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New book - ‘My Life In Receipts’ - coming soon

Andrew Dutton
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Welfare rights service - Derbyshire County Council

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‘My Life In Receipts’ now has a cover (attached) and awaits a publication date; soon-ish I hope.

It is a book of stories about money, unemployment, poverty, debt, repossession, bankruptcy etc – and life as a worker and trainer in the advice world. It’s fiction, not a memoir - but drawn very much from life.

The book is dedicated to ‘McLennan’ – a battling character based on my mentor in CAB days (1986-88)- and to ‘all those who keep up the fight’ – those with whom I’ve worked over nearly forty years, and everyone here, too.

Update on publication date asap.

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Mike Hughes
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Senior welfare rights officer - Salford City Council Welfare Rights Service

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I have spent recent years actively divesting myself of all receipts. Kept a few old credit card bills and bank statements for nostalgia purposes but that’s about it. My stock answer to “would you like your receipt” is almost always “No thank you, I have Apple Pay”. Would make for a very poor book or memoir.

On the other hand, mindlessly retaining every football programme ever to no great purpose; some match tickets; loads of gig tickets and all expensive hi-fi receipts.

I am a model of inconsistency.

Very much looking forward to reading this one Andrew but I’m afraid you’re currently number 13 on my list of books to read for this year which, at the current rate, means around December 2023 or January 2024.

Andrew Dutton
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Welfare rights service - Derbyshire County Council

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Cheers, Mike. I too have a stack of books to get through, so I know the feeling!

shawn mach
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Love the title ....

(... is that enough to get me onto the jacket blurb 😂)

past caring
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Welfare Rights Adviser - Southwark Law Centre, Peckham

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“My life in internet forum, Facebook and football banning orders” doesn’t quite have the same ring to it, does it?

Possibly for the best, anyway.

Andrew Dutton
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Welfare rights service - Derbyshire County Council

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https://cinnamonpress.com/my-life-in-receipts/

Publication date 5/5/23.

Advisers may be particularly amused by the chapters Always Keep The Receipt, The Bottom Of The Bag, The Old King With A Foot In the Door and The Caring Bank.

The football fans may like Traitor’s Cashout, which involves betting on England to lose in the 2016 Euros.

shawn mach
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Yay .. go Andrew ....

Andrew Dutton will make you laugh out loud, scream with righteous anger and, most of all, make you think ...

 

Andrew Dutton
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Welfare rights service - Derbyshire County Council

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Publication day is here…...!

Amazon seem to have the best price but they are also burying any reference to the book - easiest found at:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Books-Andrew-Dutton/s?rh=n%3A266239%2Cp_27%3AAndrew+Dutton

 

 

[ Edited: 5 May 2023 at 09:28 am by Andrew Dutton ]
Andrew Dutton
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Given the current proposals viz. LCW/LCWRA, this is from the last chapter of ‘My Life In Receipts’ - (the context is a training course that goes horribly wrong)

‘Government of different stripes have, over the years, all had the same idea about benefits for people who are sick or disabled: “They’re too easy to get, there are too many people on them and they stay on them too long.” Everyone, they say, no matter how sick, should take up their bed and work. Each of these governments then has a bright idea, “Hey, why has no-one thought of this before? We’ll abolish the current benefits, replace them with an all-singing, all-dancing new benefit which ensures that only those who are genuinely sick can get it, those who can go back to work get help to do so, and the help is targeted on those who really need it.”. In1995, the government had this flash of revelation and replaced Invalidity Benefit with Incapacity Benefit. And now, in 2008, another government has the same flash of revelation, and Incapacity Benefit gets canned and here comes ESA. Here’s a prediction: within a few years, another government will come along and say “Hey, this ESA is too easy to get, there are too many people on it and they stay on it too long.”, there will be a flash of revelation and…’

UB40
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Debt and Welfare Advice, Community Money Advice, Launceston

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Prior to the Incapacity Benefit reforms of 2003 DWP Advisers ( now called Work Coaches ) were trained to encourage unemployed JSA claimants to apply for Incapacity Benefit. The Adviser even got an award of a ” Job Outcome ” when the claimant left the JSA register. Co-incidentally Incapacity Benefit claimants were not included in the unemployment figures.