The retired

Its been a busy old week, typical really, you don't do anything for weeks on end and then you get a couple of frantic ones. This week I have 3 meetings to go to, a party and take my son to a birthday party. Then there will be nothing till mid September I should think. Anyway a friend twisted my arm to go to the Northumberland Link meeting to talk about governance. Well I was one of many and I should think about the youngest there. So what is it with older people? By that I don't mean really old, I mean retired. Why are they so damn aggressive? Because I disagreed strongly with one person, who frankly had very strong opinions, if looks could kill Id be dead. The fact that I dared to suggest something different was met with much hostility. Well Ive never been one to jump on the bandwagon of opinion, but the aggression in the room was for all to see. I wasn't the only one who noticed. So whats with all this? I don't know, really just relax, chill out, its not worth it.

Attitudes

Today I was at the AGM of a charity of which I'm a board member. Fortunately it was all routine business and was over with in record time, which meant we actually had more time to chat over coffee. Anyway I was just talking to someone I knew, as you do, when an older lady bent over me and said loudly... ARE... YOU...WAITING...FOR...YOUR...TRANSPORT? No I have the car, I replied in my jauntiest manner. DO...YOU...HAVE...THE...CAR...OFTEN? Yes I have it every day... (raises eyes to the heavens).

There is only so much you can do to change attitudes, sometimes you just have to shrug your shoulders and let it go!.

Britain's Missing Top Model

Well what can I say? People from the programme contacted me and said 'can you promote it on your site?' So here I am promoting it.Its a difficult one to call and I'm not sure the whole thing really works as a concept. The thing is, the BBC is promoting this beauty season on BBC3, looking at alternative beauty in its blurb, but this programme doesn't seem to do anything new. The girls are all quite attractive and happen to have some sort of disability, however as you usually find with people interested in their own looks, none of them have a great deal of depth to their characters. Just because you are disabled doesn't make you a great and interesting person automatically, you can be a shallow as the next.

Lots of shots of absent limbs doesn't really add to the show either but does provide the opportunity for amputee porn which I'm sure will interest some viewers. But my main problem with the show and that you really have to do with any of these sort of reality shows is care. The viewer has to care who wins, and frankly I don't. None of the women involved apart from the deaf one seemed to have any 'disability awareness', they were for the most part wrapped up in their own looks to really project any kind of persona.

The judges were again out of their depth mostly and were vacuous and unpleasant with their comments. I'm not sure the deaf contestant really appreciated being told she wasn't disabled enough. Oh and why was it just for women, what no male models?

So the point of the show? Who knows. I'm not sure its breaking any new boundaries or making any fresh points. if the BBC really wants us to look at disabled people differently then wouldn't it be good to see disabled actors and contestants on TV as a norm and not as an exception?

Anyway I'm promoting it so give it a go and watch it this week and see what you think yourself.

Belgium

Id forgotten to mention that some months ago we found ourselves in Belgium. You can see this was a very memorable trip for me or not as the case may be. So without wishing to be at all offensive to our Belgian friends, I have to say I find it a rather odd country. I know people talk about the differences in Flemish and Walloon culture, but most definitely Belgium is neither France nor the Netherlands, but unfortunately it doesn't seem to be itself either.

Anyway on to all things disabled as thats what I usually write about: Belgium seems to have little concept of the needs of disabled people. Dropped kerbs just don't exist, or if they do you have to be dead centre in a large city. They are very far and few between and when you do find one, they're eccentrically placed. Disabled toilets don't exist much and are strategically placed at the bottom of a steep flight of steps. The thing with Belgium is while everyone is very happy and helpful, they never ever expect a disabled person to be out on their own. Society doesn't seem to allow for disabled independence.

Here's a photo of a ramp that made us almost fall over with laughter. It was actually steeper than it looks and you'd need a team of Sherpas to get up and down it. What the photo doesn't show is just how near and how big the wall at the bottom is. SPLAT!! Need I say more....? And you wonder why everyone loves a Belgian joke!

Itch!

I'm so fed up I don't know if I should scream or cry. Theres no laughing here let me tell you. I'm now 26 weeks pregnant and I hate it. Who are the women who say they love being pregnant? I look fat because I am fat, theres no 2 ways about it. My clothes don't fit and I'm tired all the time.

I actually haven't spoken to anyone outside the family for 3 weeks now, mostly because I cant get out the house on my own with a 1 year old in tow and I have no one I can call on to have him for a few hours. Absolutely no one. I spend my days washing, cleaning, cooking and doing baby stuff. Don't get me wrong I love my children, I love being with them but at the moment its very hard work physically to do all these things. I don't have anyone I could spend any time with, as all the friends I do have are at work and the thought of going to a mothers group, which I couldn't physically manage anyway fills me with dread. No more baby talk please.

On top of this the weather is rubbish. By that I mean the humidity is dreadful. My lower legs are swelling to huge proportions if I'm not careful and we are plagued by midges. This is our 4th summer here and quite honestly we are over run by the bloody things. Ive been bitten from head to toe, in my hair, around my hairline, my neck, face, arms, legs and personal places. I itch like hell and spend most of my time in the house with the windows and doors shut covered in Jungle insect repellent.

So you can see I'm such a happy soul right now. Roll on the winter, it cant come soon enough at the moment