Appeals on the Bus
A panel of seven judges from the highest court in the land is currently considering an issue that matters to me deeply. The judges of the Supreme Court are hearing Doug Paulley’s long-running case...
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Disabled Doesn’t Mean Less Able
Yesterday was the last day of Southbank Centre’s incredible Unlimited Festival. The Festival celebrates the artistic vision and originality of disabled artists. Highlights for me included Claire...
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Give and Tate
You may have noticed I’ve been a bit quiet of late but don’t worry, it’s not because I’ve run out of steam – in fact it’s been because everything’s been going flat out over the last few weeks. In a few...
View ArticleThe Paulley Principle
Last night we opened our run of Backstage in Biscuit Land at the Birmingham Rep – as I rolled on stage I felt more excited than nervous. And while I was certainly pretty tense before our Broadcast from...
View ArticleA Crisis To Care About
As a society we’ve become all too familiar with crises: the financial crisis, the housing crisis, the refugee crisis. We’ve been having crisis shortages of courgettes, plastic bags and even ‘biscuits’!...
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Disabled By The Government
People are being disabled at an alarming rate and the culprit’s sweeping across the country unchecked, robbing people of their mobility, independence, and quality of life. So who is this culprit, and...
View ArticleReclaim The Process
So Teresa May has announced a general election on 8th June! Innes, my support worker, announced this on the bus half an hour ago as we were on our way back from a hospital appointment. The news...
View ArticleSolidarity For Everyone - Even Lamp-Posts
It’s 6am, early morning light is creeping in under my pale blue blind, and through the gap I get a glimpse of the garden outside. I know the lamp-post’s out there too, but it went off about an hour ago...
View ArticleA Letter to John Lewis
Usually my “ticcing fits” are characterised by my inability to speak for the duration of the fits. But sometimes it works the other way round and my tics rattle on all the way through. That’s what...
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Your Home Or Your Life
I’m incredibly fortunate to own my home. I know that for many people the current crisis in housing makes this impossible, and is likely to do so for future generations. I watch people I care about...
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“Strong and Stable Is For Tables”
Like all super villains and/or daft comedy characters, Theresa May has a catchphrase. It isn’t “Exterminate!” like the Daleks, although that would fit with her polices, and It certainly isn’t, “I have...
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A Chance For Change
When Teresa May called a snap general election just seven weeks ago I felt a flash of hope, followed by an overwhelming feeling of apprehension. I desperately want to be part of a society that’s more...
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Searching for Thais
I remember the first time I ever used Twitter – it’s etched in my memory. It was almost eight years ago on a sunny weekend in July. I didn’t use it to share information – I used it to find some. It was...
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Changing Places Means Changing Attitudes
For over a decade Mencap have run Changing Places, an amazing campaign to improve toilet provision for disabled people across the UK. Changing Places toilets are loos that meet a specific set of...
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Let’s Talk About Faff
I delivered a training session today for a media company who are making a documentary about Tourettes. Often when I’m training people on issues relating to inclusion and equality I talk about the need...
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The Straw Fan
Over the last few months I’ve seen a number of groups calling for a ban on disposable plastic straws. Campaigns such as ‘Straws Suck’, ‘The Final Straw’ and ‘The Last Plastic Straw’ are but a few of...
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Stop Talking And Start Relaxing
Joyce was supporting me today and we got chatting about theatre. She’s not a regular-theatre goer but she did come to the Brewing In The Basement cabaret night we held at The Barbican Centre last...
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Reflection For Grenfell
A year ago today the country woke up to the news of the shocking fire at Grenfell Tower. In the post I wrote later that day I described how, even from those very early pictures and news reports, I felt...
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#INeedStraws
Back in March I wrote about the threatened ban on plastic straws. In it I responded to a lot of the questions non-disabled people were asking when disabled people told them they really do need straws....
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Wheelie Imaginative
I’ve been staying with Fat Sister, King Russell and their young daughter Bean over the last few days. Bean has lots of Duplo building bricks – in fact they used to be Fat Sister’s and mine. As a child...
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