Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Love Sheffield
I love Sheffield. This morning I had an idea of simplicity and beauty, and created the Love Sheffield design. With encouragement from @andlavendercats I added it as a t-shirt range on RedBubble, including on baby clothes, then also as an iPhone case and a greeting card and postcard. Enjoy!
Wednesday, April 04, 2012
Updates
I was interviewed for two fab articles with Women's Views on News:
I also, amusingly, turned up on the ITV News website and a Canadian News site, CBC.ca, over a twitter hashtag game about the government's plans to snoop on every email we send, amongst other things.
Some posts I've done at The F-Word:
Personally, things have been busy. I'm missing writing for Where's the Benefit? but since the Welfare Reform Bill (oh, sorry, Act) came into law I've felt entirely powerless over it. I need to get beyond a place where every possible action seems pointless, in that respect.
I also, amusingly, turned up on the ITV News website and a Canadian News site, CBC.ca, over a twitter hashtag game about the government's plans to snoop on every email we send, amongst other things.
Some posts I've done at The F-Word:
- Is it any surprise?, about rape culture
- Are you a neighbour from hell? You might be surprised, about poverty and disability.
- Dennis Waterman: "It's not hard for a woman to make a man hit her" about, well, about Dennis Waterman saying that.
- Cinderella Ate My Daughters, about a great podcast I listened to.
Personally, things have been busy. I'm missing writing for Where's the Benefit? but since the Welfare Reform Bill (oh, sorry, Act) came into law I've felt entirely powerless over it. I need to get beyond a place where every possible action seems pointless, in that respect.
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
"Got another forgery then, have you?"
The last few weeks I've been on two crutches rather than one. This started when I tripped and tore a toenail off, then continued when I got new neurological symptoms in a rather large new section of my left thigh.
While I am normally all in favour of the wonder of mobility aids, because they give people freedom and independence and, well, mobility, I get seriously less enthusiastic when I need two crutches rather than one. It means I am hurting my elbows and wrists on both arms instead of just one, it makes doing nearly anything a nightmare. I have to ask for help a lot more, it hurts, I hate it.
If it turns out to be long-term I'll just have to get the hang of it, but in the meantime, I'm seriously unimpressed.
This morning I got on the bus. It's a local service where it tends to be the same drivers most of the time, so I know some of them. Today, on spotting that I had two crutches and not one, a driver I know reasonably well said, "got another forgery then, have you?", and laughed.
It was banter. That bloody word. Can't I take a joke?
On top of feeling distinctly unimpressed with the two crutch situation already, this idiot added a whole other layer of fed-up-ness to the mix. For the rest of the day I felt self-conscious. Do all these people think I'm faking?
If he had thought about it, even for a millisecond, he would perhaps have realised that an increase in the number of crutches perhaps corresponded with a deterioration in my health. He would perhaps have realised that I might not be overjoyed about that.
Today was so painful. My arms are completely wrecked, and my right hand is considerably worse than usual. I don't know if that is a progression of the condition, or just a reaction to too much crutch use today.
It's not funny. It's not banter. It's thoughtless and fucking cruel, if you take even a second to think about it.
While I am normally all in favour of the wonder of mobility aids, because they give people freedom and independence and, well, mobility, I get seriously less enthusiastic when I need two crutches rather than one. It means I am hurting my elbows and wrists on both arms instead of just one, it makes doing nearly anything a nightmare. I have to ask for help a lot more, it hurts, I hate it.
If it turns out to be long-term I'll just have to get the hang of it, but in the meantime, I'm seriously unimpressed.
This morning I got on the bus. It's a local service where it tends to be the same drivers most of the time, so I know some of them. Today, on spotting that I had two crutches and not one, a driver I know reasonably well said, "got another forgery then, have you?", and laughed.
It was banter. That bloody word. Can't I take a joke?
On top of feeling distinctly unimpressed with the two crutch situation already, this idiot added a whole other layer of fed-up-ness to the mix. For the rest of the day I felt self-conscious. Do all these people think I'm faking?
If he had thought about it, even for a millisecond, he would perhaps have realised that an increase in the number of crutches perhaps corresponded with a deterioration in my health. He would perhaps have realised that I might not be overjoyed about that.
Today was so painful. My arms are completely wrecked, and my right hand is considerably worse than usual. I don't know if that is a progression of the condition, or just a reaction to too much crutch use today.
It's not funny. It's not banter. It's thoughtless and fucking cruel, if you take even a second to think about it.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
