Roadside Mum #4 Let me tell you in excessive detail

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Popping over from the Jack Monroe thread to say I only know the basics about RoadsideMum and she’s never really been on my Twitter radar until now. Today three people I follow have retweeted her thread about her kids knowing they’re in poverty. I don’t know if it’s because of Jack and her endless poverty appropriation but it really rubbed me up the wrong way because most of that thread is nothing to do with being in poverty. Why are these people like this?
Yes. She does the poverty pity posts a lot, and the chronic illness and can also be quite aggressive towards anyone who dared to challenger her - Less often recently I’ve noticed - but her chaoses when they happen can be quite spectacular. Identifies as a traveller with a small t and until covid did live in a van, and travel I believe, but that’s another story.
 
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I started to go through her poverty post line by line. It’s nonsense. I gave up in the end because too hard on my phone. And also it’s just nonsense. CAPS ARE MINE

- I'm not allowed to get the toys I want. NOR SHOULD YOU BE

- I have hardly any pocket money compared to everyone else

HOW DO YOU KNOW. DEPENDS WHAT OTHERS ARE EXPECTED TO DO WITH THEIR POCKET MONEY

- We get second hand or third hand stuff, once a jumper of mine was 5th hand

CONCEDE SOME FIRST HAND THINGS WOULD BE GOOD. BUT POSSIBLY 3rd HAND QUALITY BEATS FIRST HAND CRAP

-Dad brings round food from the supermarket waste

THATS GOOD. SUSTAINABLE.

· My hamster doesn't go to the vet as much as he is meant to

HOW OFTEN SHOULD THAT BE. IS HE MEANT TO HAVE REGULAR CHECK UPS. ITS A HAMSTER.

- We get saucepans from your friends cast offs

SO (what kid monitors saucepans anyway)

- We get free school meals

FAIR ENOUGH.

- Loads of rooms in our house have
mould and we have dehumidifiers

NOT NECESSARILY ABOUT POVERTY.

- You won't pay full price for paint -

SO. MOST PEPLE LIKE A BARGAIN

We don't get birthday parties…..

LIKE MANY OTHERS.


- We can't go horse riding or to dance classes
LIKE MANY OTHERS
- You go mad if we leave the lights on all day
WELL LEAVING LIGHTS ON IS WASTEFUL. NOT SUSTAINABLE.
- You wouldn't buy me Vipers Daughter (a book)
BUYS OTHER BOOKS SO..

- The electric keeps cutting out
ON A METER. FAIR ENOUGH BUT

- The landlord doesn't repair the house and you can't move into a nice house...

OWNS A FULLY PAID FOR VAN. COULD SELL AND UPGRADE TO A BETTER RENTAL

Our car's got scratches and the back windows don't work
SO DOES MINE. DOES IT GET FROM A TO B
- And you won't drive it much anymore
WHATEVER

- You cross your fingers and hope the train is late so you can get your money back

FAIR ENOUGH

- You hardly wear make up anymore...

NOT POVERTY RELATED
 
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My hamster doesn't go to the vet as much as he is meant to

HOW OFTEN SHOULD THAT BE. IS HE MEANT TO HAVE REGULAR CHECK UPS. ITS A HAMSTER
I don’t know why, but that sent me 🤣 I imagine you shouting it at her because it’s in caps.

How often should a hamster go to the vets? I’d imagine they’re one of the lowest maintenance pets around. I looked it up and it’s about once a year and they only have a lifespan of about 3 years. Besides, if she’s desperate, I think the PDSA give free pet care to people on benefits but I suppose you have to have one nearby.
 
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If her kids actually said these things, I have to defend them a bit.

I do have sympathy for them on getting second hand clothes all the time. Other kids do notice that (even more so if it’s “that used to be my jumper”)- especially if as her breadcrumbing sometimes implies they’re living in a fairly affluent area. The horse riding lessons thing backs that up to me, it’s a very specific thing for them to mention and implies a lot of kids in their circle do this - I’d have expected swimming lessons or karate etc. Dad turning up with a load of food from skip diving is also genuinely really embarrassing for kids, even if it reduces waste and/or is the only option to get better food. Similarly the sauce pans - are her “friends” parents of kids they associate with? That could be why the kids notice.

It does seem RM rarely buys new books - Viper’s Daughter was a bit of a thing amongst kids with that sort of interest during lockdown and if whichever kid said it was the only one in their friend group not reading it, that’s genuinely rubbish and is the type of thing that would stay with a kid.

And to be brutal about RM - if even a handful of the stories she tells about kicking off/complaining are true those poor kids probably have enough to deal with and stand out enough already without things adding to that. As well as presumably knowing any mention of anything could send her flying off the handle and going to make it worse.
 
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I don’t know why, but that sent me 🤣 I imagine you shouting it at her because it’s in caps.

How often should a hamster go to the vets? I’d imagine they’re one of the lowest maintenance pets around. I looked it up and it’s about once a year and they only have a lifespan of about 3 years. Besides, if she’s desperate, I think the PDSA give free pet care to people on benefits but I suppose you have to have one nearby.
All of that :)

If her kids actually said these things, I have to defend them a bit.

I do have sympathy for them on getting second hand clothes all the time. Other kids do notice that (even more so if it’s “that used to be my jumper”)- especially if as her breadcrumbing sometimes implies they’re living in a fairly affluent area. The horse riding lessons thing backs that up to me, it’s a very specific thing for them to mention and implies a lot of kids in their circle do this - I’d have expected swimming lessons or karate etc. Dad turning up with a load of food from skip diving is also genuinely really embarrassing for kids, even if it reduces waste and/or is the only option to get better food. Similarly the sauce pans - are her “friends” parents of kids they associate with? That could be why the kids notice.

It does seem RM rarely buys new books - Viper’s Daughter was a bit of a thing amongst kids with that sort of interest during lockdown and if whichever kid said it was the only one in their friend group not reading it, that’s genuinely rubbish and is the type of thing that would stay with a kid.

And to be brutal about RM - if even a handful of the stories she tells about kicking off/complaining are true those poor kids probably have enough to deal with and stand out enough already without things adding to that. As well as presumably knowing any mention of anything could send her flying off the handle and going to make it worse.
She makes out that she lives in a really rough area where leaving your window open at night is a sign for drug dealers to visit so I don’t think she’s in an affluent area

Saucepans no really. What kid notices that unless their parent moans about it. I’m over 60 and seriously have only ever bought about five brand new saucepans in my life (and I’m a reasonable cook)

Hand me downs. I was thinking from family. I agree as a kid I’d not like to receive from school mates. Though I did have a colleague once that used to dump quality clothes on me when she “grew out of them” lol. Do that was good
 
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All of that :)



She makes out that she lives in a really rough area where leaving your window open at night is a sign for drug dealers to visit so I don’t think she’s in an affluent area

Saucepans no really. What kid notices that unless their parent moans about it. I’m over 60 and seriously have only ever bought about five brand new saucepans in my life (and I’m a reasonable cook)

Hand me downs. I was thinking from family. I agree as a kid I’d not like to receive from school mates. Though I did have a colleague once that used to dump quality clothes on me when she “grew out of them” lol. Do that was good
She says stuff like that but it’s always really weird urban myth type things (genuinely never heard of an open window being a sign for drug dealers… burglars maybe!) and comes across as a very middle class woman repeating things she’s heard from TV in order to sound like she lives somewhere rough 😂. See also that weird rant she went on about people in takeaways, she sounds super sheltered and along with the boat club, the mentions of horse riding and the investigating private schools implying there were several within reasonable distance, overall I reckon she’s somewhere nice.

Like I said on saucepans, if her friend has kids that are friends with RM’s kids, there’s a fair chance a saucepan exchange would be noticed. It’s the same with the second hand clothes, if they’re still in good nick and from family or charity shops other kids might not notice but if RM is buying from people they associate with (or it’s got random stains/is patched - she mentions sewing up holes), then it’s much more likely they will… and if the kids are already sensitive about people noticing their clothes aren’t new, they’ll be hyper sensitive to noticing other things aren’t new and that’s how you get kids who notice Mum gets second hand saucepans.

Once the anxiety starts about stuff like that, kids notice everything, that’s one thing she’s got absolutely right in her thread.
 
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She says stuff like that but it’s always really weird urban myth type things (genuinely never heard of an open window being a sign for drug dealers… burglars maybe!) and comes across as a very middle class woman repeating things she’s heard from TV in order to sound like she lives somewhere rough 😂. See also that weird rant she went on about people in takeaways, she sounds super sheltered and along with the boat club, the mentions of horse riding and the investigating private schools implying there were several within reasonable distance, overall I reckon she’s somewhere nice.

Like I said on saucepans, if her friend has kids that are friends with RM’s kids, there’s a fair chance a saucepan exchange would be noticed. It’s the same with the second hand clothes, if they’re still in good nick and from family or charity shops other kids might not notice but if RM is buying from people they associate with (or it’s got random stains/is patched - she mentions sewing up holes), then it’s much more likely they will… and if the kids are already sensitive about people noticing their clothes aren’t new, they’ll be hyper sensitive to noticing other things aren’t new and that’s how you get kids who notice Mum gets second hand saucepans.

Once the anxiety starts about stuff like that, kids notice everything, that’s one thing she’s got absolutely right in her thread.
Yes. The open window drug thing is absolute nonsense. I’ve never in my life heard of that apart from in RSM’s meanderings
 
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Yes. The open window drug thing is absolute nonsense. I’ve never in my life heard of that apart from in RSM’s meanderings
Does remind me of the panic somewhere (not from RSM, surprisingly) about "strange" pavement markings that turned out to be roadwork related
 
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Does remind me of the panic somewhere (not from RSM, surprisingly) about "strange" pavement markings that turned out to be roadwork related
It’s straight out of that playbook - the one I saw was strange W and B markings which of course turned out to be Water and Broadband cables. See also the shoes/other objects on a telephone wire marking territory, the paranoia about daytime fireworks and women being kidnapped after town salesmen get them to smell a bit of perfume on paper.

The fact she’s falling for it indicates to me she doesn’t live in an area like that at all, or she’d know it was rubbish.
 
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I think she has mentioned more than once that her rent is over a thousand pounds a month (paid for by UC). Frankly, she COULD be Jack - and, as she rattles an occasional tin for a Manchester based Foodbank/Charity , I think she is likely to be in the Greater Manchester area. A grand a month on rent north of the Watford Gap service stations is a nice area as far as I am concerned. Especially as she describes the property itself as such a shithole.

But I will speculate no more or we will have another grifter intimating that we are doxxing them and they might get murdered by a stalker or a dodgy gun wielding ex or some such tripe.
 
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I'm just imagining her barging up to her unsuspecting kids, asking "how do you know we're poor?" and standing there jotting down the answers. Weirdo.
 
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I think she has mentioned more than once that her rent is over a thousand pounds a month (paid for by UC). Frankly, she COULD be Jack - and, as she rattles an occasional tin for a Manchester based Foodbank/Charity , I think she is likely to be in the Greater Manchester area. A grand a month on rent north of the Watford Gap service stations is a nice area as far as I am concerned. Especially as she describes the property itself as such a shithole.

But I will speculate no more or we will have another grifter intimating that we are doxxing them and they might get murdered by a stalker or a dodgy gun wielding ex or some such tripe.
I’d thought that too for the tin rattle reason, but then other things she said and particularly the short detour to/past Bath don’t add up with her living anywhere Northern. No idea where she is other than “south” so don’t come for me for doxxing you RSM, but Bath is definitely not a short detour from Wales on the way back to Manchester.
 
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I'm just imagining her barging up to her unsuspecting kids, asking "how do you know we're poor?" and standing there jotting down the answers. Weirdo.
Made me actually LOL. I’m imaging Biffa Bacon’s mum with the hairnet and rollers on. Hands on hips. Waiting for the answers.
DISCLAIMER I DO NOT THINK RSM RESEMBLES BIFFA BACON’s MUM. I JUST THOUGHT BB’S MUM MIGHT DO THAT SORT OF THING

I’d thought that too for the tin rattle reason, but then other things she said and particularly the short detour to/past Bath don’t add up with her living anywhere Northern. No idea where she is other than “south” so don’t come for me for doxxing you RSM, but Bath is definitely not a short detour from Wales on the way back to Manchester.
I thought maybe EastMidlands. 6 hour drive to wherever she was going in Wales. A detour from Bristol to Bath on the way North East out of Wales isn’t too bad. But that was just idle curiousity.
 
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I thought maybe EastMidlands. 6 hour drive to wherever she was going in Wales. A detour from Bristol to Bath on the way North East out of Wales isn’t too bad. But that was just idle curiousity.
Christ - I hope not! To be fair to RSM and unlike most of the grifters, she has done a fairly decent job of keeping her location vague - and her identity too - which, of course, makes me doubt even more that she is who she says she is.

Her “my kids are poor” thing got re-tweeted into my timeline sadly. As already mentioned, most of it is just normal life. She does give away her middle class gone rogue roots with it though.
 
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Midlands also possible, I confess anywhere below about Nottingham is just "south" to me 😂 Like anywhere north of the watford gap is "north" to my friend in London.

She's a confusing one for me because while there's a lot of perpetual victim syndrome going on with her I have to admit quite a bit of what she says rings very true for me as a child who grew up under the poverty line - in contrast to JM who basically always sounds like she's talking absolute bollocks.

It's all the rest of her stuff that seems to sound like lies for RM and she definitely tells on her own middle class roots a lot which doesn't then match with her traveller claims.

Basically my TLDR is I can't make up my mind whether she's anything like she says she is, but if she's lying about it she's doing a much better job than Jack 😂
 
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Midlands also possible, I confess anywhere below about Nottingham is just "south" to me 😂 Like anywhere north of the watford gap is "north" to my friend in London.

She's a confusing one for me because while there's a lot of perpetual victim syndrome going on with her I have to admit quite a bit of what she says rings very true for me as a child who grew up under the poverty line - in contrast to JM who basically always sounds like she's talking absolute bollocks.

It's all the rest of her stuff that seems to sound like lies for RM and she definitely tells on her own middle class roots a lot which doesn't then match with her traveller claims.

Basically my TLDR is I can't make up my mind whether she's anything like she says she is, but if she's lying about it she's doing a much better job than Jack 😂
I’m in Scotland so everywhere is south to me. Though I did spend a few years in the midlands and London so I’ve got a passing knowledge of English geography.
She is odd. Quite often right about some things and as has been said before she seems to be able to cook.
But so aggressive and self-righteous too
 
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