I haven’t written this blog for a few months, because in July I moved to Australia. I won’t go into detail here about the enormous logistical task it was for my wife, myself (and our cat) to relocate to the other side of the world, but I will say hats off to Justine for bringing [...]
As I said in my last blog entry, I was due to contest a parking ticket that I was disputing, and which I expected to win. My date with the adjudicator was last week. I came out of the hearing only half-smiling. The lawyer who was adjudicating concluded that he could not deem the issue [...]
Last week, I went to my local Vue cinema to see True Grit. My jaw dropped to the ground when I was asked by an eager young girl for a Cinema Exhibitors Association card, as proof of entitlement to a seat for my companion (without whose help I could not have got in to watch [...]
It’s New Year’s Eve. I’m full up after an overindulgent Christmas, and full of hope for the year to come. But, on reading the recent Office of National Statistics Life Opportunities Survey, my generally positive mood has been tempered by the survey’s bleak outlook for people with disabilities. The survey reveals that, wherever you turn, [...]
Idayah Miller is an 11 year-old black girl with cerebral palsy. She’s being discriminated against not because she’s black, not because she’s a girl, but because she’s disabled. Read all about Idayah’s story at http://bit.ly/fc2vWg After applying to one of the best schools in the country, her application was rejected because her wheelchair was deemed [...]
Around 11m people are registered disabled in the UK. This is around 1 in 4 of all adults. They have real financial muscle, with a combined spending power of about £8Obn. But: Only 1 in 2 work, compared with around 4 in 5 non-disabled people. About 8 in every 10 without qualifications are out of [...]
Nearly all of my friends share the view that, since the arrival of the Disability Discrimination Act here in the UK, the quality of life of disabled people has improved no end. The less enlightened ones go on to say that because there’s a ramp into this taxi, or a hearing loop in that bank, [...]
Most people agree that the true sign of a modern and civilized society can be seen in the way that it treats those that are “weakest”. Social welfare, even in times of austerity, should ensure that the “weakest” do not slip through the net. For disabled people, the holes in the net have just got [...]
I’ve just returned from a six-day break in Barcelona. Two things struck me in particular about a wheelchair-using disabled person spending time in this wonderful city. Firstly, the ability to get to so many places is like a breath of fresh air for a wheelchair user – particularly one like me, coming from London. Both [...]
Last week I went to a friend’s wedding party. It was held in the basement health club that was his own small business. I used the elevator to get down to basement level. He half complained about how he had been obliged by the law to spend a fortune for his small business fitting the [...]