Wednesday 21 November 2007

plenty

Two chequebooks for Mum's spending account arrived by post this morning. All Mum's Bank correspondence comes here nowadays, so I get the chequebooks as well. Getting two suggests that Mum has been into the Bank or phoned the Bank twice asking for more cheques. It's not very long since I sent the last book down to her, so I give her a call. Mum sounds bright and breezy - she has company.

"C is here!" (C cleans for Mum once a week)
"Lovely... I'm ringing because I've just had a couple of chequebooks delivered here for your account and.."
"Oh?" Mum sounds alarmed.
".... I was just wondering how you were doing for cheques down there?"
"Oh, I'm fine. I've got plenty of cheques."

There's spluttering in the background and I hear C pointing out that Mum could do with some more cheques. I ask if I can speak to her. C tells me that Mum's hairdresser also visited today and left without payment because Mum couldn't find a cheque to write. I tell her that I'll send down a book by post tomorrow morning. C asks if I would like to speak to Mum again. I say I would but I hear Mum say that she'll talk to me later. Of course, she doesn't ring back. She doesn't ring at all these days. Not since our last conversation about the shower.

I'm curious to see Mum's next Bank statement. She seems to be going through a lot of cheques. 

While writing this up just (it's evening now) I took a call from Mum's hairdresser, who told me that she hasn't been able to get a cheque from Mum these last 2 weeks. While I am still concerned about Mum's vulnerability to fraud, I'm suddenly more worried that she fobbed me off saying that she had plenty, a full 2 weeks after running out, and after having to disappoint those providing services to her over and over. It's not a good sign if it means she's that confused and it's no better if it means she's trying to keep me out of her affairs.

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