Plastic, plastic, and more plastic!

Among the many things that occupy my mind is the use of plastic. 

How can I reduce the amount in my house; should I bother; why does my local authority not supply more detailed information on which plastics it will recycle; why is all plastic not recyclable; when did we start using so much plastic and why do tea bags contain plastic?

The stuff is everywhere and in everything! Not only tea bags, but makeup and our food, particularly fish and seafood. If we are not killing them in our oceans, we are killing them to eat, so the plastic in them is doing unknown things to us.

While I was in Bruges last year I took this photo of a blue whale made out of plastic.

But it wasn't always like this. I guess my mother always went to a supermarket to get her weekly shop, though the scale would have nothing on today. There was also less variety and few supermarkets so shopping was an undertaking. You could go to your local town, but a major weekly shop required planning as you could not just pop into a smaller version of your favourite supermarket brand.

I remember going with my grandmother at weekends to her local indoor market, which sold everything. She took a string bag and bought all her meat, vegetables and fruit and bread. She cooked meals from scratch and certainly had less plastic in her house. Most of what she bought was given to her in paper bags. If not paper then she would try to reuse the packaging in some way. 

And yes there was less choice, so the food miles were shorter, and yes (for us today) the choice was basic and boring. We are so lucky in the variety of cuisines we get today, but the price is the increased food miles and use of plastic packaging. Not to forget intensive farming in other parts of the world where producers are not all paid a fair price and where intensive production is damaging local areas both environmental and in the availability of produce for local people.

I get my shopping delivered. It suits me being single and when I am working. I also do not drive and remember earlier times in my life when shopping was done at a weekend (losing a whole day) or after a tiring day at work. Back then I was also taken on public transport (usually a bus), later I had a taxi. So now I relax while I order and tend to get everything I pick delivered at a time to suit me. While they may take back their carrier bags, the amount of plastic is still astonishing - and remember much of it cannot be recycled. And anything vacuum packed is really difficult to get into.

So I do worry about the amount of plastic in my life. I have had leaf tea in the cupboard for ages since our trip to India, but I still buy plastic filled tea bags. I am researching solid toiletry bars for the bathroom, but will it make a difference? It is very unlikely I will have children so should I really be so concerned about plastic? Would it not be better to let it go and free up some space in my brain?

Hypermobility Syndrome

I say I have hypermobility syndrome, but today this is a simplification. Back when I first started suffering it was (like so many illnesses and conditions) not understood as well and therefore diagnosis was difficult and treatment was in its infancy. I say treatment, but this can only manage the condition, for which there is no cure.

Basic information about hypermobility syndrome is available from the NHS website. It is interesting to note that, even now, the NHS direct you to other sources of information from the specialist UK support groups of  the Hypermobility Syndromes Association and Ehlers-Danlos Support UK.

To give you a basic idea about hypermobility is that it is a condition which means people are more flexible than normal which leads to joint and other problems. It can be very mild, having a limited impact on daily life, to severe resulting in frequent or daily dislocations, which can make it difficult to carry out daily tasks.





I may also have been unfortunate as I did not grow up in large UK city. I did have two parents in the NHS, but this was not always an advantage!


[more to come]

Help and Support 1

So this morning I thought I better see if I can get any support, by which I mean financial support.

For years I was getting DLA (Disability Living Allowance) and because I received a higher payment on mobility I also had a freedom pass. Unfortunately I lost the latter, and shortly after I had my calf injury. I was transitioned onto PIP (Personal Independence Payment) and attended an assessment, after which this was withdrawn because I looked too well.

I had attended with a crutch by taxi both ways. But because I still walked and had attended on my own and looked presentable I was apparently managing. What the health assessor and I guess people generally do not understand is that it is possible to look presentable and this is partly because it enables you to go out of the house. People do function with depression, but that is not to say they are not depressed or having an episode. I guess I should have taken a neighbour with me, been unwashed and wearing pyjamas. And I must say the health assessor came across as patronising. It would like be being assessed by a GP who does not know you. We all know they know a little about a lot, but never have the time to gain a deep understanding of every condition on the planet. I should know, my father was a GP.

So to return to this morning. I looked up my local  Citizens' Advice (CAB, none in my immediate local area) and rang the number. It was constantly engaged, but the only way to arrange an appointment. I did look on the website, but sometimes even people like me just want to chat to someone. When I feel under the weather I want someone else to sort things out for me and chatting to someone feels like this, even if ultimately I come away with more actions. I mean, if someone else could get me the right job for me, or right loving relationship I would welcome it - though I am not signing up for Married at First Sight!

So after trying several times I was able to connect to an adviser online. I waited "on hold" being number 6 in the queue for about 20 minutes. The adviser then pointed me back at the advice on the CAB website. I also said I had recently lost my PIP and they said I should get an appointment to get help with an appeal. Guess what? That meant trying to get through on the original number I was trying for this.

And then the situation was compounded. The downstairs phone ran out of charge, so I went for the upstairs phone. 5 minutes later this too was flat. Unfortunately my mobile signal is not strong enough for a chat in the house. So hear I sit unable to call out. 

A bundle of health conditions!

• hypothyroidism
• hypermobility syndrome
• hayfever
• recurrent depressive disorder
• partial rupture of the achilles tendon

This is my current list of conditions. There may be others of which I unaware, and with a list like this, I am happy to remain oblivious at the moment.

Is my list abnormally long? I don't think so. People I have met through support forums also seem to have more than one condition. And you may think that this phenomenon of a bundle of conditions is a recent one, but in the past people did not talk so much about their health, and the technology was not available for anyone wishing to do so.

Which came first?

For me it was the hypermobility syndrome while I was at secondary school. Then hayfever at university. The depression and hypothyroidism was a couple of years ago, though the former was probably there for much longer. And last year I injured the achilles tendon.

Why Catch-22?

When I think of Catch-22 I think of the book written in the 1950s by Joseph Heller. More information about it can be found at Wikipedia on Catch-22

In simple terms, and in my context, a Catch-22 is a non-win situation. You want/need to do something, but cannot because of something else - over which you have little or no control.

And that is how I feel starting this blog.

About me

So here I am starting yet another blog. There is a lot flying round in my head at the moment, and life is rather eventful. I am sure there are others out there in a similar position and I am certainly not saying I have a monopoly on how I am feeling at the moment.

I am a divorced, 45 year old woman, currently not in a relationship and living on my own in London. I live with, in no particular order, hypothyroidism, hypermobility syndrome, recurrent depressive disorder, hayfever and unrecovered partially ruptured achilles tendon on my left side (done last April)!

There are so many things I think about doing: taking up running, art; starting my own business; giving up plastic, meat, sugar; moving somewhere else for a simpler life; finding love.......

These are the ones that immediately spring to mind. 

There is also a long list of things I need to or should be doing: washing the dishes; batch cooking; cleaning the house; putting postcards in albums; selling junk; looking for a job.....

So in an attempt to get some of the stuff out of my head, I have started up another blog. I am also trying to write my Dad's family story and finish a book about a trip to Venezuela - it is finished, but needs re-working now.