Just a storm in my coffee cup.

Thursday ..

As England wakes up to a new dawn, it seems a very different world from the one lashed by exceptionally heavy rains and gale force winds just hours ago,. Twelve solid hours of constant rain battered against my bedroom windows, at one point it became quite deafening,(I actually feared these old window frames at my apartment, would infact give way under the storms fury, luckily for me though they held true and fast,), Storm Babet made her presence known across our country, I’m unsure as of the extent of any damage sustained ,rarely having access to news updates,. what I do know though, parts of Ireland and Scotland have faced the brunt of it, school closures have been put in place for childrens protection.

First that I heard about the incoming storm Babet, was to be from my somewhat concerned daughter, checking I had some candles and any emergency things I may need close to hand😃, (I laugh because I’m almost set up for an apocalyptic event) ,. One of the few good things about living the frugal lifestyle the way I do, is I’m already used to living in the dark😃, .Some of the other good points, All My four large power banks are nearly always fully charged, ready for using the next day, the smaller ones charging, these do not last as long though, needing more frequent charging but have their place keeping my phone charged, .. Then I have that drawer filled with AA batteries,(yes you read that right!, I have a battery drawer, doesn’t everybody though!?😃, Soon as Amazon have any on sale, I buy buy buy!!.. there’s also my rechargeable ones Jesse bought me, these are for my myriad of fairy lights and lamps.

Dotted around are numerous Solar garden lights, placed strategically in east facing Windows, ready to catch any stray Rays of sunlight that I may or may not get during the day 😃, ..Don’t even ask about the large shoe box im barely able to close filled to the very brim with every kind of t light candle, from 12 hours duration down to 3,. Yes I can say with some certainty I’m ready for that odd power cut.

This morning as I was saying was to be very different day, it’s a balmy 60, we now have more of a gentle breeze rather than the wind fit enough to blow you into next week, whether this is in fact is the eye of the storm or that’s it spent im sure we will at some time today find out😃…

The Saga continued….

So as you all know I’m as we speak having serious issues with my energy supplier,. It started off way back when, somewhere in early February of this year..my bills increasing steadily month after month..to the point now they are saying I owe well over £2000, And this is with me already paying a hefty £340 monthly. As you also know my argument is this is way way over the top, during the day I run off of electricity, one phone charger, one kettle and my tiny fridge freezer..I have no heating, no hot water and no I’m not having raves, running a business or heating my neighbours houses…plus I live alone in a doll house sized apartment… I know i’m lousy at math(no really I am😃) but even I can see if my friends and neighbours houses run at a fraction of mine, Some infact having hot and cold running teenagers, leaving on lights, computers, running Niagara fall type showers with actual hot water daily, how on earth does this compute?.

Today after months of calls, emails, letters to MPs, Ombudsmen, naming but a few, I finally had an engineer out to check my meter..I was nervous about this from the start, because this feels like my last straw, the end game..if it doesn’t help, where does one turn to get assistance?, Have your voice heard!, At the same time I couldn’t wait for him to call, wanting a solution found finally..I cannot exist this way for much longer, and it is a mere existence, being terrified to use anything without using more more power….fighting last weeks raging chest infection while shivering in the cold and damp each night, no hot water, no heating…

The engineer finally showed, there’s that ring on the door bell I had dreaded since before 6am this morning.. I showed him straight to the meter, then for the next hour preceded to sit on the edge of my chair…He turned off all the power at one point, did all kinds of wizardry with gadgets, only to come in later a very non plussed look upon his face and much head scratching…he said can you perhaps turn on your kettle…which though confused 😕 I did(thought he may of wanted a cuppa bless him😃) what he in fact was trying to get me to do was use more units of electricity…apparently I wasn’t even using enough to register on the meter…I shrugged my tired shoulders at him, showed him about my flat…saying but this is how I live!(desperation telling in my voice)…after an hour though it turns out I’m only using 90p worth of power daily..1 whole unit..under £7 per week, ok I know there’s standing charges..I will give them that…but not over £300 pounds a month worth,.

The engineer left saying he was confused, he’s confused,. he IS confused, how does he think I feel?…I’m more than confused, I’m dumb founded, angry, upset, but most importantly for me, im exhausted…trying hard to hold it together, one lone, single voice against many, feeling constantly like I’m fighting a losing battle, a battle without an ending, against an invisible foe …now where? Now who do I turn too…and so it continues… Take care of yourselves folks stay safe and well.❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤☔