I must admit, having read your update since my initial post, that I'm inclined to agree with MaryR, Norfolkbookworm, that you should go for redundancy rather than expend more energy than you really have over fighting for a new post, only to find it's in a place which you can't get to. Good luck with it all, anyway - sending more positive thoughts to help bolster you up a bit.

I would have to agree with Elder and MaryR - redundancy would seem to be a better option and allow you to concentrate on your recovery. That said, how appalling that you are in this position and not allowed to apply for jobs where you match 50% of the new role. I hope your union fight your corner and that you get what you want. I think you have been incredibly courageous during all of this.

I hope it all works out Norfolkbookworm, sounds like an employer you'd be best off getting away from so redundancy might be your best bet.

My own whinge is that I need to have another shoulder operation. On the plus side, my shoulders will now match again. Against which I will no longer have a surefire way of telling left from right.

I'm sorry but the last bit of this made me smile a lot and at a time when smiles are thin on the ground that is good news. I to have trouble with left and right but my excuse it I used to work as a tour guide on an open top bus and thus faced backwards and had to stick my right arm out while saying "on your left"!

Thank you all for the kind words - I am hoping I can get some form of redundancy although initially all they have said is I have to go into the redeployment pool. There was a big meeting yesterday(30+people in attendance) where no allowances were made for me (2 hours being talked at), no water was made available in the room and no official minute taker was present so I can't remember much of what was said. I will be complaining but today I had to stay at home as my head pain was back with a vengeance.

Sorry for the rambling rant and thanks for the support

Hugs to everyone who needs them! Norfolkbookworm, I don't want to offer advice except to do what is best for you and definitely make sure you get support from unions and outside sources on your entitlement re. redundancy. We are also going through a restructure, which seems to partly involve increasing my workload by a 1/3rd, and it is thoroughly unpleasant. Exile, hope the op goes well! Is it soon?

January 10th so not too long. He did offer to do it on December 19th but I felt I couldn't abandon my colleagues over Christmas, as we are insanely busy then. They were quite grateful when I told them.

I hope your job woes are also sorted out soon Roversgirl, although I suspect you will still end up stuck with the increased workload.

That's very good of you! Oh, thank you! I am moving towards a resignation with nothing to go to, unfortunately. The good news is this is all making it easier for me to give concrete reasons without having to go into the really nasty reasons (silver lining!)

Hugs and a sympathetic ear to all who need them.

I have two whinges.

Firstly, my right hip has been really painful this week. I think it's a combination of the cold weather, sciatica and the onset of arthritis. I had sciatica about 15 years ago and I was told then from an Xray that I had signs of arthritis in my lower back and hips, although I didn't have any symptoms then.

I went to the doctor's on Wednesday and described my symptoms and she agreed with my self-diagnosis, but she also sent me for another Xray, which we're both fairly confident will confirm what we already know.

Because the pain comes and goes at the moment, she advised me to take painkillers when I need them, which is fair enough.

I shouldn't really complain too much, as I know that Mary and others on here suffer far more with pain than I do. I also know that my aunt had really bad arthritis from her 30s, so it could be a lot worse, as I'm 63 in January.

My second whinge is that the wheel came off my 'new' shopping trolley this week. (Fortunately, just after I'd emptied it, not whilst it was full!) I've only had it for about a month, so I took it back to the market stall where I bought it. The guy examined it and it appears that the bit that connects the wheel to the trolley had snapped for some reason. He's sending it back to the place he got it from and will ring me in a few days to let me know what's happening.

Hopefully, they will simply replace the frame, as the bag and wheels are fine. (The vendor actually took the trolley apart, which I wouldn't have dared to do, so I hope he knows what he's doing.)

I'll have to go back next Saturday to collect it (all being well), as of course I'm working during the week.

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''He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose." Jim Elliot

Cal I hear you about the sciatica. Mine came back last lweek; and i found it hard to sleep on my favourite side. I had it years ago too; but whitequeen did rekie on it; which helped and is going to do it again when she visits next month. It's gone again now but you have my sympathies!
Also hugs to everyone who needs them.

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Wishes the land of Merlin and magic was real

Sympathies about the sciatica, and the fact that other people are also in pain doesn't make yours any the less painful. Sympathies!

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We really must stop eating like this ...

Minds are like parachutes - they only function when open.

http://setinthepast.wordpress.com/

Anyone who has sciatica has my utmost sympathy. I had it for four months. It was atrocious, and the lack of sleep really got to me.

To cap it all, a neighbour whom I'd previously liked, decided to accuse me of climbing over her gate, (over six feet high) the previous month, when I could barely walk, never mind climb, so I could get into the mud patch she calls a back garden. She clearly never noticed the walking sticks and the painkiller pallor.

And since it was over the worst of winter, Christmas was a real laugh when I was trying to get food into the oven to cook Christmas dinner.

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Carpe diem, carpe noctem, carpe pecuniam et exe, celerrime.
A certain edge when she spoke of Mrs Maynard, certainly, but, after all, not everyone could love Joey.
'Life,' said Marvin, 'don't talk to me about life!'

Thanks for all the sympathy re my sciatica. My hip has been much less painful this week, which is good. I haven't had the results of the X-ray yet, but I don't expect that to show up anything I don't already know.

I collected my 'new' shopping trolley this morning. As hoped, they replaced the frame free of charge, so I'm not complaining, especially as a friend has since told me of a trolley that she bought from a different shop, whose wheels came off the first time she used it. Not only that, when she went back to the shop, they refused to refund her or replace it, even though she had the receipt! They did eventually give her her money back, but she had to kick up a real stink to get it. That's illegal, as the trolley was clearly 'not fit for purpose' as defined by the Sale of Goods Act.

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''He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose." Jim Elliot

Well that sounds positive Cal, hope the hip stays ok

Places that deliver "between 7:30am and 9pm" . What are you supposed to do?! Amazon will leave stuff in a shed or with a neighbour, and some places will deliver to a collection point like a local newsagent or post office, but these won't. This is what you get for asking people what they want for Christmas, instead of just getting something you hope they might like .

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We really must stop eating like this ...

Minds are like parachutes - they only function when open.

http://setinthepast.wordpress.com/

Hugs to everyone who needs them - sciatica, hips, missing parcels and everything else included! I wish people would stop telling me that having Christmas on your own is fun. I'll be fine but it's not through choice, but financial necessity, and it's not something I'm hugely looking forward to as everyone I know is away. I'm sure it's well-meaning but it just makes me feel a bit lonely!

(((roversgirl)))

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"It takes a long time to live what you learn." May Sarton

I tripped up last Tuesday and went flat on my face.

I spent the afternoon in A&E, had a CT scan of my head.

I have places without skin all over my face, two black eyes, and my nose bone is broken.

I have an ENT appointment tomorrow afternoon.

I'm feeling really miserable, and old.

The worst of last Tuesday was that they wouldn't allow me to have a cup of tea. i'm British for Heaven's sake.

Don't they realise that a cup of tea solves all problems?

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Carpe diem, carpe noctem, carpe pecuniam et exe, celerrime.
A certain edge when she spoke of Mrs Maynard, certainly, but, after all, not everyone could love Joey.
'Life,' said Marvin, 'don't talk to me about life!'

Oh dear, Jennie - where was your guardian angel that day? Sending gentle hugs and healing vibes.

Hugs to all that need them.
I Have two minor whinges. First was at a hospital visit the other day, they thought I'd already had my none emergency procedure ( I've been waiting over a year) and were very apologetic about it. So hopefully I'll get in soon.
Second, my best friend and I went to the theatre on Saturday night to see Dracula. It was brilliant, but the end was ruined for me by idiots in front of me who decided to get up to leave in the last scene, and stand there whilst it was happening, so I missed it it was made worse by the fact they talked on and off through out too, someone sat next to them kept looking at them, so I wasn't the only one who noticed.

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Wishes the land of Merlin and magic was real

I saw the ENT consultant this afternoon. I have a hospital date of 27th December. the op, which he described as 'twiddling with my septum', is apparently quite urgent, and the problem needs to be cleared up for the sake of my breathing.

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Carpe diem, carpe noctem, carpe pecuniam et exe, celerrime.
A certain edge when she spoke of Mrs Maynard, certainly, but, after all, not everyone could love Joey.
'Life,' said Marvin, 'don't talk to me about life!'