World turned upside down

I woke up in a much better frame of mind this morning (after yesterday’s grouchiness), which was just as well, as my newly improved mood has been sorely tested today.

Firstly, Cyril (the three-legged monster cat) went missing for five hours.  Over the past couple of weeks I’ve had to abandon my plans to restrict his outdoors meanderings to the back garden.  He may be a fat, three-legged cat but he can jump high fences with gay abandon.  I know when I am beaten.  I have to accept the fact that he likes to roam and just hope he doesn’t roam too close to the Very Busy Road.  There are other neighbourhood cats that have been around for years (Shouty Cat and Big Bad Brown Cat to name just two) without coming a cropper, so fingers crossed that Cyril comes to no harm.  However when he disappears for hours at a stretch I do start to worry.  I’ve spent a fair amount of time today standing in the back garden shaking a box of cat biscuits (the neighbours probably think I have taken up the maracas).  I never knew parenting was this hard!

Did I mention that, when he does come home, he's a smug little git?

 

Then, money problems – but not in the way you might think.  It’s a very long and dull story but to summarise both I and my employer think I am receiving a state benefit to which I am not entitled.  Over the past month I have phoned the Benefit Bods and written to them but not only do they continue to pay the benefit, they’ve actually increased it.  My employer has decided to deduct the apparent overpayment of benefit from my wages.  When I told the Benefit Bods this today they said it was wrong, that I am entitled to benefit and I should contact the Citizens Advice Bureau.  It’s all making my brain hurt.  I’m not out of pocket, far from it, with both my job and the state paying me I’m better off than when I was well and working!  But this can’t be right, there are all sorts of people being unfairly treated over this particular benefit and yet they insist on giving me dosh I don’t think I’m entitled to.  The world’s gone crazy.  It wasn’t like this when I was a girl.  Have you seen the price of sprouts these days?  I can remember when this was all fields.