Crip's Column
View from my wheelchair - Victoria Brignell on life as a disabled person.
Wheelchairs I
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- Posted by Victoria Brignell
- 07 October 2008
The perils of the electric wheelchair have left Victoria Brignell stranded on more than one occasion. Here she talks us the highs and lows of her different sets of wheels
During my university years I took great delight in confusing the shoppers of Cambridge. In those days I often used a battery-powered wheelchair which I controlled using a foot switch. When I went into the city centre, I could see a puzzled expression pass over the faces of other pedestrians as they noticed the joystick on the wheelchair's arm and then realised that my hands weren't touching it. I could [...]
Sleeping
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- Posted by Victoria Brignell
- 08 September 2008
'I dreamt that I saw Iain Duncan Smith riding on an ostrich through Parliament Square. Make of that what you will.' Victoria Brignell on insomnia and other matters...
At the time of writing I am going through a bout of insomnia. Last night I lay in bed and watched the green numbers on my digital clock flick through the hours of the night at the same pace as a snail carrying a heavy bag of shopping. By the time dawn arrived, it felt as if those numbers were taunting me. (Lack of sleep does strange things to one's [...]
Oh dear it's the Paralympics
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- Posted by Victoria Brignell
- 08 August 2008
As the most glittering festival of disability sport approaches, I'm faced with my usual dilemma: to watch or not to watch? Victoria Brignell struggles with an antipathy towards sport...
Oh dear, it's the Paralympics soon. Sorry, that's probably not the reaction you're expecting from me. But I'm afraid the Paralympics is not an event I look forward to with breathless anticipation. As the most glittering festival of disability sport approaches, I'm faced with my usual dilemma: to watch or not to watch?
There's a part of me which feels I really ought to support this sporting spectacle. Disabled people [...]
Where there is art there is hope
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- Posted by Victoria Brignell
- 01 July 2008
How the disabled - many of them victims of a long-running and bloody conflict - are helping bridge the ethnic divide in Sri Lanka against a background of escalating violence
The island of Sri Lanka should be a tropical paradise. With its golden palm-fringed beaches, diverse vegetation and dramatic landscapes, it is a stunningly attractive country. Lying off the southern tip of India, it was known to Arab geographers as "Serendip" and it can boast a rich and colourful history.
Over the centuries, the island was settled by the Portuguese, the Dutch and eventually the British who seized control [...]
A miracle convention for the disabled?
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- Posted by Victoria Brignell
- 03 June 2008
Fine words without actions are meaningless but actions usually only come about after fine words have been written - Victoria Brignell celebrates a new UN convention
Last month the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities came into force. It may not be a snappy title but it marks an important development in disabled people's pursuit of equality. Sixty years after the original UN Declaration on Human Rights was launched, disabled people have finally gained their own charter and full recognition that they too have human rights.
Disabled people are one of [...]
Sliding doors
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- Posted by Victoria Brignell
- 06 May 2008
How much being disabled has altered the course of a life - Victoria Brignell ponders whether being in a wheelchair has actually made all that much difference...
During the year I spent doing journalism training in Cardiff, a film was released called Sliding Doors. Starring Gwynneth Paltrow, it shows two versions of the same woman’s life. At the start of the film you see her running for a tube train. In the first plot line, she just manages to catch it while in the second, the sliding doors of the carriage close merely a couple of seconds [...]
Ancient world
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- Posted by Victoria Brignell
- 07 April 2008
Smeared in mustard, paraded naked - the curious and often cruel treatment of disabled people in Ancient Rome, Sparta and Greece
This summer’s special exhibition at the British Museum is an exploration of the life and achievements of the Roman Emperor Hadrian (he who did so much to boost the North England tourist industry). Although the exhibition doesn’t open until the end of July, I’ve already bought my ticket.
Since I was a child I’ve been fascinated by the ancient world. Indeed, spurred on by two evangelical Latin teachers, I [...]
Anniversary
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- Posted by Victoria Brignell
- 05 March 2008
Victoria Brignell celebrates her silver disability anniversary and explains why she wants to celebrate her 25 years as a "Crip."
This year holds a special significance for me. June 1st will be the 25th anniversary of me becoming disabled. This raises the question – should I mark the anniversary in some way? And if so – how?
We mark all the other milestones in life – birthdays, weddings, retirements – so it would seem perverse to ignore my silver disability anniversary. No other event has had such a major [...]
Architectural apartheid
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- Posted by Victoria Brignell
- 11 February 2008
With a combination of careful thought, determination and technical ingenuity, any building can be made accessible
There’s no doubting the fact that, since the introduction of the Disability Discrimination Act in 1995, access to buildings has improved substantially in the UK. I’ve noticed the change myself. Back in the 1980s, if I made an enquiry about wheelchair access, there was a 50-50 chance the answer would be no. Now it’s almost always yes. A theatre in Shaftesbury Avenue that I couldn’t attend when I first moved [...]
Bureaucracy
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- Posted by Victoria Brignell
- 15 January 2008
If you have a phobia of forms, I recommend you don’t become severely disabled
I wish to make a complaint. When you become disabled, no one warns you about the paperwork. Very soon you realise that your new life is going to be dominated by form filling. Disability is undoubtedly a bureaucratic business. If you have a phobia of forms, I recommend you don’t become severely disabled.
First there are the benefits to claim. Most disabled people with a mobility impairment are eligible [...]
Cripsmas
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- Posted by Victoria Brignell
- 18 December 2007
For us crips Christmas isn’t exactly a time of undiluted joy and pleasure
With Christmas swiftly approaching, I was planning to entertain you this month with a warm, uplifting festive story about Eddie the paraplegic elf who gains a job in Santa's toy factory thanks to a grant from the government's Access to Work scheme.
However, at the present time I'm feeling a distinct sympathy towards Scrooge. I've just finished writing a ridiculous number of Christmas cards, my carer is suffering from [...]
Terminology
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- Posted by Victoria Brignell
- 20 November 2007
Victoria Brignell takes us on a trip across the often controversial territory of language and disability
Earlier this month a friend of mine invited me to comedian Jeremy Hardy’s one-man show in Colchester.
Much of his routine seemed to concern death. After talking about the News Quiz ("If there are any News Quiz fans in the audience, I suggest you make the most of us because we’re dropping like nine pins"), his likely contribution to Mrs Thatcher’s obituary ("I’m going to call her the People’s Pinochet") [...]
Dominated by ambulist metaphors
- 2 comments
- Posted by Victoria Brignell
- 30 October 2007
Victoria ponders how English - a language she loves - is institutionally 'disablist'
While at junior school, I was fortunate enough to have a remarkable teacher called Mrs Brown (not her real name) who was passionate about English literature.
It was Mrs Brown who first introduced me to Classics by giving me a children’s story about the fall of Troy. (Little did she realise that nine years later I would attempt at university to read the original story of Troy in Ancient [...]
Envying the Daleks
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- Posted by Victoria Brignell
- 12 September 2007
In her latest column, Victoria Brignell mourns the hours that pass without the beloved Doctor who may be an example for us all and reveals how she envies the Daleks
For the last few weeks I, together with thousands of other people, have been suffering from an uncomfortable and distressing condition. It’s known in medical circles as Doctor Who withdrawal syndrome (DWWS).
Yes, dear reader, I thought it was about time I 'came out' as a Doctor Who fan. Series 3 reached its grand finale in June and now all I have to keep me going are the BBC3 [...]
Being tetraplegic isn't a lifestyle choice
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- Posted by Victoria Brignell
- 08 August 2007
At a time when we are bombarded by news stories about the apparent breakdown of communities, my disability enables me to witness plentiful examples of people's thoughtfulness
Becoming tetraplegic isn’t a lifestyle choice I would necessarily recommend. It’s not exactly a bed of roses. On the other hand, it would be a mistake to think that having a disability is always a problem. Every cloud has a silver lining and disability is no exception. Indeed, us crips do enjoy certain advantages over all you able-bodied people.
For a start, having a mobility impairment is incredibly helpful at [...]
