*
So, that’s it. The start of my illustrious career is - trees being cut down. Still, to be honest, I’m quite happy, I’m on the way!
Sunday, March 23rd 2014
I wasn’t really going to cover my personal life, I was going to focus on my work, but it occurred to me, I can cut out bits I don’t like, or don’t want to publish, but it’s much much harder to write detailed diary entries in ten years time when I won’t have a clue what I did today. So, this evening, I’ll spend a few minutes writing about what I did today, and if I keep it, I keep it, if I don’t, well, you’ll never know, will you.
Sunday evening
We spent the day at home, nice and relaxing, curled up on the sofa watching a couple of films. We watched the second Hobbit film again. It’s nice to be able to watch 3D without the glasses now. My parents got us the TV last Christmas, no way I could afford it myself when I was still jobhunting, and it’s so much nicer than going to the cinema where you still need the glasses.
After that we watched The Fifth Element 3D re-release. I do love that film, lots of sci-fi, some comedy, excellent. I just wish Chris Tucker’s character was a bit less - well, just less. I know it’s the part he was playing, but he goes a bit over the top and I think it spoils it a bit. Just a bit though, I still love the film.
We’re going to head out to dinner now. Nothing too fancy, just Chinese food, we’re still on a budget while I wait for my first paycheque, and Taima looks for a job.
Monday, March 24th 2014
Morning
Still very full of Chinese food from last night. Feel bloated. Ate WAY too much :-(
Afternoon
OK, feel better now. I’ve just been told by Nigel that I need to get all three stories in by the end of Wednesday for a Thursday print run, ready to go out on Friday. That gives me two and a half more days, and I need to finish one story and find a completely new one. Eeeeek!
Evening
OK, so, it’s evening now, Still no clue on the third story. I spent this morning scouring recent editions to try and find something worth following up on, and there really is nothing. I have one last idea, I’ll try it tomorrow. Local poverty story, not pretty but, it is local, it matters to local people, and most importantly, will save my arse from failing to meet my first deadline!
Tuesday, March 25th 2014
So, here it is, my second story. I spent the morning interviewing people at the local job centre, about how they feel being unemployed, the economy, and how the austerity measures are hitting them. They were lined up in the fog, not much above freezing, and had a lot to complain about.
Destitute in Didcot
Didcot is one of the more affluent areas of England, but not everyone shares in its good fortune. Unemployment is low compared to many places in the country, but even here stands at almost 5%. When you compare this to Manchester (17%), Bradford (24%), and Luton (21%), it may seem trivial, but it isn’t trivial to those who are living as a statistic day by day.
Since the new raft of austerity measures kicked in in 2013, unemployment has risen dramatically across the whole country. Government jobs that have been removed just haven’t been replaced by private sector opportunities as the Conservative/Liberal Democrat coalition had hoped. And with a rising welfare bill, a shrinking economy, and a cut in investment, the triple-dip recession, as it has become known, seems set to continue to bring misery to local residents.
John Marsh, a bricklayer, has been unemployed for two years now. He lost his job due to the weakness in the housing market, and the continued low confidence in property has kept him and many others like him on the benefits line. “For the first six months I had a bit of savings, so I wasn’t too worried, but after they ran out, I started looking for jobs doing anything. Even been rejected for street cleaning, because they had 60 applicants for one job. And it isn’t worth doing odd days jobs any more. The new computer system the government has means that they automatically stop all my benefits even if I do just one days work, and then I have to fill in all the forms again, just to tell them I’m back where I was two days ago. Stupid it is, really stupid.”
His sentiments were echoed by many standing outside the Didcot job centre at 8am in the morning, wanting to be first in, in the hopes of a prime job showing up. By 9:30, the queue had dwindled, and everyone had left looking disappointed.
Janice, who didn’t want to give her last name, admits she often has to sleep rough since losing her job in a nail salon three months ago. When she lost her job, her boyfriend kicked her out, and with no savings to speak of, she has had to hope for the charity of a local homeless shelter, who are almost always full.
“In three months I’ve only got to sleep there twice. They give all the rooms to women with kids, and they never let me in, just cos I never got pregnant. How is that fair? I was sensible, so they leave me on the streets while those chavs get free food and beds cos they got themselves knocked up.”
With the economy showing little sign of improvement, it seems that the unfortunate minority in Didcot will remain dependant on the state for assistance for the foreseeable future.