Back in the early 90s, my advertising agency made a film for a disability charity (that sadly never saw the light of day). I just unearthed it. It demonstrates wonderfully the creativity that so many disabled people are capable of, because their situations force them to look at the activities of daily living in different ways. [...]
I went to a new GP today. The appointment was a long one, as I recounted my not inconsiderable medical history. The conversation was a bit stilted. As a result, the thirty minutes seemed like sixty. It surprised me that a doctor nowadays would have such an awkward ‘bedside manner’. Then, suddenly, the conversation became [...]
If you are into news or football, or both, you won’t have escaped noticing the furor, and public debate that followed, surrounding two of Sky’s (former) faces of the beautiful game. That Richard Keys and Andy Gray have left the channel following remarks about the professional capability of a woman linesman, and the sexist banter [...]
Last week, I noticed in the newspaper that a new superhero is coming to US bookstores. The Silver Scorpion, a Muslim boy in a wheelchair, will be arriving there in November. Perhaps this is indicative of a fresh more positive portrayal of disabled people. In fact, a wheelchair manufacturer I know was recently approached about [...]
Have you noticed that most "bad" characters in film, TV or literature have their flawed character manifested physically in some way? So, there is the James Bond villain with a scar or in a wheelchair or with metal teeth. There's Quasimodo, the Hunchback of Notre Dame and there's Captain Hook in Peter Pan. From a [...]