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The Small Safe Review

By Home, Money / Finances, Reviews, ShoppingNo Comments

I recently purchased this small safe:

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Small safe: ideal for passports, cash and jewelry.

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Inside the Small Safe: Has holes on back and bottom for bolting.

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Small Safe Key: Double bit lock, modern aiming to prevent the use of the Bulgarian pick method.

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Bolts for securing to wall or other surface (such as inside a wardrobe).

The Pros are:

  • Small – Doesn’t take up much space and perfect size to be hidden away somewhere. It is the ideal size for passports, cash and jewelry.
  • Easy to install and secure into place with bolts.
  • Double Bit lock.
  • Three keys provided.
  • Lightweight.
  • Colour black means it may not be noticed by a thief or others whom you might not want to know about it.
  • I imagine it would be more difficult for a thief to get into than a standard key lock cash tin.
  • No need to remember a combination code.
  • No electronics therefore no chance of electronic failure or the requirement of replacing batteries.
  • It would take a thief quite some effort to get into it. However an expert lock smith could probably open it easily (should you ever loose your keys).
  • Price and availability are good.
  • Lots of positive reviews on amazon.

The Cons are:

  • The safe is so lightweight that it requires bolting to a surface. Otherwise a thief could literally pick it up and walk off with it. I would also recommend that you hide it away somewhere e.g. in the wardrobe, or under the bed, or at the back of a cupboard, or somewhere similar. However if you had a cash tin the thief could do the same, the difference being that this small safe gives you the option to bolt down whereas a cash tin can’t be bolted down.
  • It isn’t fire resistant or fireproof. However it probably is more secure than fireproof safes.
  • Only someone with a key can access. This means if someone hasn’t got a key but you need them to gain access for you, they wont be able to. Unlike a combination safe were you could give them the code.
  • There are probably more secure safes on the market. This is not necessarily a Con, just a fact. But this is the only one of this small size that I could find.
  • It isn’t big enough to keep documents in. This is not necessarily a Con either. It’s just something to be aware of if you’re looking for a safe to keep documents in.

A tip if you choose to buy this safe: There is a trick to getting the key into the lock. You need to line up the missing bit out of the key head to the red dot on the lock. Then the key will slide easily into the lock.

There are more pros than cons for this small safe. I’m happy with my purchase. For obvious security reasons I’m not going to tell you where I’m keeping my safe or what I intend to put in it.

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Blog soon,

Antony

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Adventure: The Metropolitan City of Wroclaw, Poland

By Adventures, Friends & Family, Thinking, TravelNo Comments

I recently visited Wroclaw in Poland with my brother and his friends for his stag do and his birthday. It was the first time I had met many of my brother’s friends and they are a great bunch of lads. In this post I’ll be discussing my experience of being in Wroclaw.

The first thing to write is that the architecture is aesthetically pleasing. There are many buildings with a Georgian style and many churches that are exquisitely designed. Here is an example of one such church:

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A Church in Wroclaw, Poland.

Here are two photos of fountains I took:

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Fountain (1).

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Fountain (2).

Wroclaw is vibrant, youthful and has an upbeat feel. It is a clean city, only being let down by graffiti that is everywhere. There are plenty of places to eat and drink, with some even having English menus upon request. The cost of living is cheap with roughly 10 slotty (about £2) buying a double vodka and diet coke. I did have difficulties getting zero sugar drinks in a number of places, which was a bit of an issue with me being diabetic.

The only Polish word I managed to learn was Kawa, which means coffee. The main square is huge and has flower market stalls that appear to be open 24/7. I found myself listening to Polish conversations as I walked around and appreciating the beautiful sound of the language. Some Polish spoke English exceptionally well whereas others didn’t speak any English at all. I found the Google Translate App really useful.

Without doubt it is people that make a city. All appeared happy, content and liberal. Polish people had less inhibitions when it came to dancing than we English have. Polish people will quite happily bump into anyone in their way in pubs and clubs. This is normal to the Polish, but being British I found it a little rude.

As Poland is known for being Roman Catholic and as such conservative when it comes to gay people and their rights. I decided to test the waters with a Polish man who I had been talking to and getting on with whilst smoking a cigarette. I came out and asked his views on gay people. He said:

“I don’t care, I don’t give a fuck. That’s your choice. We’re all just friends here.”

He described himself as not being religious, male, heterosexual and was in his mid twenties.

Overall Wroclaw is a beautiful city, with wonderful people and a place that I will be visiting again.

Take care,

Antony

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An Update From Nick, Dylan & Russell (My Bengal Cats!)

By Health, Life, PetsNo Comments

I’ve really struggled with my mental health in the last few days. The days and evenings have all been tough. So here’s a video and photo update from Nick, Dylan & Russell, my Bengal cats:

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Nick says Hello, with the cutest meow ever. Video taken a couple of months ago.

A photo of each of them, taken yesterday:

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Nick, my black Bengal kitten, he wouldn’t take his eyes off me, I think I was being stalked :P.

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Dylan always seems grumpy, well when one looks at his face anyway. He looks like an eternal pessimist.

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Russell with the big eyes. He knows how to use those eyes to make all that see him give him attention and fall in love with him.

Despite what people say about cats being independent and not really caring about their owners, apart from for food; my cats have been a great comfort to me. Indeed Dylan, the grumpiest looking one of the bunch seems to be able to sense I’m struggling. He comes over to check on me and rubs up against me. Not his usual behaviour. I think it’s his version of a hug and saying he cares.

Take care & blog soon,

Antony

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My World Suicide Prevention Day 2019 – A Fifteen Day Stay in a Mental Health Ward

By HealthNo Comments
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I got admitted to a Mental Health Ward for a fifteen day stay on World Suicide Prevention Day 2019.

On Tuesday 10th September 2019 it was World Suicide Prevention Day. It is organised by the International Association for Suicide Prevention and is supported by the World Health Organization. Suicide is a complex issue, but in many cases it can be prevented. Warning signs that someone is contemplating or planning suicide can include:

  • Talking about wanting to die, saying that they feel everything is pointless.
  • Talking about being in unbearable pain.
  • Lacking any apparent care for themselves. Having no plans and avoiding making plans for the future.
  • Having a diagnosed mental illness such as depression, anxiety, bipolar, etc.
  • Being anxious, irritable, angry or socially withdrawn.
  • Reporting difficulties with sleeping or sleeping for a large number of hours and still feeling exhausted.
  • Increase in alcohol or drug use.
  • Previous suicide attempts.
  • Giving away a lot of possessions.
  • Saying Goodbye to people, as if they will never see them again.

Back to me. I’d been struggling with my mental health for some time. My mood was (and still is at times) so low. I was/still am at times in a very dark place. Showing some of the warning signs above.

So I went to my GP. I was very honest about how I was feeling. My GP referred me to the Crisis Team for immediate assessment. After being assessed by them, I waited to be seen by the Home Treatment Team. I waited for what seemed like forever and just wanted to go home to bed. However I was warned that if I left the Police would be called to bring me back. I saw someone from the Home Treatment Team and in under 5 minutes she decided that I needed an admission to a Mental Health Ward.

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A green observation light directly above my head in bed. Unable to be turned off and required for staff observations, it did not help me get to sleep or stay asleep.

I spent fifteen days mostly waiting on the ward. Waiting for the next meal, the next medication, the next time I would be reviewed by a doctor. There were activities, but I just wasn’t well enough to participate in them, especially at the start of my stay. My limited concentration span and extreme tiredness being restrictive.

The care that I received during my admission, as well as the care I observed other patients receive was quite frankly unsafe and caused physical, mental and emotional harm. There were some good aspects to the care – like that most of the staff were kind and compassionate. But these good aspects did not make up for the poorer aspects of care. I’m still not well, after a fifteen day admission they still haven’t managed to sort out my medication to fully balance my mood.

I plan to write an exposé report with the issues I experienced or observed other patients experience in relation to the care on the ward, along with suggestions on how they could improve the care given. This is a brave thing to do, especially as I will do it knowing I may end up requiring care on this ward again in the future. But as a Nurse I feel it is my duty to do so and that it would be unethical to say or do nothing.

So the update:

  • I’m now on 3 mood stablisers: Aripiprazole (External Link to HeadMeds) – new for me, Depakote (started on this earlier this year) and Quetiapine (put back on this).
  • My mood is good in the morning, but then crashes and is very low in the evening and at night.
  • I’m now struggling to remain asleep and often wake up wide awake several times in the early hours of the morning.
  • I’m seeing someone from the Recovery Team later this week and have already requested a medication review.
  • Steve, my mum and my sister-in-law to be have all been amazing.
  • Worryingly I still see the same warning signs that I was displaying before being admitted to hospital.

That was my World Suicide Prevention Day 2019 and what’s happened since. Take Care & Blog Soon,

Antony

P.S – Whilst researching more about World Suicide Prevention Day for this blog post, I came across this really good Infographic, that you might find useful to know about, by the Mental Health Foundation:

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Click for Full Size Image. Copyright © Mental Health Foundation, 2019.

P.P.S – A plug for my book:

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