Thursday 9 February 2017

It's Amazing What Benefits Pay For, Isn't It?

Paul Wright, mitigating, said Watts called police after neighbours held a knife "to his throat and pinned him to the wall."
Mr Wright told the court: "By the time the police arrived at the address, Mr Watts had managed to negotiate his way out of that position and the neighbours went back to the flat.
"The brunt of his distress was felt by the police because of his view that it was too late, it had been resolved."
That 'distress' expressed by him threatening to set a dog on them...
Magistrate David Allen, who chaired a bench of three, told Watts: "We have taken into account your early guilty plea and the remorse you have shown."
The court bill will be deducted from benefits.
Because of course you can keep a vicious dog on benefits. What, you believed the progressive press that these people are starving?

3 comments:

The Blocked Dwarf said...

Recently a foul up by DLA meant we had less money coming in than usual. I contacted our local food bank so what money we did have might be spent on luxuries like Electric and Gas.

Now I'm about as far, socio-politically speaking, from your average Daily Mail reader as it gets but even I was left thinking 'I say, steady on' by the sheer amount of food we were given. Emergency 3 day's supply ? I, and The Bestes Frau, having been brought up 'poor' could have made those five carrier bags full last a week if not longer. Anyone brought up during rationing could have gotten the better part of a month out of them. No exaggeration to say I could barely carry the bags the few yards back to out flat they were that weighty. The Food Bank people did kindly offer to carry them out to 'your car' for me though, which 'phased' me even more...the assumption that someone on benefits would have a car.

But the real jawdropper was when they asked 'have you got your Gas/Elec keys with you because we can top them up if you have?'. As it happens we are on a bill not prepaid so i couldn't take advantage of their generous kindly offer.

They even gave us a brand new tin opener so we could open all the tins they gave us.

I don't know what the Food Banks are like elsewhere but I think i can say that no one in May's Paradise need starve...as long as they are able to jump through the few hoops the Food Bank insist on (for example,if you have an alcohol or drugs problem they insist you contact them via a recognised 'help' organisation).

Just out of interest i asked them if there was much call for the Food Bank's services in such a relatively affluent market town such as ours. They said 'not so much' but that the level of donations is here is unbelievably high-apparently all the local churches are supportive.

Mind you i never did figure out what to make from the tin of Black Eyed Beans.

Pcar said...

@The Blocked Dwarf, 9 February 2017 at 11:58
"But the real jawdropper was when they [food bank] asked 'have you got your Gas/Elec keys with you because we can top them up if you have?'. As it happens we are on a bill not prepaid so i couldn't take advantage of their generous kindly offer."

Jaw-dropping indeed. No wonder they are used by so many, The free food, gas & elec allows one to own & run a car.

"Mind you i never did figure out what to make from the tin of Black Eyed Beans."

Add to soup, stew, casserole etc or use instead of kidney beans in chilli con carne.

JuliaM said...

"But the real jawdropper was when they asked 'have you got your Gas/Elec keys with you because we can top them up if you have?'."

*speechless*