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Surely the death of Hayden Gwynne is part of the decision

Not sure I mentioned it before but anyway. As some of you know, my late brother was severely head injured by a drunk driver in Spain. Usual - years and years spent fundraising, hospital care, my parents decided to care for him at home and fought for an extension to the house. He was incapable of walking, speaking or feeding himself. Anyhow, cut to years later, mother on carers' allowance (which got cut down the minute she received she received her miserly NHS pension) and disability allowance, they brought in PIP (this turned out to be in my brother's last year of life). They did three assessments for a man in a hospital bed with no function. Three. Think on that. We finally got notification of his eligibility shortly after he had already died - some 9 months after the assessments. Then for some reason, they insisted on repayment of some of the benefits he had already received. Cut back to a couple of years earlier, my mother died so I gave up my very well paid job and moved home to receive 70 quid a week carers' allowance. We did have help from the Local Authority, but I was still doing around 70 hours a week feeding and observation - one pound sterling an hour remuneration. So I well recall the day there was a knock at the door and lo and behold there was a representative from the local jobcentre. Who asked if there was any way I could take up a wee job. After explaining the situation and the measly amount I was receiving, she still pressed the matter, saying that they could look into respite care. So I asked what kind of respite I would be getting if I was being sent out to work during that time. I wasn't visited again. This is the pressure that many people on benefits already get. In many cases it isn't a lifestyle choice, it is a real public service that some of us do to actually save the NHS from crumbling into the sea and we are rewarded with all the shit Sunak & Co (and his predecessors) can dole out. The tax system in contrast is full of loopholes and exemptions, etched to suit the Government of the day and their cronies. And nobody talks about it.

I didn't get around to posting about Sunak's shitty speech yesterday about sicknote Britain. Isn't it funny how the Tories solution is always to reclassify people as being fit for work under false pretences rather than dealing with the underlying issues. Maybe if we had hospitals fit for purpose, anything resembling a functioning mental healthcare system, a social care system that actually helped people recover and so much more besides (not to mention appropriate pandemic response measures that kept people safe when it was most needed) that we wouldn't have so many people claiming benefits. I do have personal experience. My dad suffered a stroke in 2010 at 59 - left him with no short-term memory and scrambled long-term memory. He has common sense, he can function on a day-to-day level and has a certain amount of independence - can walk to the paper shop and get his paper, but anything more complicated is a minefield (if we sent him to Asda, by the time he's got there, he'd have forgotten what he went for). You can have the same conversation with him umpteen times in a day and the Blackburn in his mind is not the same as the Blackburn of 2024 (from bus routes to shops in town to the price of anything). Anyway, that's just some background to saying that when the DWP did their reviews when they were moving everybody over to PIP, dad was reassessed. We did our own count-up of the points as we saw them and got that he should be on the lower rate for mobility and the higher rate for the living, which would match what he was previously on. When the verdict came back, he got nothing. Not a single point on the whole review. 0/30. Benefits stopped. Took it to review: no change. Appealed it. Months went by. Eventually appeal date came up. Took him to a tribunal in Blackburn with a judge and two medical advisers. They asked him some questions, we helped him to answer where necessary - went out and waited for the verdict. Worn down, we weren't sure we'd get anything at all. We went back in to be told he would get the higher rate for living and the lower rate for mobility. With no prospect of change, they said it would be indefinite, but officially labelled it for 10 years, simply because that way we wouldn't be blindsided by a sudden review at some point. But the hope is since we've already won on appeal once, he should be safe now. But it was a ridiculous and worrying 6-8 months (something like that, I forget how long it was now, I've tried to blank it out). Unsurprising newsflash: the Tories are heartless bastards.

Roedad Khan (wiki) dead at 100 according to his family on Facebook.

QO for Czech Olympian Olga Fikotova https://www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2024/04/20/olga-fikotova-czech-discus-hal-connolly-olympic-gold/

Update, 2nd part: So, I am continuing to work my way back into the past, next one is Frederic Mitterrand, nephew of Francois, and so, the 2nd french "relative of a president" who was also a little notable on their own. Frederic was a former minister of culture and is a hit for therewillbedeaths7. Next one is M. Emmet Walsh, a unique hit for Tracy. Walsh was a reliable side actor on the big and small screen. Probably one of the biggest "I know the face" guys around. Malachy McCourt is a hit for two players, Etushipushingupdaisies and SalmonMousse. Also a relative of a maybe more famous person, McCourt was a well-known but not super-famous writer, but also a well-known but not super-famous actor. He was also the Green Party candidate for New York Governor, so you see, he was a little bit of everything. While initially, he entered hospice for ill health, he recovered and was thrown out again. But then, his recovery couldn't last forever. Next up is Charlie Bird, the significant British reporter with the direct IRA connections. He was willing to go where nobody else went - including several jobs in war areas - and thus, his battle with ALS was widely covered, and exploited in this game. Okay, that's for the DDP hits, as far as I can tell. Do we have any other hits? Well, I see CalebH had KM Peyton - who however died in 2023 and has to be replaced with 1st sub Jimmy Carter. Joe Shannon was a pick for several players, but did not receive a QO - so yes, this does seem to be it. Quite a few names were missed, like OJ Simpson, for example, or Walid Daqqa. The new scoreboard shows Perhaps losing the lead to Banana and Cpt. Chorizo because of missing out on Charlie Bird. Perhaps still has his joker back in hand though, but.. ahem... it's only Jimmy Carter, who isn't dying anyway.... Rank Team Score 1 Banana 643 2 Cpt. Chorizo 613 3 Perhaps 611 4 gcreptile 564 5 RadGuy 546 6 Funeralopolis 542 7 wannamaker 522 8 Book 483 9 msc 471 10 Toast 449 11 tracy 425 12 The Immortal 386 13 Summer in Transilvania 380 14 Pedro67 376 15 Baby Blue 375 16 Mr. Wonderful 372 17 ThereWillBeDeaths7 363 18 Salmon Mousse 358 19 Etushipushingupdaisies 356 20 DeathBecomesThem 345 21 Caleb H 338 22 Death Impends 335 23 MariNisia 331 24 The Unknown Man 293 25 Buffalo Phil 277 26 Cpt. Hemlock 276 27 The old lady 268 28 An Fear Beag 252 29 Imelda 234 30 Liz Lemon 230 31 Lady Fiona 224 32 Yorkshire Banker 217 33 Charles De Gaulle 215 34 Thatcher 213 35 Bibliogryphon 203 36 The Old Crem 202 37 John Key 201 38 The Daredevil 198 39 Predictor 183 40 Diego 161 41 TQR 153 42 Wormfarmer 140 43 Sean 128 44 Annami 120 45 Torva Messor 111 46 Sod's Law 76 47 Great Uncle Bulgaria 73 47 Young Willz 73 49 arghton 67 50 Gooseberry Crumble 31 51 Hell 23 51 chileanway 23

21/Apr/2024 80 Jeff Buckley — Hallelujah 39 Adele — Chasing Pavements +4 35 Taylor Swift — Love Story ‐3 31 Rihanna — Russian Roulette 31 Kings Of Leon — Use Somebody 26 James Morrison ft. Nelly Furtado — Broken Strings 20 La Roux — In For The Kill -3 16 Jay-Z ft. Alicia Keys — Empire State Of Mind

21/04/24 80 Jeff Buckley — Hallelujah 37 Kings Of Leon — Use Somebody +3 34 Adele — Chasing Pavements +1 32 Taylor Swift — Love Story  30 Rihanna — Russian Roulette 30 Jay-Z ft. Alicia Keys — Empire State Of Mind 29 La Roux — In For The Kill -2 20 James Morrison ft. Nelly Furtado — Broken Strings 00 Sam Sparro — Black & Gold -4

@RoverAndOut sorry to hear about your dad. Best wishes to him and you. I had a stroke in my early twenties and a lot of that feels familiar though I was lucky with my age and the severity level. Short term memory is buggered even today though, among other symptoms I'm stuck with! I do remember vaguely atos, or the dread and atmosphere to the interviews more than the actual questions. Anyhow I'll be cheering the demise of ids come election night. Sunak is a shithead cunt. And a Millionaire one to boot who only knows struggle when his servants are sick. I know what would help improve the nations collective mental health. A fucking election.

Every single word. All the best to your dad. So sorry to hear you all went through this shite. And this is just one example of many where people are getting so fucked over already, leave alone Sunak’s new even cuntier stance, the mental health repercussions of which will be devastating to hundreds of thousands of people, thus creating an even more vicious circle. These cunts need to go, ASAFP.

More likely simply it doesn't really feel like the time to make fun of a family while two of its principal members (and key characters in your show) are suffering from cancer. Not much humour to be found there.

The irony being RFK is more in need of votes than the two yer man was railing against before he went up in flames.

(The artist formerly known as) Prince died on this day 8 years ago, aged 57. - Prince was indeed his real first name- he was named after his father John's stage name 'Prince Rogers'. Prince did not like his name- and preferred the nickname 'Skipper'. - Prince's first musical act was in the band of his cousin's husband, called 94 East: - Prince's debut single was 1978's "Soft and Wet", and he would immediately end up on the charts- number 92 on the Billboard Hot 100. - Prince's song "Darling Nikki" inadvertently led to the creation of the Parental Advisory label on albums, when Al Gore's wife saw their daughter dancing to the song. - Prince was the original singer of "Nothing Compares 2 U", composed in 1985: - Prince was one of the few musicians to outright deny Weird Al permission to parody their songs, and Weird Al stated Prince was the only one to not give an explanation as to why. - Despite being associated with the color purple, Prince's favorite color was actually orange. - Prince's cremated remains were put into a custom 3D-printed urn shaped like his mansion, Paisley Park:

Stephanie Sparks, longtime host of Golf Channel's "Big Break", dead at 50. Doesn't seem to be a cause of death, at the moment.

Former Footballer Roman Gabriel died at 83 years: https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/rams-legend-former-nfl-mvp-quarterback-roman-gabriel-dies-at-age-83/ He became the first Asian-American to start at quarterback in the NFL. He is widely considered one of the best quarterbacks of the late 1960s and early 1970s.

Howie Schwab, US sports trivia show guest/participant, dead at 63 https://www.espn.com/espn/story/_/id/39980706/howie-schwab-long-espn-producer-star-trivia-show-dies

The most football chairmany name ever!

Taylor Swift just released a double album called The Tortured Poets Department. I thought it was just 16 songs but then I found the anthology and an extra 15 songs. So yes on my day off i've already spent two hours listening to her. Some highlights: thanK you aIMee (it's about Kim Kardashian) Clara Bow The Tortured Poets Department

Harry Howorth, reportedly the last survivor of those who landed on Sword Beach at Normandy and Legion d'Honneur recipient, reported dead aged 103: BBC news report from 2023: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-merseyside-66069523

As posted elsewhere fhe 1974 final has lost another with the death of Bernd Hölzenbein. https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/27342758/bernd-holzenbein-dead-germany-world-cup-winner-frankfurt-legend/

Garry Van Egmond, who was behind some of Australia’s biggest ever tours, including touring AC/DC for more than 30 years, has died. He was 82. https://www.noise11.com/news/australian-promoter-garry-van-egmond-has-passed-way-20240408

Ignore post

Dick Higgins, a Navy radioman and one of the few remaining Pearl Harbor survivors, has died. He was 102. Higgins' amphibious plane was destroyed in the attack. With Higgins’ death, only 22 veterans of the attack are known to be living, according to Kathleen Farley, the California chapter president with Sons and Daughters of Pearl Harbor Survivors, who has maintained the tally for years. https://www.stripes.com/veterans/2024-03-19/higgins-pearl-harbor-survivor-obituary-13368648.html

Joe Vandever Sr., one of the last remaining Navajo Code Talkers during World War II, has died. He was 96. https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona/2020/01/31/navajo-code-talker-joe-vandever-sr-dies-96/1460044001/