Thoughts of a carer

  My mum enjoyed her 90th birthday last December. She’s led what many would consider a good life; worked hard, saved a bit here and there, and brought up me and my sister. A few months ago it became apparent that she couldn’t manage any more in her shared-equity ‘retired person’s’  bungalow, and moved into a care home. My sister and I have Power of Attorney, and we’ve been helping her manage her affairs. The sale of her old bungalow back to the local council went through in February, so we looked around for ideas on what to do with the proceeds - a small six figure sum.  Mum had an ISA at her bank which had built up to a good five figure sum, but otherwise no savings accounts. This included National Savings, which surprised me, for I thought everyone had one or two Premium Bonds, but I didn’t worry: my thoughts were that we should use her ISA allowance every year, and buy her the maximum amount of Premium Bonds (£50K), where her interest, or prizes, would be tax free....

 I've just been writing a six-page summary for a solicitor, and compiling a further twenty-five pages of documentation to assist them. Viv and I are seeking help on an issue with the developers who built our housing estate: while the roads and paths look ok to the mobile, some aspects are a nightmare for those with a mobility issue. The problems are, in fact, obvious: dropped kerbs missing, and uneven or unmade surfaces. The devlopment was built around 2011 - 2013, well after the DDA (and then the Equality Act) became law.  I've emailed and written letters to the developers, and the council; they all seemingly acknowledge the issues but don't seem to have any particular sense of urgency about progressing matters. The council won't accept responsibility for anything until the roads are adopted; the developers say they've delivered what was agreed with the council in the approved plans. It's costing us £750 +VAT to get legal advice to progress our case; that the p...

 As a child I was encouraged by my parents to trust 'knowledgeable people' - teachers, vicars and the like. Growing up I noticed that many of these people had achieved great things, for they tended to display an alphabet of post-nominal initials; I also noticed, though, that many of them seemed to be lacking in aspects of knowledge that other, more 'ordinary', people seemed to take for granted. Recently there was an example of a mother who, faced with looking after her disabled son unsupported during lockdown, had a mental breakdown and killed him. In order to protect us (or the NHS) from the effects of Covid, our leaders, on the advice of highly qualified experts (in SAGE), had set up an environment where the most vulnerable could not cope. To me, and many like me, it was obvious that this sort of thing would happen - and that it will continue to happen for years, long after lockdowns, as a result of the measures that have been implemented. Surely, in a civilised soci...