There's more

The management had a read of what I wrote yesterday and reminded me.

When our family had fostered for ten years, ten years of children most of whoom came from the top end teenies who present the greatest challenges, we got an invite.

This very posh and expensive card arrived inviting us to a posh and expensive thank you dinner with the lord mayor at their official residence.

This was quite flattering but we replied: thanks but no thanks, if there's any money spare, better to spend it on looked after children or better still on our own children who are, after all the unsung heroes of fostering.

Sharing their lives, their toys and their parents with others.

Of course, we are foster carers so they listened to our views, then ignored them and had the freebie beano anyway A night out for the mayor, councillors, managers and presumably some foster carers.

In due course a box arrived with a very expensive looking plaque thanking management for being a foster carer and hoping she would continue to foster for years to come.

No mention of our family, no mention of me, apparently fostering was and is something she does on her own.

I queried this and got told it was "an error" no apology followed, neither was there any hint that something might be done to put things right.

This was about the time that P went home and a letter arrived in the post from his mum, thanking us, all of us, for everything we had done for her son and thanking us for helping her through her mental illness.

Guess which one we kept and which one went in the bin.

It shows really, some things are expensive but ultimately worthless, other things things cost nothing but are priceless.

R