annanotbob2's Diaryland Diary
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Crafty
Here we are again, slumped on the sofa, laptop on lap, telly chuntering away, logs on the fire crackling away, rain lashing on the windows. I guess summer's over. Boo. I'm still going to go swimming in the morning, so long as I can get myself out of bed. The air temperature will be down to 8C but the sea is still 16C - can't imagine it but ready to give it a go. I've never swum in the sea in November.
In other news I went to sewing group this evening and finished enlarging the dress Daughter gave me for my birthday - I sewed red panels into the sides, from the wrists, up the arms and down the side. I think it came out really well. The dress is so lovely I couldn't bear to not wear it and it was fucking tight. 
The class is run by J, who was our art teacher at the recovery centre till she was taken off by Mind (when they took over mental health provision), and put on admin tasks. She's now off with anxiety as they're so awful to work for. I feel so sad for her. She's been a huge support to us all - one of those people who manages to make us all feel we're her favourite.
This is how we're losing our NHS - with parts of our humanity being separated off and handed over to private companies. Mind is/was a big national mental health charity, but it seems to have franchised off its name as they accept no responsibility for what's happening in our area and have no power to intervene - and believe me we've tried to get them involved. Across the county line mental health provision comes via a housing association, which you'd think would be worse, but what they've done is kept on employing all the staff who were there before and looking after them as well as before so the service is still good and staff turnover is still really low. The other bit I know has been flogged off is audio - if you're losing your hearing, instead of going to the hospital audiology department, you go to Specsavers. Bloody rubbish, all of it.
Ah well, sleep tight and keep safe, y'all.
12:52 a.m. - 04.11.22
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