How Was Your Day?

[Daggers]

I went to a Spoons. We don't get out a lot, but someone told me pints are £2.50 a pop. How do they do it? How can they charge £2.50 a pint and yet other pubs are charging over a fiver? I get bargaining power - but this is a whole other level.

 

That said, as much as I liked the price, I feel the need to take a shower now as everyone else was just a big ugh.

 

And this one guy near us would only drink half of his drinks - what the fvck is with that? He did five pints, drinking half and letting them clear the rest away. Then he moved onto vodka cokes - again, drank half then ordered a new one. It's the weirdest thing I've seen in a pub.

 

[spacemunky]

55 minutes ago, Daggers said:

And this one guy near us would only drink half of his drinks - what the fvck is with that? He did five pints, drinking half and letting them clear the rest away. Then he moved onto vodka cokes - again, drank half then ordered a new one. It's the weirdest thing I've seen in a pub.

 

 

Alcohol abuse!

[Daggers]

4 minutes ago, spacemunky said:

 

Alcohol abuse!

When he's only drinking half his drinks?

[spacemunky]

6 minutes ago, Daggers said:

When he's only drinking half his drinks?

It's the alcohol that's being abused 

[SkidsFox]

The secret behind Wetherspoons' ability to charge low prices, is they try and keep busy for long hours. They're often open from 8.30am to midnight, and although mornings aren't quite as busy as peak time, they're earning all the time. Other establishments will only be busy for a few hours and have to earn enough (to pay the rent/rates/heating etc) in those short hours. Of course Spoons also use their purchasing power to try and keep costs down, but those extra hours contribute to paying the bills and thus making a profit at the end of the day.

I think T.Martin is a total chump as regards his political views, but in terms of running a business he's succeeded in a sector where many have fallen by the wayside. 

[Daggers]

I have an abusive and threatening online stalker. Which is nice. 

[chrishlcfc]

1st day where I’ve done nothing but positive things in a while.

 

Injections done this morning. Pretty painful and got more to look forward too as they couldn’t get in for the 2nd one as my screw from my previous op was in the way.

 

Then went to the adult education centre for an assessment to do a maths course so I can eventually do a course to become a teaching assistant.

 

Have to celebrate the good achievements. 

[jgtuk]

18 minutes ago, chrishlcfc said:

1st day where I’ve done nothing but positive things in a while.

 

Injections done this morning. Pretty painful and got more to look forward too as they couldn’t get in for the 2nd one as my screw from my previous op was in the way.

 

Then went to the adult education centre for an assessment to do a maths course so I can eventually do a course to become a teaching assistant.

 

Have to celebrate the good achievements. 

Excellent! 
Just remember things like this if you start to feel low. 
Well done. 👍 

[ajthefox]

22 minutes ago, chrishlcfc said:

1st day where I’ve done nothing but positive things in a while.

 

Injections done this morning. Pretty painful and got more to look forward too as they couldn’t get in for the 2nd one as my screw from my previous op was in the way.

 

Then went to the adult education centre for an assessment to do a maths course so I can eventually do a course to become a teaching assistant.

 

Have to celebrate the good achievements. 

Well done Chris.

 

Taking those first few steps towards something, whatever it is, can be really difficult when things are rough so these wins should be celebrated.

[Leicesterpool]

Things all seem to be going wrong in my flat of late, oven seems not working properly, freezer stopped working, light flickering... all at once. Funny can live an whole year in the flat without any issues but then all at once. In a battle with the estate agents, basically they claim their responsible for the oven and down to me... whilst the paperwork they gave me says different, when emailed that about it. There response was basically "we will get back to you" nothing said since, despite other responses being very swift. They not greatest, the boiler has been reported and ignored. 

 

Estates agents this place seems dodgy, same place where one resident... got an email saying the landlord has requested that there property was going to get a new door fitted... new door was installed, the guy then asked for the money, the resident quite rightly said they never requested the door and in fact was told by the estates agents there getting a door... the guy rang up the estate agents... turned out the estate agents had contacted the wrong address. Apparently to make it worse the landlord or estate agent requested, the same new door that just been fitted and taken to the new address and put the hold door back.... problem was the guy had already chopped the old door. 

Edited 11 February by Leicesterpool

[Zear0]

1 hour ago, chrishlcfc said:

1st day where I’ve done nothing but positive things in a while.

 

Injections done this morning. Pretty painful and got more to look forward too as they couldn’t get in for the 2nd one as my screw from my previous op was in the way.

 

Then went to the adult education centre for an assessment to do a maths course so I can eventually do a course to become a teaching assistant.

 

Have to celebrate the good achievements. 

Great to hear, keep it up.  

[FoxesDeb]

4 hours ago, chrishlcfc said:

1st day where I’ve done nothing but positive things in a while.

 

Injections done this morning. Pretty painful and got more to look forward too as they couldn’t get in for the 2nd one as my screw from my previous op was in the way.

 

Then went to the adult education centre for an assessment to do a maths course so I can eventually do a course to become a teaching assistant.

 

Have to celebrate the good achievements. 

This post makes me happy! It's lovely to see you feeling positive 😊 

[Thefox81]

4 hours ago, chrishlcfc said:

1st day where I’ve done nothing but positive things in a while.

 

Injections done this morning. Pretty painful and got more to look forward too as they couldn’t get in for the 2nd one as my screw from my previous op was in the way.

 

Then went to the adult education centre for an assessment to do a maths course so I can eventually do a course to become a teaching assistant.

 

Have to celebrate the good achievements. 

Thats brilliant mate so pleased to hear that. Keep up the good work and if you ever need to get things off your chest then were all here for you.

[FoxyPV]

Very niche post.

 

Got to hold Sam Maguire today whilst working in the hospitals. 

 

Closest any Antrim man will ever get to holding it in competition

 

Glorious.

[Daggers]

I am so angry.

 

I have got Southend promoted to the Championship and lifted the FA Cup. I don't care what anyone says, I deserve a bloody new contract for that.

 

The board have rejected my request and told me to stop wasting their time.

 

I'm livid.

[Molson Canadian]

Valentines day today. going to have to circle the bed first to get a estimate in regards to the wife. 

[Parafox]

Travelled to London with Mrs P to a contact meeting organised by an adoption support organisation to meet our granddaughter who we haven't seen for 15 years since she was taken into care as a baby.

 

I can't describe the emotions.

[FoxesDeb]

2 hours ago, Parafox said:

Travelled to London with Mrs P to a contact meeting organised by an adoption support organisation to meet our granddaughter who we haven't seen for 15 years since she was taken into care as a baby.

 

I can't describe the emotions.

How did it go? If you're up for it I'd love to hear all about it 

[tom27111]

3 hours ago, Parafox said:

Travelled to London with Mrs P to a contact meeting organised by an adoption support organisation to meet our granddaughter who we haven't seen for 15 years since she was taken into care as a baby.

 

I can't describe the emotions.

 

Pretty much as @FoxesDeb said...please tell us when you're ready to.

 

I hope it went well

[Parafox]

20 hours ago, FoxesDeb said:

How did it go? If you're up for it I'd love to hear all about it 

 

19 hours ago, tom27111 said:

 

Pretty much as @FoxesDeb said...please tell us when you're ready to.

 

I hope it went well

 

Thank you both for asking. It went well. 

 

The organisation is a privately funded (through clients and other revenue streams) called Family Futures and they provide support and advice for "looked after" children and their families. They help to engage these children in opening up about their feelings and worries and provide them with  important information about the reasons for being adopted or fostered and guide and support them through the potential emotional fallout of what they have experienced.

 

In our case, we had already had some contact with our grandaughter through the post adoption contact mailbox scheme where annual letters and photos are exchanged between us and her ant her adoptive parents so we kind of knew bits about her life after going into care and knew what she looked like from the photos we had.

 

Prior to going to meet her, we were full of anxiety, hope, excitement not knowing how this would pan out.

 

We knew that the specialist had asked Ellie to write down questions that she hoped we could answer about her birth mum and her 6 months living with us 16 years ago.

 

When we walked into the room where we met Ellie face to face for the first time we all fell apart with emotion. Tears, hugs, kisses. A long period where none of knew what to say but all we could do was look at our grandaughter in almost disbelief. She's tiny, delicate and very pretty. So much like her birth mum at 16. She was dressed in a pink velour tracksuit that her birth mum would have approved of. 

 

She sat between her adoptive parents for a while then decided to come and sit with me and Mrs P. She held our hands as we started to answer the questions she had for us (which she had written on a large sheet of paper at a previous session she had been to) and it almost broke my heart.

 

Having to tell her the truth about the difficult early life her birth mum had and the short life Ellie spent with us was really difficult and clearly upsetting even though she knew quite a bit already as the adoption process requires all the information available, but to hear it hear it substantiated directly from us was tough for her and us and we had to stop a number of times for us all to have a breather.

 

In between times Ellie kept looking up at me and smiling. I so wanted to just scoop her up hold her like I did when she was a baby. 

 

She was quite shy, which is understandable in the circumstances, but our concerns about her not engaging with us or treating us like strangers was totally unfounded. It really was like meeting a long lost loved one for her and for us. She seemed so relieved herself that we were what she remembered even at that young age and what she hoped we would be like from our contact letters.

 

The brief attachment we made in the first 6 months of her life seems to continue to be there for her and certainly for us. She still has and still cuddles, a pink hippo soft toy we got for her after she was born and her adoptive parents said she hardly goes anywhere without it, even trips abroad.

 

She's had a difficult life but her adopters are dedicated to her and have given her the best, most positive life experiences she could ever have even in often quite trying situations as she displays so much of the behaviours that her birth mum did. And they continue to do so which is so gratifying and important to me and Mrs P.

 

We have another meeting with Ellie at Family Futures in April. In the meantime we are getting together ourselves to have a day out and we will take our other adopted daughter, Beth who is Ellie's aunt, with us so she can meet her as well. Beth had to say goodbye to Ellie when Beth was 9 yrs old and was devastated as she had formed a deep attachment.

 

Now we are getting our relationships back and all seems good.

 

On a slightly negative side, Ellie's birth mum is back in the MHU as she isn't coping and needs additional help. She does know about our contact with her daughter but that's not the reason she isn't managing in the community.

 

Also, we have a second grandaughter that has been adopted. She's 14 now but the adopters don't allow contact so it's unlikely we'll see her any time soon.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Foxdiamond]

13 minutes ago, Parafox said:

 

 

Thank you both for asking. It went well. 

 

The organisation is a privately funded (through clients and other revenue streams) called Family Futures and they provide support and advice for "looked after" children and their families. They help to engage these children in opening up about their feelings and worries and provide them with  important information about the reasons for being adopted or fostered and guide and support them through the potential emotional fallout of what they have experienced.

 

In our case, we had already had some contact with our grandaughter through the post adoption contact mailbox scheme where annual letters and photos are exchanged between us and her ant her adoptive parents so we kind of knew bits about her life after going into care and knew what she looked like from the photos we had.

 

Prior to going to meet her, we were full of anxiety, hope, excitement not knowing how this would pan out.

 

We knew that the specialist had asked Ellie to write down questions that she hoped we could answer about her birth mum and her 6 months living with us 16 years ago.

 

When we walked into the room where we met Ellie face to face for the first time we all fell apart with emotion. Tears, hugs, kisses. A long period where none of knew what to say but all we could do was look at our grandaughter in almost disbelief. She's tiny, delicate and very pretty. So much like her birth mum at 16. She was dressed in a pink velour tracksuit that her birth mum would have approved of. 

 

She sat between her adoptive parents for a while then decided to come and sit with me and Mrs P. She held our hands as we started to answer the questions she had for us (which she had written on a large sheet of paper at a previous session she had been to) and it almost broke my heart.

 

Having to tell her the truth about the difficult early life her birth mum had and the short life Ellie spent with us was really difficult and clearly upsetting even though she knew quite a bit already as the adoption process requires all the information available, but to hear it hear it substantiated directly from us was tough for her and us and we had to stop a number of times for us all to have a breather.

 

In between times Ellie kept looking up at me and smiling. I so wanted to just scoop her up hold her like I did when she was a baby. 

 

She was quite shy, which is understandable in the circumstances, but our concerns about her not engaging with us or treating us like strangers was totally unfounded. It really was like meeting a long lost loved one for her and for us. She seemed so relieved herself that we were what she remembered even at that young age and what she hoped we would be like from our contact letters.

 

The brief attachment we made in the first 6 months of her life seems to continue to be there for her and certainly for us. She still has and still cuddles, a pink hippo soft toy we got for her after she was born and her adoptive parents said she hardly goes anywhere without it, even trips abroad.

 

She's had a difficult life but her adopters are dedicated to her and have given her the best, most positive life experiences she could ever have even in often quite trying situations as she displays so much of the behaviours that her birth mum did. And they continue to do so which is so gratifying and important to me and Mrs P.

 

We have another meeting with Ellie at Family Futures in April. In the meantime we are getting together ourselves to have a day out and we will take our other adopted daughter, Beth who is Ellie's aunt, with us so she can meet her as well. Beth had to say goodbye to Ellie when Beth was 9 yrs old and was devastated as she had formed a deep attachment.

 

Now we are getting our relationships back and all seems good.

 

On a slightly negative side, Ellie's birth mum is back in the MHU as she isn't coping and needs additional help. She does know about our contact with her daughter but that's not the reason she isn't managing in the community.

 

Also, we have a second grandaughter that has been adopted. She's 14 now but the adopters don't allow contact so it's unlikely we'll see her any time soon.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thank you for sharing. Very moving

[tom27111]

Fantastic @Parafox

 

Thank you for sharing. Really pleased for you and hope your relationship grows.

 

Genuinely engrossed and moved reading that.

 

And let's hope those negatives at the end of your post can change for the better over time, I know you and Mrs P haven't had it easy.

[Daggers]

Yeh, way to trump my issues with Southend on FM24, Parafox.

[FoxesDeb]

On 15/02/2025 at 20:44, Parafox said:

 

 

Thank you both for asking. It went well. 

 

The organisation is a privately funded (through clients and other revenue streams) called Family Futures and they provide support and advice for "looked after" children and their families. They help to engage these children in opening up about their feelings and worries and provide them with  important information about the reasons for being adopted or fostered and guide and support them through the potential emotional fallout of what they have experienced.

 

In our case, we had already had some contact with our grandaughter through the post adoption contact mailbox scheme where annual letters and photos are exchanged between us and her ant her adoptive parents so we kind of knew bits about her life after going into care and knew what she looked like from the photos we had.

 

Prior to going to meet her, we were full of anxiety, hope, excitement not knowing how this would pan out.

 

We knew that the specialist had asked Ellie to write down questions that she hoped we could answer about her birth mum and her 6 months living with us 16 years ago.

 

When we walked into the room where we met Ellie face to face for the first time we all fell apart with emotion. Tears, hugs, kisses. A long period where none of knew what to say but all we could do was look at our grandaughter in almost disbelief. She's tiny, delicate and very pretty. So much like her birth mum at 16. She was dressed in a pink velour tracksuit that her birth mum would have approved of. 

 

She sat between her adoptive parents for a while then decided to come and sit with me and Mrs P. She held our hands as we started to answer the questions she had for us (which she had written on a large sheet of paper at a previous session she had been to) and it almost broke my heart.

 

Having to tell her the truth about the difficult early life her birth mum had and the short life Ellie spent with us was really difficult and clearly upsetting even though she knew quite a bit already as the adoption process requires all the information available, but to hear it hear it substantiated directly from us was tough for her and us and we had to stop a number of times for us all to have a breather.

 

In between times Ellie kept looking up at me and smiling. I so wanted to just scoop her up hold her like I did when she was a baby. 

 

She was quite shy, which is understandable in the circumstances, but our concerns about her not engaging with us or treating us like strangers was totally unfounded. It really was like meeting a long lost loved one for her and for us. She seemed so relieved herself that we were what she remembered even at that young age and what she hoped we would be like from our contact letters.

 

The brief attachment we made in the first 6 months of her life seems to continue to be there for her and certainly for us. She still has and still cuddles, a pink hippo soft toy we got for her after she was born and her adoptive parents said she hardly goes anywhere without it, even trips abroad.

 

She's had a difficult life but her adopters are dedicated to her and have given her the best, most positive life experiences she could ever have even in often quite trying situations as she displays so much of the behaviours that her birth mum did. And they continue to do so which is so gratifying and important to me and Mrs P.

 

We have another meeting with Ellie at Family Futures in April. In the meantime we are getting together ourselves to have a day out and we will take our other adopted daughter, Beth who is Ellie's aunt, with us so she can meet her as well. Beth had to say goodbye to Ellie when Beth was 9 yrs old and was devastated as she had formed a deep attachment.

 

Now we are getting our relationships back and all seems good.

 

On a slightly negative side, Ellie's birth mum is back in the MHU as she isn't coping and needs additional help. She does know about our contact with her daughter but that's not the reason she isn't managing in the community.

 

Also, we have a second grandaughter that has been adopted. She's 14 now but the adopters don't allow contact so it's unlikely we'll see her any time soon.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This actually brought tears to my eyes reading, I'm so glad it went well, and I wish you all the best for the future. I know things haven't been easy for you, but honestly you're doing a great job and you should be very proud, both of you. I hope you realise that. 

[Daggers]

 

I resigned from Southend and was headhunted by Newcastle. 

 

The wife thinks I'm sitting in the office working.