I am speechless today...

I had to be...

...at the Citizen's Advice Bureau early this morning because I needed them to make a phone call for me, because I am deaf and I cannot hear at all on the telephone. Another thing from the government which insists I can only contact them by telephone as a response to their letter. They say I cannot do this by email or by letter. And I have to confirm a whole pile of questions.

So armed with everything I go to the CAB.

After the initial explanations and what I need doing and why, the guy from the CAB rings the government department.

Then the fun starts.

The government official says he cannot deal with the CAB man because he needs to deal with me personally so to put me on the telephone. The CAB man explains that I am profoundly deaf and I cannot hear on the telephone. This causes problems and the government official has to go away to ask a supervisor some stuff.

The CAB man gives the government official some of my personal details and asked me a question to clarify something. I answer, whereupon the government official apparently says well she can speak so therefore she can listen to me on the telephone. The CAB man patiently explained again she can speak, she can lip read but she cannot hear.

The government official insists again I had to deal with him personally on the telephone. What can you hear, the CAB man says to me, and hands me the telephone. Is there anybody there I say, and I hand the telephone back to the CAB man saying no I can't hear anything.

Apparently they are more grumbles by the government official.

At some point the government official asked for my telephone number. So I give the CAB man my mobile number to relay to the government official saying any communication from the government has to be text only and no voice calls because of my deafness. The government official says he cannot accept mobile numbers it has to be a landline number. So I reply to the CAB man, to relay to the government official, that I do not have a landline number because I cannot hear on the telephone. The government official does not accept that I do not have a landline number. And there is a conversation to and fro for a few minutes on this. The government official is still asking for my landline number. I can see the CAB man getting frustrated with the government official. The CAB man is explaining every which way that I am deaf and that I cannot hear on the telephone. Finally the government official asks for my old landline number.

Old landline number???

At this point the CAB man and I look at each other in stunned confusion. I say I've never had a landline number I can't hear on the landline so why would I have an old landline number. The CAB man relays this to the government official. More stupid conversation results from the government official.

The government official still will not let the CAB man deal with this on my behalf by telephone with the government. We asked the government official if we can deal with this by email or by letter in view of my deafness disability. But the government official refuses this and says it has to be done by telephone and I have to personally talk with the government official.

The government official disappears again to talk with his superior and the CAB man is looking at me with a stunned I don't believe this expression on his face.

The government official comes back to the phone with instructions that I have to listen to a statement he is saying to me as I listen on the telephone and I have to answer yes or no.

Both the CAB man and I look at each other in stunned silence at the incredible stupidity of this. But she is deaf says the CAB man, she won't be able to hear the words you say. Then the CAB man says to me that the government official says again, if I relay the words to in this official statement to you, will you say yes or no. The government official says you have to do this.

At this point over an hour has passed, and we haven't even imparted the information that was meant to be imparted in this phone call, and that alone would have taken at least another hour.

The government official couldn't even begin to understand the concept of what being deaf meant.

All the information for this particular issue have to be dealt with by telephone by the client in person the government official said. We do not deal with this by email or by letter.

I cannot remember exactly what I said at this particular point. But I said my piece which was polite, firm, loud and clear, which the CAB man obviously in his position was not allowed personally to do in this manner, and when I had finished, the CAB man said to the government official, "Did you get all of that?"

The government official had to confer with his supervisor again, and when he got back to the phone, he now confirmed I would be getting a letter with a 20 page form to fill in, and I had two weeks from the moment it arrived through my letter box. And then there will be more paperwork and phone calls in response to that....

The whole debacle had taken nearly an hour and a half, all of it taken up with the government official unable to grasp the concept of a deaf client and the impossibility of them using a telephone, and refusing to deal with the CAB man as my representative.

Both the CAB man and myself heaved huge sighs when that telephone was finally put down.


When I got home I'd had enough of everything and Brain had gone on strike, so I went to bed. I hadn't slept last night, just skimmed the surface of sleep, it was a weird night's sleep. I was hoping to sleep, but it eluded me. There was absolutely no way I wanted to even consider doing a painting today...I just didn't care. This was nearly the day I didn't post my painting a day every day in 2017.

Then I played on the iPad doing a black and white sketch on SketchesPro. I don't have the dexterity to hold a stylus, but I can use my first finger directly on the screen. By the end of the drawing I was getting more adept and accurate in my lines. This was a picture I had seen in my head nearly a couple of weeks ago. I still don't know how to use the app, but this picture I have created with it is pretty near to the picture I saw in my head, so I am pleased with it. Then the Blipfoto website wouldn't accept the photo file...oh (*choice word*)...so toddled over to the Blipfoto app, and it accepted the picture file no problem.

So, this is my pic for my challenge to myself of a pic every day in 2017.