What a week. I'm still in a strange space. I was a young single parent when Thatcher was in power. I had no choice but to go on benefits. It wasn't what I had hoped for when I had children. I thought I was in my happy ever after. 
I felt ashamed. I am still ashamed of that time. It was ugly and dark, frightening and lonely. And I was hungry. And cold. I wouldn't eat so my kids could eat. I couldn't even afford clothes from charity shops. In winter I lit a fire in one room of my house. My local shop was generous and let me have coal on tick on the weeks when I had no money. My shoes were full of holes. For the record, I didn't smoke, I didn't drink. 
Why do I feel so angry, so sad, so shocked by the election results ? I feel like this because I am fearful. For myself ? Maybe. But more, for people who are further down the pile than me. People who may find themselves in a similar position to the one that I found myself in. 
I hope that things will work out well. But that hope is very fragile.