My Facebook is Back

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I appear to have my Facebook back, after some wrangling. Only problem is, I can only log in on the Chrome mobile browser, which is making it difficult to upload albums. No access to the mobile app. No access on desktop. 

Strange. Still no clue why this is happening. Apparently I set up a 6-digit code to gain access if I was ever locked out. I have no recollection nor notes of this. Not that I should need it if I can get in on mobile Chrome. 

I’m wondering if my phone being over 2 years old is a factor. Smartphones usually start to mess up after that 24-month point. I got mine in September ‘21. Doesn’t explain how all the other apps are fine, AND I can’t get on Facebook on desktop though.

It was all going so well.

Oh, great. 

After months of graft with the Help to Claim team, and Help to Claim Lady (HTCL) teaching HMRC how their own systems work and why I’m eligible for Universal Credit, (I’m now in receipt of this) HMRC have now written to me demanding £195.99 in overpaid Working Tax Credits, a benefit that was stopped months before I was awarded UC. 

‘The DWP will recover what you owe from your Universal Credit payments unless they tell you otherwise.’ 

Who’s mistake is this? Mine? Theirs? Do I definitely have to pay this? 

I’ve been in this position before, where the government makes a mistake with my benefit situation, then has blamed me for not knowing what to do about it. After my DLA was stopped several years ago and I had to apply for PIP, I eventually was awarded a much smaller amount on PIP, but then my WTC was stopped as it was DLA that was making me eligible. I was at first told the letter was sent in error. Then it was forwarded to a debt recovery agency. When said agency found out I was on PIP, they wanted nothing to do with me and handed it back to DWP. WTC was eventually reinstated, but it took a lot of hard work and a particularly good Welfare Rights officer. 

It’s time to clarify all this with HTCL. I’ve left a message on my UC account online. I’m hoping someone will read it, although they may not as now that I’m in receipt of UC I think my time with Help to Claim has come to an end. I’d probably have to go around the circle of visiting numerous buildings in Oldham to get advice, to get forwarded back to Help to Claim again. 

Typical. Government want a £200 overpayment off a brain-damaged admin bloke on PIP and UC, and they’ll chase him (and no doubt threaten me with bailiffs, as mentioned above), but are happy to write off £4.3 billion in COVID fraud. 

Hypocrites.

Aldi Lees Opens with Team GB Medallist

German supermarket chain Aldi opened a new branch in my locale yesterday, taking over the former Co-Op unit in Lees. 

 

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Cutting the ribbon: Team GB’s Josie Knight in Track she got a silver medal in the team pursuit. Respect! 

Good to have a local supermarket that’s a little easier on the wallet. I’ve already done a shop.

Liverpool Comic Con ‘23

Sci Fi actor Michael Ironside takes one sceptical look at my ‘Power is a State of Mind’ t-shirt and says, ‘I dispute that.’ Oh well, you can’t please everyone. The Canadian Thespian, known for his roles as bad guy Richter in Total Recall, evil telepath Darryl Revok in Scanners, instructor Jester in Top Gun, park owner Dial in Free Willy and Lieutenant Jean Rasczak in Starship Troopers, is a late addition to the line-up at today’s event. Monopoly Events’ largest outing is Comic Con Liverpool, and today – Saturday 22nd – is the first day of the event, here at Exhibition Centre Liverpool.

 

 

A lot of the guests today are from franchises with which I’m unfamiliar: Supernatural, The Last of Us etc. These panels also seem to be ticketed, unusual for Monopoly. So once my photo op was done and I’d had a bit of a wander around, I was done. This is a good thing, though: it means that the different guests and franchises – spanning a few genres and formats – cater to a wide variety of tastes, and that’s what you need for a sold-out 8100m2 exhibition space. 

Depending on the guest line-up, I’ll probably be back next year. 

Alexander Ludwig, Bjorn Ironside in Vikings, Sgt Declan O'Brady in Guy Ritchie's The Covenant

Terminator cosplay

Predator cosplay

Jabba the Hut set

Return of  the Jedi Ewoks

Back to the Future Part II cosplay

Shaky shot of Jamie McShane, from Wednesday, Lincoln Lawyer, Breaking Bad, Star Trek Picard etc

There is a pun in here somewhere

 

Chaos week last week

My scanner decided not to work; I went to the ‘rents to scan in a photo with a celeb. Reveal later in the week. Primary Facebook still MIA. I can now see my profile pic, and I’ve tried to request reset codes, but they haven’t worked. I’ll try again. Instagram also got restricted due to ‘unusual activity’- no explanation for this was given, but the feed wouldn’t update for a few days. Sorted now. Plus I had to sit a motorway awarenesss course. 

The positive: I also went to Comic Con Liverpool. more on that later in the week. I got into the city early, and noticed some kind of jogging event taking place on the pier, similar to Parkrun, attended by boxing promoter Eddie Hearn. Anyone know what this was?

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This week my new local Aldi opens in Oldham. Oh, and it’s Halloween weekend. No plans. And I can’t ask around as I have no Facebook and don’t have people’s numbers.

Comic Con Liverpool Week

Comic Con Liverpool takes place this weekend in Exhibition Centre Liverpool. Ran by the burgeoning Monopoly Events, the Liverpool show is their largest. I went in 2019 and had a brilliant time. Travel caused stress, and there was a minor issue with tickets, but I’ve been more organised this time. I’ve got a Saturday ticket, which are now sold out. Sunday tickets are selling fast. I’ve also got a photo booked with sci fi actor Michael Ironside. Sunday tickets are about to sell out. 

Also, in regard to my Facebook vanishing… was it this?

Hi @holland_barrett . If you were to find out that one of your store managers had spent the pandemic plastering their Facebook with bizarre anti-vaxx conspiracy theories and sharing far right propaganda, what would be your course of action?

— Matt Tuckey 🇬🇧 @matttuckey on Threads (@matthewtuckey) October 6, 2023

I’ve been screenshotting this woman’s bizarre rants for years now and sharing to X (Twitter). It’s hugely offensive to people who’ve worked with vulnerable people throughout the pandemic. Not only that, her stance is scientifically wrong: the vaccines ARE safe, and healthy people SHOULD take them. For them to work as they should, the COVID vaccines should have been mandated, like all the other vaccines. 

I’ve always obscured the individual’s identity. Eventually, I decided to inform her employer. If this was the reason my Facebook vanished, I’d be surprised. Said store manager would have to have been pulled up by management and be shown the screenshots, then she’d have to complain to Facebook that I’d shared her content. Is that a deletable offence? Am I about to lose my X account too? 

I should have just blocked her long ago. All this is speculation though. I might not ever know why I lost my account.

My Facebook has vanished

Not sure what I’ve done to upset the Facebook gods, but my primary account of 15 years has disappeared without trace. On Friday the 13th, of all days. I fell asleep Thursday night after a gym class, feeling more tired than usual, then woke up at an obscure hour and had only access to a backup family Facebook. I’ve tried to recover the primary account based on this Linkedin guide. Facebook sent me a code via SMS to input into their system. Then they claimed to have sent me an email with a ‘final step.’ At the time of writing this has not come through. 

I’d backed up a load of pictures. Wish I’d backed up more. Why did this happen? I don’t even remember receiving a warning on Facebook. I mean, there was this from 6 weeks ago:

Facebook has removed a share of a 7 year old video of dead terrorist Elliot Roger. I can't remember why I shared this - possibly just to show how deranged he was. I certainly wasn't 'in praise' of him.

Why now? pic.twitter.com/5cFzEi3JZA

— Matt Tuckey 🇬🇧 @matttuckey on Threads (@matthewtuckey) September 5, 2023

A lot of my photos and videos are backed up on a Facebook just for family. Some are on the blog. Some videos are on Youtube. Some, potentially elsewhere due to some synching technology that I don’t totally understand. 

What riles me is, last I checked, I was having to report the same Facebook friends over and over due to their barrage of anti-vaxx content. One individual in particular – someone I was good friends with for many years – went totally over the edge. I was, admittedly, screenshotting all of her conspiracy statuses, wiping out her face and name, and sharing them to X. I also reported her to Facebook every time, yet nothing was done. Why does she get to keep her account and I don’t? And is this behind my Facebook disappearing? 

Or did I say something opposing the Israeli regime? I did on Twitter, and the consensus is I was right – Israel have illegally occupied Gaza and are now throwing people out of their homes and cutting off the water supply. These are human rights abuses and are illegal under international law. They are war crimes. And this has nothing to do with religion at all. But did I say this on Facebook? I have no way of knowing. 

This is the particular issue I face: I used Facebook to remind me what I have done since 2007. I could search for a word or phrase to see if I’ve ever discussed it on the platform, and when. Granted, I can do the same with this blog, and X (Instagram doesn’t offer this feature to my knowledge) but Facebook is what I’d been on the longest. When you have memory difficulties, having the ability to search through what you’ve shared allows you to piece together what happened at a certain point in time. Maybe it’ll come back. Maybe it won’t. This is why it’s good to have multiple platforms. I just wish I’d backed more up. 

I had a temporary cough and cold, not COVID. I’m over the worst.

Mini Naan Pizzas

From Rukmin Iyer’s India Express: Mini Naan Pizzas with Lime & Coriander Paneer & Roasted Tomatoes.

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Suggested time was 50 mins. Took me 74. Not too bad. The paneer – buffalo or cow milk curdled with fruit or veg acid—doesn’t look like it’s been in the oven at all, but it was definitely melted. All the ingredients, including Nigella seeds that I’d never heard of, were easily sourced in Tesco. 

A good Indian twist on an Italian classic.

Does Zinc Prevent Hair Loss?

I've started taking zinc for hair loss. Here's the current situation. More in a month. pic.twitter.com/dfMxCekE3s

— Matt Tuckey 🇬🇧 @matttuckey on Threads (@matthewtuckey) October 8, 2023

I’m 41. My hair has been thinning since some time in my mid-30s, much to my dismay. Not much I can do about it other than accept, unless… 

There’s some evidence to suggest the transition metal element Zinc can improve hair growth over a period of some weeks, but not if taken for extended periods. Health program Nutrisense explains that these should be taken alongside a balanced diet rich in nuts, beans and meat. I eat a certain amount of these. 

I’ve recently had my head shaved. 2 on top, 1 on the sides. The thinness is from the crown outwards, as it is with most guys, and is already visible on my head. 

I’ve recently picked up enough zinc tablets to last me a full year, but I’ll report back on this in a month. During this time, I’ll attempt to eat clean, with plenty of the aforementioned foods (plenty of Mexican dishes incoming). I’m already dieting for the Santa Dash in December.

A Hard Won Battle

I spoke to Help To Claim Lady – HTCL – this week, and we looked at the Universal Credit situation. I started the process at the start of July. The claim went in in early August, when phone calls to Help To Claim began. 

I got the first payment this week. HTCL agrees it’s ‘about the right amount.’ When we were calling HMRC my claim was probably already being processed, but now things are set for the next 12 months. I’m due another payment in a few days, and I’m advised to contact HTCL to update her. It’s a new system, she explained, so there are bound to be mistakes. (The main one being the staff didn’t understand I was under transitional protection – being asked to move from Working Tax Credit – which made me eligible, when I otherwise wouldn’t be.) 

I’ll update HTCL whatever happens. HTCL has been brilliant, always fighting my corner, explaining to HMRC what they really should already know. Otherwise, I’d have been flatly refused. Who knows what will happen in 12 months’ time, though. 

When you have memory difficulties, the important thing is to make these notes straight onto a word doc as the conversations are happening, so that there’s evidence, and more importantly, reminders to yourself, of where you’re up to and how things happened. Formal issues like anything related to HMRC I always find insanely difficult, so I couldn’t have written this blog post without note taking. HTCL and other HMRC staff knew I had memory difficulties, which is the main reason I’m on these benefits in the first place, so they knew I’d be making notes anyway. 

Some positivity. I can now get back to blogging about recipes, psychology books and new scientific discoveries!

Well, that’s my week of annual leave done.

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I did no clubbing, didn’t finish my book, didn’t book tickets for any events, didn’t see any of my friends… but I did see my family, and I also got an Insta message of Ayak Thiik, voice of Milk ‘n’ Sugar’s Stayin’ Around re the Sugar Rush event and blog. Mint. 

I also had a stroll around Yorkshire Sculpture Park with family today. Tried to photograph stuff I didn’t shoot 2 years ago. Well worth a visit if the weather’s good.