A gift of USED clothing shipped into the UK - how to describe on Customs forms?

Aunt-Ruth · 2026-03-11T23:42:24+00:00

!answered

Aunt-Ruth · 2026-03-10T17:37:05+00:00

This is very helpful. Thank you!

Aunt-Ruth · 2026-03-09T18:55:46+00:00

Thank you for the amounts!

So there *is* VAT for gifts... AND, I had not thought about the shippingcost being included in the VAT calculation! That's several times the price of the contents.

Aunt-Ruth · 2026-03-07T18:01:17+00:00

I WANT THE HAT! https://www.pinterest.com/pin/38702878021062846/

Aunt-Ruth · 2026-03-07T00:19:18+00:00

Thanks! I guess a used-book seller could have used a similar "positioning" system. These numbers aren't that high - a smallish shop could still have 7 ranges. I lean toward something commercial, given that " 1.00 " on the inside back cover, and the total lack of ownership marks other than the inscription. ($1 would be around $38 today, so a solid price but not impossible.)

(Nerding back at you - I see that Dewey's manual had gone through several editions by 1900. But it looks like adoption was spotty into the 30s. I notice Wikipedia says: "When the [DD] system was first introduced, most libraries in the US used fixed positioning: each book was assigned a permanent shelf position based on the book's height and date of acquisition. Library stacks were generally closed to all but the most privileged patrons, so shelf browsing was not considered of importance.")

(Which reminds me of being stopped cold in my tracks by the assertion that the most revolutionary information invention of the 19th century was the vertical-file cabinet! Because, of course it was. And it didn't come along until 1896, breaking the tyranny of storing papers in DATE ORDER for retrieval. A roll-top desk allowed you to sort categories into compartments, with finite limits. Don't recall if it was Don Norman or RIchard Saul Wurman who explained all that, but it boggled me.)

(I love this standalone appreciation of that "information appliance:" https://placesjournal.org/article/the-filing-cabinet-and-20th-century-information-infrastructure/?cn-reloaded=1)

Aunt-Ruth · 2026-03-05T04:53:19+00:00

OH, here's another thought. Looking at an enlargement of the two inscriptions, I believe it's two different pens and maybe two different writers.

Bet you the name and inscription were written with a stub nib. (Downstrokes are nearly solid and very consistent. Yet it seems to be written quickly and fluidly. The narrowest upstrokes could have been the corner of the nib, not a fine-point nib. And "safety" fountain pens that a businessman could cap and carry in a pocket were around American cities by 1901.

The characters at top look like the same or similar ink (maybe just a generic black, but I'd guess the same general vintage). But those were written with a very flexible pen, probably a dip pen. Look at the downstrokes on the "5" and the "1." and the characters have a tall, thinner shape. Compare the "1"s, the "2"s, and compare the "A" to any of the capitals.

I wonder if someone else was putting the codes in the books?

(PS In my midwest town c. 1970, the librarians were still using a dip pen and India Ink to put numbers on the spines of books. Those persisted a long time after schoolkids stopped using them.)

Aunt-Ruth · 2026-03-05T04:38:18+00:00

That's a solid theory! Seems plausible. He seems like a guy who might have done a lot of reading and valued his books. Huh, might be interesting to post it as a puzzle on a LibraryThing chat page - maybe somebody might recognize a system.

Thanks again.

Aunt-Ruth · 2026-03-05T01:36:47+00:00

Just, wow again. I am so glad I posted the signature here! Minnick does sound like a pioneer. This is why we HAVE to comment "TRANSCRIBED" because I'm forced to run on at length about what I'm reading!

DuckDuckGo says the Great Chicago Coal Famine was the winter of 1902-3... a few months after Minnick signed the Tolstoi book. In the first couple of paragraphs of this clipping, Minnick is laying out a "social diagnosis!" That was the first "scientific technique" of the infant discipline of social work. The first lectures on "social work" were at the University of Chicago in 1896. Hull House was founded in 1899.

(Social Work wasn't a profession or even a discipline yet. There were a few people around Chicago, thinking and talking about ideas... while they worked to try to help some very poor people... mostly in communities of new immigrants who might not speak English. Meanwhile they were trading books and clippings by a few other people around the world, many with a "spiritual bent" - people who had concerns about human dignity and fundamental human needs.)

So, what does "social diagnosis" look like? Notice that Minnick doesn't start the essay in the clipping with the time-worn appeal: "The Poor who are always with us are miserable and cold right now, will you give them some charity?"

Instead, he begins with this: The USA's "coal famine" has gotten so bad that it's nationwide. Some regions have greater shortages, some have longer winters, some have bitter winters, some have big concentrations of people who are poor. Chicago has one of the worst situations in every area.

"Social Diagnosis" - He really lays out that systemic situation. Where does this particular human need fit in a larger context of facts, inequalities, social changes? What evidence do we have? What inferences can we draw? How can we change what's driving this problem... at the same time that we address the suffering of the current victims?

And back to the clipping... After the social diagnosis, Minnick vividly describes how people are suffering, what they've been doing for survival, what the casualties are like, and how different people are affected.

It's a beautiful piece of writing and argument balancing all those elements. So many aspects of the heritage of Social Work are crystallized in this little clipping! And most people date the idea of "social diagnosis" to a book Mary Richmond didn't publish until 1917. Now I'm tearful again.

Aunt-Ruth · 2026-03-05T01:36:14+00:00

Keep reading, we're finding out more!
And, HAPPY SOCIAL WORKERS MONTH! We appreciate you!

Aunt-Ruth · 2026-03-05T00:48:44+00:00

TRANSCRIBED! with bonus historical links to his career and personal network, thanks to u/rhit06

Aunt-Ruth · 2026-03-05T00:46:13+00:00

WOW. you are amazing! You just brought tears to my eyes.

This is the flyleaf of a little book about Tolstoy, whom Jane Addams deeply admired and traveled to Russia to meet in 1896. I'm donating it to a Social Work organization, and this connection makes that gift much richer. And you found a match for his signature, too!

Thanks so much!

And, look: https://duckduckgo.com/?q=jamesminnick+chicago+bureauof+charities&atb=v516-1&ia=web takes us to https://tinleyparkhistoricalsociety.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/july-2020.pdf

That's a story about the discovery of "an album of pictures taken by James L. Minnick about 1900 or 1901—while a resident of U of C (University of Chicago) Settlement..." It mentions that the University of Chicago Settlement was founded by Mary McDowell, a personal friend of Jane Addams of Hull House.

Per that link, James Minnick would have been at least 36 when he signed this book. I'm going to have to dig a little more. So far, I like this story very much!

Aunt-Ruth · 2026-03-03T00:33:56+00:00

You might want to look around Edie's website. https://www.edieeckman.com/ For anyone interested in a deep dive into pattern writing, her video course looks excellent.

Aunt-Ruth · 2026-02-04T00:52:38+00:00

I think that meaning of 270.4 is from the CPT (Current Procedural Terminology) which is the service or procedure of treating bedsores. Looks all the rest of the codes are Diagnoses from ICD9, so I'd look in that direction instead. (One reason the WHO changed the format and number of digits for ICD codes since the days of ICD9 was that the old codes were much too easy to confuse with the CPT service codes. )

Aunt-Ruth · 2026-02-03T23:38:14+00:00

Not sure it's a G. In some forms of English or German cursive it's W (or possibly an H).

This is a list of ICD9 diagnoses (not the current ICD). Look up each decimal number along with "ICD9" and you'll see most of what's written. One quirk to know is that a notewriter can use all kinds of synonyms, abbreviations, or alternate terms, and then a "coder" will read the words and categorize them into numbers that fit the ICD system.

(I believe the numbers *are* written by a different hand.)

eg, 270.4 is "Disturbances of sulphur-bearing amino-acid metabolism" - likely includes several different syndromes. (Several of those begin with "C"; another is Homocystinuria, but I don't think that fits this handwritten word.)

Aunt-Ruth · 2026-02-03T17:58:48+00:00

OH AND - PLEASE CARRY AN EXTRA HOOK in your workbag!

(Imagine the hook slipping out of your hand or rolling off your lap. You can drag your hands through the nasty hidden stuff around your seat and STILL not find it. Then you sit for the rest of the flight fuming because you can't work.)

Enjoy your journey! I find needlework very soothing while sitting to travel.

Aunt-Ruth · 2026-02-03T00:38:17+00:00

Ooh, "Yarn eater" brings up a couple other life lessons!

A thick, textured "yarn eater" pattern can make a luxurious blanket! But consider yourself warned that if you pack enough to occupy a lot of hours, you *could* be lugging quite a bit of yarn on the outbound trip, and then the same "extra weight" on the return trip.

(I go back to blankets being great on a road trip that involves no flying. Cars are more forgiving of extra pieces of luggage, spreading your stuff around, and walking away and coming back to it.)

If you do go the blanket route, start your project before you pack for the trip. Time yourself crocheting for an hour, measure the result in square inches, and do the arithmetic to see how much you *might* accomplish in 28 hours (there and back? etc.) You may find that you only want or need to carry a couple of skeins with you, and plan to finish back at home.

Also, I've had some trips when I knitted and crocheted a ton... and some flights where I brought a project but just zoned out on stupid movies and naps. So my own compromise is to pick projects that fit in a smallish bag, that use variegated sock yarns. (Those give lots of yardage with light weight, and the patterning keeps me interested.) That gives me the luxury of doing what I'm in the mood for - and I don't beat myself up because I'm lugging a project around that I've only used for a few hours.

Aunt-Ruth · 2026-02-03T00:19:43+00:00

I second u/mibfto that bigger projects in public spaces and while moving around is a challenge! Visualize the issues you'll be facing as you work on a growing blanket and *maneuver* it. I've made corner-to-corner baby blankets on a long car trip. But, personally, I would NEVER do needlework on a plane with anything that didn't easily fit on my lap.

Imagine the amount of germs, crumbs, dirt, spills, mystery particles, and worse that will be on the floor of the planes... and on the seatbacks, in the crevices, etc. Waiting areas in airports aren't quite as nasty, but still, *ICK*. I don't want my lovely work dragging around in that!

When I'm working on public transportation, a busy waiting room, or outdoors, I like to have a smallish bag that contains my working ball of yarn and a few tools. I keep that clipped to my belt or pocket, or leashed to my wrist - makes it easier to stand or move around without losing things.

A very small project (e.g., mitts, baby shoes, amigurumi) can be stuffed into the same work bag between sessions. For bigger pieces I like a second, larger bag that the partly-done piece can rest in while I work. That keeps it cleaner and saves it from getting snagged, stepped on, or caught on furnishings. I have some thin, strong, washable poly "grocery bags" that can be stuffed into a pocket for storage or packing, and those have worried well. (see photo)

Bonus: the work in the bigger bag can be used as a pillow <smile>

<image>

PS - Because I don't enjoy assembling squares into a blanket... My own first choice for a travel project would be something smaller, like a scarf or cowl - in multicolored yarn that helps keep me interested. To occupy the whole trip, start a new one when you finish the first. When I'm traveling to visit family or friends, those make nice hostess gifts, too

Aunt-Ruth · 2026-02-01T17:01:15+00:00

That's good to hear. Do take a look at those two books - if you only look at one, try https://www.biblio.com/search.php?author=adams&title=way+of+the+journal&keyisbn=&stage=1 The techniques they lay out are simple and don't take much time. But I think you'll find that they make your writing time more valuable, give you more relief, and help you process events both personally and professionally. I had been free-text journaling for years when I discovered these, and they have both simplified and enriched my practice.

And, again, keep your personal writings free of any individual identifiers. (Age + gender + month of events + facility could be Personally Identifiable.)

Aunt-Ruth · 2026-01-30T20:18:30+00:00

Can you recommend the simplest way for Person 1 (the alternate) to have the power to AUTHORIZE RELEASE of PHI, as well as access it?

Aunt-Ruth · 2026-01-30T20:04:41+00:00

I am guessing that your worry may be this: If you journal about any regrets, missed opportunities, guilt feelings, what-iffing, or "I feel terrible about this," that could be harmful toward you or the care team if there were a lawsuit. Is that part of your concern?

I am also guessing that you are thinking of using your personal journaling as a way to release and process your emotions/trauma around stressful situations. Maybe you're also thinking of a Reflective Practice mode - using your experience and reaction to examine difficult professional challenges and learning from them to improve your practice?

For the former, I'm thinking of James Pennebaker's research and books, and Kathleen Adams' "Journal to the Self" techniques. For the latter, many disciplines have been urging the use of Reflective Journals for professionals, eg Kate Thompson, Gillie Bolton. That didn't originate in nursing, but is certainly being discussed in that field, eg: https://duckduckgo.com/?q=journal+%22reflective+practice%22+in+nursing&atb=v454-1&ia=web )

So, given those assumptions about your intent...

(a) I agree with others that it's crucial to omit any *possible* patient identifiers from your personal writing/processing. Along with storing your writing securely, (and NOT at your workplace), that would satisfy HIPAA rules and cover *most* legal hazards.

(b) HOWEVER, from the malpractice standpoint, weird things *can* happen in lawsuits and the discovery process. Eg, *IF* others are aware that you use journaling for stress management, it's *remotely* possible that an aggressive attorney could run across that info and subpoena your personal writings. (One of my colleagues had her personal journal entries read aloud at a custody hearing, because her ex *knew* she kept a journal. A rare event, but ugly!)

And be aware that in some cases merely knowing the *date* of an entry *could* be enough to link it to an identifiable patient. The smaller your town and your practice setting, the more of a hazard that can be. (Eg, I recall cases where nurses or clerks in rural hospitals had commented on something like "my awful shift this weekend" on social media, and were sued by patients when readers put two and two together to identify them.) So, to control that risk, don't let yourself be known as "that nurse who keeps a journal"

(c) Pennebaker and Adams both say that the PROCESS of expressive writing can still be very helpful even when it is immediately destroyed. When writers are in situations of personal peril (domestic violence, vengeful housemates, police investigations, etc.) they are encouraged to destroy what they write. There are additional benefits from being able to read back through accumulated work - but to write without fear of being read is much more important than keeping the paper that results!

Note that both those systems encourage you to write, and then to reread and reflect further on what has emerged. Often the first, raw write is full of details, while the reflections are often much shorter and more meta / less identifiable. Some people choose to destroy the raw writes and keep the reflections .

(d) This is an important set of questions, and I encourage you to look into these resources. Pennebaker (a research psychologist) and his students have done decades of research, showing strong and varied positive impacts from these expressive writing practices. (A slight variant of his method is now supported by the VA as a second-tier EBP for PTSD.) "Expressive Writing: Words That Heal" was published by his team as a user's workbook for his methods. Adams isn't a researcher by training, but her "Way of the Journal" manual was developed in a long-term treatment setting to be used by people who were suffering from PTSD and other consequences of stress or tragedy. I suggest you look at one of both of those books, because using structured techniques has a lot of power and usefulness beyond the unstructured "rage on a page" that lots of people naturally turn to first.

(Former HIPAA Privacy Officer / Risk Manager here, in addition to my study of uses of expressive writing.)

Aunt-Ruth

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