chapter 2

Janet left school with no qualifications because she 'could not be arsed' to put the extra effort in.
She made no attempt to get a job, but knew how to sign on to get her job seeker's allowance.
By the time she was eighteen, Janet lived in her own two bedroomed council house with her new husband, who worked as a driver with a local haulage company.
Janet always tried to look beautiful for her man. That meant false nails, false tan and hair extensions. She wore short skirts and high heels, even though they were not the best look for someone with beefy legs.
She spent hours every day sitting in front of the telly with her feet up, smoking or snacking when she should have been doing housework or cooking her husband's tea.
When he arrived home, the ash tray would be full. Breakfast dishes would still be piled up in the sink. The bed upstairs had not even been made.
He did not complain. He loved her so much, and he knew she was not good around the house when he married her. He simply felt frustrated when she'd been sitting around all day and still expected to be waited on when he got in from work.
However, she worked out how they could acquire even more money by doing even less. However, their present situation would not stand up to scrutiny, so she decided to change the status quo by gaining weight.
She made Alan, her husband order copious amounts of food from the local takeaway. She ate as much as she could in the evening, put the rest aside, then the next day, when he was out, she ploughed through the rest.
It was an expensive undertaking and used up all their spare cash, but Janet was convinced it would be worth it in the long run.
As she ate more, her weight soared. Alan struggled to pay for new clothing for her. She told him not to worry, everything would turn out to be fine.
Six months into her plan, she was five stones heavier and made her first visit to the GP.
She complained of a bad back again. A flare up from when her mother had made her lift heavy shopping from the car.
The doctor dismissed her with pain killers. It was only the start of several trips to the doctors complaining about one thing or another. There was actually nothing wrong with her, but she was diagnosed with a whole host of medical ailments. She had sciatica, arthritis, acid reflux, depression and anxiety, amongst others.
She said she was in so much pain she could not do the housework. She could not bend without being in absolute agony.
An occupational therapist was sent around to her house to assess the situation. Janet laid it on thick. She could not bend down to put the washing in the washer, or take it out again. She could not reach up to hang clothing out on the line outside. Rugs on the floor were a trip hazard to her. She couldn't shower because she could not lift her leg over the side of the bath without being in agony.
A month later, she had a new bathroom installed with a wet room. She had new fitted carpets installed right through the house and she had a home help to do her housework for her twice a week. Janet paid for nothing. The British taxpayer through the nhs paid for it through social services.