Self-sufficiency mini-project

Today I finally got round to starting my mini self-sufficiency project. I have decided to start growing things and I'm starting with tomatoes. I'm keeping things simple to begin with by using a grow-bag. I've been told I just need to bed-in my tomato plants (kindly provided by my elite gardening father) and add water. To aid my plants, I have added a few bamboo poles for them to climb up. I'm really hoping my little venture will be productive. We probably spend about £5 a month on tomatoes so it would be nice if I could produce my own. I also have my eye on cucumbers and I'm about to research the best way to grow them. Cucumbers have always been a firm favorite and it's common for us to spend at least £5 on these also.
Gooseberries... now there's a fruit you don't see very much of these days. I used to eat them a lot when I was young. My father grew them on his allotment down in Kent. I recall with fondness how I would munch on them whenever I visited him tending his plot. I'll look into growing these too though I don't think it's the right time of year to begin. I'll update regularly on progress.

It was nice to be able to visit Peterborough with my friend again today. I've mentioned previously that he is disabled having suffered a stroke a few years ago and needs a wheelchair to get around. It's always a pleasure for me to take him out for a few hours. Being stuck indoors often makes him depressed so it was great to see him so happy as we drove across the fens. We visited again our favorite store 'Trains4u' situated at Fengate. We're guaranteed a warm welcome from the staff there and they always take a keen interest in our 32 ft model railway project. In the past, we would normally spend well over £100 on each visit but now we spend half that amount. It was sad to see that this country's current obsession of over-pricing has spread also to model railway accessories. Even the smallest items appear to have doubled in price making a once popular and modestly affordable hobby a luxury for the rich or those with huge amounts of money to spare.

I have yet to film my v-log for my YouTube channel. I've decided, incidentally, to call the channel 'From the Wash to the World'. I'm keen to promote the things I'm doing here in a remote corner of Lincolnshire and make them available to anyone interested wherever they are in the world. I've never actually thought that anything I do is remotely interesting to anyone but experience recently has shown that a guy in remotest Australia can have an audience on the other side of the world, interested in his projects to conserve water, grow vegetables and live to a budget. I'll give it a go tomorrow as I'll be on my own - apart from the dog - so should be able to produce a short film uninterrupted.

V-log, film review, Ambridge & 'lectric'

I've actually been rather stumped for a focus to my next blog entry. I know I keep harping on about the problems I'm having with finance and career. I don't want this turn into something boring suffice to say that there is a lot happening at the moment, especially on the consumer forums. A whole lot of people are affected by 1st Class Trucking Ltd and have all lost a lot of money. It will remain to be seen whether anyone gets their money back - the creditors need to be paid back first and then whatever's left over will be shared out to the poor customers. I'll update again once there's significant progress.

I'm toying with the idea of starting a v-log. I'm a huge fan of glen1040 on YouTube and enjoy very much his occasional uploads from his home in remotest Australia. The cost of living is among his latest topics of interest and how everyday items are becoming too expensive to buy. The same is of course true here and I'm quite keen to highlight what we pay for our groceries and how to make savings. Self-sufficiency is another thing that's becoming more relevant as the cost of living increases. Glen spends a lot of time nurturing his vegetable garden and the results are quite amazing given the arid conditions. I've taken a small step in the same direction and procured two tomato plants from my father, who - unlike me - is a very keen and accomplished gardener. So any v-log I produce will contain an update on my tomato growing progress. If I do manage it, I intend to publish it on YouTube under my ID 'mattlincs'.

There's lots going on at the moment about the pension age. Personally, I can understand fully the frustration of those who will now have to work longer before they can receive their pensions. They feel let down, mis-led and probably heartily sick of having their hopes dashed for retiring from a life of 9-5 office and factory work. I am lucky - I have a good private pension, well several actually from my previous employers. I don't have to worry when I reach 55 and if I'm not about, neither will my wife and son. But for those dependent on the state pension, they have every right to be angry and I hope this is reflected in the next round of voting in the general election. Personally, I am half-expecting to emigrate before the government can get their hands on my nest egg... Australia maybe...

I will update at the weekend on progress made with our model railway. I've been quite busy adding some nice little extras.

I've watched two films recently, 'Paul' and 'Unknown'. 'Paul' was actually quite good given the fact it's a comedy about an alien. I didn't really think it could work but Simon Pegg and Nick Frost managed to pull it off. 'Unknown' was another good film. It stars Liam Neeson in the lead role. Although it is very well made (anything with Liam Neeson in it normally is), I did find the storyline very frustrating. I get very easily confused and this film leads you down one road before doing a sharp u-turn and sending you in the other direction. Some would describe it as a 'twist in the tale'. I would call it bloody irritating. It was very good though nevertheless and I can thoroughly recommend it.

OK, that's my film review for this week! I could have gone further but I'd hate to spoil either of them for anyone.

Does anyone reading this listen to the Archers I wonder...? I do and I have to confess that I'm well and truly hooked. I've been listening on and off for years but since Christmas I haven't missed an episode. I miss Nigel, I find Elizabeth irritating to the extreme and cringe whenever Jolene and Kenton are together. There! Am I an Archers addict?

Finally... electricity. Our electricity bill has risen from £150 per month to a staggering £174 per month! I'm actually still in shock at reading the letter from Eon. We must be paying too much, surely... What do other people pay? Is it normal to pay so much each month?

OK, I'm going to have a think about my first v-log and I'll update again at the weekend. I have an appointment with my careers adviser tomorrow. I'm hoping she will be able to help me with financing my training course... We'll see.

Farewell my £1,400

I feel quite sick to the stomach as I write this. I have just read that 1st Class Trucking Ltd, who have £1400 of my money, have gone into receivership. A call to my ever helpful court in Boston confirmed my fears that the chances of me ever seeing my money again are practically non-existent.
What country allows a company to take your hard-earned money, provide you with nothing and then disappear through insolvency? There has to be something wrong.
Words cannot describe the way I am feeling at the moment. I know I am not alone in losing money to these criminals - it's all there to read at www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk
I'm heartily fed up with living in a lawless country that favours corrupt companies over honest trusting consumers.

I wonder if... I could write books

The tedium of daily life at the moment often leads me to think of new possibilities. My son brought home with him from playschool a small catalogue of children's books at discounted prices. Flicking through it, I did have to marvel at the range of books now available for children of my son's age. So many weird and wonderful looking creatures and different subjects. Some are proper books with stories, others are just pictures with captions. All of them though looked friendly and inviting, enticing the curious to look beyond the cover and get drawn into what ever wonderful world lay within.
'I could do that', I convinced myself - for all of five minutes. 'It can't be that difficult', I mused. The problem is, flicking through the catalogue, every subject seems to have been covered by a range of authors and illustrators, some familiar and some not so. What could I write about? A new odd looking monster? A boy who ends up in mysterious places? A man with a magic balloon perhaps? Nah... surely it's all been covered? It would be nice to write about a series of adventures. A boy who, at night, disappears to weird and wonderful places with his dog. Problem is, I could possibly write the first one but I'd soon run out of ideas...Nice idea but that's probably all it will ever be.

Pimple

I have a pimple on the end of my tongue. I don't know why it's there of how it got there, it's just there. Oh and it hurts. It's so bloody difficult to avoid. Of all the places it could have chosen, it found a home on the end of my tongue. Arrrrrgggghhhh!

Frustrating...

I really had hoped to have made some progress this week with either my loan request or with the courts in getting my money back from the bunch of crooks who currently have it. Unfortunately, I've made no headway with either hence the frustration. I've in fact had my loan request declined, even though it was for career training. This really surprised me given the fact I was led to believe that they would be able to help. I did have an appointment earlier today with an advisor at the local job centre. She told me that they have something known as the FSF (Flexible Support Fund) which they can use with discretion to assist people like me desperate to get back into work. The amount I am requesting is rather large though - £2000 to pay for my PCV training course. She did tell me she would approach her manager to see if it would be possible. I'm due to see her again on the 21st, next week when I'm hoping I will know either way. It was the first time I'd seen this particular advisor and she was very sympathetic and could see that I've done all I can to get the job I want. I was on a real downer yesterday because of it all. I seem to be taking one step forward followed by two steps back and it's beginning to take its toll a little now. Sunday only reinforced my determination to pursue my goal. There has to be a way...

Eastern Counties and a grand day out

Today marked the beginning of Norfolk Green's King's Lynn-Hunstanton services following their recent acquisition of First Eastern Counties services. This will mean very little to most people but for a bus enthusiast, it's quite a big deal. What made it more special was the laying-on of several free vintage bus services using vehicles from the preserved Eastern Counties fleet. These wonderful vehicles performed very well, though they did struggle with hills and their drivers often battled with their gearboxes. An enormous thank you to all the people involved. I know for Norfolk Green, today marked a proud moment in their history and puts them firmly on the map as one of the regions premier operators. I know that running vintage buses requires an enormous amount of effort and costs a lot of money. I take my hat off to the owners and all at Norfolk Green who gave their time for free to give us a day to remember!