Catching up

Yesterday I went onto Classmates.com for this first time in ages and came across a guy I had not heard from for many years. His name is Rick Rogers and I stayed with his family in Waverly Nebraska when I was a foreign exchange student at the High School there in 1971.

It was great to hear from him again. Now a pop-up has appeared inviting me to look at Friends Reunited. So I might just do that, as long as I don't have to part with any money.

This year has seen me revisit old haunts: Epping in Essex where we lived from 1979 to 1982, and Broad Oak-Brede Sussex where we lived from 1978/79.

It was great to hear from Rick again, although he now lives in one of the Carolinas. It brought back many happy memories of Waverly.

How am I doing this week? Well, up and down. I have discovered a new benefit which came on-stream on Monday. It is called Employment and Support Allowance. It doesn't pay any more than Job Seekers Allowance but it fast tracks you to someone who can help point you in the right direction for suitable work. It is aimed at people who find it difficult to work because of a long-term illness, injury or disability.

They are sending me the papers to apply. I'll see how it goes.