Time to take to a wheelchair…

…not least because it should enhance my quality of life quite considerably. Finally made what should be a life-enhancing decision yesterday. For years, walking or standing has been excruciatingly painful and, while I did use a wheelchair when I went out for a couple of years in the mid nineties, I never really felt comfortable [...]

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Blogging Against Disablism Day…

Blogging Against Disablism Day will be May 1st, 2011 See

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As with Mark Twain, reports of the death of books are greatly exaggerated…

For openers, this article is a pleasant change from the Guardian’s “death of books imminent” hysteria/paranoia. (A shortened version of this post appears in the Comments there.) …. Since I bought my Kindle in the first tranche of releases last year, I’ve probably bought more print books, not fewer – quite the opposite of what [...]

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Chronicles of the Heart, Part 4…

As I mentioned in Part 3, the echo-cardiogram I was expecting has been downgraded to an ECG administered by a GP. That is unacceptable. What follows is a copy of my letter to my GP, in an attempt to address that problem, plus the problem of getting adequate analgesia. I’ll let you know what the [...]

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Say no to AV and doom the country…

Do you believe that voting No to AV will strike a blow against Nick Clegg? You’re a cretin. Do you believe that voting Yes to AV will favour the BNP? You’re a cretin. Do you believe that AV means that your MP might turn out to have been  the third choice? (Actually seen that one [...]

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COPD Tip…

Not for the squeamish… Many people with COPD use a sputum pot of some sort, and it makes life much more pleasant if they can be easily reused and don’t smell. I finally cracked this when I was laid up recovering from pneumonia and empyema. I started using a clean

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Making life easier…

Here’s a tip for anyone with weak and/or painful hands – try Lexan tableware. I first used this on camping trips many years ago, as it’s very light and almost indestructible and, eventually, I began using it at home. The largest item I have – a dinner plate – weighs in at a mere

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Are you to blame for your own disability?

Cameron thinks some of us are. Yep, really, that misbegotten fuckwit Cameron wants to remove benefits from people considered to be complicit in their own disability. Just how many classifications are there where that might be considered an appropriate definition (appropriate to Numbnuts, of course, not to sane people), beyond the addicts, alcoholics and the [...]

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#BeFrank campaign – my contribution.

So OK, then, I’m depressed.Depression is not just feeling fed up, or unhappy with your lot – it can be life-threatening. I suffer from frequent, almost suicidal depression, and the drugs don’t work. SSRI’s*** make me cough so uncontrollably my lungs bleed, and tricyclics shut my brain down – can’t be doing with that. **SSRIs [...]

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Home sausage making in real time – more or less… Update.

Well, my sausage stuffer arrived today, and the bugger is huge! It’s massively over-engineered and, with care, should last several lifetimes. Heavy too – 11kg. However, it’s exactly

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