April 'Gruel ' Day

What an amazing thing – having a whole day designated for celebrating fools and foolishness! April Fool’s Day, April 1, marks the start of a new month, and brings with it motivation to pull little pranks on each other, all in the name of “April fool!”

Some experts historically – or hysterically – trace the origins of April Fool’s Day, also known as All Fools Day, as far back at 1582 in France, upon switching from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar.In the Julian Calendar, as in the Hindu calendar, the new year began with the spring equinox around April 1.

However, some people were slow to get this news and didn't realise that the start of the year had been switched to January 1.

They continued to celebrate it during the last week of March through April 1, and became the subject of hoaxes and were called “April fool's“

There is also a theory that April Fool' s Day is linked to the Roman festival of Hilaria (Latin for joyful), which was celebrated at the end of March by the cult of Cybele.

It involved people dressing up in disguises and mocking fellow citizens and even magistrates and was said to be inspired by the Egyptian legend of Isis, Osiris and Seth.

Regardless of when it formally began, one day a year for a little lighthearted foolery seems fine to me. 

What is not so funny is that energy prices are set to soar from today with  more than a third of homeowners will, or already have,,switched off their heating earlier than usual this year to save on bills. And, after the cold snap earlier this month, this may have left nearly 8 million households braving the cold at home due to increased money worries. The energy price cap is set to rise for those on tariffs who pay by direct debit by £693 from £1,277 to £1,971 from April 1. Prepayment customers are set to see a bigger jump, with their price cap going up by £708, from £1,309 to £2,017. After the energy price cap rise, householders can rest assured that the price rises that will follow are no joke,and they are not likely to go down either.

Energy  companies  are simply taking the piss and ultimately ripping us off, forcing millions into fuel poverty and deprivation, facing the desperate choice of whether to eat or heat  our homes. To complicate things and add further stress to people energy websites appeared to falter yeeterday as customers rushed to submit meter readings before today's price jump.  The issues , which appeared to be an industry-wide problem , came as experts urged householders to submit meter readings for gas and electricity to their supplier on Thursday to show exactly how much energy they have used ahead of Ofgem’s price cap increasing from April 1.This will prevent firms from estimating usage and potentially charging for energy used before April 1 at the higher rate.  It also saw people waiting for over an hour to get through to telephone lines, how could they be so disorganised .or simply uncaring not to anticipate the rush of people who had been urged to contact them as a matter of much urgency is one of deep concern.

Let's not forget the fact either that the bosses of the Big Six energy providers are some of the highest earners in Britain. The biggest energy companies made over £3billion in profit in 2020. The most recent Companies House accounts available for E.ON UK, SSE, EDF Energy, Scottish Power, and Centrica show their profits totalled nearly £100 per second. Energy production and distribution are not based on the needs of the overwhelming majority of the population and the environment, but on the profits of the extraction corporations and energy providers.

The 'cost of living' is such a misleading phrase in the first place, because in reality it's the cost of barely surviving and it's going to get a hell of a lot worse.  It's  the UK in 2022 and people are writing 'Survival Guides' to get through the cost of living.  While I applaud them doing this, what the fuck is going on? Something has to give.

Let’s not get sidetracked too much either by 2020s circumstances; the current war in Ukraine coming straight after a worldwide pandemic has undoubtedly exacerbated the economic problem, but let us not pretend that for some years now there hasn’t been an increasing gap between those at the top of the money tree and the people struggling to put bread on the table while still keeping the heating on.

Sophy Ridge on Sky showed Chancellor Rishi Sunak a chart illustrating tax rises and tax cuts by his various predecessors over decades;https://twitter.com/SophyRidgeSky/status/1505488095491334153 it revealed him to be the one with most tax rises, rising in two years by the same amount that Gordon Brown did in 10 years, for example.

Sunak immediately played the pandemic card.Yes, the effect of the pandemic was major and yes, you would expect a bit of spin from any politician. But there’s something inherently dishonest about this Tory Government when it comes to explaining away their treatment of people on benefits and lower incomes.

Not unexpected, of course, when that Government is headed by Bojo Johnson  for whom lying is a default.mechanism, whose words we simply can't trust at all.

There is, however, one group of people who won’t be hit just as hard by what is happening. Take the afformentioned Chancellor, Rishi Sunak who is believed to be the richest man in the House of Commons, reportedly worth an estimated £200 million, or possibly more if you count his wife’s wealthy background. Then there is .Jacob Rees-Mogg, who casually dismisses the concerns of ordinary people over Downing Street’s partygate as “fluff”, who is worth about £100 million.

As for poor old Bojo  he is virtually on the breadline at only about £3 million but he might just survive when he does the speeches and book-writing rounds after he finishes as PM.

There is  growing fury too as MP' pay is scheduled to rise £2,000 to £84,000 on the very same day the rest of us will be hit by rocketing National Insurance, gas bills and council tax amid a cot of living ' tsumani' the like of which we haven't seen for years.The profound spike in living costs means that half of UK children will have to sacrifice essentials such as food and clothing, according to new research.

1.3 million people including penioners will be forced into absolute poverty. The government has planned to uprate the minimum wage, benefit payments and pension payments in April, cushioning some of the blow to household finances.

However, universal credit and pensions are going up by just 3.1 per cent. With inflation having risen 6.2 per cent, the cost of living will still be rising at twice the rate of benefits.

While the minimum wage is set to rise 6.6 per cent from April, further inflation could also mean that any gains are simply wiped out by an increase in the cost of living.

Overall, most households will be facing a decline in their standard of living as wages fail to keep pace with increased costs while heartless foolishTory MP's  who are devoid of any morality consider rising poverty a price worth paying, but to be fair to them they have pendulum brains and liquid intelligence.

While this is undoubtedly a stressful time for many and certainly things seem very amiss and maybe jokes will not keep us warm, but some  say that laughter is the best medicine, I for one will not stop laughing at our corrupt incompetent Tory Government  and the profiteers of misery that run amok beside them, because there certainly laughing at us.

We certainly should not be taking all this quietly, and truly wish that what I've written about here was  just a sick joke, As it is not, a series of demonstrations will be held across the country in the coming days over the cost-of-living crisis and  the continued anger about the sacking of 800 P&O workers. The People’s Assembly said it expects thousands of protesters will take to the streets on Saturday at locations throughout the UK to highlight those suffering “real hardships” due to the combination of rising fuel and food prices, inflation, and low pay.

Unions have complained that Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s spring statement last week did nothing to allay fears about soaring fuel bills and rising inflation. Lifting the energy price cap on Friday will create an “impossible choice for many” – to eat or heat, said the campaign group.

A spokesperson for the People’s Assembly said: “Public outrage over the cost of living crisis is growing fast, and our response is gaining momentum.” In London on Saturday, there will be a protest outside Downing Street, with similar events in Birmingham, Bournemouth, Bristol, Cardiff, Cambridge, Coventry, Derby, Doncaster, Glasgow, Hanley, Hull, Ipswich, Lancaster, Leicester, Liverpool, Manchester, Milton Keynes, Newcastle, Peterborough, Portsmouth, Preston, Redcar, Sheffield, and Southampton::.https://thepeoplesassembly.org.uk/

At the end of the day public owned energy is a practical clear solution that could ease the pain, that would take the profits being hoarded by private companies snd redistributed to the people in these desperate times.Nobody should be forced to choose between heating or eating, In the meantime would urge you to sign the following petiton: https://www.megaphone.org.uk/petitions/rishi-sunak-get-back-to-parliament-and-present-an-emergency-budget?link_id=0&can_id=dc3a87c4b00455c28953a76b1b992301&source=email-rishi-sunak-get-back-to-parliament-and-present-an-emergency-budget&email_referrer=email_1497470___subject_1958409&email_subject=demand-action-to-tackle-the-cost-of-living   

and will end this post with  some resources that are  available if you need help .

 

Citizens Advice

Citizens Advice is an independent charity offering offering free, confidential support with legal, consumer, housing, debt and other problems. Its website details what help is available and where your nearest bureau is, for face-to-face advice.

Helpline: 0800 144 8848 (open 9am-5pm, Monday-Friday)

The Trussell Trust

The Trussell Trust supports a national network of  more than 1,200 food banks,  providing emergency food for free to those who need it. You can use its website to locate support wherever you live.

Helpline: 0808 208 2138 (open 9am-5pm, Monday-Friday) 

Turn2us

Turn2us is a national charity providing practical support to people who are struggling financially. Its website includes a benefits calculator and details of schemes and grants in your area, including for energy and water bills.

Helpline: 0808 802 2000 (open 9am-5pm, Monday-Friday)