On Friday I did something that I'd said I'd NEVER do. I went out with a friend to a shopping centre and I used a mobility scooter. And it was AWESOME! And so was my driving actually....apart from when I hit a wall. And got stuck in a lift. Hey ho.

But it meant that I could go to more shops, look at more things, and just generally not get so knackered! Normally, I use a wheelchair, and wheel myself. And despite the fact that my chair is light, comfy and turns on nothing, it is still so very knackering!

I went alongside the canal (there was a wide flat path, but it still felt a bit risky!) and out for lunch, and I was basically grinning the whole time! It was a sunny day too, which made it for me. Scooter + sun + leather jacket + new purchases = freedom and smiles! Now I've broken the back of my scooter fear, I'll be doing it again. It took me quite a while (years actually) to accept that I NEED something like that in my days. It's not what you picture yourself needing EVER, is it? And I did fight it. But at the end of the day, getting out and about wins hands down.

The only thing that confused me was that I noticed there was a difference in how people were towards me. On the scooter I found that people were more chatty and like the scooter was invisible...I was just me....What's that all about?

Anyway.....here's to the next outing!

About a week ago I watched The Best of Men. This was the second time I had watched it, the first time being when the Olympics and Paralympics were here, in England. For those of you not familiar with The Best of Men, it's about the Mandeville Games and how they went on to develop into the paralympics. The man that started all this was Dr Ludwig Guttman. Dr Gutmann was a Jewish German specialising in neurology, who came to England in 1939, and he settled in Oxford.

He worked at Stoke Mandeville, where he set up a ward specifically to care for the amount of people from the forces that found themselves with varying degrees of paralysis, due to injuries sustained in the war.

The biggest hurdle he faced was changing the view of others, including the medical profession, that despite the injuries that these people sustained, they could still contribute and achieve.

Guttman felt it was essential to restore hope and self belief in his patients, as well as practical retraining so that when they were well enough to leave they could once more contribute to society. And with this in mind, he decided to introduce sport to help rehabilitate his patients. Gutmann knew the benefits would be psychologically positive to his patients. One thing led to another and soon the Stoke Mandeville Games had begun. Initially this was with only two teams competing, made up of men and women.

 Word spread about the Stoke Mandeville Games, and in 1952 competitors arrived from Holland. By 1954, you could add Australia, Canada, Finland, Egypt and Israel to the list.

Rome, in 1960, held the first paralympic games, with athletes from 21 countries.

Over time the games have continued to grow with categories to include blind people, and amputees, and those with cerebral palsy, and still it continues to grow, with new games being added. In 2012 more than 4200 people from 164 competed in the Paralympics, and in Rio de Janeiro in 2016 there will be more games added, to a total of 22 sports.

I should think that Guttman is pleased with the legacy that he left.

So today is International Women's Day. I am ashamed to admit that that this was the first year that I had heard of it. Especially as it's been running for about 100 years.

So what's it all about? It's about equality, or rather recognising inequalities, and wanting to set them right. In some countries it's recognised as a national holiday, and in some cases this day is taken as holiday, for women only. One of the things that triggered the start, and indeed the need for this day, were issues such as voting for women. But that battle has long been won, won in 1918 (here in the UK, anyway.)
So do we still need International Women's day? Yes. Because battles are still needed to be fought. Like the battle for equal pay. This battle has seen Birmingham City Council sell the NEC in order to settle a bill, a bill created by their lack of equal pay. Why would a man be paid more than a woman, for doing exactly the same job? Why? I'm yet to hear a reasonable and understandable response to this question. Probably because there isn't one?

Click here to read a very interesting article
www.independent.co.uk/news/world/international-womens-day-2014-the-shocking-statistics-that-show-why-it-is-still-so-important-9177211.html

for mobile viewers click HERE

And in the spirit of equality, yes, there is an International Man's Day, on November 19th. This day looks at men's and boy's health, and promoting male role models, amongst other issues. And no, in true equal styleeee, I didn't know about that either.

A friend of mine sent me this to watch. And it's amazing. What makes it all the more amazing, for me anyway, is the simple message.....

PRESERVE AND CHERISH.

Watch and see what you think.

http://consciouslifenews.com/single-mind-altering-photograph-analysis-carl-sagan/

Every now and then, I get frustrated at the hand life has dealt me. But also, every now and then, people pop up like glowing beacons and I am grateful to them.

The first up to get my thanks is Danielle Sheypuk and Carrie Hammer. Carrie is a fashion designer who wanted to use role models in her shows. Danielle has a Phd and is a practicing psychologist. She earns her money, and wants to spend it too. She enjoys fashion, and like she said, disabled people wear clothes too. And she has cerebral palsy, and is a wheelchair user.

It makes financial sense, that if you sell a product, to appeal to as big an audience as possible. Businesses have been tapping into the pink pound and the grey pound for a wee while now. It makes financial sense to tap into the *disabled pound too. However, I go to the shops, and it's rare that I see other wheelchair users. And it's not because we don't exist, or need stuff. I believe, and through experience too, that places aren't particularly accessible. Even new places. I bet you some person in a hard hat had made a decision about what would work, without EVER getting in a wheelchair and trying it for themselves. If you're going to drop a kerb, drop it so it's flat!


My second thanks go to Francesca Martinez. She is a comedian, actress and campaigner. She also has cerebral palsy. I like what she says, and you too can read it here.....please do.....

http://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/feb/26/francesca-martinez-comedian-welfare-cuts-disabled-people

To the unknown person that gave me the present of books.....I'm getting to them I promise you, and I can't wait! I am a slow reader these days and I'm still working through, and enjoying, The Casual Vacancy. You have probably given me a years worth of reading, and the pile is patiently waiting, and your card is permanently displayed too, and these things still make me smile.

*I have a problem with the word disabled. All words pre fixed with dis signify being without. In this case, without being abled. I have difficulties, yes, and things are different now, BUT I am NOT without ability.

I have been absent due to sickness bugs and news that has occupied my mind, and now I emerge, it's to find chaos....

Sochi
Syria
Egypt
India
Ukraine
Venezuela
Flooding
Fighting
Bloodshed
Death

What is going on? It's all very unsettling. Where is the care?

Aristotle is often quoted as saying,

 'You can judge a nation by the way it treats it's most vulnerable citizens.'

And whilst this is true, it's just a starting point. Because I would also add that it's about equality and money too.

  'Seven Deadly Sins

Wealth without work

Pleasure without conscience

Science without humanity

Knowledge without character

Politics without principle

Commerce without morality

Worship without sacrifice.'

Mahatma Gandi.

Don't be without. Because otherwise you are just a taker. And sadly, we all know people like that. People that are only there when there's something in it for them. But when the tables turn, they are nowhere to be seen......

And all's gone quiet on the North Korea front. And the nuclear reactors at Fukushima in Japan. Are we so occupied that we've forgotten? Because that's when things creep up and surprise you, and that surprise will not be good.

First they came for the socialists, 

And I did not speak out,

Because I was not a socialist.

Then they came for the Trade Unionists, 

And I did not speak out,

because I was not a Trade Unionist.

Then they came for the Jews,

And I did not speak out, 

Because I was not a Jew.

And then they came for me, 

And there was no-one left to speak for me.

Martin Niemoller

And this man knows what he's talking about, as he spent 7 years in a concentration camp as he was outspoken against the Nazi party. 7 YEARS!

We all have a duty of care to speak out about unjustness. Don't fail to speak out.

I've lost count of the amount of times that people have said, 'But they help you, don't they.' These people are referring to my physical predicament, and how my home no longer works for me. These people, when pressed, cannot tell you who 'they' are, and what qualifies as 'help.'

So, I'll tell you about my experience of the 'help.' Several years ago I contacted my local home improvement agency (HIA) based at my local council. I was finding the steps at the front of my property difficult, so a handrail was installed. The same was done inside, alongside the stairs. Magic! Thank you! And for a while, that was enough. But as time passed, I degenerated, and I needed more help. An occupational therapist (who'd been hired by the local council) wrote a report saying I needed a downstairs bedroom and bathroom. And she was right.

Let battle commence......

The council denied me this help because they said....

a, my house was too small.

It's a 3 bedroomed house. If I applied for a council house, I would be eligible for......a 3 bedroomed house.

b, my house is excessively cold.

This said without the council measuring the temperature. Ever. Not once. Let alone over a period of time. 

c, my house is uninhabitable.

d, my house is worth £47,000.

I am linking c and d, because my house was valued recently by 3 estate agents with an average of £180,000. And ALL of the estate agents said I didn't need to do a thing to prepare for sale, as it was presented beautifully. And what bearing does the value of my home have on my needing help?

Never once did the council back up what they were saying with facts. Probably because they didn't have any. We, in our fight back, provided facts, professional opinions of builders, architects, surveyors, solicitors and Foundations, a government body set up to oversee all HIA's. We had to go through 3 stages of complaint, and then on to the ombudsman. I had faith that here, at least, we would get a balanced view. Well, that bubble popped when it became apparent that the ombudsman dealing with our case, didn't know that disabled adaptions are VAT exempt. I wouldn't expect the average person on the street to know this, but if it's what you're dealing with in your job, then yes! You should know it!

When you work, you have no choice but to pay into the pot. When misfortune befalls you, in my case in the form of a bad luck illness, you believe the pot you paid into will be there, to support you. What you find instead, is that someone is holding the pot lid on REALLY tightly. We put up a really good fight with that lid, but sadly, the grip was not loosened. And we left the fight battered, bruised, disheartened and empty handed. But proud of the fight we put up.

'They help you, don't they?' I can honestly say, no, they do not. They have, however, made me feel like a worthless piece of shit.

So, what now?