them. It absolutely doesn't, this year feels worse than the previous ones tbh and idky. Christmas is just quiet now, it's like we lost the thing that brought us all together. I miss them so much it hurts.

I live in North Wales and I feel so lucky, I really appreciate living here. Mountains, rivers, lakes and coast line- it's literally got it all

North Wales, particularly Anglesey. I recently stayed in Plas Cadnant Hidden Gardens in a stunning lodge house that was very cheap (by Anglesey standards!). It is set in a stunning place and everything is quite close so you wouldn't have to worry about your fitness. Always happy to chat if you want anymore info/further recs

Surely it's gone off by now?

Ahh both are now sold out!! Such a shame 😞

Oh I haven't watched that one- I watched the selling of a serial killer then the follow on the life and death of aileen wuornos- absolutely enthralled, and appalled the media circus that surrounded her, and like you, felt very compassionate as she was blatantly unwell and shouldn't have been executed. Poor woman, I think she was glad to get out of the terrible life she has been dealt in the end.

Omg I watched two of those and couldn't get over how much compassion and empathy I felt for that poor woman tbf! Which one did you watch?

Spearmint tea! So lovely, and AMAZING for digestion- I have been able to come off long term meds for gastro issues using this to help

My grandad ❤️ I can still hear him say 2032

Omg as if you haven't done cheesy beans?!! Absolute travesty. Cook beans on hob (of course) add in a nice bit of butter and some lovely cheesy cheese and serve on highly buttered crumpets- absolute beat topping ever!

Not really heinous, but Ainsley Harriet is absolutely bizarre!! I met him in a GP surgery and genuinely thought he was there with a carer/support worker until I realised later who he was! Super strange, exaggeration, attention seeking guy- not a bad bloke just irritating and odd.

Anglesey

It's really gone downhill- not that it was ever amazing to be fair but it went awful and I haven't been in one for years now, but when it was food I did enjoy it there

Oh that's so clever of you! I can't believe you found it, that's definitely the one!