I was right: watching monty Python live on DVD didn’t even compare to watching them in the flesh up at the dome. Yet last night, having gone to buy a new DVD player in Woolwich, I was glad I did. Not only did it refresh my memory, but, of course, I was able to get more out of it through a second viewing. My studies in both film and literature teaches me that one should never adress a text just once. Thus late last night saw me on the sofa howling my head of, yet also remembering that fabulous night, and trying to spot myself in the audience.

This morning, though, sees me on the sofa again, worrying about a completely different set of jokers. The March of ukip is more frightening than any killer bunny, and what stands to happen in Rochester tonight concerns me very much indeed. We have a group of people with a simplistic, xenophobic worldview, who, by grouping together to call themselves a political party, seem to have completely hijacked the politics and mindset of the country. It would be funny if it wasn’t so sickening and stupid; how I wish Professor Hawking would come and run that twit Farage over.

While I realise it won’t come close to the experience of actually being there, I just bought the DVD of Monty Python Live. I was just up at Stratford with Dom, dropping off my computer for repair (if you’re ever in a similar position, remember to cite Consumer Law and the repair will be free if the machine is young enough).

We were going to come straight home, but I thought I might as well check if the recording of that awesome night was out yet. It is, and I am now the proud owner of Monty Python Live on DVD.

It’s odd, when you think about it: that night was a truly special event for me, and watching it on screen will probably seem but a shadow of it. To have been there, witnessing that moment of cultural history, was awesome. A recording is just an echo, yet it will keep those cherished memories fresh. That’s why Barthes was so intrigued by the photograph; and why I wish I had a photo or video of when I met Sir Patrick Stewart. The past is gone, but we must relish precious memories. The photograph or film stops times, extending the moment into eternity. The only problem is, without my desktop, I am now counting on Dom to get our DVD playa working.

Bob has bashed out band-aid again:

Do you not see we’re his tools

Guilt-tripping us over Ebola, and then

Entreating us to buy his record, like fools

Using suffering to gain attention and air time

Pretending to act so pure

His ego trip should be a crime

He’s just after his face in every store

I just caught Psnelope Keith’s programme about village life on more four, and feel compelled to have a rant. I can usually let such things slide, but I have to ask, what the smeg is Channel Four playing at, making such a cloying, conservative, short-sighted bit of tripe? While I have nothing against village life, the way in which Keith romanticises tradition and seems to yearn for some idyllic heyday when somehow everyone looked after everyone else and a benevolent local Lord cared for his subjects made me cringe. She contradictory professes to embrace change yet laments the passing of some bygone era. The entire programme was a jumble of cloying cliches; it was just an ego trip for Keith – Channel Four obviously just allowed her to make a program on her chosen subject, which, while it might seem sweet and innocent, has a form of repressive conservatism at its core. The whole thing really wound me up – I expect better from Channel Four.

It has been a while since I directed you guys to anything on YouTube without much comment – it’s a bit lazy on my part – but today I think I’ll direct you here. Whatever you think of Russell Brand (and I think he can be a bit up himself), he is spot on in this wittily written restyling of a Blur classic.

Rather appropriately for a blog entry composed on a bus, albeit one stuck in traffic, I would like to direct you guys here, to an article covering the pram vs. wheelchair row. I should have covered it a couple of days ago, but other things took my attention. Yet it is an issue I feel strongly about: indeed I often get really angry when I can’t get on a bus when a buggy is in the wheelchair spot. In fact I have come to resent pram users. I know they need to get from A to B too, but prams can be folded, and when mums refuse to do so, one cannot help but feel discriminated against. After all, as the article says, people with disabilities had to fight long and hard in the nineties for the right to ride on busses; to see that right usurped and denied to us by those who have alternatives but don’t use them through laziness, just feels wrong.

I would just like to use this entry to send my hearty congratulations to the European space agency. I just got in from my daily roll, and, being interested in such matters, turned on the tv to see how their probe was doing. To tell the truth, I rather expected to hear the dissapointing news that it had crashed, yet, incredibly, it has touched down safely. When you look at the technical detail, it really is a remarkable feat; as someone who sometimes struggles to park his wheelchair in its correct place of an evening, I am in awe of what the ESA has apparently achieved today. And, as they point out, we stand to learn so much from this mission. This is quite a historic day, all things considered – time to sit back and wait for the data to roll in, hopefully telling us something about the origins of life on our own planet.

I think I know what you are expecting to read on here tonight. You are probably expecting me to launch into my usual prosaic bollocks about the futility of war, or about sacrifice; perhaps the word ‘folly’ would be in there somewhere. But why should I write that entry? What would be the point? We all know the score; we have all seen the pictures of the poppies and the devistation. You have read and heard what I have read and heard, so what could I, a man with no experience of war, possibly add. Today was pretty normal for me: up to Stratford to try to get my Mac fixed, then down to bexleyheath to get some shopping. A day of rolling around South london, free to go as I please in my chair. Yet that too is the best thing I can write about today, for those men whose deaths we mark today gave their lives so I can enjoy such freedoms. (Or so we are told, although to question such things is in itself to excercise a freedom).

I am currently watching a quite alarming segment on bbc news about the discrimination people with disabilities face on london public transport. The stories it includes are shocking: you should hear some of the excuses cabbies use to stop wheelchair users and guide dogs getting into their cars, blatantly breaking the law. Of course, if I think about it I experience such things all the time, but I am so used to it that I suppose it fades into the background. However, I am glad this issue is getting some media attention: I don’t think most people realise the casual discrimination we crips so often face. There’s apparrently a progra on about it later – tune in if you can.

I think this is worth recording, though it might take a while to explain. I’m currently using my iPad because, as I m the other day, my computer has given up the ghost. Recently, though, my mobile internet has been playing up, so yesterday I took myself up to the O2 shop at the dome. I was able to explain my problem to the assistant there in no time, and a few moments later I was back online. I went away happy.

Today I set off for the dome again, to see what I could of the Tennis. My new attitude is that you never know when something awesome will crop up: I may discover something as incredible as Monty Python or Star Trek at any given point, provided I keep my eyes open. Who knew what I could have seen. It was possible I could meet a tennis star, got on tv, or anything. Predictably, nothing of the sort happened, but as I was setting off for home I noticed my mobile internet was down again. At home i can use our network, but when I am out and about I like to be online in case of emergency, or if I feel the sudden urge to blog.

I got home flustered. Lyn and I tried to fix it, trying to do what the chap at the dome had done yesterday, with no luck. An hour or so later, I went out again, this time making for the O2 shop in woolwich; I reasoned staff there would be just as helpful as those at the dome. How wrong I was. They were rude and condescending, insisting i needed a carer with me. They even wrote a note on paper for me, in case I didn’t understand what they were saying. I was utterly insulted. I ripped it up before them and set off back to the dome.

It’s quite a long bus ride from woolwich to North greenwich, and when I got there crowds were streaming out from the tennis. I didn’t have to stay long there, though, as the nice lady in the O2 store very quickly understood my problem, looked at my iPad and got me online again. I immediately messaged Lyn to tell her. I now know I just have to tap reset in general settings. I still feel angry about how I was treated in woolwich, and that I had to go all the way from there back to the dome. The difference in attitude to me between the two places was remarkable. Indeed, I am seriously considering making some kind of formal complaint.

What are you reading this for? Lyn is currently rocking out – tune in!

[img description=”undefined image” align=”centre”]/images/lyn rock tonight 2.jpg[/img]

I saw my friend Dennis on the news earlier. She is down from Manchester, taking part in a large anti assisted suicide protest up in Parliament square. I have a rather busy day here, otherwise I think I would be up there with them. While the right to choose is a very good thing, I still share the fear that assisted suicide is open to abuse. What if a terminally ill person was encouraged, implicitly or explicitly, to end their life? I have seen too many people – children – fight for one more dawn, day after day, to say it should be thrown away. I’m therefore glad to see Dennis and the guys up there, making sure the reservations of people with disabilities are heard, lest we are assumed to be lesser beings all just dying to end our miserable lives.

Oh, the promises those Apple guys make:

‘Our machines are safe. They never break.’

You can always trust a Mac, they say

They never freeze, viruses at bay

Why, then, is my Mac now dead, And I’m blogging on my iPad insetad?

Oh well, it’s not all bad:

There are certain advantages to be had.

I can blog in comfort, sat on the settee,

Trying to find rhymes while watching the telly!

Earlier today I watched Life is Toff, the beebs new comedy about an old aristocratic family in Devon. I know its a mocumentarry, and supposed to be fiction, but I find myself getting very aggitated by it. The characters are all so arrogant; they act as if they deserve to be rich and look down upon the rest of us, and aren’t just there through accident of birth. It seems, fiction or not, the Marxist in me cannot be silenced. I suspect, though, that we are supposed to get angry, so the question you have to ask – as no doubt many critics on the right will ask – is, is this an attempt by the BBC to incite some kind of class war?

Thirteen years after the original towers were destroyed in the 9/11 attacks, New York’s World Trade Center has re-opened for business. The phoenix, it seems, has at last risen from the ashes; yet I fear that while the physical scar on the New York skyline my have been sewn up, with American culture more divided than ever, and fighting continuing in Iraq and Afghanistan, some of the wounds caused on that day are yet to heal.

It occurs to me, watching the news stories on such things as Scottish devolution and Europe, that I hold a rather contradictory view on humanity and society. It’s strange: on the one hand, I support localism. If we are all equal, we all deserve an equal say in what goes on in our communities, and the best way to do this is through direct, localised democracy. This way, local variety and culture can be best preserved; ht is why I love the idea of Manchester and other cities getting their own mayors, and think the creation of a northern powerhouse to counterbalance the megalopolis of London would be a good move. At the same time, I believe humanity should be coming together, getting rid of national borders and working together as one species. That requires a large centralised government which can coordinate resources and make sure the strong don’t overpower the weak. That’s why I favour the EU and opposed Scottish independence, and view the news that we seem to be heading further and further towards an exit from Europe, and may no longer be welcome there soon, as very bad indeed. These two views contradict each other, yet both stem from the same principles of democracy and equality. This strikes me as odd; how does humanity unite yet retain its variety and avoid autocracy? This might seem an academic question, but, with our resources staring to dwindle, I think it is one we will soon have to tackle.

Yesterday, as you may have guessed from my poorly rhymed poem, I went down the hill to watch Charlton play Sheffield wednesday. My friend James from the cricket team suggested it a couple of days ago, and it turned out to be great fun. We first met up with some friends of ours who live close to the stadium, then went to watch the match. It started, I felt, rather slowly, but soon warmed up. Sheffield scored first and it went to half tim one nill, but Athletic got one back in the second half. The home team might have won it had their second goal, scored in stoppage time, not been disappointingly offside.

Oh well, at least a draw is better than a loss. I really had fun, and with the ground so close I think I should go more often. Mind you, I have written that before. Nonetheless, it is something I can regularly do with James, who has become a good friend; it also gets me out of the house. While I have never been one of those sporty, footbally types of guys, the football culture interests me: where else do you get groups of men hurling the most obscene insults at each other – the house of Commons aside? It’s quite peculiar when you think about it, and worth delving into. And if I get to a few more games while I investigate tis form of fandom, who am I to argue.

Football day, football day

The cones are out again

A game to play! hurrah, hooray!

To the valley we’re sent

On the terrace they chant and shout

Today I’ll be there too

Throngs of men screaming their lungs out

The great tradition of saturday afternoon

Given that the subject of drugs has cropped up in the news today, I think I will flag this entry up again. I stand by what I wrote there: the solution to the problem of drugs is not blunt criminalisation, but tolerance and understanding. To see the tories just dismiss the report calling for a more balanced approach – one on channel four news claiming it had been spun by the lib dems, and in fact supported their intolerant stance – simply goes to show how myopic and pig-headed they are. If you ask me, conservatism does more damage to society than any drug could.

It’s only four but I’m already knackered. It has, though, been an incredible couple of days: I had to go over to the UEL campus right and early yesterday morning to greet the choir coming in, after which they had a few hours setting up and practice. During that time, it was my job to help film the choir for a documentary the rix centre is making. It felt as though I was doing what I had wanted to do for such a long time: they attached a small camera to the arm of my chair, and I was able to zoom about between the participants, getting all kinds of shots. I felt like I was making a music video, and think I managed to get some really good footage.

After that session I was able to come home and freshen up. The day was, however, far from over: the evening saw me return to the docklands campus, this time with Lyn, for the choir’s grand evening performance. It was, I must say, amazing; I was bowled over by the quality of the singing and the creativity of the music. Each piece was unique, having been created by a member of the choir and thus saying something about them as individuals with learning disabilities. I was stunned.

This morning I headed in again hoping to participate in more filming. However, a broken lift at the DLR station I usually get off at (king George v) put pay to that idea. Fortunately yesterday evening Dominik showed me a better – but longer – way to get to campus, so I took that route instead. Had I not known about it, I would have been scuppered. Nevertheless, I arrived this morning towards the end of festivities, feeling somewhat annoyed, too late to help with anything.

Yet these two days have amazed me. We have the makings, I think, of a fascinating film; and in the Apex choir we have an incredible group of individuals. With the editing to start, this project is far from over; I feel thrilled to be part of it.

A week ago after we came home from watching Michael Palin, I wrote that I felt just a little down because that was the last big event we have lined up. It has been an awesome year – indeed an awesome couple of years – in which I seem to have constantly had something great to look forward to. In fact, between python, star trek, the liberty festival and so on I’ve been utterly spoiled: so many great memories. But now, there does not seem that much on the horizon.

However, I’m not complaining. I seem to be becoming busier and busier, with this week being especially busy as the Apex choir are coming to the Rix centre. In fact I might not have time to blog much this week. Moreover, it seems to me that, in this city, you never know when the next bit of awesomeness will come: in London truly incredible things seem to pop out at you from nowhere, or at least are only a google search away; fantastic things the memory of which you will cherish forever. As Lyn once reminded me, however great things may have been, there will always be greater things to follow; having wonderful memories is cool, but you must use them to inspire you, push you forward, whet your appetite. Time, then, to start the search for the next bit of awesomeness.

Unfortunately there is no reference to validate it, but I just came across the following on facebook and decided to share it:

[quote=”no ref”]This comment has just been made on conservatives Facebook it is going to go viral. ”sick of hearing lefties going on about the disabled , get the fk out your wheelchair and start cotributing instead of sitting there with ya grubby little mits out”[/quote]

Behold the arrogance we now have to contend with.

I remember watching Back To The Future when I was little and thinking how cool it would be to have a hoverboard. As I grew older, I naturally assumed that it, like the Star Trek transporter, was firmly in the realm of science fantasy and had little chance of becoming reality. But I was wrong! According to this bbc article, a prototype hoverboard has been created: it uses magnets – somehow – to float. The piece notes that it only works over certain surfaces as yet, but I still find it awesome enough to link to. And of course, I now want to see a hover conversion for my wheelchair. Mind you, I find it interesting how often science takes it’s queue from fiction, turning what we assume to be the wildest fantasies into reality.

As I thought it would be, last night’s Life Story was a treat. There were some spectacular shots, some of them, such as one of a star morphing into an animal’s eye, absolutely blowing me away. Combined with the soothing, timeless yet authoritative narration of Sir David Attenborough, it was the first part of yet another jewel in the crown of the bbc natural history unit. Mind you, rather than write a full review today, I now think I would prefer to wait until the entire series has aired before launching into my usual gleeful ramblings.

However, the NHU aside, I must say I am fast loosing patience with the beeb, and especially it’s news. I used to be something of a fan of it, being instinctively supportive of the way it is funded; but lately it seems to have become a Tory an ukip cheerleader. On this afternoon’s news bulletin, it enthused about how the economy was recovering and things were doing so well despite may people across the country being in absolute desperation due to the Tories. It gladly towed the government’s line on the money we owe to the EU even though it is part of the rules we signed up for and is by far outweighed by the revenue we get from being part of Europe. And on every one of it’s political panel shows like Daily Politics or Question Time, it has either Farage or one of his Neanderthaloid lackeys, despite ukip only having one seat in parliament. Compared with, say, the greens, ukip is being disproportionately represented in the media, and is thus punching far above it’s weight. By rights, the bbc and other media corporations should be deriding them as a laughing stock – after all, this ‘party’ includes members who advocate wife beating and the mandatory abortion of babies with disabilities – but instead they are all dancing to ukip’s abhorrent tune. I might have expected this from other channels, but from the bbc, the corporation of Attenborough, Palin and Python, the channel upon which I first saw Star trek and who helped produce the 2012 olympic opening ceremony, the media outlet which I once respected above all others; that is almost too much for me to take. It seems the bbc, too, has lost it’s way, and I am horrified at what is happening with our media.

I am really looking forward to watching David Attenborough’s new program, Life Story, at nine tonight. It is wonderful to see him still making natural history shows – if anyone deserves the title ‘national treasure’, Attenborough does. I’ll probably detail what I thought of it here tomorrow, although many, including the writer of this somewhat cynical, almost bitter Guardian article are predicting it will be the great man’s swan song. Who could blame him if it is, but after over sixty years of fascinating natural history television, it would certainly be a sad farewell.

I don’t think I have a choice other than to direct you here. Ukip is attempting to block a group of comedians criticising them from touring. Despite Nigel Farage insisting politicians should ”let people tell their jokes,” The Stop Ukip Comedy Tour has apparently been inundated with complaints from party supporters targeting venues. The hypocrisy is astounding: the week Ukip releases a single so racist and offensive it had to be withdrawn, causing them to complain vehemently about pc-driven censorship, they try to prevent people trying to draw attention to the folly of their policies. It would seem they only support freedom of speech if it is ukip speaking.

A couple of days ago, it was reported in the news that the government is going to try to crack down on internet trolling. They decided that abusing people over the internet would now be made criminal somehow. I was quite shocked when I heard this, as I see it as a very dangerous, unwise move. While I know many of us have encountered trolls and know how offensive they can be, the danger lies in how you define trolling and abuse. Name-calling and insulting are quite straightforward, but what about other forms of criticism? My fear is that this new law will be used to stop people attacking the government, holding them to account.

I know I can be as guilty as anyone of insulting people online, especially tory politician, but I would argue that that rage is a reflection of my frustration with their policies, not them personally. They must be held to account. But what if I or bloggers like me were termed internet trolls and hauled in front of a judge? It would be a great way for the government to prevent themselves being criticised – they would just have to term what write abusive to shut me or anyone like me up. What is certainly true is that I will have to be very careful about what I say online from now on, and that worries me very much indeed,

You may remember my entry describing how I tried to get tickets to see Michael Palin’s talk about the latest volume of his diaries, and how I was turned away because they said there was equipment in the wheelchair spaces. I was furious at the time,but shortly after I posted that entry I got an email from the theatre, apologising, explaining that the matter had been resolved and inviting me to buy tickets. That is how, last night, Lyn, I and Dominik got to see one of my all-time favourite people talking eloquently and evocatively about his life on television. As soon as I entered the space, I was taken instantly back to those warm, happy Sunday evenings with my parents when we used to watch his tales of places so far away, yet so tantalising that it made my feet itch with wanderlust. Palin is a man whose work I love; as soon as I heard his voice last night, that warmth and joy flooded back.

Rather appropriately for a talk about travel, I got there a few minutes late having decided to take the bus rather than the tube (a mistake I will not make again!). Fortunately I only missed a little, and when I got there Mr. Palin was already in full swing. (Having taken the overground, Lyn and Dom were already there). He was regaling the enthralled audience with a sequence of short stories from his travels, each accompanied by a picture projected on to a screen at the back of the stage. Unfortunately, I could only see half of that due to where I was sat, but nevermind – it was the man I had come to see. Some of them I knew from his books and tv programmes, while others I was unfamiliar with. He sometimes veered off on tangents, telling, for instance, how it was through an act of theft that Britain overtook brazil in rubber production. Did you know, too that before they asked palin to go around the world in eighty days, they asked noel edmunds. I found it fascinating, like watching some great pioneer tell of his adventures.

The second half of the evening concentrated on palin’s earlier life, and monty python. As a python fan, I loved this too, but, forgive me, I won’t even try to retell any of his stories. The history of python is long, fascinating and complex, but now I know where ‘ni’ came from. I found it utterly engrossing. As when I watched Monty Python Live two months ago, I feel so privileged to have been there last night.

Indeed, when I think about it, it astounds me how lucky I am: last night saw one of my all-time favourite people talk, a man whose work I have loved and been inspired by since I was small. Before then, I watched probably the last ever performance of the greatest comedy troupe ever. Possibly most importantly, just three weeks ago, I met and talked to sir Patrick Stewart: thinking about it, given my work on him in my masters and what that scene in First Contact means to me personally, I now think that meeting was one of the most significant, important and special events of my life. I just feel so lucky to have done all this, thanks largely to Lyn; it astounds me when I think about it.

Yet, last night saw probably my last big event of the year: now that Python, Star Trek and Palin have happened, I don’t have much more lined up. As Lyn reminded me last night, though, there will always be something more, something to find, something to look forward to.. she is right, of course. What that will be I don’t know, but after last night inspired by that fascinating man and his stories of far off places, my wanderlust, my urge to go out into the world and explore, has returned. My feet itch again.

I think I better flag this trailer fo ‘Unstoppables’ up. Having watched Lyn gradually compose the score for it all those months ago, it is truly brilliant to hear her work in the background. Plus, from what I can see, her music appears to capture the mood of the piece perfectly; my jaw dropped when I realised how well it fitted. I’m very, very proud of Lyn; it appears that I have my very own Jerry Goldsmith or Howard Shore. And, of course, it’s great to see the film itself doing so well.

Lyn is just setting up to start doing her online radio show. You know, she really seems to be in her element when she does it. Just as I use my blog to express myself to the outside world, Lyn expresses herself through music: the tracks she selects and the order in which she plays them say so much about how she is feeling. More to the point, I rarely see her as happy as when she is in her studio bashing out the tunes; her relationship with music seems to be far, far more profound than I ever thought possible in a human being. This, then, should be a wonderful afternoon of music. At the risk of repeating myself, tune in here

Lyn’s soft rock online radio station launched this evening, and is now broadcasting live. Tune in here! Tune in.

It has been a long, tiring yet awesome day. As I mention here, one of the projects I’m involved with over at the Rix centre is a film about the Apex choir, a group of singers whose members all have autism and/or learning difficulties. The group comes up from Cornwall the week after next, so today was a serious planning session.

I’m starting to get properly excited about it: the film we make can say so much, achieve so much. Like the Paraorchestra, it is all about breaking down barriers. Indeed, while I think the ethos behind them are slightly different, I cant help but compare or link the two, for I feel the same sense of potential with Apex that I did with the Paraorchestra – and look how awesome things turned out with them!

Lord Freud should resign or get kicked out over this. According to him, people with disabilities should be paid below the minimum wage – as little as two pounds per hour. Of course, the tories will try to put their spin on it, saying he was quoted out of context and so on, but it is still highly condescending. Intentionally or not, Freud has implied that people with disabilities are of less value as employees, and that we could be paid some derisory sum just to keep us happy. No wonder the crip community is outraged; we have fought long and hard against such patronising attitudes. If he or his party had any honour at all, news of his resignation or sacking will appear on this evening’s news bulletins.

While Lyn and I did not go, I’d just like to flag this new video up of the Paraorchestra in Qatar. As I’ve said before, Lyn chose to step back a bit from the Paraorchestra to concentrate on composition, although links still remain. They appear to have had a great time there, and performed some awesome gigs – they appear to be going from strength to strength, and seem to me to be becoming excellent ambassadors of the British disability community and British disability art across the world.

I was quite disturbed to just see this story in the lunchtime news. A mother who admitted killing her three young disabled children will not face murder charges. While I have a lot of sympathy for her, disabled or not, these kids could have gone on to have happy lives; by letting her go free, the court has given the green light to the murder of people with disabilities and has lessened the value of our lives. Moreover, I know mothers of disabled children – among the bravest, strongest people I’ve ever known – who would be horrified at this news. I may not know everything about this precise case, but on the face of it, I must say I’m frankly petrified.

I spoke to my parents earlier, who recommended I watch Marvellous. Over Facebook, Esther had suggested that I watch it too, noting that they used the outside of Crewe Alex as the old Stoke football stadium, so I thought I would give it a whirl. However, now that I have, I must say it is as problematic as I suspected it would be. It caused a few rumbles in the disability community, and I can now see why. It’s portrayal of a man with learning difficulties as a bungling yet lucky idiot – the Potteries’ answer to Forrest Gump, as it were – left a nasty taste in my mouth. Yes we need greater representation of people with disabilities on tv, but not in this cliche, patronising, laugh-at-the-lucky-fool way. I’ll probably rewatch it and read about it, in case I missed something, but for now I must say I found it very problematic indeed.

Don’t forget to tune in here at nine tonight!

[img description=”undefined image” align=”centre”]/images/lyn rock tonight 2.jpg[/img]

IT’S GONNA ROCK!

I am very worried indeed about the news we all woke up to this morning. The country seems to be falling for a con: it is being duped by a beer-drinking toff and a party of bigots, seeking to return us to the politics of the nineteen-fifties. We should all be appalled by everything UKIP stand for, from their blatantly xenophobic stance on Europe to their ultra-neoliberal stance on economics to their draconian stance on education and their ambition to restore the outdated unfair grammar and secondary-modern system. Yet people seem to be falling for such shallow selfishness in their droves, so that now we have one of them befouling the palace of Westminster. The question is, what do we, who value multiculturalism, who want to participate in something bigger than the state, we who see individualism and neoliberalism for the childish greed it is, we who see the value of every person in this country regardless of gender, skin colour or ability, we who cherish the NHS and welthfare state; what can we do to counter these unthinking heirs to Goebbels and their cheap, easy yet unthinking solutions? How do we stop this growing madness – what can we do other than watch the news in growing horror, hoping that everyone soon comes to their senses and sees UKIP for the xenophobic folly it is?

While I’m still looking for a new niche obsession, it might be time to revive one of my oldest. I just came across this report that the Ghostbusters franchise is being rebooted (indeed, what franchise isn’ these days?) Ghostbusters was one of my childhood obsessions: when I was four or five, I was mad about it, demanding the toys, the videos, Ghostbuster birthday cakes. At the time, I didn’t realise it was pastiche but took it deadly seriously. Of course, I eventually outgrew it, but now that a reboot is in the works – with an all female main cast, for some reason – it may be time to divert my attention away from Bond, Star Trek* and Lord of the Rings. It could be quite interesting to see what they do with it, how they handle it, and how the project evolves. Naturally, I’ll need to dig out the original two films for reference too, not having seen them in over twenty years. Joking aside, this could be an interesting little project. I note that there is already a website highlighting the film’s thirty year anniversary; it will be interesting to watch how this all plays out.

*Although yesterday I came across this interesting article pondering the future of the franchise, and it’s prospects.

I know that mental illness is very real. It is a serious issue; in many cases it is tragic. Yet, forgive me, but I am beginning to worry that it has began to supersede disability in the wider sense. That is to say, as an issue mental illness is taking more prominence; and those with physical conditions are beginning to get elbowed out of the disability rights movement we founded. Look at the Lib dem confidence, where mental illness is being pushed to the fore. I Suppose it’s fair enough – the mentally I’ll have rights to fight for too, certainly – yet I am worried that the voices of those with physical disabilities are at risk of being drowned out, our movement overtaken, not in any overt, conspiratorial sense, but just as a general trend.