Upon phoning the student loans company to inquire into the whereabouts of the January installment of my monetary staple, they informed me that they never received my PR1 renewal which I'm pretty certain I sent them back in the summer. I didn't notice they hadn't given me anything in September because I received a granny bond and severance pay at about the same time, and didn't keep track of my incomes closely enough.

Now, however, I really am in a serious way. To fill out a PR1 again and get it processed will take 6 weeks at best. From then til now I've got 110 quid in the bank, an empty fridge and the rent to pay. Please, someone tell me there is a way out of this which doesn't entail starvation.