"Ward B4 is a world of slips, trips and hips, where health care is at its least glamorous. Sister Den Flixter, Nurse Kim Wilde and Dr Pippa Moore assemble for ward round. The daily grind of new admissions and discharges has begun, but Hilary Loftus, the new male modern matron, has just started work and an unsavoury stool sample and a dead patient give him cause for concern. Kim finishes a slice of the dead patient's birthday cake and heads for home."
'Getting On' written by Jo Brand, Vicki Pepperdine and Joanna Scanlan is an absolute gem hidden away on BBC4. Based on an elderly medicine ward it may not be the most obvious choice for comedy drama but it is inspired in it's ability to mix hilarity and heartache as depicts day to day life working in this often ignored area of the NHS.
The first episode focuses on the faeces on the chair. Someone, no-one is quite sure who, has poo'd on a chair. Beautifully satirising the layers of bureaucracy drowning the NHS it shows Nurse Kim's initial attempts to clear away the poo thwarted by multiple forms to fill in and Dr Moore's vital poo study she hopes to publish to update the Bristol Stool Chart.
Superb watching for anyone who has experience of elderly medicine and essential for everyone who intends to one day be an elderly person!
Monday, July 13, 2009
Wednesday, July 08, 2009
Sex and Sexability
There has been a distinct lack of smut on this blog recently, so whilst I'm still feeling like a pig knocked me over I thought it'd be a good time to show some of the cartoons Crippen aka Dave Lupton has kindly given me permission to reproduce here. Thanks Dave!
Monday, July 06, 2009
Friday, July 03, 2009
1940's Bendy Girls!
This is a cute video of bendy girl's back in 1944. The bending starts after the song, about 45 seconds in. Enjoy!
Monday, June 29, 2009
Gone Paddlin!
I took a rather crippling loan from the spoon bank to attend BendyToo's 21st birthday this weekend.
Happily I love the hot weather so I'll be recovering in the sunshine for the next few days.
Less happily the tides are very low this week so I won't be doing any of this
Only a bendy person would have their arms/hands in such a strange position as part of normal movement!
Happily I love the hot weather so I'll be recovering in the sunshine for the next few days.
Less happily the tides are very low this week so I won't be doing any of this
Only a bendy person would have their arms/hands in such a strange position as part of normal movement!
Friday, June 26, 2009
Project
If any readers of this blog would be interested in contributing to a project to help improve the way companies provide services to disabled people could you please email me on:
benefitscroungingscum@hotmail.co.uk
We are really looking for contributions from those with disabilities or people who care for someone with a disability
Thank you!
benefitscroungingscum@hotmail.co.uk
We are really looking for contributions from those with disabilities or people who care for someone with a disability
Thank you!
Wednesday morning at 6.46 she is far away..
On Wednesday morning at precisely 6.46am I was startled awake by a loud drilling type noise. Somewhat confused I stumbled off to the loo, dislocated a few joints, threw oxycontin down my throat and got back into bed, completing the exciting ensemble by putting in some ear plugs. I figured that with the good weather the builders working next door had started early. There was no more noise and I woke in a better mood a couple of hours later.
When I woke for the second time I thought it was a bit odd that I couldn't hear any building works, but thought if they'd started that early it was to avoid the heat. Or something.
Later in the day I asked the builders if they'd started work early. They said no, in fact they'd been later than usual. When my neighbours came home from work I asked them if they'd heard the noise, as it had been loud enough to shock me awake I assumed other people must've heard something. The neighbours hadn't heard anything. They thought maybe I'd got the time wrong as their son fell down the stairs very loudly about an hour later*, but I'd not heard that, probably because of the ear plugs**.
It was, frankly, all a bit of a mystery. I knew there'd been an actual noise as opposed to my dreaming it because Bendycat had also woken up but I was no further along in finding out what it had been. The builders had suggested perhaps the garage in the next road had been working early, and in the absence of any other reason I thought that must be the case.
Until about 6pm when I went to get something out of my bedroom. There are lots of loose floorboards in this flat. I've placed my bedside chest of drawers over the loose floorboard in my bedroom as it was previously loose enough to trip me up. The weight of the chest of drawers means that every time I go into my bedroom it sets off my touchlight alarm clock, but doesn't trip me up. Seemed like a reasonable trade off to me.
However, this time I realised the loose floorboard was setting off more than my alarm clock. As I stepped on it the loud drilling type noise started up again. Only not quite so loud as it had been when I was sleeping with my ear next to it. Loud though. In the way that only a vibrator switching itself on against a wooden drawer base could be.
Oops!
*He's fine!
** A teenage boy living upstairs means I keep in a constant supply of ear plugs
When I woke for the second time I thought it was a bit odd that I couldn't hear any building works, but thought if they'd started that early it was to avoid the heat. Or something.
Later in the day I asked the builders if they'd started work early. They said no, in fact they'd been later than usual. When my neighbours came home from work I asked them if they'd heard the noise, as it had been loud enough to shock me awake I assumed other people must've heard something. The neighbours hadn't heard anything. They thought maybe I'd got the time wrong as their son fell down the stairs very loudly about an hour later*, but I'd not heard that, probably because of the ear plugs**.
It was, frankly, all a bit of a mystery. I knew there'd been an actual noise as opposed to my dreaming it because Bendycat had also woken up but I was no further along in finding out what it had been. The builders had suggested perhaps the garage in the next road had been working early, and in the absence of any other reason I thought that must be the case.
Until about 6pm when I went to get something out of my bedroom. There are lots of loose floorboards in this flat. I've placed my bedside chest of drawers over the loose floorboard in my bedroom as it was previously loose enough to trip me up. The weight of the chest of drawers means that every time I go into my bedroom it sets off my touchlight alarm clock, but doesn't trip me up. Seemed like a reasonable trade off to me.
However, this time I realised the loose floorboard was setting off more than my alarm clock. As I stepped on it the loud drilling type noise started up again. Only not quite so loud as it had been when I was sleeping with my ear next to it. Loud though. In the way that only a vibrator switching itself on against a wooden drawer base could be.
Oops!
*He's fine!
** A teenage boy living upstairs means I keep in a constant supply of ear plugs
Law student forced to work 'out of sight'...
Why? Because she has a prosthetic arm and allegedly did not fit with Abercrombie and Fitch's strict "looks policy"
See CharonQC
and
Usefully Employed
See CharonQC
and
Usefully Employed
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
BT and their broken promises
As anyone who follows me on twitter will be aware, I've been having a fucking nightmarepolite struggle with BT this week. Well, actually it's been going on for months but after I finally decided I'd have to face the stress it's started up again this week.
The problems started back in January when I moved into the flat. The phone line had been disconnected a few tenants back and so what should've been a simple process of getting a phone and broadband package set up became a mess. Initially I applied to talktalk as although they'd not been great for customer service, for approximately £20 a month for line rental, free calls to any landline and to multiple different countries so long as it was less than an hour per call, plus broadband...well, customer service is not the highest priority when the package is that good value. Unfortunately my landlord has never registered this property is flats rather than a house so TalkTalk were unable to tell which line was which and therefore unable to sort out activating the line. They advised me to speak to BT to sort out the line activation and then get back to TalkTalk to sort the package I wanted.
So, that's what I did. Except BT insisted they charged to activate the line. A charge of something like £70. Non refundable. I knew the BT sales team were talking rubbish, but after several weeks without internet access I was getting desperate. I was having to try and find places offering free wi-fi, which in itself is a problem in small town land. That's before you add in chaos of moving and trying to deal with all this with a disability that means it takes approximately 4 or 5 times the amount of time it takes other people to do things...if I can do them at all. So trailing round looking for wi-fi carrying a heavy laptop was leaving me spoon-less at a time I needed as many spoons as possible.
I tried a couple of times to sort out the line activation without a whopping charge, but in the end I was too tired and too stressed to deal with it so decided I'd have to do what BT advised, which was go with their phone/broadband package and avoid the line reactivation charges that way. As I say, I knew full well BT's sales team were trying it on, but I wasn't in a position to do anything about it. I was very, very foolishly reassured that the reason BT were charging double the price of my previous package and offering less for that price was because they provided outstanding customer service.
So, I signed up for BT's phone and broadband package, the most expensive one which includes the home hub and had no download limits etc at about £40 a month. Within a few days my first home hub arrived. Home hub was all shiny, black and pretty looking but like many pretty things, all it did was look pretty. It certainly didn't work. No matter how many times it was reinstalled, or how expert the IT skills of the person installing it, it simply wouldn't work. My laptop could pick up half a dozen other home hubs in the immediate area, but although it could see mine, it certainly couldn't access the internet with it. So, desperate for internet access I simply stuck an ethernet cable in and accessed the internet that way.
Whilst that solved the immediate problem of lack of access, it obviously didn't solve the non-working home hub problem. Eventually when I was a little more settled in the flat and could deal with the hours on the phone I knew it would take I phoned BT to try and sort it out.
The sales team couldn't deal with it of course, it had to go to technical support. BT's technical support is an offshore call centre, and to be generous the standard of spoken English varies wildly, as do the thickness of the accent's which can make the most grammatically correct English incomprehensible. Trying to explain to an overseas call centre operative exactly why you want to speak to someone based in the UK is difficult enough with a language barrier, and that's before refusal to deviate from the script comes in, or accusations of racism.
So, I spoke to the overseas tech support team. Multiple times. Every time I got to speak to someone either the connection would mysteriously disappear, or the operative would refuse to put me through to a manager. Asking to speak to someone in the UK felt like declaring oneself to be an active member of the BNP.
When I did get to speak to someone in tech support they'd insist on running through the same checklist over and over again. That someone in tech support had previously run through the exact same checklist did not count. There was one day I spent over three hours on the phone to the tech support team and ended up literally begging to be put through to the UK. A request which was repeatedly refused, lost or conveniently solved by hanging up on me. I don't consider myself a particularly highly strung person but by the end of all this I was a nervous wreck.
Eventually after multiple times running through the checklist I managed to get an overseas manager to agree to send me out a new home hub as mine was faulty. This they duly did and of course charged me a whopping £80 for the pleasure. As BT's billing and paperwork is so appallingly confusing I have no idea whether that money has been refunded. Tech support and complaints claim they cannot deal with that issue because it's a billing issue.
So, my second home hub arrived and I hoped that would be the end of that. I'd still be stuck in an extortionately overpriced contract, but at least all the services I was paying for would work. Stupid, foolish thought! The second home hub didn't work any better than the first. In fact it had the exact same fault the first one did. The computer could find the home hub but it couldn't connect to it, no matter what settings where changed.
The overseas tech team were very upset I refused to allow them remote access to my computer, but grudgingly agreed to run through the checklist without remote access. Unsurprisingly there wasn't a fault with any of the settings, but no matter what they tinkered with the home hub didn't work without a cable. They still refused to put me through to a UK based tech team.
After that I decided the stress simply wasn't worth it. I got one of my techy friends to set up my old Belkin router which worked fine wirelessly. Although there was still a problem with the connection dropping out at busy times, it was fine to view web pages but if you want to stream on something like iplayer the connection isn't sufficient to get through even a 10 minute video without flickering in and out.
Earlier this week someone phoned from BT to set up the BT vision I am apparently paying for as part of the package. I am completely unable to tell from the bills BT send what I'm paying for as it all comes separately. I do know the direct debits I set up aren't working properly as BT took £70+ from my bank account recently to pay for the next three months line rental. I decided that stress or no stress I was being completely ripped off for a service that doesn't work properly and that I'd have to do something about it.
So I called BT and explained briefly that there was a problem with the second home hub and the connection. The first person I spoke to insisted on transferring me to the overseas tech team, and when I asked to speak to his manager for the second time he simply hung up on me! I called back and spoke to someone else who did their best to be helpful and did actually manage after about 40 minutes of negotiating to book the UK based tech team to call back within 24 hours. They didn't but it wasn't far off that. Fortunately after waiting in for 24 hours I was still at home to receive the call.
A very lovely and helpful lady called Lyn spoke to me. Unfortunately despite the tech team having run through the checklist countless previous times she had to do so again. Which is where we hit several stumbling blocks as my home hub isn't even plugged in. There's not much point as it doesn't work! Then we needed to test the line, which requires the front of the socket to be unscrewed and the cable put directly into a test socket. Fair enough, except being disabled I'm not really in a position to unscrew sockets. Lyn wanted to know whether I could arrange for someone to come and assist me with that, which, if BT had been able to provide me with an accurate time for the tech team to phone back could probably have been arranged. Problem is they can't provide any time and I can't get someone to come hang out in my flat for 24 hours hoping BT will call back.
The situation is now that I still have a home hub that doesn't work. I still don't know if the £80 I was charged for it, despite it being under warrantee has been refunded. I can't use any of the associated services I'm being charged twice the price every other company charges.
To be fair, Lyn did her best to help. She phoned the special needs team at BT after I pointed that sending an engineer out to a disabled person should be seen as a reasonable adjustment under the Disability Discrimination Act and not be charged for regardless of whose fault the fault is! The special needs team had no advice to offer except to send out a form to register me as a special needs customer. To do that it has to somehow go through the local authority. The same local authority who stopped providing care to people because it's too expensive. Lyn will be phoning me back either on saturday or sunday once I've received the form.
After all this the only thing I care about is how not to receive these services from BT. The special needs customer thing is utterly irrelevant to the problems I'm having. I don't see why I should have to pay to get out of a contract when BT haven't met their contractual obligations. I no longer want a 3rd home hub, I just want a reliable internet connection and phone line which I could have for less than half the price BT charge. Overall my experience of BT is that they are the most overpriced rip off on the market, which, considering the original sales pitch explaining prices are higher in return for excellent customer service, is frankly a steaming load of bull!
Update June 26th 2009:
"Just emailed Ian Livingston head of BT about all this http://tinyurl.com/l5rukv Will he reply? #BTbroadbandisshit
Within an hour of my posting this tweet yesterday announcing I'd emailed Ian Livingston about these issues a very nice lady called Kate was on the phone trying to sort out all these issues. She was very down to earth and pragmatic as us Northern girls tend to be and managed to cut through all the bureaucratic nonsense which was the main feature of this problem. The socket does not need to be unscrewed as there is nothing wrong with the line and she has ordered me a new home hub which should arrive today. She also went through all the billing issues with me, made sure the previous charges for the second home hub hadn't been added to a bill and sorted out the £73 which had been debited in advance for my broadband rental by making sure the monthly direct debits were working properly.
Hopefully the home hub will arrive today, and, bendy fingers crossed it will also work as a wireless router, I'll let you all know!
My advice to BT is this: if you got Kate to train all your front line staff and as an organisation took her no nonsense approach to getting things done you'd improve BT's customer service profile overnight!
The problems started back in January when I moved into the flat. The phone line had been disconnected a few tenants back and so what should've been a simple process of getting a phone and broadband package set up became a mess. Initially I applied to talktalk as although they'd not been great for customer service, for approximately £20 a month for line rental, free calls to any landline and to multiple different countries so long as it was less than an hour per call, plus broadband...well, customer service is not the highest priority when the package is that good value. Unfortunately my landlord has never registered this property is flats rather than a house so TalkTalk were unable to tell which line was which and therefore unable to sort out activating the line. They advised me to speak to BT to sort out the line activation and then get back to TalkTalk to sort the package I wanted.
So, that's what I did. Except BT insisted they charged to activate the line. A charge of something like £70. Non refundable. I knew the BT sales team were talking rubbish, but after several weeks without internet access I was getting desperate. I was having to try and find places offering free wi-fi, which in itself is a problem in small town land. That's before you add in chaos of moving and trying to deal with all this with a disability that means it takes approximately 4 or 5 times the amount of time it takes other people to do things...if I can do them at all. So trailing round looking for wi-fi carrying a heavy laptop was leaving me spoon-less at a time I needed as many spoons as possible.
I tried a couple of times to sort out the line activation without a whopping charge, but in the end I was too tired and too stressed to deal with it so decided I'd have to do what BT advised, which was go with their phone/broadband package and avoid the line reactivation charges that way. As I say, I knew full well BT's sales team were trying it on, but I wasn't in a position to do anything about it. I was very, very foolishly reassured that the reason BT were charging double the price of my previous package and offering less for that price was because they provided outstanding customer service.
So, I signed up for BT's phone and broadband package, the most expensive one which includes the home hub and had no download limits etc at about £40 a month. Within a few days my first home hub arrived. Home hub was all shiny, black and pretty looking but like many pretty things, all it did was look pretty. It certainly didn't work. No matter how many times it was reinstalled, or how expert the IT skills of the person installing it, it simply wouldn't work. My laptop could pick up half a dozen other home hubs in the immediate area, but although it could see mine, it certainly couldn't access the internet with it. So, desperate for internet access I simply stuck an ethernet cable in and accessed the internet that way.
Whilst that solved the immediate problem of lack of access, it obviously didn't solve the non-working home hub problem. Eventually when I was a little more settled in the flat and could deal with the hours on the phone I knew it would take I phoned BT to try and sort it out.
The sales team couldn't deal with it of course, it had to go to technical support. BT's technical support is an offshore call centre, and to be generous the standard of spoken English varies wildly, as do the thickness of the accent's which can make the most grammatically correct English incomprehensible. Trying to explain to an overseas call centre operative exactly why you want to speak to someone based in the UK is difficult enough with a language barrier, and that's before refusal to deviate from the script comes in, or accusations of racism.
So, I spoke to the overseas tech support team. Multiple times. Every time I got to speak to someone either the connection would mysteriously disappear, or the operative would refuse to put me through to a manager. Asking to speak to someone in the UK felt like declaring oneself to be an active member of the BNP.
When I did get to speak to someone in tech support they'd insist on running through the same checklist over and over again. That someone in tech support had previously run through the exact same checklist did not count. There was one day I spent over three hours on the phone to the tech support team and ended up literally begging to be put through to the UK. A request which was repeatedly refused, lost or conveniently solved by hanging up on me. I don't consider myself a particularly highly strung person but by the end of all this I was a nervous wreck.
Eventually after multiple times running through the checklist I managed to get an overseas manager to agree to send me out a new home hub as mine was faulty. This they duly did and of course charged me a whopping £80 for the pleasure. As BT's billing and paperwork is so appallingly confusing I have no idea whether that money has been refunded. Tech support and complaints claim they cannot deal with that issue because it's a billing issue.
So, my second home hub arrived and I hoped that would be the end of that. I'd still be stuck in an extortionately overpriced contract, but at least all the services I was paying for would work. Stupid, foolish thought! The second home hub didn't work any better than the first. In fact it had the exact same fault the first one did. The computer could find the home hub but it couldn't connect to it, no matter what settings where changed.
The overseas tech team were very upset I refused to allow them remote access to my computer, but grudgingly agreed to run through the checklist without remote access. Unsurprisingly there wasn't a fault with any of the settings, but no matter what they tinkered with the home hub didn't work without a cable. They still refused to put me through to a UK based tech team.
After that I decided the stress simply wasn't worth it. I got one of my techy friends to set up my old Belkin router which worked fine wirelessly. Although there was still a problem with the connection dropping out at busy times, it was fine to view web pages but if you want to stream on something like iplayer the connection isn't sufficient to get through even a 10 minute video without flickering in and out.
Earlier this week someone phoned from BT to set up the BT vision I am apparently paying for as part of the package. I am completely unable to tell from the bills BT send what I'm paying for as it all comes separately. I do know the direct debits I set up aren't working properly as BT took £70+ from my bank account recently to pay for the next three months line rental. I decided that stress or no stress I was being completely ripped off for a service that doesn't work properly and that I'd have to do something about it.
So I called BT and explained briefly that there was a problem with the second home hub and the connection. The first person I spoke to insisted on transferring me to the overseas tech team, and when I asked to speak to his manager for the second time he simply hung up on me! I called back and spoke to someone else who did their best to be helpful and did actually manage after about 40 minutes of negotiating to book the UK based tech team to call back within 24 hours. They didn't but it wasn't far off that. Fortunately after waiting in for 24 hours I was still at home to receive the call.
A very lovely and helpful lady called Lyn spoke to me. Unfortunately despite the tech team having run through the checklist countless previous times she had to do so again. Which is where we hit several stumbling blocks as my home hub isn't even plugged in. There's not much point as it doesn't work! Then we needed to test the line, which requires the front of the socket to be unscrewed and the cable put directly into a test socket. Fair enough, except being disabled I'm not really in a position to unscrew sockets. Lyn wanted to know whether I could arrange for someone to come and assist me with that, which, if BT had been able to provide me with an accurate time for the tech team to phone back could probably have been arranged. Problem is they can't provide any time and I can't get someone to come hang out in my flat for 24 hours hoping BT will call back.
The situation is now that I still have a home hub that doesn't work. I still don't know if the £80 I was charged for it, despite it being under warrantee has been refunded. I can't use any of the associated services I'm being charged twice the price every other company charges.
To be fair, Lyn did her best to help. She phoned the special needs team at BT after I pointed that sending an engineer out to a disabled person should be seen as a reasonable adjustment under the Disability Discrimination Act and not be charged for regardless of whose fault the fault is! The special needs team had no advice to offer except to send out a form to register me as a special needs customer. To do that it has to somehow go through the local authority. The same local authority who stopped providing care to people because it's too expensive. Lyn will be phoning me back either on saturday or sunday once I've received the form.
After all this the only thing I care about is how not to receive these services from BT. The special needs customer thing is utterly irrelevant to the problems I'm having. I don't see why I should have to pay to get out of a contract when BT haven't met their contractual obligations. I no longer want a 3rd home hub, I just want a reliable internet connection and phone line which I could have for less than half the price BT charge. Overall my experience of BT is that they are the most overpriced rip off on the market, which, considering the original sales pitch explaining prices are higher in return for excellent customer service, is frankly a steaming load of bull!
Update June 26th 2009:
"Just emailed Ian Livingston head of BT about all this http://tinyurl.com/l5rukv Will he reply? #BTbroadbandisshit
Within an hour of my posting this tweet yesterday announcing I'd emailed Ian Livingston about these issues a very nice lady called Kate was on the phone trying to sort out all these issues. She was very down to earth and pragmatic as us Northern girls tend to be and managed to cut through all the bureaucratic nonsense which was the main feature of this problem. The socket does not need to be unscrewed as there is nothing wrong with the line and she has ordered me a new home hub which should arrive today. She also went through all the billing issues with me, made sure the previous charges for the second home hub hadn't been added to a bill and sorted out the £73 which had been debited in advance for my broadband rental by making sure the monthly direct debits were working properly.
Hopefully the home hub will arrive today, and, bendy fingers crossed it will also work as a wireless router, I'll let you all know!
My advice to BT is this: if you got Kate to train all your front line staff and as an organisation took her no nonsense approach to getting things done you'd improve BT's customer service profile overnight!
Monday, June 22, 2009
Erotic By Nature
Some time ago I stumbled across this collection of images, Erotic By Nature, taken by photographer David Steinberg. One of the categories in his collection is Sex and Disability, the photographs are stunningly beautiful depictions of shared intimacy as they record the sex lives of actual couples, one or both of whom happen to be disabled.
Please be warned, these are photographs of full penetration and are absolutely not in any way safe for work or suitable for under 18's.
Please be warned, these are photographs of full penetration and are absolutely not in any way safe for work or suitable for under 18's.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Survivalist Kitteh!
Socks ,a feline doppelganger of Bendycat has survived being locked in a metal container for a month by licking condensation from the inside walls. Survival skills Bear Grylls would be envious of!
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Blue Badge Blunders! The police officer edition
Via Incurable Hippie, who twittered,
RT http://twitpic.com/7n0jr A police officer has just asked me to delete this photo of her van in a disabled bay (via @angusprune)
Oh dear!
Update 1000 18/06/09 Click here for original image and blog about the situation over at Terence Eden's blog
RT http://twitpic.com/7n0jr A police officer has just asked me to delete this photo of her van in a disabled bay (via @angusprune)
Oh dear!
Update 1000 18/06/09 Click here for original image and blog about the situation over at Terence Eden's blog
Blue Badge Blunders! The upsidedown fine edition
I was alerted to this story of blue badge abuse by Bonetired. This is not the standard tale of blue badge abuse, that of perfectly fit, healthy and able drivers parking illegally in areas reserved for disabled parking, which is such a frequent occurrence I doubt there's a disabled person unable to offer examples of how this has prevented them being able to access the service or business they need. Whilst I'm on the subject I'd just like to point out this fantastic initiative by Manchester City Council who have both a dedicated team to tackle blue badge abuse, and a rogue's gallery listing names, addresses and punishments issues to those caught out committing blue badge abuse.
No, this is something a little bit special. Or so Bonetired thought when he spotted it in the Worcester News. Ron Padwick, a 76 yr old great grandfather had parked his car and displayed his blue badge before meeting a friend for a cup of tea. Much to his shock, when he returned to the car Ron found a fixed penalty notice for £35 or £70 if not paid within 2 weeks. A fine the Daily Mail have already inflated to £75. Ron's 'crime' was to have displayed his blue badge upside down!
Sadly, Ron's fine is not unusual. There are instructions about how to correctly display a blue badge included with the information pack given on issue, but in practice many disabled people display their badges upside down or back to front. Poor manual dexterity, pain, or fatigue can all contribute to such simple, frequent mistakes and the majority of traffic wardens are sympathetic to such mistakes. Like any situation there are notable exceptions and Ron joins other disabled people to fall foul of this rule.
No, this is something a little bit special. Or so Bonetired thought when he spotted it in the Worcester News. Ron Padwick, a 76 yr old great grandfather had parked his car and displayed his blue badge before meeting a friend for a cup of tea. Much to his shock, when he returned to the car Ron found a fixed penalty notice for £35 or £70 if not paid within 2 weeks. A fine the Daily Mail have already inflated to £75. Ron's 'crime' was to have displayed his blue badge upside down!
Sadly, Ron's fine is not unusual. There are instructions about how to correctly display a blue badge included with the information pack given on issue, but in practice many disabled people display their badges upside down or back to front. Poor manual dexterity, pain, or fatigue can all contribute to such simple, frequent mistakes and the majority of traffic wardens are sympathetic to such mistakes. Like any situation there are notable exceptions and Ron joins other disabled people to fall foul of this rule.
Clickety click!
A letter from the dental hospital has stirred my sluggish memory enough to remember I meant to write this post, erm ages ago!
I'm very lucky to have excellent teeth, unlike many with Ehlers Danlos Syndrome, the odd bit of crumbling and gum recession are the most significant problems I have.
Gum recession or erosion is a very common problem in the general population, and often caused by overbrushing. For those of us with EDS the problems we have with proprioception can exacerbate the issue as we struggle to control our grip strength and ability to know how much pressure we're applying. It's especially important not to overbrush if your gums are already more fragile than normal.
I have a passion for cheap, pound style shops, so I was delighted to find toothbrushes designed to stop overbrushing in my local branch*. They are really aimed at children or teenagers, but I can vouch for their efficacy for adults. The nature of the brush means you can't use too much pressure because the brush clicks backwards making you aware you need to be more gentle to keep it in it's intended shape.
The toothbrush is the Wisdom Click toothbrush. It's an incredibly simple idea, but one of the best adaptive devices I've tried. Online it seems to retail for £2+ but I paid 49p each for mine. They're so good I've bought a stash of them...never let it be said Bendy Girl doesn't know how to live a glamorous lifestyle!
* Home Bargains. For anyone really desperate to know. Not that I can imagine why anyone would be!
I'm very lucky to have excellent teeth, unlike many with Ehlers Danlos Syndrome, the odd bit of crumbling and gum recession are the most significant problems I have.
Gum recession or erosion is a very common problem in the general population, and often caused by overbrushing. For those of us with EDS the problems we have with proprioception can exacerbate the issue as we struggle to control our grip strength and ability to know how much pressure we're applying. It's especially important not to overbrush if your gums are already more fragile than normal.
I have a passion for cheap, pound style shops, so I was delighted to find toothbrushes designed to stop overbrushing in my local branch*. They are really aimed at children or teenagers, but I can vouch for their efficacy for adults. The nature of the brush means you can't use too much pressure because the brush clicks backwards making you aware you need to be more gentle to keep it in it's intended shape.
The toothbrush is the Wisdom Click toothbrush. It's an incredibly simple idea, but one of the best adaptive devices I've tried. Online it seems to retail for £2+ but I paid 49p each for mine. They're so good I've bought a stash of them...never let it be said Bendy Girl doesn't know how to live a glamorous lifestyle!
* Home Bargains. For anyone really desperate to know. Not that I can imagine why anyone would be!
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
From the British Legion, Dear Mr Griffin....
"An open letter from The Royal British Legion to Nick Griffin, Chairman of the BNP and MEP for North West England.
For all of us who believe the BNP do not represent us or the Britain we live in, then please sign the 'Not in my name' petition
09 June 2009
Dear Mr Griffin,
We couldn't help but notice that there was egg on your face (and on your suit jacket) on the day after you were elected MEP for North West England.
Please don't leave egg on ours.
You wore a Poppy lapel badge during your news conference to celebrate your election victory. This was in direct contravention of our polite request that you refrain from politicising one of the nation's most treasured and beloved symbols.
The Poppy is the symbol of sacrifices made by British Armed Forces in conflicts both past and present and it has been paid for with blood and valour. True valour deserves respect regardless of a person's ethnic origin, and everyone who serves or has served their country deserves nothing less.
The Poppy pin, the Poppy logo, and the paper Poppy worn during Remembrance are the property, trademark and emblem of The Royal British Legion.
For nearly 90 years, The Royal British Legion has pursued a policy of being scrupulously above the party political fray. It is vital that everyone - the media, the public and our beneficiaries - know that we will not allow our independence to be undermined or our reputation impaired by being closely associated with any one political party. This is more important now than ever.
On May 27th, 2009, the National Chairman of The Royal British Legion wrote to you privately requesting that you desist from wearing the Poppy or any other emblem that might be associated with the Legion at any of your public appearances during the European Parliamentary election campaign.
He appealed to your sense of honour. But you have responded by continuing to wear the poppy. So now we're no longer asking you privately.
Stop it, Mr Griffin. Just stop it.
Regards,
The Royal British Legion"
For all of us who believe the BNP do not represent us or the Britain we live in, then please sign the 'Not in my name' petition
Monday, June 15, 2009
Britblog Roundup #226
The Britblog Roundup #226 is up, this week hosted at Charles Crawford.biz the world's first diplomatic blogoir. Amongst many great posts it also mentions my Freedom Fighting post.
Thanks Charles!
Thanks Charles!
Monday, June 08, 2009
Freedom Fighting
On such a depressing day, particularly for those of us living in the North West, the best thing we can all do is put aside our anger and remember what it is we love about being British.
For me the most important part of my British identity is freedom. Freedom to believe in whatever I choose to believe in, and so long as they harm no-one, the freedom to live my life in accordance with those beliefs.
My family were immigrants, Jews fleeing the persecution of Russian pogroms on my maternal side, and Irish seeking work on my paternal side. Such a background means I believe in freedom of thought and expression so vehemently that regardless of my disgust for their politics I absolutely support the right of parties such as the BNP to believe whatever they want to believe.
Previous generations laid down their lives for us to be able to live in such freedom. It's equally important now that we fight as bravely as they did. Instead of guns and bombs our weapons should be freedom and justice. It's too easy to think that nothing we do makes any difference and become apathetic. Just one small gesture performed every day by each one of us can make enough difference to change our society.
Today my gesture was to visit the grave of Lieutenant John O'Neill, VC. Lt O'Neill is buried in the cemetery a few streets away from my home. His grave was looking like it needed some love and attention when I discovered it a few days ago, so today I returned to clean it.
What will your gesture be?
Friday, June 05, 2009
Woohoo!
Until further notice I plan to be dancing on the political grave of James Purnell. Well, if I could keep my joints in place I would. As that's unlikely to happen until someone invents time travel and a cure for dodgy collagen I will content myself with having thrown yoghurt all over myself earlier today, such was my excitement when I saw he'd resigned.
Sadly, I don't suppose Mr Purnell will be signing on, because nothing, nothing, nothing would be sweeter revenge than seeing that weirdy looking little creep suffering the hell of a benefits application. Still, I can dream, and how I will.
Please don't anyone suggest in the comments that this might be a well timed bid by Purnell to leave the ship before the other ratsrealise it's sunkdrown slowly and horribly, I at least want the weekend to celebrate!
Sadly, I don't suppose Mr Purnell will be signing on, because nothing, nothing, nothing would be sweeter revenge than seeing that weirdy looking little creep suffering the hell of a benefits application. Still, I can dream, and how I will.
Please don't anyone suggest in the comments that this might be a well timed bid by Purnell to leave the ship before the other rats
Thursday, June 04, 2009
BNP fail to see the point of keeping disabled people alive
Today in England the elections for the European parliament are held. As so many people wish to protest against New Labour and the all party expenses scandal smaller parties are expected to do well. In many areas the BNP ( British National Party) have been campaigning heavily. Most people are aware that the BNP are primarily racist thugs, but I doubt as many are aware of their views about disabled people.
After the tragic death of David Cameron's son Ivan earlier this year Jeffrey Marshall, senior organiser for the BNP made this statement on an internet forum:
"We live in a country today which is unhealthily dominated by an excess of sentimentality towards the weak and unproductive. No good will come of it."
Later, in response to other comments on the site, Marshall allegedly wrote
"There is not a great deal of point in keeping these people alive after all."
Many people, including myself, are so disillusioned and disgusted by the behaviour of politicians they don't know who to vote for, or even whether to vote at all. Whilst that's understandable, it's also likely to lead to gains for extremist groups such as the BNP.
A society should be judged by how it cares for it's most vulnerable. The BNP believe that to be an excess of sentimentality and can't see the point in keeping such disabled people alive. Is that the kind of country we really want to live in?
After the tragic death of David Cameron's son Ivan earlier this year Jeffrey Marshall, senior organiser for the BNP made this statement on an internet forum:
"We live in a country today which is unhealthily dominated by an excess of sentimentality towards the weak and unproductive. No good will come of it."
Later, in response to other comments on the site, Marshall allegedly wrote
"There is not a great deal of point in keeping these people alive after all."
Many people, including myself, are so disillusioned and disgusted by the behaviour of politicians they don't know who to vote for, or even whether to vote at all. Whilst that's understandable, it's also likely to lead to gains for extremist groups such as the BNP.
A society should be judged by how it cares for it's most vulnerable. The BNP believe that to be an excess of sentimentality and can't see the point in keeping such disabled people alive. Is that the kind of country we really want to live in?
Wednesday, June 03, 2009
The John Lewis List
It's official. A judge has ruled the cost of a bed on the John Lewis list is 'a bit high'. But then, Joseph Hill from East London is not an MP, just an ordinary person who decided to challenge the limits of state assistance and funding for disabled people by applying for disability awards based upon the John Lewis list.
In case anyone wonders, apparently Mr Hill was entitled to £200.
In case anyone wonders, apparently Mr Hill was entitled to £200.
Blue Badge Blunders!
Following the incredible (ahem) success of Bog Off! I'm delighted to bring you the associated series Blue Badge Blunders!
The first in this series of blue badge related blunders has been sent to me by Brainblogger, a fan of the Bog Off! series who suggested a similar series for parking offensives related to disabled parking bays or blue badges and their abuse. Similarly to Bog Off!, if anyone would like to send in photos I'll add them to either series.
It's a bit tricky to see just how badly this car's been parked from the photos, but I admire the jaunty angle the owner's used to ensure the maximum amount of spaces are taken up by their car. Of course it didn't have a blue badge!
That said, once I find out where in the country has empty disabled bays like that, I'm moving!
Thanks to Brainblogger, author of the excellent How can you take it easy when you are already taking it easy?
Monday, June 01, 2009
The sun is shining
So until further notice (ie the rain!) I'll be bikini clad in a patch of sunlight somewhere. Hope you're all too busy enjoying the sunshine to even see this post! BG x
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
And the sign said....
Indonesia seems to have been taking lessons in how to treat disabled people from the very hypocritical James Purnell. Their suggestion is that disabled people will have to wear some sort of visible sign to identify their disability to road users.
Haven't we seen this kind of rule forcing people to wear signs to identify themselves somewhere before? Oh yes, I remember now, wasn't it that Hitler chap?!
H/T Incurable Hippie
Haven't we seen this kind of rule forcing people to wear signs to identify themselves somewhere before? Oh yes, I remember now, wasn't it that Hitler chap?!
H/T Incurable Hippie
Thursday, May 21, 2009
So no arrests yet, then....
Raedwald is wondering 'So no arrests yet, then....' Funnily enough so am I, but James Purnell is top of the list!
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Dental Hospitals
Following on from the comments on Delightful Dentistry I thought a few words about dental hospitals might be a good idea.
I was being seen by an NHS dentist (and very fortunate to be able to find one!) in a standard dental practice. I was referred to the dental hospital because of the complications of EDS. However, anyone can attend a dental hospital and receive emergency treatment free of charge. As I understand the situation some dental hospitals run standard dental service clinics, particularly for children, but they are probably tricky to find.
To be referred to a dental hospital if you have special needs is straightforward. The nearest dental hospital will be based at the nearest large university which has a medical and dental school attached to it. A GP can refer you, or your consultant. I suspect for those who need to see a specialist dentist for medical needs that a phone call to the dental hospital will give you the information you'd need about which particular specialist to see and how to be referred to them.
The treatment at a dental hospital is provided free at point of delivery by the NHS just like any other hospital service. It's worth traveling for, even if you have to travel a fair distance as they have the facilities to tailor the care to individual needs.
Google list of dental hospitals (there are probably more if you put in tailored search terms)
I was being seen by an NHS dentist (and very fortunate to be able to find one!) in a standard dental practice. I was referred to the dental hospital because of the complications of EDS. However, anyone can attend a dental hospital and receive emergency treatment free of charge. As I understand the situation some dental hospitals run standard dental service clinics, particularly for children, but they are probably tricky to find.
To be referred to a dental hospital if you have special needs is straightforward. The nearest dental hospital will be based at the nearest large university which has a medical and dental school attached to it. A GP can refer you, or your consultant. I suspect for those who need to see a specialist dentist for medical needs that a phone call to the dental hospital will give you the information you'd need about which particular specialist to see and how to be referred to them.
The treatment at a dental hospital is provided free at point of delivery by the NHS just like any other hospital service. It's worth traveling for, even if you have to travel a fair distance as they have the facilities to tailor the care to individual needs.
Google list of dental hospitals (there are probably more if you put in tailored search terms)
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Delightful Dentistry!
Last week after no little stress about parking I went to the Dental Hospital in Liverpool for my appointment with the specialist. I was shattered and lacking spoons having been at Futuresonic the previous day so I wasn't thrilled to have to haul myself out of bed at some ungodly hour. Probably about 8am!
After all that fuss about parking it turns out there is a shuttle service from the hospital's multi storey carpark across to the Dental Hospital. Having previously experienced such services which finish before the outpatient's clinics do thus abandoning one miles from the car I'm wary of them. Fortunately it is possible to use a bluebadge to park on the road outside the hospital but not before 10am.
From start to finish I was incredibly impressed with the staff at the Dental Hospital. Once I'd arrived and registered I was helped through to where the clinic was and before long was taken through to see the specialist in restorative dentistry.
I nearly fell off my feet when the dentist and her lovely dental nurse informed me they knew lots about Ehlers Danlos Syndrome because they were already treating three other people with EDS. Whilst I've occasionally seen doctors who've known a little bit about EDS, outside of the bendy people specialists I've never been in a situation where medical professionals are well versed in the ins and outs of EDS. It was really quite bizarre, but in a good way, especially once I realised they actually did know a great deal about EDS rather than just insisting they did so!
The dentist asked me the usual questions dentists ask but also lots about EDS and how it affects me. They were quite anxious about the idea of me dislocating whilst in the dentist's chair, but I think(hope!) they became less so as I explained I relocate my own joints. As I was sitting in the chair I had to relocate my thumb which made such a noise the dental nurse went green, although not as much as the dentist did when I mentioned dislocating my larynx! We had a discussion about how they would manage should I need a general anaesthetic, it seems the level of knowlege at Liverpool's Dental Hospital is so good they even have a particular anaesthatist they use who treats all the EDS patients. The conclusion was that should I be anaesthatised they would want to put me on some sort of spinal board to stop me flopping about too much and to manage my airway more intensively.
LC referred me to the dental hospital after my regular dentist had told me I needed a filling, because people with EDS often have problems with local anaesthetics, particularly lignocaine. The problems vary, for some it can take a long time for the area to become numb, in others the anaesthetic seems to travel and they become numb, just not where the anaesthetic was placed. In my case I was shocked to discover local anaesthetics were supposed to make you numb as I'd always believed them to be a particularly poor form of painkiller. I've also had problems with scalene blocks not numbing me properly.
I needed to have some x-rays done so the lovely dental nurse helped me to the radiology department. She was apologising that I'd have to wait until the reports were ready to bring back to clinic so I thought I was in for a long wait. It was maybe 10 minutes or so before I was taken through to be x-rayed. The department's most senior radiographer explained to me that as soon as she'd seen EDS on the form she'd decided to x-ray me herself as it wasn't appropriate for a student to do alone. The biggest problem I had was standing up for the length of time it took for the x-ray machine to take the image, even holding on to the handrails I was still a bit wobbly. Should it be necessary to have more x-rays I'll be sitting down next time! I've also still got a paper type cut in my mouth from the sharp sided x-ray plates.
After only a few minutes the radiographer gave me the reports and I headed back to clinic. My teeth are actually in excellent condition, and as I'd part suspected I don't need any fillings. I occasionally refer to my mother as 'the sugar nazi' and I have her to thank for the good condition my teeth are in. To say she was fanatical about not allowing us sugar as children is understating the case, but as I've reached 33 without needing a single filling I'm grateful.
The main problem I'm having is some erosion. As I don't eat an overly acidic diet the source of acid is probably stomach acid coming into the mouth via reflux. The long periods I've had in the past when I've been so lax I've been unable to stop vomiting have also contributed. The dentist prescribed me some sort of special toothpaste which being scatty as I am I forgot to pick up before I left, and arranged for me to see the specialist dental hygienist as my teeth need far more frequent cleaning than is normal.
Whilst we were talking the dentist asked me if I would go and give a talk to their 4th year dental students in September to educate them about both EDS and the additional needs people with disabilities or chronic health conditions have regarding dental treatment. Any advice readers can give I'd love to hear, from those with additional needs or from those who are students/medical professionals about the kind of things you would want to find out about?
After all that fuss about parking it turns out there is a shuttle service from the hospital's multi storey carpark across to the Dental Hospital. Having previously experienced such services which finish before the outpatient's clinics do thus abandoning one miles from the car I'm wary of them. Fortunately it is possible to use a bluebadge to park on the road outside the hospital but not before 10am.
From start to finish I was incredibly impressed with the staff at the Dental Hospital. Once I'd arrived and registered I was helped through to where the clinic was and before long was taken through to see the specialist in restorative dentistry.
I nearly fell off my feet when the dentist and her lovely dental nurse informed me they knew lots about Ehlers Danlos Syndrome because they were already treating three other people with EDS. Whilst I've occasionally seen doctors who've known a little bit about EDS, outside of the bendy people specialists I've never been in a situation where medical professionals are well versed in the ins and outs of EDS. It was really quite bizarre, but in a good way, especially once I realised they actually did know a great deal about EDS rather than just insisting they did so!
The dentist asked me the usual questions dentists ask but also lots about EDS and how it affects me. They were quite anxious about the idea of me dislocating whilst in the dentist's chair, but I think(hope!) they became less so as I explained I relocate my own joints. As I was sitting in the chair I had to relocate my thumb which made such a noise the dental nurse went green, although not as much as the dentist did when I mentioned dislocating my larynx! We had a discussion about how they would manage should I need a general anaesthetic, it seems the level of knowlege at Liverpool's Dental Hospital is so good they even have a particular anaesthatist they use who treats all the EDS patients. The conclusion was that should I be anaesthatised they would want to put me on some sort of spinal board to stop me flopping about too much and to manage my airway more intensively.
LC referred me to the dental hospital after my regular dentist had told me I needed a filling, because people with EDS often have problems with local anaesthetics, particularly lignocaine. The problems vary, for some it can take a long time for the area to become numb, in others the anaesthetic seems to travel and they become numb, just not where the anaesthetic was placed. In my case I was shocked to discover local anaesthetics were supposed to make you numb as I'd always believed them to be a particularly poor form of painkiller. I've also had problems with scalene blocks not numbing me properly.
I needed to have some x-rays done so the lovely dental nurse helped me to the radiology department. She was apologising that I'd have to wait until the reports were ready to bring back to clinic so I thought I was in for a long wait. It was maybe 10 minutes or so before I was taken through to be x-rayed. The department's most senior radiographer explained to me that as soon as she'd seen EDS on the form she'd decided to x-ray me herself as it wasn't appropriate for a student to do alone. The biggest problem I had was standing up for the length of time it took for the x-ray machine to take the image, even holding on to the handrails I was still a bit wobbly. Should it be necessary to have more x-rays I'll be sitting down next time! I've also still got a paper type cut in my mouth from the sharp sided x-ray plates.
After only a few minutes the radiographer gave me the reports and I headed back to clinic. My teeth are actually in excellent condition, and as I'd part suspected I don't need any fillings. I occasionally refer to my mother as 'the sugar nazi' and I have her to thank for the good condition my teeth are in. To say she was fanatical about not allowing us sugar as children is understating the case, but as I've reached 33 without needing a single filling I'm grateful.
The main problem I'm having is some erosion. As I don't eat an overly acidic diet the source of acid is probably stomach acid coming into the mouth via reflux. The long periods I've had in the past when I've been so lax I've been unable to stop vomiting have also contributed. The dentist prescribed me some sort of special toothpaste which being scatty as I am I forgot to pick up before I left, and arranged for me to see the specialist dental hygienist as my teeth need far more frequent cleaning than is normal.
Whilst we were talking the dentist asked me if I would go and give a talk to their 4th year dental students in September to educate them about both EDS and the additional needs people with disabilities or chronic health conditions have regarding dental treatment. Any advice readers can give I'd love to hear, from those with additional needs or from those who are students/medical professionals about the kind of things you would want to find out about?
Monday, May 18, 2009
Bog Off! Exhibit 12 Getting it right!
Last week I went to Manchester to meet Louise Bolotin and Mario of Someone Once Told Me at Futuresonic festival.
Quite what the other festival go-ers made of our
Ok, so there are some issues, such as the pull cord being wrapped around the hand bars, or tied up out of the reach of someone on the floor, but these disabled loo's are about the best I've ever seen!
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Bog Off! Exhibit 11 Missing the point!
Sent in by BSS reader Louise, this is the disabled toilet at The Crown in Digbeth, Birmingham. Apparently it was clean which is a bonus considering the state of most disabled loo's, but looks like someone somewhere has seriously misunderstood what a disabled toilet is for.....
...And no, it's not for shagging, snorting or storing. Just in case anyone wondered!
While I'm at it, if anyone has sent me photos of disabled toilets and I've not published them so far, that is because I'm ridiculously scatty and have inevitably lost them. Sorry! All contributions welcomed and I promise to try not to lose them.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Resolution
Last New Year's Eve I made two resolutions.
The first was to sell a piece of writing.
Today I've achieved that resolution, my article has been published here, on the BBC's disability website Ouch.
You'll have to wait until I achieve the second for me to admit what it is!
For anyone visiting this site for the first time as a result of the Ouch article, Hello! These are the posts I'd recommend you read:
A Question of Chance
Never Neverland
In the eye of the beholder
Hip Popping
Poverty
Dear Samuel
I see your true colours
No special treatment-the practical response
The Job's fair, Part 1, 2 and 3
Page 18, Other Information
Chocolate
Phone a Friend
The great toy review
Mac An Cheez Plz
Bog Off
Some posts contain NSFW material, particularly Phone a Friend and The Great Toy Review
The first was to sell a piece of writing.
Today I've achieved that resolution, my article has been published here, on the BBC's disability website Ouch.
You'll have to wait until I achieve the second for me to admit what it is!
For anyone visiting this site for the first time as a result of the Ouch article, Hello! These are the posts I'd recommend you read:
A Question of Chance
Never Neverland
In the eye of the beholder
Hip Popping
Poverty
Dear Samuel
I see your true colours
No special treatment-the practical response
The Job's fair, Part 1, 2 and 3
Page 18, Other Information
Chocolate
Phone a Friend
The great toy review
Mac An Cheez Plz
Bog Off
Some posts contain NSFW material, particularly Phone a Friend and The Great Toy Review
Monday, May 11, 2009
In praise of benefit fraud
In praise of benefit fraud is a must read post about the hypocrisy of James Purnell and the whole 'benefit fraudsters' campaigns conducted in recent years.
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Ehlers Danlos Awareness Month
It's Ehlers Danlos Awareness Month!
5 Simple questions to indicate hypermobility
5 Simple questions to indicate hypermobility
Thursday, May 07, 2009
The principle of the workhouse
"the principle underlying welfare reform is the principle of the workhouse... you make claiming benefit so degrading and so difficult that people don't want to do it.... that was the principle of the workhouse and that is the principle that the very lovely James Purnell is introducing into welfare"
Diane Abbott 'This Week' 4/12/08
As, the 'veryunlovely' James Purnell is too busy claiming for his weekly grocery bill , rent and cleaners to deal with the state he left his flat in, let alone comment about his hypocrisy, I'm directing you to this post by Brainblogger which is a poignant insight into the impact of such reforms upon the lives of disabled claimants.
Income Support rate for single adult over 25: £64.30 per week.
Carer's Allowance : £53.10 per week
Diane Abbott 'This Week' 4/12/08
As, the 'very
Income Support rate for single adult over 25: £64.30 per week.
Carer's Allowance : £53.10 per week
Courier firm swindle NHS
Wednesday, May 06, 2009
Things that go bump....in the grass!
The weather was nice on Sunday so Conventgirl and I went out for the day, and what a day it was! We started by going for lunch in a local pub. It was packed out as it was showing the football live, neither of us knew there was a match on, but as one of our aims for the day was to enjoy watching menthe view we weren't too bothered. We managed to find a table and because my food choice was typically awkward I went to the bar to order. The queue was lengthy and there was no way I was going to be able to stand and wait. I asked the very pleasant lady stood behind me if she'd mind my sitting at their adjacent table whilst we queued which she was quite happy to agree too. Eventually the order was placed and I returned to Conventgirl and our table.
It was moments before I was approached by an older lady who'd been further back in the queue. Tentatively at first she asked me if I was disabled, and when I confirmed that she started to tell me that my 'scooter' was blocking an entrance. Now, I was a little confused as I don't have a scooter and assumed she must've muddled it up with the car which we'd parked in an adjoining road, but no, she meant a scooter. Someone had parked one poorly, blocking people's access. For some reason she made the connection between me being disabled and it being my scooter. I can sort of see the link, but as there were at least half a dozen people in the pub I'd spotted with wheelchairs or walking aids I'm not sure why she assumed it was mine, perhaps because I didn't have any of those aids with me.
The confusion was cleared up in time for our lunch to arrive, although I don't think the lady found the owner of the scooter. Conventgirl and I tucked into our food and talked aboutmenswine flu. Conventgirl has had a cold all week, and she did go on a plane so of course it must be swine flu, even if it was me coughing all over the place and not her!
After lunch we decided to go for a drive and have coffee somewhere. Eventually we drove past our holy grail, a rugby tournament. Well, that was us set for the afternoon! Or so we thought
Pulling up at the entrance I asked the marshals where the disabled parking was. Blank look. Eventually one of them asked if I had a blue badge, and when I showed it to him handed over two wristbands and waved his arm vaguely in the direction of 'over there'. Fair enough we thought and went over there.
We managed to park, get the wheelchair out and head off. Slowly mind as pushing a standard wheelchair over rough grassland isn't exactly easy. Our second disappointment was the lack of beer tent, not that I really drink but CG does. Apparently the club had decided to ban alcohol from the main ground after a mass fight a few years ago, the only place alcohol could be bought and consumed was by the clubhouse which seemed fair enough. Only club members allowed up there though. Again, fair enough, it's their club. Although neither CG or I are strangers to the place as both my younger brothers played there for years and CG's nephews were playing in the tournament itself.
Before long CG and I were approached by a couple of club members there to supervise their teenage sons. They wanted to make sure we were ok. Nothing to do with us being the only single women over 15 in sight of course! They were very nice gentlemen though, and one was on the committee of the rugby club. He volunteered himself as chief wheelchair pusher and as is typical for the area I live in, within a few moments we'd established we knew each other from one of my previous places of employment. I didn't need a wheelchair in those days so of course he wanted to know what had changed and in the course of the conversation he realised that the club didn't have any facilities for disabled people and became very embarrassed about that.
Now, generally speaking I wouldn't particularly expect a small town rugby club to be top of the list of accessible venues, but on the weekend of a popular tournament I did think they'd at least have provided an area of disabled parking and an accessible loo. It turned out the wrist bands we'd been given for free to gain entry should have cost us £7 each...which is probably why we weren't charged, the marshalls assumed we'd be leaving immediately as there was nowhere to park or pee. The pub we'd been in for lunch had had a high number of people with all varieties of mobility problems because, although far from perfect they have ensured level access and accessible toilets. Many of those people had gone there specifically to watch the football, and I expect many would have liked to enjoy the live rugby too (even if perhaps not for the same reasons as CG and I did!)
Nice gentleman went off and bought CG and I some tea, and we carried on chatting as he pushed me from pitch to pitch. NG knowing full well what the appeal to CG and I was! As we talked I mentioned the murderball documentary. Nice gentleman had been mentioning his fears about his son being injured playing rugby and during the conversation I said that I thought it was very strange for a sport with potential to cause spinal cord injuries not to be considering the needs of it's injured players. Some clubs are excellent at doing so, but certainly in my area it doesn't seem to have occurred to anyone. I mentioned Daniel James's tragic death and that, although I have no knowledge of how supportive or not his rugby club were, it seemed as though such players need all the support they can get from their former clubs and sport in general.
Nice gentleman became increasingly embarrassed that as a club and committee they had not even thought to provide any disabled facilities. This was highlighted when I needed the loo. There are toilets in the clubhouse, which although not designed to be accessible would have been suitable for someone with my level of mobility, and said he was more than happy to push me up the steep slope to access the clubhouse. He left us to go and ensure that was ok, but returned shortly afterwards to explain he was sorry and ashamed to say that those in charge of the club had refused to allow me access to the clubhouse to use the toilet.
There were some portaloo's on the grounds so instead Nicegentleman and Conventgirl pushed me over to them and helped me up the very steep steps. Inside the toilets were flooded with water and dangerous for anyone, let alone someone not too steady on their feet. Nicegentleman waited outside to assist me back down the steps. He was clearly mortified about the situation and said he would be raising it formally with the club, and that he hoped I would make a formal complaint to them. I'm very reluctant to do so as this is such a small community, and both I and my family are known well to several of the club's committee members and certainly many members of the rugby club itself. It shouldn't matter, but it does.
Conventgirl and I certainly attracted alot of attention from the rubgy players, although for all the wrong reasons. Many were staring openly at the wheelchair, but more so when I decided to just get out and walk. People literally reeled back in shock when they saw that. One player in particular (and very nice looking he was too!) just kept staring at me. I laughed at him, so he laughed back, but continued to keep on staring and laughing long after I'd got back in the wheelchair to stuff myself with icecream. He clearly wanted to ask some questions but was too embarrassed to do so. All the adults were shown up by a group of fairly young teenage boys who initially stood infront of me in my wheelchair blocking the view of the pitch, but quickly realised, apologised and moved over.
Eventually we decidedthere were only so many gorgeous muscular thighs we could perve atto call it a day and headed back to the car, Conventgirl pushing. At which point we hit a pothole. Hard! I dislocated my hip and fell forwards out of the wheelchair* There was a reason I had such a lecture from the wheelchair centre about remembering to put my seatbelt on, and this was probably it**. After a moment or so it became very obvious my hip was fully dislocated and the only way I could relocate it would be lying flat on my back. Conventgirl went and got a couple of the RedCross volunteers waiting nearby (who looked like I'd made their day!) to come and assist.
The RedCross people lifted me up so that they could lower me down on to the blanket CG had fetched from my car. Although they were very kind, one of them had a deathgrip hold of my arm which is still painful now! Once I was lying down I could mobilise my hip but it was a struggle to get it back into it's socket, it just wouldn't settle and kept flicking out. For a horrible moment I was having visions of being forced into A&E on a bank holiday sunday evening, which is quite the punishment for anyone. My hip was dislocating posteriorly which is much more difficult to relocate than an anterior dislocation, especially as I usually find if it's dislocated that way it gets stuck on what I assume must be the rim of the pelvic bone. I suspect this time I've put a tear in the labrum, which is something I've done on many occasions in my shoulders. If that's the case it'll heal on it's own eventually and going by previous shoulder surgeries will heal better if left to it's own devices.
It took a good five minutes for me to get the hip back into a reasonable position but it was having none of it and I couldn't weight bear at all. We decided CG should drive my car home and after some paracetamol provided by the RedCross off we went. After all, the drugs in my flat are far, far better than paracetamol! I must remember to go and get some more Oramorph from my GP, it's expiry date was 2007. Seemed to do the trick though!
*As far as I'm concerned the liability for this rest squarely upon my shoulders. I knew shortly after arriving that there were no facilities (although not about the lack of loo) and made the decision to use a wheelchair on rough ground knowing I was at risk of being catapulted out.
**Actually if I'd had my seatbelt on it would probably have been worse because I would've ended up with multiple spinal dislocations from being held in place
It was moments before I was approached by an older lady who'd been further back in the queue. Tentatively at first she asked me if I was disabled, and when I confirmed that she started to tell me that my 'scooter' was blocking an entrance. Now, I was a little confused as I don't have a scooter and assumed she must've muddled it up with the car which we'd parked in an adjoining road, but no, she meant a scooter. Someone had parked one poorly, blocking people's access. For some reason she made the connection between me being disabled and it being my scooter. I can sort of see the link, but as there were at least half a dozen people in the pub I'd spotted with wheelchairs or walking aids I'm not sure why she assumed it was mine, perhaps because I didn't have any of those aids with me.
The confusion was cleared up in time for our lunch to arrive, although I don't think the lady found the owner of the scooter. Conventgirl and I tucked into our food and talked about
After lunch we decided to go for a drive and have coffee somewhere. Eventually we drove past our holy grail, a rugby tournament. Well, that was us set for the afternoon! Or so we thought
Pulling up at the entrance I asked the marshals where the disabled parking was. Blank look. Eventually one of them asked if I had a blue badge, and when I showed it to him handed over two wristbands and waved his arm vaguely in the direction of 'over there'. Fair enough we thought and went over there.
We managed to park, get the wheelchair out and head off. Slowly mind as pushing a standard wheelchair over rough grassland isn't exactly easy. Our second disappointment was the lack of beer tent, not that I really drink but CG does. Apparently the club had decided to ban alcohol from the main ground after a mass fight a few years ago, the only place alcohol could be bought and consumed was by the clubhouse which seemed fair enough. Only club members allowed up there though. Again, fair enough, it's their club. Although neither CG or I are strangers to the place as both my younger brothers played there for years and CG's nephews were playing in the tournament itself.
Before long CG and I were approached by a couple of club members there to supervise their teenage sons. They wanted to make sure we were ok. Nothing to do with us being the only single women over 15 in sight of course! They were very nice gentlemen though, and one was on the committee of the rugby club. He volunteered himself as chief wheelchair pusher and as is typical for the area I live in, within a few moments we'd established we knew each other from one of my previous places of employment. I didn't need a wheelchair in those days so of course he wanted to know what had changed and in the course of the conversation he realised that the club didn't have any facilities for disabled people and became very embarrassed about that.
Now, generally speaking I wouldn't particularly expect a small town rugby club to be top of the list of accessible venues, but on the weekend of a popular tournament I did think they'd at least have provided an area of disabled parking and an accessible loo. It turned out the wrist bands we'd been given for free to gain entry should have cost us £7 each...which is probably why we weren't charged, the marshalls assumed we'd be leaving immediately as there was nowhere to park or pee. The pub we'd been in for lunch had had a high number of people with all varieties of mobility problems because, although far from perfect they have ensured level access and accessible toilets. Many of those people had gone there specifically to watch the football, and I expect many would have liked to enjoy the live rugby too (even if perhaps not for the same reasons as CG and I did!)
Nice gentleman went off and bought CG and I some tea, and we carried on chatting as he pushed me from pitch to pitch. NG knowing full well what the appeal to CG and I was! As we talked I mentioned the murderball documentary. Nice gentleman had been mentioning his fears about his son being injured playing rugby and during the conversation I said that I thought it was very strange for a sport with potential to cause spinal cord injuries not to be considering the needs of it's injured players. Some clubs are excellent at doing so, but certainly in my area it doesn't seem to have occurred to anyone. I mentioned Daniel James's tragic death and that, although I have no knowledge of how supportive or not his rugby club were, it seemed as though such players need all the support they can get from their former clubs and sport in general.
Nice gentleman became increasingly embarrassed that as a club and committee they had not even thought to provide any disabled facilities. This was highlighted when I needed the loo. There are toilets in the clubhouse, which although not designed to be accessible would have been suitable for someone with my level of mobility, and said he was more than happy to push me up the steep slope to access the clubhouse. He left us to go and ensure that was ok, but returned shortly afterwards to explain he was sorry and ashamed to say that those in charge of the club had refused to allow me access to the clubhouse to use the toilet.
There were some portaloo's on the grounds so instead Nicegentleman and Conventgirl pushed me over to them and helped me up the very steep steps. Inside the toilets were flooded with water and dangerous for anyone, let alone someone not too steady on their feet. Nicegentleman waited outside to assist me back down the steps. He was clearly mortified about the situation and said he would be raising it formally with the club, and that he hoped I would make a formal complaint to them. I'm very reluctant to do so as this is such a small community, and both I and my family are known well to several of the club's committee members and certainly many members of the rugby club itself. It shouldn't matter, but it does.
Conventgirl and I certainly attracted alot of attention from the rubgy players, although for all the wrong reasons. Many were staring openly at the wheelchair, but more so when I decided to just get out and walk. People literally reeled back in shock when they saw that. One player in particular (and very nice looking he was too!) just kept staring at me. I laughed at him, so he laughed back, but continued to keep on staring and laughing long after I'd got back in the wheelchair to stuff myself with icecream. He clearly wanted to ask some questions but was too embarrassed to do so. All the adults were shown up by a group of fairly young teenage boys who initially stood infront of me in my wheelchair blocking the view of the pitch, but quickly realised, apologised and moved over.
Eventually we decided
The RedCross people lifted me up so that they could lower me down on to the blanket CG had fetched from my car. Although they were very kind, one of them had a deathgrip hold of my arm which is still painful now! Once I was lying down I could mobilise my hip but it was a struggle to get it back into it's socket, it just wouldn't settle and kept flicking out. For a horrible moment I was having visions of being forced into A&E on a bank holiday sunday evening, which is quite the punishment for anyone. My hip was dislocating posteriorly which is much more difficult to relocate than an anterior dislocation, especially as I usually find if it's dislocated that way it gets stuck on what I assume must be the rim of the pelvic bone. I suspect this time I've put a tear in the labrum, which is something I've done on many occasions in my shoulders. If that's the case it'll heal on it's own eventually and going by previous shoulder surgeries will heal better if left to it's own devices.
It took a good five minutes for me to get the hip back into a reasonable position but it was having none of it and I couldn't weight bear at all. We decided CG should drive my car home and after some paracetamol provided by the RedCross off we went. After all, the drugs in my flat are far, far better than paracetamol! I must remember to go and get some more Oramorph from my GP, it's expiry date was 2007. Seemed to do the trick though!
*As far as I'm concerned the liability for this rest squarely upon my shoulders. I knew shortly after arriving that there were no facilities (although not about the lack of loo) and made the decision to use a wheelchair on rough ground knowing I was at risk of being catapulted out.
**Actually if I'd had my seatbelt on it would probably have been worse because I would've ended up with multiple spinal dislocations from being held in place
Tuesday, May 05, 2009
You couldn't make it up!
Msn Chat with anonymous dating site blokey earlier today
Anonblokey: Forgive my retarded typing
BendyGirl:I'll forgive the typing, but not so sure about the word 'retarded'
Anonblokey:so what do you write about then?
BendyGirl: Disability issues mainly.
Anonblokey: Haha
BendyGirl: No, really
Anonblokey: I'll get my coat.
Anonblokey: Forgive my retarded typing
BendyGirl:I'll forgive the typing, but not so sure about the word 'retarded'
Anonblokey:so what do you write about then?
BendyGirl: Disability issues mainly.
Anonblokey: Haha
BendyGirl: No, really
Anonblokey: I'll get my coat.
Friday, May 01, 2009
Words Hurt - Blogging Against Disablism Day 2009
Today is Blogging Against Disablism Day 2009. I was unsure what my contribution should be and had been considering a blog about what phrases like 'managing' or 'coping' really entail in relation to living with a disability. However, after events of this week a subject presented itself.
On Wednesday I wrote a blog about disablist language. I misread a phrase in a blog on Liberal Conspiracy and wrote my own blog to say I found the language offensive and disappointing, especially on a site supposed to promote liberal values. I did misread the phrase, we all make mistakes and misinterpret things, particularly with the written word. As it lacks the inflections and nuances of spoken words, the background which gives them meaning is more difficult to discern on a page. The phrase had been written as 'brain drain mongers' and instead of the intended meaning of monger as in fishmonger or warmonger I misread the phrase to read 'braindrain mongers'-as in only someone as stupid as a 'monger'* would think that. Like I say, I misread it. Easy done, I offered my apologies to the author of the post, but he was neither offended or upset, why should he be?
He was in the minority though as lots of people were very upset. With me. For having the temerity to suggest that language has the power to hurt. The furious comments under the original blog were deeply depressing as although I'd made a mistake when I misread the phrase, the commenters proved the point I was trying to make. That generally people simply do not consider language which is offensive or derogatory to disabled people in the same way they recognise the power of offensive or derogatory language when it comes to race, gender, religion or sexuality.
I was lambasted for making such a 'retarded' comment, held up as an example of everything wrong with political correctness, mocked for my evidently New Labour sink comprehensive education** and various other comments in that vein. I was particularly bemused by the comments relating to making such language illegal or banning words. Some of the commenters headed over to this blog to make sure I knew exactly how stupid I was, and that I had wilfully and deliberately misinterpreted the words.
One commenter made the point that all I had done was to express my disappointment with words which one human being had used which had been hurtful towards another. No more, no less. I didn't call for anything to be banned, legislated or made illegal. I didn't mention political correctness or suggest any form of legal resolution to such issues. I simply stated my disappointment. I'd like to thank the author of that comment as (s)he just got it. They got the point that language can hurt, can be oppressive or derogatory and that it is important to choose our words carefully. They saw that it's important not because of rules or regulations but because it's simply one human being saying to another 'your words hurt and harm me'.
*When I was growing up 'monger' was a commonly used derogatory expression for someone with Down's Syndrome. It's still a word frequently used in the area I live to describe something or someone as particularly stupid.
**Amusingly as my entire education was at a grammar school during the previous Tory govt
On Wednesday I wrote a blog about disablist language. I misread a phrase in a blog on Liberal Conspiracy and wrote my own blog to say I found the language offensive and disappointing, especially on a site supposed to promote liberal values. I did misread the phrase, we all make mistakes and misinterpret things, particularly with the written word. As it lacks the inflections and nuances of spoken words, the background which gives them meaning is more difficult to discern on a page. The phrase had been written as 'brain drain mongers' and instead of the intended meaning of monger as in fishmonger or warmonger I misread the phrase to read 'braindrain mongers'-as in only someone as stupid as a 'monger'* would think that. Like I say, I misread it. Easy done, I offered my apologies to the author of the post, but he was neither offended or upset, why should he be?
He was in the minority though as lots of people were very upset. With me. For having the temerity to suggest that language has the power to hurt. The furious comments under the original blog were deeply depressing as although I'd made a mistake when I misread the phrase, the commenters proved the point I was trying to make. That generally people simply do not consider language which is offensive or derogatory to disabled people in the same way they recognise the power of offensive or derogatory language when it comes to race, gender, religion or sexuality.
I was lambasted for making such a 'retarded' comment, held up as an example of everything wrong with political correctness, mocked for my evidently New Labour sink comprehensive education** and various other comments in that vein. I was particularly bemused by the comments relating to making such language illegal or banning words. Some of the commenters headed over to this blog to make sure I knew exactly how stupid I was, and that I had wilfully and deliberately misinterpreted the words.
One commenter made the point that all I had done was to express my disappointment with words which one human being had used which had been hurtful towards another. No more, no less. I didn't call for anything to be banned, legislated or made illegal. I didn't mention political correctness or suggest any form of legal resolution to such issues. I simply stated my disappointment. I'd like to thank the author of that comment as (s)he just got it. They got the point that language can hurt, can be oppressive or derogatory and that it is important to choose our words carefully. They saw that it's important not because of rules or regulations but because it's simply one human being saying to another 'your words hurt and harm me'.
*When I was growing up 'monger' was a commonly used derogatory expression for someone with Down's Syndrome. It's still a word frequently used in the area I live to describe something or someone as particularly stupid.
**Amusingly as my entire education was at a grammar school during the previous Tory govt
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