Anne

It is an allergy. I always thought it was due to something I eat. Recently I had a blood test at the GP & I was informed that I am allergic to grass. If I wanted more in-depth testing I would have to pay for it at a clinic.

Yes, it is played at certain times at the casino. Definately around Anzac Day.

I am a pensioner & we love the $10 bus trip, having made many friends meeting up for the bus twice a week. Personally I am in favour of gambling staying at the casino & not in every pub & club. I returned from Adelaide today & most people I spoke to said that WA was on the right track by keeping it there.

I stopped watching Currant Affair when I realized how desperate they are for a story. Perhaps VS is referring to the Sydney casino & 'broke pensioners'. Most of the pensioners on our casino bus are talking about the last cruise they went on! My partner spends $20 & is often very lucky with his wins. I only spend the $3 free 'play money' that is part of the $10 you pay for the fun pack. It also includes a free entry to Keno, on which I won $100 one time! I believe this fortnight is the '$5 frenzy' on the casino bus trip. So even better value!

I agree regarding The Carvery. There are three choices of dining on the $10 bus deal for the Pensioners . . . The Carvery, snack Bar & the Noodle House. I always go to the Noodle House, a Chinese menu but it is freshly cooked & not buffet style.

I am visiting family in Adelaide at the moment & have been going to the casino here where you can buy a nice fish & chip lunch for $5. Most of the machines here are 1c & 2c. Perth casino are having a great many installed soon I hear. Most are 5c at the moment. Every pub & club have a gaming room here with pokie machines, unlike WA. But I hear many complaints from locals who think it has caused social problems since it came into being, sometime in the late 80's. So I think we have it better in Perth.

We catch the Crown casino bus twice a week & have a great day out for $10 which covers the cost of transport & lunch with a choice of three restaurants. We have made a lot of friends there & on the bus. No one that we know spend more than they can afford, infact I take a book to read in the lounge up until lunch time or catch the train into Perth while my partner likes to be on a pokie machine.

I do not concider my Hives chronic. I can go for weeks & not wake up itching with lumps & bumps or just red patches. Other times it will be on a few mornings running. It would probably last an hour or two without medication. I just make sure to have Polaramine handy & then it clears up after 1/2hr.

I thought it was Hives & caused by an allergy as it is the same as I have had for about 10yrs. Mine starts in the early hours as I'm waking up & I take a Polaramine which takes about half an hour to work. I only get this for a few mornings running & then not for awhile. I did not have allergy tests as it is not there every day & the antihistamine sorts it out. Sometimes I think that waking up feeling warm & overheated might be the cause. Other times I think it might be certain fruit I am allergic to. I imagine you feel better knowing what is causing it.

There is no Centrelink pension, only so called aged pension, which as it's means tested should really be known as a social security payment. You are required to have been working in Oz for 35yrs to receive it.

Yes Druid, we have been here 43yrs. I did concider that things will change & most will be receiving superannuation in future years, so was not too sure of my advice. So possibly it is a good idea to keep paying UK insurance, although it will be frozen at the amount you receive when you reach retirement age & start receiving it.

We both receive a small uk state pension but it is frozen at the rate it was when we first received it. The Australian aged pension is means tested so if you receive too much, such as when the exchange rate is not in our favour, we receive less pension that fortnight. I would think that, with this in mind, it is not worth keeping up your contributions?

When I kept waking up with round itching lumps I went early to my GP & showed him. He said it was an allergy, probably to something that I eat & to take a Polaramine tablet to stop the itching. I have yet to find out what I am allergic to so I just make sure I have the tablets with me. It happens to me a few mornings in a row & then maybe not for awhile, then it starts again. Sometimes I just itch but no lumps appear. Sounds very much the same as your girl friend.

When I had scabies you could see hardly anything on the skin, so after seeing the photos I now think it is not scabies. Waking up feeling itchy with large lumps . . . think they are called hives . . . is a allergic reaction. In my case it might be eating citrus fruit but I have not proved that. I take an antihistamine tablet & it goes away after 1/2hr. i know nothing about bed bugs.

I went to my doctor when my partner & I were itching, mainly between the fingers, forget the other parts as it was so long ago. He told us it was scabies & we cured it with cream However, now that I have seen a picture of your bites I doubt that it is scabies. It looks like an allergic reaction to something. I also get that, waking up with itchy lumps in the morning. I take an Antihistamine tablet & it clears up in 1/2hr. But it is strange that you both get it.