Pick My Postcode’s Stackpot Draws

@Alley1940 I was going to suggest Hopi candles as well.

A friend of mine tried them on me but I could not handle it. My hearing at the time was hyper sensitive and couldn't handle the noise.

I have tried many 'alternative' therapies over the years and quite a lot of them have been beneficial to me.

My wife complains when my symptoms affect her but she still says "there's nothing wrong with you". At least now I can tell her I've got the peri peri menopause.

No idea of the ages or genders of the commenters here, but may be worth saying that all of the things spoken about here from earwax to itchy ears to scaly inner and outer ears are lesser-discussed symptoms of the menopause/perimenopause. If you're a man then perhaps this isn't the case for you!

Opee candles did work well for me. I would order some online but my landlords have fitted very sensitive smoke alarms and I am worried they would set it off.

The fire alarm is extremely noisy. I did say to my landlords that I appreciate it is loud as some of my neighbors are hard of hearing but It is so loud it will make me deaf. After several years they have now fitted a button I can press to turn it off. Pardon lol.

Worth also seeing the pharmacist as sinusitis is one of the conditions vtreated under the pharmacy first scheme.

I don't think many people clean their phones. When I worked in an office they used to sanitise the phones regularly. To state the obvious, could it be something to do with showers? Ref Redz advice you could also try sucking a lemon (biting into something sour has a similar effect.) My Mam had sore ears caused by her hearing aids, they replaced the tube part with something non-allergenic. I have this theory that the NHS gives you the cheapest stuff until you have problems. If you were a cat or a dog I would recommend bugalugs soothing wipes.

Do you eat a lot of pasta ? In kids, it certainly seems to exacerbate "glue ear". Might be worth giving it up for 3 months to see ??

@Enver, Long before the days of mobile phones that's how my cousin's eczema first presented. Turned out to be an allergy to cows milk. Leeds Infirmary finally sorted it out after 16 years of misery. You can develop intolerances at any age though. BTW. Very common allergy, old wives cure was goats milk instead of cows but that was centuries before modern mass produced foodstuffs, which explains why the goats milk 'cure' was not completely successful although it was wonderful to see the improvement.

Microwaves from too much mobile phone use? That happened to me in the early days of mobiles, extreme itching (& redness?) around the ears for days after, & wax inside them melting & shifting to set in a new position.

If I used ear candles my hair would catch on fire as I put oil on it..

FORGIVE CAPS PMP.

NICK,

WHILE YOU WAIT FOR AN APPT TRY RESEARCHING ACUPRESSURE/MERIDIAN POINT MASSAGE FOR SINUS POINTS, ALSO TRY CHEWING GUM/YAWNING AS IT HELPS OPEN THE EUSTACHIAN TUBE.

@A Nick Name - I have similar ear trouble, Keep getting seen by the practice nurse and being told there's nothing really wrong even though it itches like crazy and I get a scaly build up all round the outer ear, but for some reason a consultation at ENT seems to be out of the question.

CS Thanks for that. Of course not, my GP would never consider something like that, but I have recently said I'm going to make an appointment and get a referral to ENT, when I return as I'm about to go away for about a week.

I suppose you've seen ENT?

Guess you meant to reply to Marie's post but created a new thread instead. This explains how you do it ...

https://help.pickmypostcode.com/article/109-how-do-i-reply-to-a-comment

I suppose like everything, people's experiences can differ depending on where they go and the people who are there. Craftmad, I'm sorry that your experience was not more positive and I hope you found support elsewhere.

Kat Snap. At least ipads and phones give you an excuse to avoid looking at others. That’s what I loved about Spire hospital - private room, no socialising. My mum was the opposite - wanted a ward with others to chat to.

Sometimes 'fellow' sufferers are cliquish & one can feel even worse. I would rather travel alone. I've never been one to share personal information & for everyone in a room to be looking at me with curiosity, waiting to 'chat'? Not for me, each to their own though.

Sorry that not everyone has had the same experience with Maggie’s. I go to Bart’s most of the time & they’ve been extremely welcoming to me. Cheltenham I’ve visited a couple of times with my mum for her sessions & it’s been fine. Very different buildings & Cheltenham was mid renovation at the time.

@ Craftmad. I'm afraid I have to agree with you. I'd had surgery & chemo locally but had to have my radiotherapy in Cheltenham (about an hour away). They had a Maggie's Centre &, because I'd heard good things about them I went in. There were people bustling about + a few women, visibly mid/post treatment, drinking at huge centre island. No-one was welcoming & after hanging around / reading notice boards / feeling like a spare part for about 20 minutes, I left.

I went to our local one while waiting six hours for my friend’s chemo sessions and the people were very friendly and generous with coffee, biscuits, fruit etc. The building was modern, light, open and clean, so I got lots of studying and writing done in relative comfort. I think they must be a godsend for many, although I doubt if I would use them myself if I were in that position- that’s just my bloody-minded independence though.

Em used them during Simon's illness and I think she valued the support they gave her

I know but some would not.

The winking emoji gives the game away..🙂

Is this a response to Chockie dog?

Thank you for the suggestion. I've passed it on.

True

It's not just the "add comment" button, it's where it says "join the discussion". if it said "start a new discussion" that would also help.

Yes i am thank you D. IDC. ;-)

Odd? 🙂

Would have thought that if the comment doesn't appear where they thought it would, they'd at least check to see why. Usually people who don't normally post seems to be the reason, and haven't browsed the comments first.

And of course, there's always the odd person who likes to show how clever (?) they are! Bless them 🙄🙄

@Biddles, that sounds sensible to me. 👍

Thanks

In my opinion

What does IMO mean?

Guess you meant to reply to Marie's post but created a new thread instead. This explains how you do it ...

https://help.pickmypostcode.com/article/109-how-do-i-reply-to-a-comment

Damn, rumbled after 9 years on the site

Is Bob a Nigerian prince?

To cut out the middle man, Bob, I’ll send you my bank details.

I stand corrected. I should be clear, I'm not against animal charities per se, just that my priorities are different. I would certainly give to charities that train assistance dogs

Bob - The NSPCC does have royal patronage, they just didn't change the name. There's a Wikipedia entry about it, not sure if the forum rules allow us to post links.

Bob - we all have our favourites of course, but I think animal charities are well supported because usually the animals are being mistreated by humans - they are unable to protect themselves, have no voice to speak for themselves and as so-called humanity we owe them - to try and make up for what others have inflicted on them. Brits in particular feel for the underdog. Children are usually in contact with adults, either social services, doctors, neighbours, teachers etc, whereas animals can be locked away on farms, or behind closed doors. Animals and humans can be abused, or needing help, but humans can, more often, ask for it. Animals just have to endure it.

I refuse to give to animal charities. Simply because I think humans should get priority. Why does the RSPCA have royal patronage and the NSPCC does not ? Given the choice of where my hard earned £5 is to go, I'll give it to MND or the RNLI rather than the Cats' home

Hampshire Air Ambulance, because as a horse rider I was conscious of maybe needing them one day, WaterAid, partly because my then-employers send engineers out to help install and maintain the equipment for free, and where would anyone be without water! The Gurkhas, to thank these wonderful people for their help in all the wars and to make up for the terrible treatment they got from us afterwards, Combat Stress to help the terrible PTSD sufferers in our armed forces, as my husband was never diagnosed and helped until too late. Salvation Army every Christmas.

Wales Air Ambulance and the RAF association.

Some years ago our u3a had a talk from the Hearing Dogs charity, and I have been sponsoring puppies ever since then. Also, any money I am given when I do talks (I don't charge a fee, but sometimes I am given travel expenses) goes to Alzheimers. Also, I get rid of unwanted clothes, etc., through Anglo Doorstep Collections, and I can choose a charity from their list.

I donate to a couple by direct debit, one animal charity & the Good Neighbours News, which supports a lot of small organisations. Others I donate on an ad hoc basis when I'm out & about. The local dementia charity shop gets most of my attention & I donate through the Co-op to a local cause.

Mr Tom plays the poppy lottery & the RM Association is his charity of choice.

Many smaller charities, mainly local-ish.

I tend to aim to donate £10 once a month. Different charities that peek my interest .

Mick me dad MGM and FGM are cruel disgusting behaviours. MGM charities don't exist in UK as it's not illegal. I think unless mgm is needed for medical reasons it should be banned.

I have MS myself and my family tend to donate/raise money for ms. My son is planning to run a marathon next year to raise funds for ms society.

Personally I prefer smaller local charities that don't pay CEOs/directors huge salaries.

My son has had surgery for gall bladder removal.He was in agony before his surgery. All he eat was chicken and potatoes. Twice he was diagnosed with constipation until he had a scan. He is recovering now.

My half brother was an engineering consultant for an international charity. He used to be flown out to African countries - business class.

So so many... But if I have to choose it would be Help for Heroes and Mind.

I support the RNLI through donations and the Alzheimer's Society through volunteering with a group of people with dementia

I support Brookes donkey charity, British Legion, Salvation Army and many more, anonymously wherever possible as I don't want to be bombarded with their mailings. But the charity which gets most support from me is Alzheimer's Research UK. I had to give up work to look after my mother who had dementia and now, nearly 30 years on, I'm looking after my partner who was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in February this year. It's a dreadfully cruel disease research into which could make great progress if only it had more funding. I'm heartened to see that research into causes of, and treatment of, cancers has come on in leaps and bounds over the years because so much money is poured into research and would like to see the same happen with dementia research. However, like Barrie and FlowerPower, I really don't agree with charity CEOs being so highly rewarded when so many of their supporters are giving their time freely. It's a pity they can't be paid according to the results of the organisations they head up, like many other CEOs are.

Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s.

FergieMad, I saw that too.

There's also going to be a Maggie's centre opening at the QE hospital in Birmingham. I hadn't heard of Maggie's until Em mentioned them, sounds like they do fantastic work.

Laura, Re:- your Maggie's comment. On our Midlands news bulletin this evening there was a choir from the Black Country that will soon be travelling to the Abbey Road studios to record their wonderful voices and, hopefully raise some money for Maggie's. I thought of Em at the time.

I have donated to Avaaz for their campaign against FGM a practice that makes my whole body contract with disgust and anger.

Something that is not quite as bad but equally unacceptable in civilised society is the routine circumcision of baby boys. No charities that I am aware of campaign against this.

I stopped supporting Cancer Research when I saw how much was going on salaries for their top bods. It’s a disgrace, that these people demand so much for their services- many, many other ‘Charities’ are also guilty of perpetuating the appalling greed of the ‘professional’ class involved.

Whilst I agree with the comments made I refuse to support any "charity" because of the money being used to support the directors.

Maggie’s. 🧡 They’ve done so much for me & my family since my mum had her cancer diagnosis. If you have, or know anyone with cancer, please look into your nearest branch & see what they offer. 🧡

I prefer to support the "smaller" charities, Mary's Meals, Sightsavers, local children's hospice etc. rather than the bigger ones. I volunteer part time for three others

I support conservation and animal charities as I cannot bear the thought of cruelty to animals or the destruction of wild habitats that we all depend upon.

Well said @helpme

Thank you, help me!, for your comment. I agree with you 100%. The barbaric practice of FGM is unadulterated child abuse and makes my blood boil. It must be stopped. As a mother and grandmother, I just cannot imagine how any woman could do that to their little girl and witness their pain, hurt and often life of continuing misery afterwards. It is so cruel, it makes me so angry. I too am often ashamed of what my gender does. Be proud, help me!. You have morals.

There are so many charities and so much need in the world it is hard to decide what to support but I suppose we all have to make a stand somewhere. Being appalled by toxic masculinity and believing the world would be a much nicer place if women could take a more prominent role in more societies, most of my donations go to charities working towards the protection and promotion of the rights and opportunities for girls and women. Within that, the main charity I support is the Desert Flower Foundation which campaigns worldwide against FGM. The existence of that horrific, life-long, physical and psychological damage shocks me, although, for once, it appears not to be the men who maintain the practice, but older women in the young girls’ families, even in those countries where the mutilation has rightly been criminalised.

For clarity I am male, just seldom proud of it.

I have never had gall stones but neighbour gets kidney and bladder stones, which I understand are equally agonising. Hope you get over it soon.

I had them a few years ago and it was awful. I haven’t had to restrict any foods since having the surgery, but my friend did and can no longer eat eggs. I hope you recover very soon. My scar from the surgery is barely visible. I was very impressed!

Yes, they certainly are painful. I've been bothered by them twice. Both times I was prayed for and they cleared.

Sorry to hear you have been in hospital, Richard. I hope you are feeling better now.

Sorry to hear that Richard, you should ask the😷surgeon for them back, you can play marbles with them to remind you ,... & the pigs🐷can fly!.

(Explorer makes a note in his diary) ... Munro Pork 🏞 I presume..

Now, about that bacon sandwich....😋🥓🥪

Hope you are sorted now Richard.

I am with you Shyboy I eat pork in all it's guises.

Glad to hear that you are out of hospital. I thought that the treatment for gall stones was a sonic cannon.

Hope you'll be fighting fit again soon. I don't eat pork, don't even like the smell of it.

Oh dear, I eat a lot of pork.

Sorry to hear that you have been in hospital Richard, hope not eating pork stops the pain for you.

😂

This needs to be the first comment on every draw page every day 😅

Thank you for providing these tips for other members.

👍🤞

Adelaide. Excellent point. So many companies decide to mess about with their websites/apps to 'improve/update' them then we find we need a new phone to access them. One of my many bank accounts is with Octopus Money and they've emailed to say from June 25th my password will no longer work and I will have to click "Forgot Password" to reset it. If I have to reset it before 25th for any reason, then I'll have to do it again on 25th. All for a supposed security update. Currently you need your email address, and password and they send an authentication code to your phone, the phone that I have biometrics on. I'm guessing it will all crash on the day when everyone tries resetting it.

Kat, has your phone got a voice-control symbol anywhere? It may help with some functions.

Yes, I agree. I don't want to be forced to buy and use a smartphone and then be forever buying a new one to keep it secure

On the subject of phones but not hospitals, I went to Ikea yesterday with some things to return, and they said it would have to be a gift card as that's how I paid. Which is fair enough. But the gift card had to be emailed to me, so I couldn't use it there and then because I have to come home and go into my emails and print it off first! And Ikea is not close! So another trip to spend it, or use online and have to pay for delivery. Every time this sort of thing happens, the assistant will make a vague hand-to-phone gesture and say "but you can use your phone...?" and I say no, I can't, and they look completely at a loss to imagine how someone doesn't have or can't use a smart phone.

That happened to me, too, Nick. I loaded my husband and his wheelchair, drove to his usual hospital on a snowy day. Arrived and pushed him through the snow, then found that he should be at our other 'local' hospital, 10 miles away. They kindly phoned and delayed his appointment until Icould get him there, but I was shattered after all that loading, unloading and pushing.

Cakey - Well said. We had similar a few years ago. My wife had always attended the same hospital for an ongoing issue with a specific consultant, so when an appointment came she obviously assumed where she was going. Never crossed her mind that it wouldn't be. I never saw the message and have always said "don't assume" whatever it's about, but even I may well have assumed on that occasion. She arrived at the hospital to be told they couldn't find it. Eventually they realized her consultant was at a hospital in a different town that day which is where she should have gone, and being on the bus there was no way she could get there. The message had given date and time but not hospital.

My letters usually come from the Midlands. Have to open them just to find out who they are actually from. The return address is no help either.

Apps are no good to me. Can't install them on my landline. Glo gets two paper letters for appointments. Identical but one comes from the hospital and the other from some place in East Anglia.

I receive all sorts of info in my 'patients know best' folder before a paper letter arrives. this is supposed to replace paper letters but for the Eye Department hasn't. I also receive paper copies of what the GP receives.

My blood test results also come here but mean nothing to me, and I can message departments that never reply.

We are University of Sussex - Chichester, Worthing, and Brighton.

I don't do apps I only have a basic Nokia phone which is meant to be for entering competitions but NHS got hold of the number and the govt which sends warnings of impending Putin invasion.

Cakey et al, how strange to send an appt time and day but not where, and how frustrating that it seems to work differently across the country? I recieved a letter to select where I would like my orthopaedic appt which included info about waiting times for appts as well as for treatment. It varied for outpatient appts from 2 weeks to 15 months and included the private sector doing NHS work. I went for the Spire which was 3 week wait for an appt. I've been seen twice, had an MRI and joint injection and recieved the next day a follow-up appt for 6 weeks. Very efficient.

Whereas pain clinic I've waited 15 months for an appointment as there was a choice of only 2 hospitals. So maybe that's also the case for ENT. Hubby had to pay privately for an ENT appt as the GP said he would not be referred under the NHS.

NHS send letters I can access by using a secure code, can't just download the attachment. So bloody awkward for me because I'm really struggling with screens just now. They are supposed to send hard copies of all correspondence. If I lose my phone or have to reset it I lose all sorts of stuff. Certainly not going to store stuff in the 'cloud' to get it all stolen or lost the first time a hacker gets in or the server catches fire. We really must fight back against this push to force us into using technology & apps for everything.

Don't get me on to Apps, this really annoys me too! I hate the way now you are totally discriminated against if you either don't have the ability to get apps or you don't want them anyway. 💯

That's so silly. The basic information should all be provided together when they make contact.

Exactly, my Mum had the same this week for cardiology and she’s 98. I had to phone up for her, just to find out where it was

Guess you meant to reply to Marie's post but created a new thread instead. This explains how you do it ...

https://help.pickmypostcode.com/article/109-how-do-i-reply-to-a-comment

Thank you all for your help with the cider vinegar dosage. They sell it in Lidl - I feel a(nother) visit is due!

Cider vinegar - I used to put 3 capfuls (about 1 dessertspoonful in a mug with sugar or honey, top it up with hot water and my husband said it was really quite nice, although he preferred it cooled down (have to use hot water to dissolve the sugar or melt the honey). He would sip it over a couple of hours and said it helped the arthritis in his hands a lot.

My old pony was very stiff, stopped cantering across the field for her meal, was getting pushed away by the others instead of ruling them (she was their mother). I gave her neat cider vinegar In her meals and she loved its Apple flavour, and literally in a week she was cantering over with the others. No psychological placebo there.

@Alley1940 = If you google "Hopi ear candles! you'll find where they are for sale & some practitioners.

I know you can buy tasteless apple cider vinegar tablets (nutrition geeks sell them & I get other vitamins from them). Not sure if it’ll have the same effectiveness, but I’m tempted to try it.

Beanie - maximum of 2 teaspoons (30 mls) of apple cider vinegar diluted in water daily.

However if you have reflux or heartburn avoid as it will make the symptoms worse.

Beth8it! - How much Cider Vinegar do you need to take each day for arthritis? It sounds like such a simple solution, and definitely worth a try.

I've had gallstone trouble twice; prayer was effective both times.

Redz3112 I think she must have been- she’d been on a course! I should have been warned when she said she was going home to look it up.🙃

Acupuncture got me back to health when all else failed when I was first diagnosed with dermatamyositis. Bowen Therapy has cured my severe back pain (I have arthritis) overnight. And an Iridologist in Australia found the cause of earache and face pain that I had for 20 years and cured it with herbal supplements only. I'd try most things once but I had an anaesthetic when I had open heart surgery!

Used to have "Opee Candle" treatment to remove excess wax from my ears. That worked for me. I am sad that I don't know of any practitioners where I now live as my right ear is now blocked. Pardon?

These church meetings can be very good. I know of a guy who was feeling pretty ill, he'd died. I don't know if he put his hand up or not but after an intervention he felt better again. You do have to believe the Bible to accept that as being true though. I was brought up in the faith but keep an open mind.

I use the remedies I learned from my grandmother, just for coughs, colds, common ailments.

Regarding the old lady with period pains. I think that was the only way she could describe her pain, not her being silly. Back injuries can cause pains very like period pains, as can arthritis or hip problems. My back problem makes me feel sick, but in my back! Weird! Try explaining that to a GP? Acupuncture to treat pain is commonly recommended, even for cancer. I don't know if it works well enough to help in later stages though.

My frozen shoulder was cured simply by raising my arms at a church meeting. (first time I'd been & I didn't want to be the odd one out!) After five years it was gone. I'm not drawing any conclusions from this experience but was, and still am, immensely grateful that it was cured. Forty years and no recurrence.

I had had intermittent back pain for years, physiotherapy didn't help and doctors had no suggestions - it seems they don't like intermittent problems. I had Bowen therapy which is a way of rebalancing the body through manipulation. After the first session I felt really good and a follow up session completed the treatment. In the 15/16 years since I have not had any pain.

FORGIVE CAPS PMP.

YES - TREATS THE WHOLE PERSON NOT JUST THE PHYSICAL SYMPTOMS WITH MINIMAL ADVERSE REACTIONS.

FLOWERPOWER, YOUR EXPERIENCE SOUNDS AWFUL. DO YOU KNOW IF THEY WERE PSA ACCREDITED? (HOPEFULLY YES IN A HOSPITAL)

ENVER, YOUR POOR RELATIVE, I’M WONDERING IF THEY WERE ACCREDITED AS ACUPUNCTURE ISN’T REGULATED BY UK LAW.

JUST IN CASE ANYONE IS LOOKING - https://www.professionalstandards.org.uk/practitioners/acupuncturist

(EDITED)

I did try acupuncture for my migraines but it didn't work.

I have a friend who is an acupuncturist so, yes, lots. She cured my frozen shoulder and that treatment reduced my panic attacks. Great for menopausal hot flushes. I used to do the books, wages and PAYE at her clinic so I had the opportunity to try a few therapies. Reflexology was my favourite. Cranial osteopathy is also brilliant.

Marie.... check out my email address...that should answer the question 😉

Cider vinegar definitely works for arthritis - my doctor mocked me when I said I gave it to my horse and dog and it worked wonders, so my husband had started taking it with good results. At the following appointment he apologised, said he had spoken to his colleagues and apparently there is scientific proof that it works.

My last dog seemed to be having pain in her back, and was putting on weight too - I took her to the vet who suggested their acupuncture lady, and it worked brilliantly. For a difficult dog, who dragged me out of the vets like a charging chieftain tank, she would happily lie in the barn with the door wide open, lead dropped on the floor, happily stretched out and looking like a pincushion with 20-odd needles sticking out. The acupuncture lasted about 4 days, but in three weeks I had her scanned and we found she had inoperable liver damage - not cancer but large holes all through it, which is why it had spread out and made her look fat. Very rare condition.

I found the Full Stop key on my typewriter is sticking making it painful when I hit it. I need to see a doctor as I'm unsure if it's due to arthritis or period pain.

I'm so sorry for your relative Enver. That sounds awful.

I haven't tried any yet but native women peeing on a frog to see if they were pregnant led to modern testing.

Lin is threatening to make me a drink involving lemons & cider vinegar to solve a problem that GP's say that the treatment they can offer would aggravate my allergies.

Enver the acupuncturist should have said something to her especially if she referred to the pain as period pain!

I have tried acupuncture. It didn't make a lot of difference to me. I took red clover during the menopause; I think it helped with the hot flushes and insomnia.

I'd try herbal remedies, or any sort of movement therapy, but don't believe acupuncture works, however I've heard of a chinese man having open heart surgery using only acupuncture for the pain..

I had an 80's year old relative that told me she had been paying to have regular acupuncture for "period pains" for a couple of years & it helped temporarily, told her at her age she;s past the menopause & to press for second & third doctors opinion as it sounds a lot more serious... It was (as I suspected) stage 4 Cancer & she lasted about 6 months.

However if you look up the origins of "old wives remedies:" there is some truth in the way some of them worked that helped the ailment.

I tried acupuncture a few weeks before starting chemotherapy. It was supposed to boost the system to help with potential side effects. I was never sick after treatment + I worked all the way through. Without a time machine, I'll never know if the acupuncture did anything or if I've just got an iron constitution 🤷

Hubby tried acupuncture for a frozen shoulder as the physio recommended. He was sceptical but his pain reduced immediately after the first session. After the fourth session he was able to function normally.

I had a reiki back massage once which was very pleasant but I wouldn't say I was converted to it.

I was given acupuncture at the local hospital by the physiotherapist, don’t think she’d ever done it before! I was covered in bruises all down my Spine & both hands & both feet, quite a lot of bleeding too!

It didn’t help at all so I can’t say I’d recommend it personally but I do know several people who had satisfactory results, perhaps it depends on what it’s for & how good the practitioner is.

Had acupuncture on a frozen shoulder, it took a while to work and I'm not sure it was the treatment or if it would have got better on it's own anyway.

I'm a bit skeptical about these alternative therapies but if one is in pain and can't get a doctors appointment it must be worth a try.

Did try acupuncture once, didn't work for me.

Thank you all, I have passed the idea on now.

Really, I think that the FAQs are excellent. Yes, absolutely everything is there but you don’t have to read it all. It’s all sensibly sorted into relevant sections.

I’ve just made a post at the top of this page, mentioning the shortcuts. There’s plenty of ways to get direct access to brief info.

To be honest, no matter what or how you provide info, there are always going to numbers of members who won’t look anywhere.

Exactly what I’m suggesting

But what is the proportion of new people joining the site, who then go on to ask a question in the chat which people deem they should have picked up from the FAQ? I suspect maybe fairly low, and you're always going to get them. I think the FAQ are arranged as sensibly as possible with the most popular at the top and the rest arranged into categories. I have said in the past maybe pick out the four or five most annoying ones (e.g. "how do I withdraw my bonus" and "my postcode has come up how do I claim") and make new joiners tick a specific box for each to say they understand the basic rules.

No, you're not, talking nonsense, Samandi, far from it. But then, what would I know? 😈

There were nearly 90 FAQs the last time I looked, and a few more have been added since. I can't recall what I was looking for at the time, but I know I decided it wasn't that important. If I were a newcomer, I probably wouldn't bother to read them at all now, either - not when people can ask on the board and get a reply from those who already know the answer. I feel we must remember that people today are used to getting information almost instantly, and half of those would never dream of looking things up themselves. lol

,Yes, I agree Marie it is all there but there's such a lot of it (or there seemed to be when I joined) that it's off-putting. I was suggesting a few sentences. Having said that, I haven't looked since so I'm probably talking nonsense again - sorry 😔

Point taken Marie, but you must realise from the number of questions that it doesn’t really work as it should

samandi, but all the information you have listed is included in the one FAQ already - https://help.pickmypostcode.com/article/16-what-are-the-different-draws

We always suggest that this one is probably a good place for members to start - https://help.pickmypostcode.com/article/10-what-is-pick-my-postcode

I agree with BuaD Marie..The FAQs are important but they have evolved into something like reading an insurance policy.

Perhaps a short paragraph " This Information Might Improve Your Chances Of Winning".

It could list times of draws, which ones are first claim wins, how/why the Stackpot changes and where the Mini draw can be found.. It could end with "If you have further questions, please see FAQs

We do encourage people to read the FAQs when they join, but we can't force them.

The amount of Stackpot results varies depending on how many claims there have been on the previous draws. Three postcodes get randomly drawn for the Stackpot each time a draw takes place. If you see more than three postcodes, this means that not all of the stackpots have been claimed from the previous draws. The number of unclaimed ones roll over and three more are added if this happens. This means that the number of stackpots can fluctuate depending on how many claims there have been. In this case, there were more claims on the previous draw, so less rolled over.

Please read the FAQ Choc Spaniel has linked above for more information about the different draws.

Maybe when people join, there should be a much cut down version of the FAQs to inform them of the basics, so that they have to read it before joining. The sheer volume of people who don't know how it works takes up so much of the comments. For instance, the mini draw seems a mystery to many (even now, when you get the "Update Available" message).

Because more are being claimed, less are rolling over.

https://help.pickmypostcode.com/article/16-what-are-the-different-draws

e.g if there are 2 left at 9am, then they will roll over and 3 will be added = 5

The amount of Stackpot results varies depending on how many claims there have been on the previous draws. Three postcodes get randomly drawn for the Stackpot each time a draw takes place. If you see more than three postcodes, this means that not all of the stackpots have been claimed from the previous draws. The number of unclaimed ones roll over and three more are added if this happens. This means that the number of stackpots can fluctuate depending on how many claims there have been. In this case, there were more claims on the previous draw, so less rolled over.

Please read the FAQ Choc Spaniel has linked above for more information about the different draws.

https://help.pickmypostcode.com/article/16-what-are-the-different-draws

Thank you @Lidlicker. I watched for that tonight and it does indeed remove one of the unclaimed postcodes 🤷‍♀️ but still left three visible tonight. Curiouser and curiouser.

No, one was unclaimed & added to the 3 new ones.

If you check the Stackpot at a minute before 9 o'clock, you'll see how many codes are claimed/unclaimed. Dead on the o'clock, the system removes one of the unclaimed codes (no idea why) but that block is added back to the other unclaimed codes + the 3 new ones & they're shown no earlier that 2 mins past 9 o'clock 😉

Avisk - they printed a whole calendar at the cost of thousands, rather than sending an A4 sheet to staple inside the cover, or copy on by hand? oh well, their staff now have to look at two calendars every day to make sure they don’t miss a festival. Crazy.

Ah, thanks for that clarification, Avisk! I'd never heard about that but thought it sounded like something certain politicians might post about on social media to "support" their cause and rile up the masses.

Re the National Trust Calendar mentioned above. It wasn't the regular calendar which is sold to members and to the public. It was "strictly an internal supplementary resource designed to familiarize staff with lesser-known religious and cultural celebrations".

In other words - a huge fuss about nothing!

NT, RSPB, English Heritage (via Historic Scotland which we joined on holiday there: in the first year it gave half-price entry to EH, from the second year it has given free entry to EH properties).

Member of RHS - I love gardens!

I had a years membership of the NT a long time ago and visited most of the places close to my home. In the last 3 or 4 years I have used the free family day passes that you can claim from local papers - maybe 4 a year. I don't know how they can afford that. Maybe it means they get most of their money from the car parks, cafes and shops.

Yes I am a member of the National Trust, we go to the local ones quite often and if we plan a trip away we always look for their sites, on our recent 3 day trip to Somerset we went to Stourhead, Montacute House and Lytes Carey Manor. I'm also a member of the RHS although we haven't been to Wisley for a couple of years because of the roadworks. I think the RHS magazine is good, it has a good mix of articles about different gardens and helpful tips.

We are National Trust members although I don’t like the direction they are going. There are a couple of local properties we like to visit for a walk. My husband used to be a volunteer, driving the golf buggy between the car park and the house. We were members of Historic Houses for a year. That was really good. There aren’t any English Heritage places near here.

Yup, in a previous life.....

I'm a member of both organisations and the RHS, plus Bishops Palace and Gardens in Wells, which is very reasonable at £25 for a year allowing unlimited visits.

No

I'm a member of the RSPB, Bumblebee Conservation Trust and Devon Wildlife Trust. I would join the NT but it's really just for the parking as most of the places round here are outdoor not houses or stately homes.

We are members of the National Trust.

I have been as a guest before never joined and I’m glad I didn’t when I see the above comments I don’t know if it’s still the case but if you volunteered for just one day at one of them (can’t remember which one) they would give you free membership for a year that included free parking

Used to be a member of NT but had cash flow problems and let it lapse.

We were NT members when we used to go regularly to NT places. Sadly, we can't travel much now so we let it lapse. I have no problem with their politics though. Like JH I also used to be a member of the Woodland Trust and, previously, Friends of the Earth, but we were short on cash at the time so I let those lapse too. Now I just support animal charities - Cats Protection, Dogs Trust, and a couple of Horse rescue charities.

When the National Trust issued a calendar without Christmas and Easter, but included Jewish , Hindu and Muslim holidays, I vowed to never go near one of their properties again.

Many years ago I was a member of National Trust which I thought was a society celebrating our history and heritage, unfortunately it decided it was a political lobbying group so I left. I am now a member of English Heritage which seems to be leaving politics to the politicians.

When I lived a short walk from the Northern Horticultural Society's (NHS) botanic garden in Harrogate I joined the Society, which also gave entry to the garden. The NHS had a really good magazine about gardening in the north of England and all was well. Sadly the NHS collapsed and the Royal Horticultural Society took over the garden and the membership. I then started receiving the RHS magazine which was all about gardens in Italy and South Africa and came with full page adverts for Bond Street jewellers. There seemed little in it for normal people. I think I would have left the RHS anyway as having nothing to do with my gardening experience, but I moved house and was no longer near the Botanic Garden so I let the membership lapse then. I haven't joined anything else to replace it but, as I don't have a car, getting to any National Trust properties would be a bit of an odyssey.

I am a member of "The Woodland Trust " 👍🙂

And someone decided to partake! Hope they enjoyed ordering.

"Blood Brothers" confused Lin for a while because it started at the end.

Play goes wrong, definitely hilarious. Others are musicals of which Blood Brothers and War Horse are firm favourites.

My daughter and myself spent Christmas and new year in nyc, I prefer musicals over plays and we were two blocks from Broadway so we were spoiled for choice. My daughter said we should go watch Phantom… and I’m so glad we did, it’s not there any more 😔 and my choice was Cats. Had I known it was going to be absolute pants I would have gone to watch SpongeBob the musical instead 😂😂. So my fave three musicals are Phantom of The Opera, Les Mis (saw that over here in Belfast) and War of The Worlds

Cakey reminded me that we've enjoyed "The Play that Goes Wrong" & "Peter Pan Goes Wrong" since the one's I mentioned. I've almost certainly missed others too.

I loved Warhorse. It is visually and emotionally powerful.

Fore ;p

Su.O.

I loved The Play that Goes Wrong and have reccommended it to several people. I saw a university drama group production of Top Girls by Caryl Churchill many years ago and it has stuck in my memory. Amateur productions are usually excellent the best version I have seen of Jesus Christ Superstar was a high school production.

Pac-Man I’ve seen 2:22 A Ghost Story. It was really good. Jay from Inbetweeners played the leading role.

Actual -been-to plays are very thin on the ground - 'Waiting for Godot' with the school, another school trip to see Antony and Cleopatra at the 'new' (then) stage at Stratford-on-Avon around 1968? Corin Redgrave played Mark Antony. I saw a fabulous version of The Tempest starring Roger Allam as Prospero and Colin (Merlin) Morgan as Ariel, who was absolutely amazing, via the OU access to Drama Online then saw another version set in Computer Graphics of the ship, the storm around etc - very different, but equally stunning. However, I think Julius Caesar set in modern dress (which I would normally hate) and also in period costume, where Caesar is stabbed on the escalator of an empty department store, by the look of it, and the conspirators are conniving in the Gents' Toilets of the building (doesn't everyone congregate there at events?) - was very powerful and memorable. Apparently Brannagh has just put on Tempest - I must look it up. For someone actually studying English Lit to only have seen two plays in real life is not very good (unless you count The Lion King in Southampton).

I think Kinky Boots is more a musical, @PacMan. It’s a great show. Saw it again a few weeks ago.

Lemons, lemons, lemons, lemons, lemons was very good. 🍋

Instructions for a teenage Armageddon (with Bridgerton actress Charithra Chandran) was an excellent one woman show and she was incredible in it.

We watch more musicals than straight plays so I'll choose athe last three I've seen.

Gaslight, Whistle & I'll come (& Finally( Middle age spread.

Man with two Guv'nors is a gud'un.

I would have said Kinky Boots, but my new favourite is '2.22, a Ghost Story'.

Bet you can't guess ?

A Month of Sundays by Bob Larby (half of The Good Life writing team)

There's a film of it "reimagined" for the USA, and it's awful, but if you see it done as a stage play with all the original British references, it's hilarious and tear-jerking at the same time.

Noises Off. Man with two Guv'nors. The Goes Wrong series of plays. Anything by Noel Coward.

You can see where I am going with this, can't you?

😆😆😆

There's something Fenny going on here 🤔

Yes who’s calling my name

How can we help you?

Rooster - It's 18:00 on 16th June and the new Mini Draw for today has now been displayed at the foot of every page.

@Rooster - Big Tongue

🧙‍♂️🧑‍🦯😀😀😀😀😀🤣

Thanks Lidlicker. It was a tongue in cheek remark, my friend.

Thanks all for explaining to Rooster.

If you look at the Bonus Draw page comments section, a helpful member posts the previous days Mini Draw results and mentions if it was claimed or not. Invariably not!

There are a couple of members who keep (used to keep) past "numbers" but, the site does not. Hopefully you only want to know out of curiosity because, again hopefully, you know you can't claim retrospectively 😉

Thank you for the replies. I had seen some people mention a mini draw before, but assumed it was another name for the Bonus Draw!

Can I have the numbers for the past two years please to check.😂😂

No, it's a draw in its own right. You can find it at the very bottom of any PMP page between 6.00pm and 2.00am every day.

Like the Stackpot it is first-come-first-served, not shared if more than one person tries to claim. Here is more information:

https://help.pickmypostcode.com/article/16-what-are-the-different-draws

or see the big blue [HELP] button at the bottom left.

Scroll down to the very bottom of the page and you will see it.

Most singers have autocue screens at the front of the stage now so they can glance down at them...

He probably needs reminders of the next line nowadays.

I think that one's been done before 🤣

Buttercup2 🤣 you start,I'll follow 🎶🤗

Thought you were trying to start another Cliff singalong there until I saw it was 11 hrs ago 🤣

Congratulations & celebrations! 🎶🍾

Well done! 🎉

Congratulations Sue ! 🎉

Well done Sue..

Good news! Congratulations!

Congratulations on your Stackpot win.

Congratulations on your win! 🎉

🥳🥳🥳

Congratz.

🎉 Congrats 🎉

Congratulations! 🥳

Congratulations 🥂

Yes, more players must be claiming now, which is good in one way but bad in another, as it means there is less drawn for the 9 pm draw.

More like an appetiser than a stockpot.

Ooohhhh! Don't know Beth8it! There were quite a few Haffendens curtesy of my Great Grandfather,Titus 🥰

Wendy, are we related? My aunt Pat, mum’s cousin, married Peter Haffenden, had two kids. Pat and Pete stayed with us when we did holiday letting - always had some great laughs.

I love Rupert Brooke,especially The Soldier,I believe he died the month before the end of WW1,as did my great Uncle,Montague Haffenden,this poem always reminds me of him 💝

Hooray, others who know and like Gerard Manley Hopkins! I nicked his book from school after A-levels, and I do go back to it now and then - can't believe how good he is. John Donne too - a one-off. Irony, satire, humour, erotica, great fun. For the serious side, Edmund Blunden, a WWI poet who served as a Captain in the trenches and read and wrote poetry, a bit like Siegfried Sassoon only ten times better. Read 'Undertones of War.' We have just done a lot on the Renaissance, Restoration and Libertine poets so I am really into it at the moment.

Brian Bilston would share an infectious disease with the current POTUS?

You're right, Redz. I missed tracy's birthday wishes as well.

FORGIVE CAPS PMP.

THANKS MARIE,

NOTE TO SELF - KEEP ENLARGING TEXT!

(JUST REREAD IT - I SEE I WASN’T THE ONLY 1 🙃)

Redz, it was the poet whose birthday it was, not Snowqueen's.

FORGIVE CAPS PMP.

SNOWQUEEN,

HAPPY BORN DAY FOR YESTERDAY - HOPE YOU HAD AN ENJOYABLE DAY 🥳

That was brilliant, Snowqueen. It gave me a chuckle. I am sorry you have to share a birthday with him. Happy belated Birthday. You are a lot better liked than him.

Thank you Snowqueen. I enjoyed that.

I still have a few bits of sonnets in my head from my younger days which I quite liked. Some chap from Warwick I think.

I also like Brian Bilston as he often makes me grin and yesterday I definitely grinned :

UNHAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME (Brian Bilston)

It’s important to share, or so I’ve been taught,

to show kindness to others), to be a good sport.

But now all of those teachings have taken a bump –

for I share my birthday with Donald Trump

For years I knew not of this dark, dreadful fate,

and with ignorant bliss I honoured the date –

but then it got hijacked, sullied, gazumped

by a self-serving bigot, a foul gibberlump.

With him, I would share an infectious disease,

a mouldy bread roll, infestation of fleas,

a romantic weekend at a toxic waste dump –

but please, not my birthday, Mr Tangerine Chump.

Alternative dates he is welcome to try –

12th Fibtember, 33rd July.

But 14th June? In a lake, take a jump

and find a new date, you deranged sewage pump.

Roger McGough, closely followed by Adrian Henri.

Gerard Manley Hopkins. Lots of lovely alliteration.

Pam Ayres and Edward Lear for humour. Studied Tennyson at school, quite liked a lot of his poems.

John Cooper Clarke. Went to a hall in Salford to listen to him a few years back....brilliant

Probably John Donne. I haven't read any poetry for quite a while now I come to think about it. I should probably change that.

I have read all of Brian Bilston's books this year - relatable, humorous and thought-provoking. I have also enjoyed reading Simon Armitage, Barbara Kingsolver, George Mackay Brown, Donna Ashworth and Lemn Sissay.

Brian Bilston

Love Pam Ayres

Several, like avisk. Algernon Charles Swinburne, William Wordsworth, Spike Milligan, Edward Lear.

I like lots of poems by various authors but Rudyard Kipling has written many that I like.

Leonard Cohen.

Can't choose one! Gerard Manley Hopkins, A. E. Housman or Louis MacNeice - https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/91395/snow-582b58513ffae

Anything by Pam Ayres is bound to be entertaining.

Ooooh! I love Goblin Market by Christina Rossetti. 🐷

I second Spike Milligan.

I would also have to say Lewis Carroll for Jabberwocky.

John Betjeman.

For humor Spike Milligan who is referred to as an "Irish comedian and writer" only because the UK would not give him citizenship here.

;-)

Never really been interested in football.

One of the best days of my life was when my son decided he didn't want to play football anymore.

Having said that I was befriended by some professional football players in the distant past. Probably as the last thing I wanted to talk about was football. When you think about it talking football with them is like talking shop.

…..and 28 years since we Scots have been there. 🥳

@Tattiesoup - because it's boring.

Absolutely Tattiesoup 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

How can you be bored with the world cup? It's only every 4 years!

Bored with all the football, perhaps??

⚽ 🏆

Been a good 24 hours for Stackpot claims.