The billing systems in England, or at least my part, are very different from where I used to live in Wales. In Wales, we had Welsh Water, no choice, that was it, however the annual bill could be paid over 12 months by direct debit which made it less painful. The council tax bill could be paid over 10 months; the reason being, the other 2 months were used by the council to track down and prosecute non-payers. It felt like you had 2 months off, which was always nice, just after the expense of Christmas. Here, the council tax bill is paid over 12 months, which makes the monthly payments easier, however I liked two months off. The water bill has to be paid over a mere 8 months which is a tad painful. No idea why they do it like this, but I don’t like it as it’s pretty expensive to pay off in only 8 months. It also means if and when we move, that we’ll have to sort out refunds. Ill thought-out if you ask me. Depending on where my son eventually moves to, hopefully for work, I’m often in two minds about going back to Wales. My remaining family lives there and I’m more used to how they do things… Time will tell.

The title: In the past I’ve allowed shoppers with a single, or few, items to go ahead of me at the tills, especially if I have a lot of shopping. One time, a young couple had a 6-pack of Becks beer, that for reasons best known to herself, the casher put through 6 times. She then had to call, and wait for, a supervisor to sort out the mistake. This wasn’t the first time that I’ve been held up after trying to do a good deed. I don’t do it so much anymore.

Wednesday, I travelled to the local hospital for my blood tests. I spent around 10 minutes, checking every single car park there, along with a dozen other drivers, and eventually left having not completed my task. On the way back, I espied what looked like a tarpaulin in the road, and a young man looking like he wanted to cross the road. I assumed he was a builder and wanted to retrieve the tarp so I stopped to allow him to cross. Well, he stood in front of my car and started yelling at me and making very threatening gestures. Although this was a main road, it was pretty quiet, and frankly I felt very threatened and scared. Eventually he moved aside and told me to get out of there. I drove off at considerable speed and close to tears; definitely in ‘flight’ mode. I stopped at the local Sainsbury’s to buy a paper, and tearfully recounted my plight to the assistant who was very kind, and even offered to get me a glass of water. I was very shaken, and trembling, and so close to tears – it’s a ‘girl’ thing. Once home, I told my son what had happened; he was aghast. He’s free on Friday, and will come with me to the hospital, just in case the same man is there. Drunk, high, mentally challenged, or simply an aggressive idiot who likes to scare ‘old’ people? Who knows? If I didn’t already carry an iron bar in my car, I soon would be! I also have a similar iron bar behind the front door as well as a ‘loaded’ dog, and a heavy crow bar near the back door. My Mother liked the phrase: No good deed goes unpunished, and I won’t be stopping to let anyone cross the road ever again, unless of course they’re at a designated pedestrian crossing. I never used to feel so unsafe in the UK…

As well as coming with me to the hospital Friday, my son will come shopping with me afterwards. He could tell I was badly shaken. I’d have had a stiff drink, however there’s no alcohol here; no spare money for such luxuries. He likes a drink too, now and again, and has given me some extra money so we can buy some wine and so on. He’s also going to give me more rent money as I’m finding it hard to cope. I’ve raised such a lovely young man, and I’m so proud to call him my son.

Still experiencing high winds and copious amounts of rain here. So sick of it now…

Enjoy the rest of the week, and have a good weekend.