Updates

I seem to have started many of my last few posts with apologies for not posting for a while, and this one looks to be no different! I've attempted to blog a couple of times over the past few days, but I've got so much to fill you in on that it's been a bit daunting. However, I finally have enough time and energy to get you up to speed on what's been happening in my life over the past few weeks.

1. Summer is here! I moved back home on Friday for the holidays and won't be going back to Lancaster until (hopefully, barring any resits) at least the end of September or the beginning of October. My exams went as well as could be hoped, so am trying to push the thought of them to the back of my mind until 14th July which is when I get my results. Fingers crossed I will have done well! It also means that I'm finally free of my problem volunteer, here's hoping that I will get some great volunteers next year.
2. My brother's wedding was last weekend (the 11th). It was a really amazing day and will remembered for being so special and a great big party. I will try and do a dedicated wedding post over the next few days with photos, if anyone is interested?
3. I go to London for my work experience a week on Saturday. I will be working for three days, so have the rest of the time to do some touristy bits and bobs and hopefully see a show. Any recommendations for places to go to?
4. I got a position on my student's union for next term - Liberation Campaigns Officer. You might remember me mentioning this a while back and I decided to go for it. I won by over one hundred votes which is pretty amazing considering I don't consider myself very well known. If you're interested in reading my manifesto, take a look at the Facebook event I set up here.
5. I also mentioned in that post that I was considering applying for a tv thing called Battlefront. I did apply with one of my Trailblazer friends, but I got a call today saying that we weren't chosen. I'm not too disappointed as they had tons of applications and wasn't really expecting to be picked - of course it would have been nice! - but I'm glad we tried, as nothing ventured, nothing gained, right?

Sorry if this post has bored you to death, hehe, and I will hopefully be writing something more interesting soon!

Cinema campaign

My posts are like buses, you wait ages for one and then two come along at once! :)

Anyway, our latest campaign with Trailblazers is campaigning for better access to cinemas. We've been doing research for a couple of months now, and are currently working on a documentary about it, which will (fingers crossed) be shown at cinemas before a film.

As part of this, we are also making a petition to present to the cinema manager big-wigs about access to cinemas in the hope they will make some changes in order to better accommodate people with disabilities, particularly those in wheelchairs,

I'd really appreciate if you could sign our petition here; every single signature counts and hopefully we can make some progress in ensuring our trips to the cinema are as enjoyable and pain-free as possible!

Opportunities...

I have a couple of things which have popped up in the last week or so which I'm interested in getting involved in, but not sure if I'm brave enough! If I talk you through them, could you let me know what you think and whether I should get involved?

1. Battlefront - it's a Channel 4 thing looking for campaigners. It looks like a great opportunity to raise awareness and get some experience. I could either apply alone or with some Trailblazers.
2. There's some Cross-Campus Elections going on in a few weeks at my university student union for Officer positions for next year...there's a couple of campaign ones which look interesting and it would be a great chance to make some changes benefitting students like me.

What do you guys think? I'd be really interested in your feedback and support!

Trailblazers

A couple of posts back, you might have seen me mention Trailblazers, the campaign group I am a member of. Since the theme of ChronicBabe's Blog Carnival this time is Causes I Stand Up For and Support, I thought I'd tell you a little bit about us, what we do and why I got involved.

Trailblazers is a part of the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign, the main charity in the UK fundraising for research into muscular dystrophy and related muscle disease, as well as supporting the individuals with the condition. We're a group of young people aged 16 to 30 who fight against the social injustices faced by people with muscle disease, and have published five reports on key areas we feel need change; public transport, access to university, access to work, tourism and leisure facilities.

I joined Trailblazers almost two years ago, and first got involved with the access to university report. Since then I have been fairly active within the group, helping with media awareness for the reports. When the leisure report was released, I spoke to journalists of local newspapers, and on two local radio stations about my local zoo charging ticket price for carers, meaning a disabled person needing a carer to accompany them effectively pays almost double an able-bodied person would. I've also attended regional group meetings in Manchester, and last month went to Parliament to help launch an All Party Parliamentary Group for Young Disabled People.

Since joining, I've realised how passionate I am about challenging people's perceptions of disability and how social barriers can be overcome. I never thought I could make a difference, but through Trailblazers, I've seen for myself what changes we have made and how much more progress we can achieve. After university, I think I want to pursue a career in campaigning in order to make further advances in the equality of disabled people.

Justifying my existence...

Through the Trailblazers' Facebook page (the disability campaign group I volunteer with), I came across this (skip to 26:35 for the relevant part). For people reading this after the link expires, it's an interview with a mother of a severely disabled child, who was so desperate for extra respite that she phoned social services to take her into care, as she just couldn't cope any more (google 'Riven Vincent' for a huge number of news stories about it).

The part of the interview which got me riled up was a listener, who I assumed at the time had phoned in to put forward her viewpoint. She began making comments about how unproductive the daughter's life would be and that it was an unnecessary burden on the taxpayer to pay for her care. She even got to the point of eugenics, implying that in 'olden days' the midwive would have smothered the child if it was born severely disabled. The mother then had to basically defend her daughter's existence on live radio, saying that she was intelligent and able to lead a fulfilled life, drawing similarities abilities-wise between her and Stephen Hawkings. The listener then had the audacity to say, "Well he's not really done anything of worth, has he?"!!!

I think what really tipped me over the edge and led me to make a complaint to the BBC was that this woman was making these comments before the show on its Facebook feed, and the presenter begged her, even baited her to come onto the show, knowing full well what she was going to say. I'm all for free speech, but giving her a platform and basically encouraging these extremist views is completely insensitive, and in my opinion was just done for its shock factor. I really feel for the mother, who should not have been put in the position she was, she put her case forward articulately and was able to make the woman look the fool she was.

I think this really hits home for me because I am what some people would class as 'severely disabled', yet I feel I have an excellent quality of life and can give back to society as much as any able bodied person. Who is she to dictate what 'quality of life' is?

Anyway, rant over. In other news I was rudely awoken this morning by the District Nurse at 8.45am to check my pressure areas. I had booked my appointment for 10am, but there must have been some breakdown in communication between the Sister and the nurse who came, as she thought it was at 9am. I'm thankful in that it gave me a reason to get me up and out of bed relatively early, though I've not been massively productive.

Enjoy Pancake Day and International Women's Day! I will try to post some pancake related pictures later. I'm also taking up blogging for Lent, even though I've started a little early, I will try and keep it up through Lent and beyond!

UPDATE: Sorry it's so late, but here is my pancake - nutella, strawberries, banana and squirty cream. Blooming lovely, but did make me feel a bit sick afterwards!