FIREBALL XL5's ROBERT The ROBOT...

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Waheyy!  A new friend is coming to live with me tomorrow - Robert The Robot!  This 21 inch talking robot with flashing eye-lights is on his way to me as I type (hence two of the seller's piccies) and I'm already on the 'phone to Professor Matthew Matic at Space City to find out the best way to look after him.  (Just kidding about that last part - you think I'm bonkers?)  I'll post my own photos once he arrives - handsome little chap, ain't he?  What else is there to say but buy your own!  (And should Venus ever become available, I'm the very chappie for her.)  If you watched Fireball XL5 as a kid, share your reminiscences in our scintillating comments section.  

DISTASTEFUL TALES - The NEXT CHAPTER...

So let's now return to Meadowbrook Care Home owned by Enhance Healthcare and whose operationa manager is one Ashleigh Walmsley.  Before we get to him directly (yeah, surprise, I first thought he was a she), let's take another look at the email I received, which was sent in the name of Michelle Hampson, but wasn't composed by her.  Her emails are usually filled with spelling, punctuation, and grammatical errors, and there are no screamingly obvious ones in the following email, to which I've interspersed some comments.

Re: Meadowbrook - Immediate Suspension of Visiting Rights

Dear Mr. Robson,

I am writing to you formally on behalf of Meadowbrook and Enhance Healthcare regarding the decision to suspend your visiting rights to the home, effective immediately.

Further to our previous corredpondence dated 23 July 2026, there continues to be an escalation of similar conduct per previous correspondence.  You have continued to engage in inappropriate and slanderous communications regarding the service and its staff.  (He means libelous, which would only be the case if they're untrue - which they're not.)

This ongoing conduct has had a significant impact of the wellbeing of Meadowbrook as a service: on the staff who deliver care day to day, on the wider atmosphere within the home, and, by extension, on the residents who depend on a stable and settled environment.  Enhance Healthcare has a duty to protect the wellbeing of everyone connected to the service, and we are no longer able to reconcile that duty with continued visits from you under the current circumstances.  (In other words, they don't like the truth getting out about them and prefer to shoot the messenger rather than deal with what's causing the problem - their staff.)

As previously noted in our correspondence of 23 July 2026, our Zero Tolerance Policy  (I also operate a zero tolerance policy - in that I won't put up with shit) and Sexual Harassment Policy (Same again - I don't like to be harassed by false complaints of a sexual nature) both apply to this situation, and the relevant provisions of each were set out for you at that time, further reiterated by communications had with Mrs. Robson's allocated social worker, Martin Gourlay.  Given the cumulative impact of concerns outlined above, and in line with policies previously referenced, you are hereby banned from visiting Meadowbrook with immediate effect from the date of this letter.  (Actually, they banned me because I said that those who make false allegations of this nature are scum.  Anyone disagree?)

This ban reflects both the seriousness with which we view it and our responsibility to protect the wellbeing of the service.  (Their reputaion is what they actually mean, as well as protect themselves from the consequences of their continued incompetence).  Should any further inappropriate conduct (Like complaining about incompetence) towards the service or its staff occur, whether in person, in writing, or otherwise, the matter will be referred to our legal team.  (Go ahead, make my day!)

We understand this is a difficult letter to receive.  Any concerns you wish to raise going forward should be directed to Martin Gourlay, Social Worker, who can support communication between yourself and the service.  Enhance Healthcare and Meadowbrook always endeavour to work alongside families (My @rse) and external partners to provide the best possible care and to close any gaps where they arise, however at this point we feel the relationship has broken down beyond repair.  (As Corporal Jones used to say on Dad's Army - "They don't like it up 'em!) 

Yours sincerely,

Ash Walmsley

Operations Manager

Enhance Healthcare

Below are extracts from my email responses to them...

The only people who have indulged in slander and libel are yourselves, by making false and malicious accustaions against me that have no basis in reality.  I have stated nothing that isn't manifestly true, and your reaction shows you're running scared and seek to use visiting rights as a weapon against me.  No doubt the reason you have taken this action is because you simply don't like the truth and wish to quash it.  I will be posting more truthful and factual incidents of how inadequate certain aspects of your alleged service are in the near future.  Incidentally, I visited my local police station today, who informed me they have no record of anyone making complaints against me.  See you in the local press, who will, I'm sure, be interested in reporting you denying a son of the right to visit his mother.  Also, give me precise dates and times of when these alleged (and imaginary) incidents are supposed to have happened.

And I reserve the right to describe any of your staff as 'useless' if I happen to find that they are useless.  And many are on occasion.  Examples?  Not cleaning the toilet seat properly, or ensuring the floor and tables are clean, and being unable to ensure my mother's footwear does not go 'walkabout' when she's not wearing her shoes and slippers.  I see nothing useful about that.  You, I assume, regard such instances as examples of 'exceptional' care and attention?  The frustration and anger I naturally express at clear examples of incompetence are only to be expected.  Once Meadowbrook can get its act together and fulfil its promises, there would be no need for me to respond in such a way to continual provocation.  Anyway, going by my mother's woeful condition on Saturday, I don't expect you will have to worry about my responses for too much longer.

You are utterly pathetic.  I have never touched any member of staff, inappropriately or otherwise, and as I am disabled and can hardly walk without a rollator, I am far from intimidating.  This is a tissue of lies and I will be seeing a lawyer at my earliest opportunity.  Refer to your cameras and you will see that I have never touched anyone - at all - far less in anything resembling a sexual way.  Fighting dirty, eh?  This proves to me that you and any of your staff who are claiming these things are complete and utter scum!

As you can see from the above, Crivs, I don't take prisoners.  And I repeat my firm opinion that those who make such unfounded allegations like Meadowbrook are scum - and total bastards as well.  And that includes the so-called 'operations manager'.  Hah!  (The words 'piss-up' and 'brewery' spring to mind.)  How else would you describe someone who would deny a 104-year-old-woman with Alzheimer's and cancer visits from her son, a disabled pensioner with a litany of medical conditions and debilitating ailments?  If anything, I'd say I was quite restrained in my reaction.  To paraphrase Charlton Heston - Damn them!  Damn them all to hell!

Incidentally, there's much more to come.  And all my complaints are documented in emails and photographs, and acknowledged with no denial by management.  Also, my complaints against a certain member of staff were partially upheld, so I can back up every word I say in court.  However, so as not to weary you with this saga, I'll space out future instalments with longer gaps.

The RETURN Of ULYSSES...

Saturday August 1st.  Today is precisely 39 years since my parents, myself, and the dog* returned to the house in which, along with my brother, we'd lived for 11 years before moving elsewhere.  Four years later we moved back (sans brother), and those 39 years don't seem one whit longer than our previous period of habitation.  Sometimes I have difficulty remembering precisely when certain events took place; was it during our first stay or our second?  It's hard to recall exactly, unless I can associate something with a cover-dated comic.  (Out of the last 56 years, I've spent 52 of them in my current home.)

Anyway, just thought I'd mark the occasion.  But where the hell did the last 39 years go?

*It was a different dog, though of the same breed (German Shepherd).  Tara died three years into our stay in that other house, her successor, Zara, joined our family in our last year there.  Also, although we moved back in on the 1st, the official tenancy commencement date was Tuesday 4th.

To The VICTOR, The SPOILS...

Copyright D.C. THOMSON & Co., Ltd

Here's a nice book from 2010 that I won at auction recently - for less than its original price.  (Oops, my mistake - it was 51p more.  I was mixing it up with another item I also won.)  I read a handful of pals' Victor comics when I was a kid and bought the occasional free-gift issues as a teenager, but that apart, I wasn't a particular fan of the weekly periodical.  Why?  Probably because it consisted mainly of War and Sports stories.  However, something about the book caught my fancy so I decided it was going to be mine - and it now is!  Incidentally, the slightly grubby look in places on the cover is part of its design, not the result of 'shelf (or any other kind of) wear'.  I think I'll enjoy reading it.  (And it still has its free gift.)

Did any of you read The Victor when you were younger and is this the sort of book you'd like to own?  Tell your fellow Crivvies in the comments section.  (Or I'll bore you all witless with more shocking Care Home revelations.)

BABE Of The DAY - JANE RUSSELL

Here's jaunty Jane Russell to tell

you that further appalling revelations about

Meadowbrook Care Home in East Kilbride

haven't been abandoned.  More 100% true stories

about the place will be coming soon - I'm just having

a rest to give all you Crivs a break from a series I've

decided to call Distasteful Tales.  They can't sue

me for telling the truth, though they can try if

  they like.  I'd welcome my day in court.

TV21 (NEW SERIES) #105 (LAST ISSUE)...

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Well, I suppose I'd better do a post on comics before you forget what this site's supposed to be about and decide to bail out on me.  I couldn't blame you if you did, 'cos some of my recent posts make for tedious reading, but it's cathartic for me and my chief way of addressing certain injustices perpetrated against me.

Anyway, TV21 #105 was the final issue of the 'New Series' direction of what had once been known as TV Century 21, which first appeared on newsagents' counters in January 1965 (cover-dated 2065).  It had switched from its original title to simply TV21 with #155 in December (cover-dated January) 1968, and by the time of New Series #105 on September 1971, contained no Gerry Anderson-based strips, having been gradually phased out over the preceding months.

What's easily forgotten is that TV21 fearured a number of Marvel strips, Spider-Man and Silver Surfer among them.  They didn't survive into the combined issue of Valiant & TV21 the following week and were hastily brought to unsatisfactory conclusions with this issue.  Around a year and two weeks later, Marvel strips were resurrected in The Mighty World Of Marvel #1, and it's amzing just how many people now forget Marvel characters had still been appearing in a UK comic only 12 and-a-half months previously.

So, here are a few pages to remind you of Marvel's last stand in a UK comic by a British publisher, before 'official' Marvel took up the reins.  Alan Class, of course, was still publishing his UK reprints, but they were monthly as opposed to weekly, and Class didn't resize and rearrange the strips in the way Odhams and IPC did.

Comments most welcome, Crivs.  And don't forget to click on images to enlarge, then click again for optimum size.  You don't wanna strain your eyes, do ya?!

Note the Surfer strip doesn't distinguish between the motivations of The Inhumans and Maximus

and his followers, giving the misleading impression that both groups are as bad as one another 

The ending of this strips uses a random selection of panels to draw things to a close.  Note they've

neglected to remove Spidey's 'Spider Sense' wiggly lines, even though he's in no danger

The first combined issue

SOCIAL WORKER ZONE? Huh! More Like The TWILIGHT ZONE - (Or The PHANTOM ZONE)...

Okay, seeing as how Ash Walmsley introduced him into the discussion in his letter to me, now let's talk about social worker Martin Gourlay.  When I first met him, he didn't strike me as willing to be particularly helpful, though, eventually, he appeared to come round to my way of thinking on a couple of issues and managed to get the Home to do likewise.  Namely, ensuring my mother's door was shut at all times so that she wasn't subject to the gaze of visitors or other residents when she might not have been fully dressed, or lying in her bed.  I wanted my mother's privacy and dignity to be preserved, not have her open to public scrutiny or intrusion when she wasn't very presentable (and even when she was).

The other thing was to get the Home to prepare my mother for bed by 10 p.m. as I had originally stipulated when she first went into the place.  Staff were in the habit of letting her sit up until whenever time she wanted to, because some numpty of an alleged 'senior carer' decided that as my mother sometimes went to bed early of her own accord, she was then therefore perfectly capable of going to bed at 10 p.m.  This led to my mother sitting up extremely late, resulting in her being too tired to get up at the allotted time in the morning.  I'd visit in the evening, only to find her still in bed and unresponsive because she was half-asleep.  (Sometimes she was in a deep sleep, and I'd sit with her for a while and then come home.)

It occurs to me now that perhaps he only assisted me in this in order to keep me happy so I had less to complain about, which in turn kept the Care Home happy.  However, staff continued to leave my mother's door wide open (or not close it when they saw it was open as they'd been instructed to do).  I'll give you more details on that at another time.  Like I said in a previous post, I had been trying to get my mother moved elsewhere, but Mr. Gourlay always hit me with the same spiel.  "I'd advise against that as it wouldn't be in her best interests" he'd say, though as the relative with POA and a certificate of incapacity, that should have been my decision.

Given recent comments of his, it appears he effectively sabotaged my efforts to have my mother moved by informing Homes I applied to I was always moaning and complaining, inevitably resulting in them not wanting her.  And how absurd is it for someone to visit my mother to evaluate her, then decide she seemed happy enough where she was?  (Perhaps influenced by Mr. Gourlay's input?)  As I said before, my mother would've been happy anywhere as she didn't know where she was to begin with.  (She sometimes thinks I live there and asks me what room I'm in.)  Moving her to another Care Home would've had no more (if any) adverse effect on her than moving her to another part of the building, which has already been done.  As she is deemed unfit to make decisions for herself (aside from minor things like what colour of cardigan she'd like to wear, and what she wants to eat), that decision fell within my purview.

(Also, he said that seeing faces of new staff might be disorientating for her, though there's new staff in the place all the time, they don't keep anyone for long.  And I doubt my mother recognises any long-term staff anyway.  Nothing but feeble and unconvincing excuses to avoid moving her.  No Care Home wants residents removed due to families not being happy with them as it looks bad, and it seems to me Mr. Gourlay is far more concerned with what Care Homes want than what families want.) 

When I was 'phoning through a list of lawyers, one told me she had the same problem as I had, but in reverse.  Social Work wanted to take her mother into care, whereas she wanted her mother to stay at home and be looked after - as did her mother.  That's the thing about social workers - they impose themselves into your life and try and take over, making decisions that should lie within the province of families or individuals themselves.  His boss returns from holiday on August 10th; I'm then going to see if I can have him replaced as my mother's allocated social worker with someone else.  Even if the Home reverses its ban on me, how can I ever go into the place again, with staff holding the upper hand and being in a position of being able to make any accusations against me they like and be believed?  It would be an untenable situation.

Given recent remarks of his, he seems to be siding with Meadowbrook and its employees on this one, without letting me know precisely what I'm supposed to have said (something about sitting on my knee) and who said it, thereby denying me the ability to hold her to account (in a legal way) for it.  I've used the line "Well, sit on my knee and tell me what you want for Christmas" around a dozen times in response to people telling me I look like Santa over the last couple of months (with no negative reaction), and I have a dim memory of saying, in response to a comment about there not being enough room to swing a cat in my mother's room, something like "I know - if you wanted to sit down, it'd have to be on my knee, 'cos you're not getting my chair."  Sexual harassment?  My perfectly formed and finely-chiselled @rse!

Whichever it was, there was no sexual intent behind it, and all lawyers I've spoken to are incredulous about it.  (As are various women I'm friendly with.)  Knowing the precise words and the identity of my accuser would assist me in having a clearer recollection and help cut through my brain fog.  How do I even know my accuser is the person I spoke to?  She may have heard a colleague laughing about my remark and appropriated it for her own sinister ends.  Meadowbrook doesn't care, as it provides them with ammunition against me.

That's why, whichever one it was, I suspect it's been seized upon in a blatant attempt to 'bring me to heel', in order to discredit my claims and complaints about some of the staff, and to deter me from making their many lapses public (as I threatened to do), out of fear that their (false) allegations of 'sexual impropriety' against me also become known.  A scare tactic in other words.  Or maybe even just to get their own back on me for making formal complaints about some of them.  Hey, it could even be both, as neither possibilities are mutually exclusive.

Wish me well, Crivvies - and this isn't the end of this story - it's only the beginning.

******

Update: I've now been informed the 'incident' doesn't relate to either of the two possibilities I suggested (they did occur, but I can't remember who was involved in the first one, and there were a dozen or more separate individuals in the second - outside of the Home - so that makes whatever it was (my knee still features in the allegation, oddly) a definite fabrication.  So it's either Meadowbrook trying to frighten me off from revealing any more of their shortcomings, or vengeful staff seeking payback for me complaining about them.  Maybe even both.  I'm determined to get to the bottom of it.

The 'MYSTERY' Of The MISSING SLIPPERS...

Okay, still on the subject of Meadowbank Care Home, which used to be known as Whitehills Care Home, let's talk about the litttle matter of theft that goes on within the place.  Money (£10 in one case) has been stolen from my mother's purse within her room on two separate occasions, unopened bottles of Lucozade regularly went missing, and her footwear has now gone 'walkabout' at least six times.  Perhaps I should say five-and-a-half times, because in one instamce, it was 'only' one item of footwear.  On that occasion it was a slipper, and I'm still slightly baffled as to how a single slipper can disappear without the other one going missing at the same time.  Maybe they fell out, eh?  So, to date, that's three and-a-half pairs of slippers and two pairs of shoes that have 'mysteriously' vanished.

At the time, I was still in the unenviable position of having to make regular complaints about the place; windows being left open on cold winter nights with no heating on, and - get this - staff continually placing my mother's footwear on the top shelf of the wardrobe out of sight and reach of my mother - or under a duvet on the bottom of the wardrobe where they couldn't be seen.  I remind you that my mother has Alzheimer's, so if something is out of sight, it's also out of mind, yet no matter how many times I politely pointed this out, it still persisted.  Surely this constitutes a striking example of stupidity if nothing else does?  I eventually wrote on a whiteboard a note requesting that staff refrain from putting her shoes and slippers in the wardrobe.  Did it make a blind bit of difference?  Did it 'eck as like!

One evening I mentioned to a member of staff who came into the room that this was still happening, despite the neatly printed sign requesting it desist.  I indicated the sign to her (it was above the radiator at the side of my mother's armchair) and she looked at it and said "How long has that beem there?"  "About a year" I replied.  "Rubbish" she said, "I've never seen it before!"  "That's more a reflection on your powers of observation - or lack of them - than it is on the sign's visibility" I responded.  How could anyone come into a room over the course of a year and not see a clearly visible sign?  The short answer is that quite a number of staff in the place walk about like farts in a trance and don't pay attention to what's going on around them.  And too many of them are, in my opinion based on experience, simply stupid.

Incidentally, these are all documented facts, preserved in emails I sent to management and which I still have to this day.  Regarding the missing footwear, I'm convinced they were purloined out of spite by a disgruntled staff member with a grudge against me because I regularly complained about lots of things.  Well, wouldn't you if it were your mother?  If ever a search was implemented of other residents' rooms (or anywhere else) to see if some befuddled biddy had decided to 'adopt' them, there was never any sign of them.  As Sherlock Holmes said, "When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth!"  A simple matter of logic, which, unfortunately, isn't much in evidence at Meadowbrook.  If none of the residents had removed the footwear, then it must've been a member of staff.

My mother hadn't been in the Home long when she mentioned one day her watch was missing.  I searched the room, sliding my hands down the sides and back of her armchair and under any items which might be obscuring sight of it.  No, definitely missing so I reported it to staff.  A few days later I received a 'phone call informing me the watch had been found down the side of her armchair.  Not possible.  That's one instance where another resident had clearly made off with it and it had been discovered in her room.  The Home obviously didn't want me thinking there were any light-fingered old ladies around who were attracted to glittery things they might take a liking to.  Not theft exactly, but 'appropriation' by a confused and unfortunate individual.  However, it showed me that staff were prepared to lie in order to protect the Home's reputation.

(Oh, here's another one I just remembered.  As I arrived one night, I noticed that someone had peed all over the floor outside the reception office.  It didn't appear to have been noticed [no yellow signs around it] so I brought it to a member of staff's attention.  She looked at it and then said "No, it's just cold tea."  Cold tea my @rse - I know pee when I see [and smell] it.) 

And then there's the matter of the toilet seat.  You've already seen the photos.  Whenever I noticed excrement on the seat, I drew it the staff's attention as I was leaving, and they said they'd clean it.  On my next visit I could see that although it had been wiped, it hadn't been wiped thoroughly and the seat or porcelain under it still had traces of schect on view.  When I compared the photos I took, it was obvious from the 'pattern' it was the same as on my previous visit.  This catalogue of past events, along with more recent ones, explains why some staff, possibly at the urging of the 'higher ups', are trying to blacken my name with ludicrous allegations and bully me into silence.  Anyway, I'm getting tired so I'm off to my scratcher.  More true and documented stories about the failings of Whitehills/Meadowbrook coming soon - and that's a promise.

(Don't worry, Martin, your turn in the spotlight is also coming soon.)

NEWSFLASH! Healthcare Company BANS SON From VISITING His 104 YEAR-OLD MOTHER (Who Has ALZHEIMER'S And CANCER) For Telling The TRUTH About Them - While They Tell LIES About HIM To Do It... (Updated)

Copyright relevant owner

The following letter was sent to me by Ash Walmsley, Operations Manager, Enhance Healthcare.  It speaks for itself really.  They don't like the absolute truth I wrote about them and have 'spat the dummy', accusing me of slander (when they actually meant libel, as I wrote about them, not spoke about them) and banned me from visiting my mother.  It's a clear case of them 'punishing' me for blowing the whistle on them.  In what way is this in my mother's best interests?  Just shows you they're full of shite.  I told the absolute truth, whereas they resorted to lies, fabrications, and distortions in order to blacken my name and discredit my complaints about them.  So I ask again - would you send one of your ailing relatives into their care?

Incidentally, I went to my local police office today to make some enquiries and was told there doesn't appear to be any complaint about me registered in their system.  Earlier, I also contacted the Care Commission, a well-known team of solicitors, and the Office of Public Guardianship.  I'll keep you informed of developments - if you're interested. 

Enhance Healthcare, eh?  If only they would enhance it, there wouldn't be a problem.

Comments most welcome.

Re: Meadowbrook - Immediate Suspension of Visiting Rights

Dear Mr. Robson,

I am writing to you formally on behalf of Meadowbrook and Enhance Healthcare regarding the decision to suspend your visiting rights to the home, effective immediately.

Further to our previous corredpondence dated 23 July 2026, there continues to be an escalation of similar conduct per previous correspondence.  You have continued to engage in inappropriate and slanderous communications regarding the service and its staff.  (He means libelous, which would only be the case if they're untrue - which they're not.)

This ongoing conduct has had a significant impact of the wellbeing of Meadowbrook as a service: on the staff who deliver care day to day, on the wider atmosphere within the home, and, by extension, on the residents who depend on a stable and settled environment.  Enhance Healthcare has a duty to protect the wellbeing of everyone connected to the service, and we are no longer able to reconcile that duty with continued visits from you under the current circumstances.  (In other words, they don't like the truth getting out about them.)

As previously noted in our correspondence of 23 July 2026, our Zero Tolerance Policy  (I also operate a zero tolerance policy - in that I won't put up with shit) and Sexual Harassment Policy (Same again - I don't like to be harassed by false complaints of a sexual nature) both apply to this situation, and the relevant provisions of each were set out for you at that time, further reiterated by communications had with Mrs. Robson's allocated social worker, Martin Gourlay.  Given the cumulative impact of concerns outlined above, and in line with policies previously referenced, you are hereby banned from visiting Meadowbrook with immediate effect from the date of this letter.  (Actually, they banned me because I said that those who make false allegations of this nature are scum.  Anyone disagree?)

This ban reflects both the seriousness with which we view it and our responsibility to protect the wellbeing of the service.  (Their reputaion is what they actually mean).  Should any further inappropriate conduct (Like complaining about incompetence) towards the service or its staff occur, whether in person, in writing, or otherwise, the matter will be referred to our legal team.  (Go ahead, make my day!)

We understand this is a difficult letter to receive.  Any concerns you wish to raise going forward should be directed to Martin Gourlay, Social Worker, who can support communication between yourself and the service.  Enhance Healthcare and Meadowbrook always endeavour to work alongside families (My @rse) and external partners to provide the best possible care and to close any gaps where they arise, however at this point we feel the relationship has broken down beyond repair.  (As Corporal Jones used to say on Dad's Army - "They don't like it up 'em!) 

Yours sincerely,

Ash Walmsley

Operations Manager

Enhance Healthcare

Rather than take a detailed look at the reason behind my complaints and introduce a proper and effective way of ensuring their staff fulfill their duties and responsibilities, they've taken a 'straight for the jugular' approach, automatically jumping into defence mode and refusing to acknowledge some of their staff are simply incompetent and unable to carry a thought in their heads for more than 30 seconds.  For example, I was informed that staff had been instructed to close my mother's door if they saw it open, yet often, upon my arrival, I'd see staff walking past the open door without making any attempt to close it.  So either they haven't been told or simply don't care a f*ck.  After four-and-a-half years of continual complaining about this and other matters, nothing ever seemed to improve, or if it did, it didn't improve for long before reverting back to the previous state of ineptitude.  Beyond belief, except for the fact it happens to be true.

A HORROR STORY THAT IS TRULY TERRIFYING...

Looking for a good Care Home for an ailing or infirm relative?  Then I'd strongly advise against using Meadowbrook (formerly known as Whitehills) in East Kilbride if you're the obstinate, hard-to-please kind of person who has the temerity to expect your loved one to be looked after properly and have a nice clean room to reside in.  And if you're the sort who complains when your expectations aren't met, then tough - what do you expect for your money?

Below are just a few photos of my mother's room over the last couple of years up to the present day.  Before I started recording the state of the place, my mother very often had dirty plates and cups left on top of her bed, hours after she had been 'fed and watered'.  She was scared to move in case she dislodged them onto the floor, so had to wait until a member of staff could be @rsed to come into her room and remove them.

Previously, she was left overnight with no toilet roll or paper towels, as when I was leaving at the end of my visit, I alerted the staff who told me there was none on the premises due to a late delivery.  I complained about this to, I think, the Care Inspectorate (or maybe the local council), who sent someone up to check (weeks later) and because everything seemed all right then, my complaint wasn't upheld.

I've got dozens more photos of similar instances to those below, and I may well show them in the future.  Meadowbrook are now playing dirty by making spurious allegations about my conduct in order to silence me, but it won't work.  I suspect that some staff have decided to seek revenge against me for making formal complaints about them or their colleagues, hence spurious claims like the following.

"Over recent weeks, staff have reported repeated instances of intimidating behaviour, inappropriate physical conduct, and inappropriate comments directed against them.  These incidents have caused genuine distress to those involved and have, in specific instances, been referred to Police Scotland given the nature and severity of the behaviours described."

That being the case (and aside from the fact that they're imaginary), why was I completely unaware of any of this until now, only learning of these alleged incidents from an email I received three days ago?  I have received quite a few emails from this individual over several weeks in response to my own complaints, and none of this was ever alluded to.  More to the point, why did none of the staff mention any of this when it was supposed to have happened?  No one ever displayed or expressed any discomfit or concern to me about my 'behaviour' (or speech) at any time.  And why would I even reveal any of this to anyone if it were true, or in case any of you might believe it to be true, unless I was blameless?  The Home has cameras all over the place, so it would be relatively easy for them to check footage and see if there was any evidence of such behaviour on my part.  And why haven't the police been in touch with me if I've been reported to them - 'given the nature and severity of the behaviours described'?

Well, it's obvious (to me at least) that this is an insidious ploy to intimidate me and make me think twice about following up my stated intentions of seeking legal redress against them and once more contacting the media.  (The local paper published an article about my unhappiness with them around three years ago, but the Home wouldn't respond.)  They think I'll want to avoid any potential personal embarrassment about the nature of these claims which would come to light if I make my case public.  In short, if I blow the whistle on them about documented and photographed instances of inferior standards of care, they'll reveal their manufactured and alleged instances of inappropriate behaviour about me.

Here's the thing, though.  I have never touched any member of staff in any manner, nor physically or verbally (and definitely not sexually) threatened or assaulted any of them either.  It's all complete and utter bollocks, so I'm certainly not going to be embarrassed about things I haven't done.  Have I complained in a robust and forthright manner about staff not doing their job to an acceptable standard?  Yes.  Have I expressed ire and frustration about some staff being seemingly incapable and inept?  Sure have, as is my right as someone with Power of Attorney and a Certificate of Incapacity in regard to my mother.  I expect the very best care for her and I make no apologies about it.

I also suspect that if complaints have actually been made about me, some staff might be seeking revenge on behalf of their colleagues who I've formally complained about, in order to discredit me and give Meadowbrook the means by which to deny me access to my mother, as has been threatened in the email I recently received.  Perhaps you consider my suspicions fanciful and far-fetched?  I remember watching a TV expose on Care Homes a few years back (Panorama maybe?) and there was secretly filmed footage of managers telling staff not to worry about complaints about them, as they 'had their back'.  This sort of thing happens more often than you might realise, sadly.  It's a pure disgrace.  (I'm also left to wonder how anyone could find an old disabled guy who can hardly walk and suffers from near constant fatigue the slightest bit intimidating.  I think in their desire to 'do me down', they've over-egged the pudding.)

As I said somewhere on another post, perhaps in reply to a comment, I've been trying to get my mother moved to another Care Home for around two years or more.  As regards the one she currently resides in, I had no choice in the matter, nor was I told that The Evening Times (a Glasgow newspaper) ran an expose on many serious infractions in regard to care a few years back.  Why are relatives not informed by social workers who decide on these placements, about any negative aspects of them which might elicit a refusal by relatives to have their loved ones placed in Care Homes with poor reputations?

The social worker involved in my mother's case, though helpful in a few instances in having the Care Home observe my wishes, never seemed to want to move my mother as, he claimed, it wouldn't be in her best interests.  I'd say that was my call, not his, wouldn't you?  I repeatedly expressed my wishes to him over the last week or ten days, and his most recent response was to say that he'd have to inform any potential Home of the unproven allegations against me, and my continual complaining about my mother's current placement.  You couldn't more effectively influence a Care Home into declining to give accommodation to someone's relative if you tried, could you?  (Yet relatives aren't informed by the Social Work Department about things they should know in relation to a Care Home's performance.)  To me, he seems determined to deny my mother, in what is probably the last stages of her life, the right to live them out in a (hopefully) better place which has more respect for her relatives.

As I have now been threatened (under false pretences) with being banned from my mother's current Home unless I bite my tongue in the future, I think it's completely unacceptable to expect me to continue visiting the place with the risk of lying and conspiring staff and management holding the 'civilian' equivalent of the Sword of Damocles over me.  Far better to start again with no preconceived notions (or fabricated accusations in their case) on either side.  My mother doesn't know where she is, she doesn't recognise most of the staff (or understand them due to impenetrable accents - nor do I, actually) and she's been moved from one side of the building to another, with no discernible negative effect on her.

If she were to be moved to another Home, she wouldn't even be aware of it, and if she were, she'd merely assume she'd been moved to a new room in another side of the same building.  That's what I'd tell her anyway.  Then I could visit without the stress and anxiety of possibly being labelled a violent thug or a seedy pervert.  I'll tell you one thing - if she passes away without being moved, I will dedicate myself to exposing Meadowbrook and Enhance - and social workers - as the lying, dishonourable bastards that they are.  And that's a promise!  Now take a look at these photos and ask yourselves this - would you place any of your relatives in such a place?  Comments welcome!   

Incidentally, though this photo is virtually identical to the one above, it
was taken a full week later, as the dates on the SD Memory card confirm.
The floor hadn't been cleaned in a week, possibly longer.  Shocking!

BABE Of The DAY - SANTA's LITTLE HELPER...

Yeah, I know it's too early for a yuletide pic, but

this  hot babe remarked on my resemblance to Santa

due to my Buster Meryfield-type beard.  "Well, sit on

my knee and you can tell me what you want for Christmas"

I quipped.  "Ho ho ho" she responded and we both laughed.

Just as well she's not some nippy feminist determined to

paint me in a bad light, isn't it?  What am I saying?

Such twisted women don't exist - do they?

NOBODY SEEMS TO 'CARE'...

Okay, continuing on the same theme, when my mother first went into care, the Home said it offered all sorts of extra services, like supplying newspapers (at a price) and sundry other things.  Then it changed its mind and said it couldn't obtain newspapers so I would have to find another option.  That option appeared in the guise of a seemingly helpful staff member who lived across the road from the Home.  She said she visited the newsagent's before work every morning and it would be no bother to get my mother's paper at the same time.  She even dropped into work for a while on her days off, and said she would bring in a newspaper then, too.

This went on for a while until management advised me at a care review that it wasn't a good idea.  I told the staff member I'd find another way of procuring newspapers, but she said "Nah, don't worry about that, I'll continue to get her papers, 'cos I do what I like, I don't listen to them!"  How nice, I thought, so on top of the £50 per month I'd been giving her for the papers, I started giving the woman a gratuity of £20 each month (£70 in total) and she carried on getting them.  Then, over several vists, I noticed my mother didn't always get a paper and expressed to another member of staff my concern, who must've mentioned it to the other woman.

(I should perhaps explain that my mother has a memory retention span of around 15-20 seconds.  Often, when she gets to the end of a newspaper, she goes right back to the beginning and starts again.  However, reading a paper had been part of her daily routine back home and become a habit, which I was trying to maintain for the sake of consistency.)

Next time I visited, the 'paper lady' came into my mother's room and said she'd forgotten to get a paper last time, so she'd bought a TV mag to make up for it.  Price of TV mag?  Around 45 pence, compared to the cost of around £1.30 for a paper.  This happened a few times, and I became concerned about not all the money I supplied for newspapers being spent as it should.  I mentioned this to the woman, who told me to get the papers myself then, which I'd been considering doing anyway.  However, she still owed my mother two papers as I'd given her the money for them a month in advance.  I was visiting my mother the night after she should've been supplied with the two papers (one a daily, one a weekly), but they were nowhere in sight.

What was in sight, though, were various newspapers from several prior visits, as they hadn't been thrown out.  Why would two papers from only the day before be absent when older ones were still there?  The woman claimed she'd given them to other staff to give to my mother, and even mentioned a 'witness'.  When speaking to the person later, her response was "Witness?  I wasn't even there!"  So, here's a bit of interactive participation for you.  What do you call a person who doesn't spend all the money she's been given for newspapers on newspapers, and then lies about it?  Other lies were that I hadn't given her the £70 one month, and only given her £60 the month before - total nonsense of course.  Anyway,  Crivs, over to you...

Lorraine Miller

WOULD YOU 'CARE' TO READ THIS TRUE TALE?

Let me tell you a story - a true story.  This took place just over two years ago and involves a staff member who works at the Care Home my 104 year-old mother currently resides in.  I was leaving one night when I noticed there were no bedsheets or duvets on my mother's bed.  Spotting a staff member at the end of the corridor, I said "Excuse me..." in a perfectly polite way.  Her eyelids flickered, indicating she had heard me but decided not to answer.  "Excuse me" I said again, "there's no bedsheets on my mother's bed."  Her response?  "Nothing' to do wi' me, I've just started my shift - I don't know what happens through the day" (though she should be informed at the handover) she said, without even looking in my direction.  Her tone was contemptuous, and her manner seemed to suggest that I was out of order even speaking to her.

"If I don't tell you, you won't know," I replied, only to be met with a brusque "Ah'll pass it on!"  I told her I didn't like her tone and I reported her the next day.  Because I couldn't supply her name (didn't know it), my complaint was only partially upheld, though as only two or three staff were on in my mother's wing that night, it should've been easy to determine who the offending party was.  Remember when I told you on a previous occasion about finding my mother fully dressed, slumped asleep in her armchair in front of the TV (which was still on, as was the room light) at 1 a.m. in the morning?  (I'd gone up to check on something.)  I also complained about that, and their response was to start locking the outer doors, clearly to prevent me from making any further early morning discoveries of neglect and incompetence.  These doors had never been locked before in the two years my mother had been a resident so you can draw your own conclusions.  (The inner doors had a keypad entry system to which I had the code.)  When I asked this woman why the doors were suddenly being locked, she sarcastically replied "Cuz Ah fancied a change!"

This Care Home has an inability to replace my mother's hearing aid batteries on a regular basis, often leaving her deaf for hours at a time.  Sometimes I would ask this woman to replace them and she'd make the excuse that she had something else to do first.  This happened at least a couple of times.  An hour later, it was time for me to leave, without being able to communicate with my mother as the staff member had apparently disappeared off the face of the earth.  When I asked other members, they said they'd go and get the other woman to do it, but again, there was no show.  This happened several times, and I had no alternative but to depart when my visit was over without being able to speak with my mother.  It was clear to me that the woman was simply being spiteful to get back at me for complaining about her.

A few months back, I arrived and saw her through the windowed inner doors, lolling against the wall while checking her mobile 'phone.  I could hear someone from down the corridor, repeatedly calling "Hello, hello, hello..." so this woman must've heard her too.  When she looked up from her mobile and saw me, she walked off in the opposite direction from the source of the voice, presumably to avoid me.  Once inside, I soon learned that it was my mother, standing at her door and calling for assistance (I hadn't recognised her voice at first), only to be ignored by this particular staff member.  (This was documented in an email at the time.)  You couldn't make it up, could you?  Management, though, seem determined to protect their staff at the expense of the residents and their relatives and I'm made to feel I'm the problem, not their staff. 

And now there have been other developments, which I'll share at a later date.

Janette Beckinridge

FREE BEANO COMIC AT TG JONES...

Copyright D.C. THOMSON & Co., Ltd

Was in my local TG Jones a couple of days ago and noticed that they have free copies of The Beano available at the checkout counters, so I nabbed a couple.  Who knows, maybe this issue will become a collecters' item classic in the years to come.  Grab one now the next time you're in (if there are any left) as you don't get much that's free these days.