The price isn't premier, unless you use a vending machine

Last night (Thursday) I stayed in a Premierinn. Cost me £30. Rooms are always clean,my know what you are getting yet I still feel a bit cheated.

I have a mobility disability, and therefore booked a disabled room, as they are better equipped for my needs.  I arrive at the hotel and proceed to go to my room. Right at the far end of the hotel, far away from reception, the main lift, restaurant and refuge point.  ( I cannot remember if there was a refuge point at my end of the hotel... I hope so!)  please note, not all disabled people use a wheelchair, some of us are able to walk some distance but too far puts us in a lot of pain. This was one of those occasions. 

I hate drinking water from the bathroom, I just don't think it's right, so the only option fir me is to boil the kettle and leave to cool. At 11pm, I desperately want a drink, but the kettle won't cool in time, my only option is the vending machine (right by the main lift) so off I pop... £1.50 for a bottle of water... That's more than 5% of the cost of my room! That's insane on any standards. 

My next gripe is a bit more serious,and something I did have to file an accident report form for. Connecting the twn beds is a metal bar, only it would appear this bar was only connected to one of the beds,I caught my foot on it, sending me flying and hurting my back. Not very impressed, it's lucky I was ok, as I managed to do it once in the dark, and then once packing my things away and doing the idiot check. ( making sure you have everything) 

Oh and the onsite restaurant didn't open until 6, but when you are hungry after travelling, you just have to eat. So I found the local harvester where the food was superb, and the service impeccable too. 

So, while my room was cheap, the little extras certainly were not. 

Everything might be premier, except the room prices.

A red box of wonder

I love sweets, perhaps a little too much for my own good, especially for someone limited for exercise I can do, I had seen so many friends excited about their subscription beauty boxes and I would think I wish there was one for sweets.  I google, find plenty in America and eventually I stumble across http://www.thesweetclub.co.uk I have not been so excited in a long while. 

Anyway, I spent the best part of two hours deliberating my sweet choices from the copious selection available whittling my long list down to 8, (you can chose 8 selections yourself, or get them to pick a random selection for you) 

36 hours later there is a knock on the door and the post lady hands me this beautiful red box.I open it up, and it is beautiful wrapped with red tissue paper and my selection of sweets.

Millions
Gummy bears
Wham lollies
Fizzy belts
Sherbet pips
Fizz balls
Cable bites
Fizzy bubblegum bottles 

The introductory box costs just £7.95 including delivery! 

I have said to myself that this will be my only sweetie snacks allowed each month and after a week I've only finished one packet. It just may work for me! 

Even at full price of just under £10 I think this is fantastic value. 

Scanxiety

Scanxiety (noun) -  the tension felt by cancer patients regarding upcoming scans and results. 


It's that time again, every 3 months I have to go and have an MRI scan to check to see if my cancer has returned or spread.  

Because I am sensitive to radiation every 6-9 months I will have a CT scan too. 

Things were just getting back on track and I got home to the letter with the highly recognisable postmark, initially I thought it was my op date, but the envelope was too thin, shame really. Opened it up, and yes, my quarterly reminder that I had cancer/there were areas of suspicion on my last scans. 

In a way, I find the scans fairly easy, I don't have to do anything, except try and hold still for an hour, (easier said than done when you are a fidget mind) the results are a different ball game, two hour train to the hospital, up to 3 hour sit in clinic (like last time) which is a long time to be with your thoughts, never mind the time between scan and appointment which for me is around 3-4 weeks, because my scans go through a number of very separate MDT meetings (multi discipline team- surgeon, oncologists etc sit in on these meetings to discuss cases) 

Even though this will be my 3rd? It's not got much easier, but I've got to get used to it, it is part of my life now. 



As a side note, I saw this on Facebook today, I was rendered speechless. A patient with Ewing's Sarcoma, has been told by DWP she caused her own illness. 

DWP blames Ewing's patient for her illness  

The only words I can think of to use, my mum would disapprove of me using, but it really makes me mad. Cancer is an expensive business, I've burned through all my savings on general living expenses this last year, because my SSP and now ESA assessment rate doesn't get me anywhere. 

New Years Resolutions

Now I've never really been any good with resolutions, particularly because I never smoked, never really drank, was always fairly fit so could never really think of anything I could do.

This year I have come across the 52 week saving plan. Now ignoring the fact that the link is in dollars,  in pounds it's still a fantastic sum of money.

The aim being each week you save an amount, generally £1 in week 1, £2 in week 2 etc, but you get to Christmas and you are looking at £200 a month.

The plan I linked to allows you flexibility to pick and choose which amount you save each week, so those weeks where you are more flush, you cross that off.

Sounds good doesn't it?

This is my challenge this year, I'm on a very tight budget at the moment, but I am confident that I can do this. I want to be able to go on a holiday.

Let me know if you decide to do it, and I will keep you posted with how I'm doing.

Good luck!