Is your lotto ticket valid? – Part 2

As you know from previous post I won £10 on the National Lottery but did not discover I had a problem with my ticket until I tried to claim my winnings.

I received a phone call from Camelot today as they wanted to ask a few questions as part of the investigation regarding my lottery ticket. This person who spoke to me was very reassuring, knowing this will get sorted. She is going to check on a few things now after this conversation and find out also exactly when after buying my ticket, the ticket was cancelled. Hopefully they will find out soon, so they can sort my claim, along also with results from investigation.

Is your lotto ticket valid?

I bought a lotto ticket one day last week for The National Lottery on Saturday 21st February, before work.

The lotto numbers for that night were 18 – 22 – 26 – 42 – 45 – 46 and bonus ball was 44.

I got three of those numbers! So I won £10.  But when it came to collecting my winnings from a newsagent near me, I found I couldn’t cash it as my ticket came up cancelled. To sort this problem out I had to go back to where I originally bought it from. So before work, I went back to where I bought it, to hopefully sort it out.

After leaving it with her to call back later, I’ve now got to send it to The National Lottery at Watford for them to investigate.   So as I said in a letter, for me now to do this, I expect also refund for cost of sending it, otherwise as far as I see it, I havn’t won £10, because if I been able to collect my winnings as I should normally have been able to do it, then I wouldn’t have been charged for collecting my £10 winnings, would I? 

I don’t know how long I should expect them to investigate this, but I’m allowing them 4 weeks to sort this. If I’ve not received what I should have received or heard by then, I’m taking this story further, as to make sure everyone is aware.

As for buying another lottery ticket. I know I won’t be buying another from where I got from again. But also when I think about it, do I trust buying a National Lottery Ticket anywhere now? I think from now on I’ll be buying an Irish Lottery Ticket that everyone keeps telling me about from now on.

I’m keeping my fingers crossed

I’m keeping my fingers crossed.   

I went down with me not hearing anything regarding properties I was interested in, that I wanted to see if a cat would be passed with it saying no pets. They said they shouldn’t see it being a problem with the person owning the house, as she more likely put that in originally because of not really wanting anyone with dogs. They couldn’t promise when I would be able to view the one I really wanted out of the two I was interested in as they were in the process evicting current tennants, but if I was interested in the property to come in next week  to see whats happening.

So I’m keeping my fingers crossed and counting down to next week. I know this street well as a friend lives on there. So to have my own house with its own garden, thats tidy all round compared to where I am. Its going to bliss. I’m certainly not going to let this one slip through my fingers like before.

Here’s a lovely story

Here’s the link to Hearing Dogs for Deaf People website, where’s there a lovely story of the youngest person ever to have a Hearing Dog http://www.hearingdogs.org.uk/pships_testimonials_show.php?id=15

Do you work…

People are not supposed to discriminate disabled people when it comes to applying for a job, and the acts are there to stop this. But does it help?

I believe in my own experience that in the past a couple of jobs out of the few I applied for, I was discriminated because of my deafness. But its hard to prove. I was experienced in the area I applied for, and flexible too. But never got anywhere, so I feel I’m stuck where I am. I have even gave up applying for jobs after over 3 years of doing this. Not because of the discrimination I feel possibly went on, but because how everything is at the moment with the recession and people loosing their jobs. I feel I need to stay where I am because its safe. You may say that no job is safe now. And I agree with that mostly, except for hospitals as they always need cleaners…. we do where I am, so this is why I feel I need to stay where I am.

But it doesn’t mean I have lost my dreams of doing something new in addition to my job or completely new if it went well. I’ve always liked the idea of giving it go as business with my hand made cards again. But I need to start this from home, and I can’t because of what the tenancy rules say. But maybe this will happen sometime in the future depending on if wherever I move to, if their tenancy agreement is different.

My deaf awareness I’m doing soon….

My deaf awareness I was doing with some friends and family I’ve discovered hasn’t gone to plan already! 2 out of the 4 I invited won’t be able to make it! So much for giving warning and I end up picking a Saturday they are going to the theatre, which was booked before Christmas. So they’ve got to go to that, which I understand.

I told my friend that she and my other friend would have to sort out a day between them, that they both could attend, then let me know what day and I’ll see what I can do, as I really need them together.

See what happens. At least I know my Mum and Richard will be there. So if it has to be done in pairs it don’t matter.

I’m doing a deaf awareness soon!

On 7th March at my place I’m getting a very small group around for a bit of deaf awareness. There will be 5 of us counting me, if hey turn up, with a small buffet. It’s something I realise from the counselling I had recently that I need to do this. I’d been thinking about the past year but never got round to it, as kept putting it off.

I hope by doing this that my friends and family will be more deaf aware than they were before. Also they will fully understand how deaf I am, because as I speak ok they forget I have a hearing problem sometimes. So I want to make sure they do fully understand. There will be a bit of an eye opener for them at one point too, what I plan to do with them, which I did this with someone else who was deaf aware, but still found it an eye opener and learnt a bit more. I hope they have a bit of fun too while learning.

National Tinnitus Week

The British Tinnitus Association is holding National Tinnitus Week from 9th to 15th February 2009. See their website for further details, which I’ve included in the link on my blog to their site under ‘Other sites of interest’.

I’ve suffered tinnitus in my right since 2002, after I was diagnosed with deafness which is always there. I manage to forget its there most of the time except for a few occasions its bothered me. My tinnitus is a whistle, which if it gets worse that it bothers me it will go loud, so loud I feel I have to talk over it, although I don’t. The longer this goes on for I start to feel tired and can’t concentrate.

Tinnitus does get worse if your stressed, so it can be a vicious circle because the tinnitus is annoying and your’re stressed by it, but co you are stressed the tinnitus is still bad. Cd’s can help to relax you as so you take your mind of it. Yoga is good too as I’ve done this before. Now I just do some relaxation, or Me Day that I’m doing every Friday. (see earlier post for that, to understand what I’m on about). Everyone is different, so you will find your own thing to help you manage your tinnitus. Its first time I’ve actually visited this site, and I’ve found it very informative.

Some changes are happening – Part 6

  Had my first counselling session this week that my G.P. referred me for, for deaf issues I had and other problems affecting me. Felt tired and drained after it. Counselling will last for 6 to 8 weeks. One thing she asked for her own personal interest made me think though, even though I knew the answer. It was just the way it was asked that made me think. She asked me “which would I think may be easier for me, HOH as I am or completely deaf?” My response was that being totally deaf, although I’ve experienced this when I’ve had colds or viral infections is, that being deaf would scare me, and I don’t want to be deaf. Because when I’ve had the colds or virals and was deaf then, I felt isolated because one particular friend I have will not learn to text, so as I was deaf and couldn’t use the phone to see how she was, or unable to answer the phone myself because of my deafness, I felt isolated because of this. My Mum can text and my boyfriend does too.

I’ve since had this deeper chat to explain to my friend how isolated I feel at a time like that, and what it would mean to me if she learnt how to text. But as I said to my counsellor, if I had this chat with her I’m sure it would still be the same and I was right. I even suggested to my friend then what if I had a landline phone, and you had to phone me. How would you feel that I had to use Typetalk. Because I don’t hear on a normal now. She put her barrier up for that too as I expected. So I had to tell her that look here, I have hearing problems and I have to adapt whether I like it or not, you said it would be lovely if I have a landline phone, and if I do I have to use Typetalk. I explained that I’ve come across deaf people already who have had their calls rejected because some people can’t be bothered, because of Typetalk, and if people do this, and I can’t believe I’m getting my own best friend doing it, then you are putting the barriers up, and making it difficult for people like me.  If you don’t phone me because of this, then as you won’t text or email and now won’t phone, you are making me isolated. She’d said her reasons why regarding it, but I’m afraid at this point I was personally angry, disappointed and upset nearly, (which were the feelings coming across to my counsellor), and after explaining she said that’s why I like us to meet up personally or I come to yours. I replied but how are you going to contact me for that, you can’t just come round and assume I’m in, as you may have a wasted your journey coming round to find I’m not in. She realised in the end she would need to phone me on this, as this is what she does now and with other friends, especially when I want her to contact me directly and not through my Mum. So when I explained about Typetalk, she said she would phone if I had a phone or something, to make arrangements that way and to see how I was. But as for those personal chats that would bother her because of the person in the middle that’s relaying. So we got somewhere.

I told her at some point I was going to do a deaf awareness with  buffet included at some point, as this is something I discussed with my counsellor I felt I needed to do, so I can get you altogether so I can explain my deafness, do a couple of tasks with you, that would be an eye opener regarding deafness, because it was with my Mum, and she’s been there every step of the way!  So I’ll be doing that as well with you and some others with a game at the end. So hopefully it will be fun but you will all learn something new.

 

Mansfield Library

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