What are social services thinking?

Me and my best mate are friends with a girl that has 2 cousins that we both know. That bit is important. Cousin number one was on Jeremy Kyle several times. Cousin number two acts like she is so much better than every one else.

Reality is cousin number two is much worse than cousin number one. Cousin number two was living with a lad. They had a daughter. They broke up because they had a fight and she put on facebook that she was in bed with another lad THE SAME NIGHT her and this lad broke up. She sent her daughter to live with her mum and she moved away.

When she was away, she had 2 boys with another lad and they got taken into care. She split with him and moved back up and started going out with a friend of my best mates partner.

So cousin number two and lad are living together. She has another daughter, and she thinks lad is cheating on her (he's not but she goes to lads houses every night drinking and has a cannabis addiction) lad tells her to get help so she pushes daughter down the stairs and her self and tells hospital and police that lad pushed her down (she admitted to our mate) so daughter gets taken into care and social services make her go into a womens refuge and get help.

Yesterday my best mate is in the city Centre and bumps into cousin number two. Drunk (this is at lunchtime) and she tells my best mate that social services have given her daughter back to her. She then asks my best mate for money because she "forgot" to get her daughter milk and food. My best mate said no, and told her that she needed to put her daughter before her drinking, and to ask the daughters father for some money.

My best mate called our friend last night and she said that all cousin number two had to do was attend a few parenting classes, pass one drug test (which her social worker told her the date she was getting it and told her to avoid drugs and drink a few days before) and she got her daughter back.

Also, cousin number two has a new boyfriend who is now buying EVERYTHING for the daughter and the daughters dad isnt even allowed to see her. When its his days, she calls him and says shes ill. And social services wont do anything to force her to let him see her, even though he has a court order that gives him visitation. Even the courts arent bothered.

Our mate called social services to expressive concern last week and got told that the case was closed, and they didn't have the resources to re open it. Is that how vulnerable children are being protected? And at the same time, parents who have done nothing wrong are having their kids taken from them. Its a flawed system that needs to be overhauled.

'Let it shine' isn't about a boy band after all.

So the entire point of the BBC talent show 'Let It Shine' was to find 5 lads who would appear in a musical called 'The Band' based on Take That songs.

Um, except now its been revealed that the musical is now about a girl band, and the 5 lads who won are, from my understanding, just gonna be singing in the background.

Why have we watched this show for 8 weeks thinking that we were watching a theatre show been cant when we haven't?  Its all been a lie.

The entire show has been nothing but free publicity for Gary Barlow.

The tories and mental health.

When Theresa May became prime minister she said that the conservatives were the party for all. Later she said that her government would end the stigma of mental health.

Now the tories are saying that PIP payments are going to be stopped for "people who are at home and take pills for anxiety".

Anxiety is as much a real mental health problem as depression, bipolar and other mental health conditions. Anxiety is horrible: panic attacks, racing heart, clammy palms and dry mouth are horrible symptoms of anxiety.

People who suffer from OCD also suffer from anxiety. That condition can take over people 's lives, as can anxiety. Phobia' s (another anxiety related condition) can stop people leaving their homes.

And with the NHS in crisis (and the tories in complete denial about it. They want every one to go private) you wait even longer to see someone about your mental health.

And its people with mental health conditions that the government pick on the most. Is this really the end of the stigma Theresa May promised? I don't think so.

The truth is how can a government run by a bunch of millionaires really relate to the rest of us? They cant. They just keep churning out the same old false promises and looking our for their rich mates.

So dont believe that they care. They don't. They proved that when they target the vulnerable over and over again.

'Let it shine' The final. (SPOILERS)

So the final of 'Let it shine' happened and it was.... odd.

Robbie Williams was meant to be appearing as a guest judge but he hurt his back so would only perform instead (?) so we got a new guest judge.

Peter Kay. The comedian. I'm not sure who came up with that idea. It was a mixture of hilarity and car crash in equal measures.

He came out dressed as Honey G, the 'X Factor' contest (the resemblance was freaky. I am convinced that he is Honey G) and when he was asked what kind of judge he would be, he replied "inadequate".

And then he kept mentioning ITV shows. Good publicity that. It was on the BBC.

Martin Kemp said that he never thought that they'd find a band that were talented (he obviously had high hopes for the show) and Gary Barlow said during the audition rounds that to audition for a music theatre show, he didn't want any musical theatre songs yet tonight he had the bands singing musical theatre.

I thought the band that won were the obvious one to win. But in the defence of 'drive', they had my favourite singers in but they were 2 bands put into one, and I thought that was an unfair thing to do. The other 2 bands were together for longer and the lads in 'drive' voices didn't really compliment each other, but the judges made that decision.

I don't know what I thought of the show. I know that, in my opinion, the audition was too drawn out but the live shows didn't feel enough. I dont think 3 live shows was enough. It felt rushed and I didn't feel invested in the groups.

I did like all 3 judges and the guest judges. They all added some thing.

My favourite thing about the final? I Robbie rejoining Take That (again) and Michael Ball and Alfie Boe singing. I couldnt help but think though, as I watched 2 west end legends, that some of these lads were out of their depths.

Good luck to 'five to five' (who picked the bands name? We had a band called neon panda, which sounds like a nightclub, not a boyband) They werent my favourite but I wish them, and the show, the best of luck.

24 Legacy.

I haven't watched the new 24 yet and, to be honest, I am a bit anxious about doing so.

I LOVED the show. I sat in front of the tv trying to guess who the moles were (usually wrongly) and who I thought would die next. It was amazing. I even loved the London one.

But the new show lacks the one (two?) thing(s) that made the show for me. Jack Bauer /Kiefer Sutherland. I am a huge fan of them both (I do know Jack is fictional) so I have mixed feelings about 24 without him.

That aside, I do know my other favourite 24 character, Tony Almeida is returning at some point in the season so I look forward to that(so long as the character isn't ruined) but I want both Tony and Jack to have more screen time. They are part of the '24' history.

I will watch the new 24 at some point. I just might re-watch some early episodes first.

Prince Harry talking about mental health.

Today Prince Harry was in my part of the world to talk about mental health (I didn't see him, sadly).

I think that its brilliant that Prince's Harry and Edward and Princess Kate (to give them their official title's) are choosing to support mental health causes.

It's easy to believe that times have changed and that the stigma of mental illness has gone away. It hasn't. People with mental health problems still face stigma and poor understanding of their problems.

People who need help, suicide people, are being put on long waiting lists by the NHS and no offer of additional help while you wait because of cuts. People' s lives are at stake and being put on a waiting list is not really any help.

With the younger members of the royal family supporting mental health causes I hope that services and understanding of mental illness start getting better.

Why doesn't HMV not stock cds of people I really like?

I know that the answer is because some of the people I like are not mainstream enough. It is annoying though. Especially when you think the people who aren't mainstream should be.

Examples:

The Wallflowers/ Jakob Dylan.
I love Jakob's voice. And I thought that being the son of a legend (Bob Dylan) would make him mainstream. Apparently not. At least Jakob is talented unlike some of the people taking up shelf space.

Tyler Hilton.
Not mainstream at all. I love Tyler's voice too. My argument for Tyler being mainstream is 'One Tree Hill'. He appeared (and sang) on a hit tv show that was popular over here. The dvds are still avaliable so why not an album of a star of the show?

Darren Hayes.
One of the most talented singers out there, and one half of the brilliant 'Savage Garden', it appears that having a beautiful, emotional voice and writing thoughtful, emotional and beautiful songs isnt mainstream. That said,  Savage Garden were criminally under rated so I don't know why I am shocked by that.

Thank God for mp3's and you tube, so that I can actually listen to these artists. I just hate how music stores have all but dissapeared off the high streets and the ones that are left are giving you zero choice in what to listen to. If you dont wanna listen to the artists in the top 40 then you dont really have many other choices.

Disclaimer: I listen to some top 40 artists: Maroon 5, Little mix, Charlie Puth, Bruno Mars all favourites of mine. I just like other stuff too.

'Let it shine' BBC1 Saturday nights.

'Let it shine' is a TV talent show in which Take That member (and former 'X Factor' judge) Gary Barlow looks for 5 lads to star in a theatre show called 'The Band' which is based on Take That songs.

I watch it. You would think as someone who listened to nothing but boybands, girlbands and teen pop as a teenager (until she heard Kula Shaker and The Stereophonics for the first time) that I would watch this for the whole 'put a boy band together' element of it.

I dont. Its interesting to see a boy band being put together, true, but I dont watch it for that. I watch it because a member of one of my favourite groups ever is a judge on the show.

No, not Gary Barlow but Martin Kemp. From 'Spandau Ballet'. You see, as I got older I started listening to other sorts of music and I found out that I am a new romantics girl. I love the new romantics bands and articles.

Yes, I admit that I still listen to boy bands. And loads of other bands and artists too.

Any way, back to Martin Kemp. I think that he is brilliant as a judge. He gives constructive criticism (as do all the judges) and its just nice not seeing the same no bodies judging these shows but someone who has had a good career and experienced highs and lows in the music business.

And when the show first started it was clear he was struggling with understanding the format (he was telling the lads what he was scoring them before he did the scoring) and that was funny.

Martin just comes across as a nice guy who knows his stuff. Any chance the BBC wanna give him another judging job?

My own personal feelings are getting in the way of seeing the truth.

Political post here. Sorry.

Spending the day with my other half yesterday has got me thinking about fake news.

My other half seeks out multiple sources for news stories and researches things that he reads about. I dont. I just believe things that I am told. Maybe its because I believe that what ever is on the news is true. Right?

Wrong. I know that certain news outlets are biased. The thing is I don't like Trump (for reasons I've actually researched and found to be true) so I will  find any negative piece on him to be true. Maybe they are not all true. (Some are funny, though). Maybe some are fake news.

Someone really needs to tell him to step away from twitter though. He does himself no favours with the stuff he posts on there.

Trump aside, its the same with UK politics. I was raised to hate the tories so now that they are in power I just hate everything they bring in and, once again, believe every negative news article I read.

Ok, they have done some terrible things: made sick and vulnerable people be in positions that make them feel suicidal by losing benefits, the bed room tax, unfair sanctions and long waiting lists for medical and social care.

And austerity. They've made local councils cut everything and now there's nothing left to cut and savings still need to be made and yet we, as a country, are even more in debt? How?

No, the tories aren't perfect but are they as bad as some news outlets make them out to be? Probably not.

Maybe in future I should keep an open mind when it comes to the news. After all, to quote Marvin Gaye in his brilliant song 'I heard it through the grapevine' : believe only half of what you see and none of what you hear. When it comes to 21st century news those are wise words.

Plus size fashion: Attitudes need to change.

The words "plus size"  are the two words I hate most in the fashion world. Why?  Well, because I think that the entire fashion world is screwed up.

I know that things are slowly getting better but some shops still use stick thin mannequins. Stores are still sizing clothes wrongly (a size 6 in one store could be a size 16 in another) and a size 12 upwards is now classed as "plus".

Can I ask what the plus is?  Extra weight? Um, clothes sizes are about body shapes as well as weight (plus water retention if you suffer bloating. That could make your clothes feel tighter)  and as someone who suffered with an eating disorder, I feel that the fashion world's irresponsible attitude to sizing and body types are affecting peoples mental and physical health.

Seriously,  think about it. You are already feel negative about yourself and you go to get a new item of clothing. Oh God, your usual size doesn't fit anymore. You have put on weight. You are useless and disgusting. As a punishment you have to starve yourself thin (this was me) and if you had to eat, you'd either be sick or you'd exercise to obsessive. See how one tiny thing in your life, buying clothes, is a huge thing?

A clothes size is just a number. But sometimes its a lot more. And the fashion industry needs to realize the influence it has on some peoples lives.

Should Kate Middleton stop wearing skinny jeans?

That was a question asked in a newspaper the other day. A "fashion expert" said that our future queen should ditch the skinny jeans for other types of trousers.

I think the real question should be: what does it have to do with us what she wears? I don't mean that in a horrible way, I just mean that Kate is entitled to wear what ever she wants to wear.

The media always seem to judge women more than men on what they wear and what size they are.

Just because Kate is our future queen doesn't mean that we can pass judgement on her clothing, or anything else for that matter.

It was the same when she was sunbathing topless on PRIVATE property. Every one was judging her for that but it's not like she posed for lads mags. She was doing some thing that hundreds of other women do every day, and yet she was ridiculed for it.

Yes Kate is in the public eye and under constant scrutiny but does that mean she cant live her life the way she wants to or wear the clothes that she wants to?

It's 2017. Does any one really need to have guns?

We in the UK have tight gun control. Not tight enough when you think that air guns are still so easy to buy.

America, though, have no gun control. I know that Its a constitutional right to bear arms but do they really need that right in 2017?

How many school shootings need to happen before the US government decides that the gun control laws need changing? Too many people who are vulnerable and have mental health conditions have easy access to guns.

And I know a lot of people have a gun for safety reasons but I honestly dont think that Its that safe to have a gun. If you are involved in a struggle, a gun can easily be knocked out of your hard and used on you.

I know that it probably never will happen but I would like the US (and UK) gun laws changed.

'The Avengers' 1960's tv show.

I love 'The Avengers'. My mum watched it when she was growing up and she 'introduced' me to the show when it was repeated a few years back.

It's quirky, crazy, funny and bizzare but in a good way.

If you are not familiar with the show its about spy John Steed (Patrick Macnee) who investigates strange goings on. He is helped by a string of assistants: Cathy Gale (Honor Blackman), Emma Peel (Diana Rigg)  and Tara King (Linda Thorson) being the most famous.

In the first season the main character was a doctor, David Keel (Ian Hendry) and Steed was a shady associate. Then they changed the arc of the show and I'm glad they did.

'The Avengers 'is Steed. Considering that some of the very first episodes got destroyed, I haven't seen the early episodes, but the thought of Steed not being the main character or the show being darker just doesn't feel right.

Its pure escapism and thats the main reason that I love it.

Donald Trump.

No I still can't believe that this man is president. I don't know why people voted for him. His comment 's about sexually assaulting women were disgusting.  Sexual assault victims of all genders have a hard enough time to be believed and to get justice and to move on from what happened to them, and so many victims dont even get to see their attackers prosecuted, and it was bad taste for him to joke about sexual assault.

The day he took over as president the climate change and LGBTQ rights pages were taken down from the government website. He goes on about how religious extremists are bad (they are) but yet christian religious extremists (the people  that kill and blow up doctors and nurses to 'save innocent lives') he not only dismisses but encourages (he tweeted about the march for life being good and yet condemned the women's marches) and hates Muslims because of their religion and because a few of them are terrorists.

He didn't say the Trump supporter who shot people dead in a mosque in canada was a bad person for what they did. He wouldnt. That guy was white.

Yeah, Obama put bans in place, but Barrack Obama is an intelligent, compassionate, fair person and Trump isnt. He's a racist, sexist egomaniac.

There has to be ties with russia. There's too many rumours and whispers for it to be totally false. One of his advisors resigned because of his links to russia. And why would the security agencies be against Trump like he says they are? Could it be that he is a security risk? I signed the petition to keep him out of the UK because I do believe at this moment in time he is a security risk to this country.

I totally agree with people that hate the idea that he is president. I wouldnt vote for him, but he is president. I respect the way the republicans acted better when they had Obama as president. They didn't go around protesting and screaming on the streets. They acted classier than Democrats did. I'll give them that.

I will never like this man for reasons I've stated. I think he's an idiot and I think people should protest if his policies are gonna hurt/ impact them. But protesting because he's president wont change anything. He'll still be there (sadly). Just make your voices heard in 4 years time and vote for a more suitable, a more compassionate, understanding president then.

'Special Victims Unit' season 15. SPOILERS.

I'm currently watching the 15th season of 'Law and order: SVU'. I used to love the show but I just feel that Its a bit meh now.

I love the character of Olivia Benson but I do feel that her end less dysfunctional relationships and the fact that she has been assualted twice has ruined the character.

Its like the writers and producers are trying to make her as troubled and flawed as possible and its ruined the strong, compassionate detective that I liked. Its like now she thinks someone is guilty and goes out of her way to prove it.

I do like Barba. He's a good A. D. A. I think he and Olivia work well. I do like Rollins, but she's like Olivia, flawed and troubled for the same of it.

Amaro is an equal mix of annoying and ok. I did like the actor in 'Cold Case' though. The character just doesn't really interest me.

Munch left and Fin is just hired to stand in the background and say about 3 lines per episode (it feels that way at times) and Cragan is barely in it any more.

I used to love this show. I've watched it since it started, but I'm not a regular viewer any more and its a shame that its not pulling me in any more, because when its good, it can be brilliant.

Why America needs to keep planned parenthood.

I'm not making this political. I know there are some dodgy funding issues going on with it, but not political.

One. Abortion. Right or wrong, people will always have abortions. Is it not better to have a safe medical facility to carry out the procedure rather than some dirty bed room in some apartment? Or some back street dodgy clinic? Even if you dont like the choices, accept it.

Two: women go to planned parenthood for cancer screenings. Many women are stay at home mothers or single parents and dont have, or /and cant afford insurance. From what I understand about insurance over there, its complex as to what is and isnt included in policies. Women need places to go for cancer screenings, just like men do.

Three: Sex education. School 's in America seem to be terrible at providing adequate sex education. Kids need to know about this stuff. And if conservative parents and school' s wont teach them then its good that there are places that can give out advice and contraception. And maybe if parents and school ' s were more open about sex ed then maybe the unwanted pregnancy would drop. Just a thought. Not preaching.

'Casualty' what I'd like to happen. SPOILERS.

Ok. First of all, I'd like Alicia to become pregnant and not know if the dad is former boyfriend, Cal or former fling, Ethan, Cal's brother. I'd like for a DNA to be done and then a twist: I'd like for it to be revealed that Its Cal and not Ethan that has huntingtons.

I want Dylan and Lofty to have some scenes together even though Lofty is going into Holby.

I don't want Dylan, Ethan, Cal, Iain, Jez, Max or David to die in April. Any one else I can cope with.

I want Iain and Lily to get together.

I'd like for Max to have a story.

Oh and I'd like us all to find out what happened to Glenn.

IMDB shutting down its message boards.

I'm surprised that there isn't a bigger who-ha (my grandma used to use that word all the time) about the Internet Movie DataBase closing their message boards.

I used to use the message boards to ask questions or just to chat about shows and people that I liked.  I used to watch this show where 2 teams of people used to try to solve real life crimes. There was this one episode where the murder and suspect made no sense, and when I went onto the IMDB message board to ask questions,  one of the girls who appeared on the show in the team who solved the case, she answered my questions and went on to explain the case further (she put  it down to bad editing) and it made more sense.

People say that users are getting trolled. Well, any site that allows users to engage with other users are at risk of that. The thing with the IMDB is that a lot of users used the site for the very reason that they could chat to other users.

Without the message boards,  IMDB just seems like a useless, soulless site.

'Coronation street'. How does Shona know Kylie?

Last week we found out that newcomer Shona knew the late Kylie Platt when Shona went to visit Kylie 's grave.

The big question is: how did the two women know each other? We got a clue from when Gemma confronted Shona about recognizing her and Shona first denied it, and then later gave Gemma a lame excuse about a house party.

Is Shona Callum's sister? If she was then surely Gemma would know. And why didnt we meet her sooner? Her brother was lying dead under the Platt's annex for months after Kylie killed him, and his mother came looking for him, so why not Shona?

Is she Clayton's mother? Clayton killed Kylie so that's plausible.

Were her and Kylie lovers at one point? Knowing this writing team that is a possibility.

I hope that it doesn't turn out that her and Kylie were sisters. Neither Kylie or Becky (Kylie 's sister) are in it now and it feels unnecessary to do that storyline.

How about Shona and that creepy Nathan having a child together. Nathan is a peado, that is clear, and maybe Shona was desperate to get away from him so Kylie helped her? Maybe Max is Shona 's son?

I know that Shona meeting David in a bar and stealing his wallet wasnt a coincidence. And I dont think Nathan choosing Bethany as a victim is a coincidence either. I cant wait until we find out the connection.

'Elementary'.

I love 'Elementary'. If you are not familiar with the show it stars Johnny Lee Miller and Lucy Liu as Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Joan Watson.

Set in modern day New York, Watson is hired by Holmes father to be his companion while he is recovering from a heroin addiction. Holmes works as a consultant for the NYPD and Watson is drawn into the world of crime solving.

I think Johnny Lee Miller is brilliant as Holmes. His Holmes is more quirky and annoying than Benedict Cumberbatch's Sherlock. I love quirky shows and character's so that probably pays a part in my love of the show.

I know that people had issues with Watson being a woman, but I think the gender reversal works well. Joan has her own issues and I think that she is a well written and well acted character. I do like Lucy Liu though, so again, thats why I think she is brilliant in the role.

The show is a light hearted crime show, and not really dark and gory. I love both light hearted and dark crime shows, so I'm not biased about that.

Even if you are a Sherlock Holmes purist and hate the idea of the changes, I still think you should watch one episode and give it a try. You never know, you might enjoy it.

Welcome to my new blog.

First of all,  thank you for taking the time to read this little blog. I really do appreciate it.

I need to blog. I have stuff in my head that just refuses to go away until I write it down. I do have other blogs but I've lost the log in details for them,  so I decided that I would start afresh.

I appologize in advance for the chaos this blog will probably take. I love tv and music and celebrities so these things will feature a lot.

I also am passionate about mental health. I volunteered for a mental health charity in my past and I suffer from a mental health condition so I will talk about this stuff too. I think that its important to talk about mental health.

I think this is a good introduction post, so I will leave it there for now. Thank you again for reading this.