Day two of my being stuck in due to snow/ice is coming to an end. It’s definitely melting but the paths right outside my house were absolutely covered in ice today. As much as my chair may well handle it for the short distance to the main road (which I suspect is clearly), it’s not worth the risk. I may get out tomorrow if it’s improved a bit, I may not. Snow is something that worries me. It’s pretty to look at but it’s also pretty damn inaccessible. For the last several years I’ve often stressed myself in winter working on the panicked idea that I had…
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- 2015, blogging, carnivals, CP related, depression, disability, disability blog carnival, disability blogs, disability voices, I want to change the world, internet, personal, perspective, questions, things people say, thinking, twitter, Uncategorized
Rotation Curation for #Disability #rocur
I’ve been curating the @OxfordIsYours twitter account. It’s a RoCur (Rotation Curation) account for Oxford and the person who runs it said living in Oxfordshire counts. Basically RoCur is where there’s an account (often on twitter) where people take a week at a time to run it and share their experiences and tweet on the subject. Most of these relate to places – like with Oxford Is Yours I’ve been tweeting about where I’ve been and what I’ve done – but some relate to hobbies or jobs or organisations or anything else. I’ve been enjoying it and have learned about a place in Oxford I’m going to visit soon I…
- 2014, C-A-B, campaigns, guest blog, I want to change the world, mental health, my flat, perceptions, personal, perspective, political, success stories, Uncategorized
On Volunteering and Housing Day
Today is #HousingDay (hashtag housing day) a day designed to promote social housing and highlight all it does for people in the UK, how important it is and just what the need for social housing is. I know from my own experiences just how much having access to a flat that is fully adapted to my needs, is safe and secure (in terms of both safety and tenancy) and affordable is. It’s more than a roof over your head it’s the ability to make plans and do things and get on with your life that might otherwise be impossible. And in both parts of my CAB role (adviser/gateway assessor and…
- 2014, attitudes, awareness, campaigns, CP related, disability, disability normal, disablism, internet, interwebs, medical model, perspective, ranting, social model, twitter, Uncategorized
In which I get Ranty
(subtitle: and lose my shit all over the Internet.) This is ridiculous. In fact It’s the most stupid thing ever and frankly I probably shouldn’t dignify it with a response but I can’t let it go. There’s an American company called 3eLove. They sell a range of products with their logo on – the logo is a wheelchair symbol like you see on many different things but with the wheel replaced with a heart. It’s called the wheelchair heart. I can’t remember if I’ve blogged about it before or not. Their products have a variety of slogans on as well as the wheelchair heart. In 2012 my parents gave me…
- 2013, access, attitudes, CP related, current affairs, disability, Disability Glossary, medical model, personal, perspective, social model, Uncategorized
Quick and Dirty #Disability Theory
I posted on Facebook earlier this afternoon that I’d given someone a spur of the moment elevator pitch length explanation of the social and medical models of disability and they’d understood it without my needing to clarify any further. This was, and is, a win. Especially because I really believe they actually understood it and didn’t just say so to shut me up. Then one of my friends posted that she doesn’t speak disability. And apparently I have blog entries on here dating back to 2006 but have never defined the models. Despite having both a social and a medical model category on here. So here goes. This will be…
- 2013, blogging, Family, forwards, internet, interwebs, letter unsent, me me me, perceptions, personal, perspective, sharing, thinking, twitter, Uncategorized
Legacy
I can’t remember where but a few weeks ago I read something that I’ve been thinking about on and off ever since. It said that in the future our descendants won’t need to employ traditional genalogy techniques to learn about us. Because what they know about us will be from our facebook posts, tweets, and blogs. I like that idea because it means that potentially (should it turn out to be true) it means those in the future will know a lot more about my past then I will tell them. And they’ll know more about me than I do my own ancestors. I knew all of my grandparents and…
- 2013, action3, baclofen, dream diary, identity, laterals, personal, perspective, powerchair, Quickie Salsa, songs of my life, thinking, Uncategorized, walking, wheelchair
A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes…
I’ve been doing a fair amount of writing (fiction) and the character I was writing about was thinking about the disney version of Cinderella. Specifically the song lyric “A dream is a wish your heart makes when you’re fast asleep.” And then I started thinking about it. I frequently remember my dreams. They are very detailed and often borderline surreal. I can remember dreams I had months or years ago although not usually when I had them. I also have a recurring dream. I’ve not had it for absolutely ages but it was the one that came to mind. I think taking baclofen might have something to do with the…
- acceptance, advocacy, attitudes, awareness, courage, disability, Disability Glossary, honesty, I want to change the world, perceptions, perspective, tv, Uncategorized
Inspiration Porn
Tonight is the yearly Children in Need appeal here in the UK. BBC One is taken over by a telethon for about seven hours. The idea is to raise money to help disadvantaged children. So you see video clips of children from other countries walking miles for water, young carers helping their mum or dad and disabled children doing things too. And it’s a given that those children will either look sad or have their story told using emotive language such as “suffers from…” Or “whilst other children are playing little Johnny must…” Interspersed with those clips are famous people doing silly stuff, frequent updates on how much has been…
- 2012, acceptance, advocacy, Attempts at World Domination, CP related, disability, disability normal, disablism, discrimination, influences, normal, perspective, Uncategorized
Happy Tears
I was asked to speak at an equality event today. About the access group (AFA) I’m chair of and a bit about my own story as a disabled person. I think it well. I didn’t write a speech, I had a few ideas but wanted to just talk off the cuff. It helped that this is I think the third time I’ve explained to people what and why AFA is (although previously I’ve only done so in informal settings). The very first idea I’d thought of when thinking it over I forgot to use. I talked about how I don’t suffer from CP because it’s all I’ve ever known. How…
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>My friends, what I am, what I’d like to be.
>I’ve been thinking about people I know and who they are and who I am and who I’d like to be in and of myself tonight. Brought on by a couple of things, not least a conversation with my Mum yesterday. I heard from a very good friend yesterday and that particular friend is a very old friend. I believe I was eight or nine when we met. We’ve not met in person for a lot longer than I like but I still feel very close to her. Hearing from her always makes me happy and seeing those e-mails waiting for me in my inbox always brings a smile to…