this image reminds me of me on a Friday evening, waiting for the weekend to begin. Here is your saying number 10 :-) :-) :-)
you good night saying
Affiliate Marketing to Aid My Fundraising
If you’re interested in some new socks, for camping or you’d like bath bombs for a holiday away, please use the links below to purchase from Amazon. It costs the same, but through an Amazon scheme any purchase made from this link will give me a small commission and can help my efforts to raise money for respite care and qualification support ♥️
Socks – https://amzn.to/3OdKDSX
Bath Bombs – https://amzn.to/43tj65t
Pink Mug – https://amzn.to/44psyrT
In the next few days I will post an assortment of other products if these aren’t something you’re interested in. I’ll be promoting disability friendly products to help people like me including relaxation and self-care products ❤️ Watch this space!
sing of the day :-) :-) :-)
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saying of the day who everybody in this community
Ashley Zambelli- Diagnosed With Downs At 23
A mum who was diagnosed with Down’s syndrome aged 23 says people don’t believe she has the condition. Ashley Zambelli was diagnosed with Down’s syndrome in February 2023 after undergoing genetic testing.
Down’s syndrome is a genetic disorder that results in an extra copy of chromosome 21. Those with mosaic Down syndrome have a mixture of cells. Growing up, Ashley would struggle with knee dislocation, jaw issues affecting her movement of it, and a high heart rate.
Doctors never connected her health issues until they looked at her reproductive history and saw that three of her six pregnancies had a Down’s syndrome diagnosis – which was unusual for someone so young. They carried out genetic tests and discovered she had mosaic Down syndrome.
Ashley, a stay-at-home mum, said: “People say ‘you don’t look like you have it’. Even I was in a lot of disbelief. I didn’t know about mosaic Down’s syndrome.
“A lot of people associate it as a facial disability. Having a mosaic condition means it is not always visible to the eye.”
When Ashley she was born she didn’t have any traits or characteristics associated with Down’s syndrome. From the age of 12 her knee caps would dislocate “all the time” and she struggled with comprehensive learning at school.
She said: “Test taking was awful. I had jaw disfunction and my knee caps were constantly dislocating. My shoulder was permanently out of the socket. My heart always racing. I was always getting out of breath.”
Doctors were never able to connect her health issues until she was 23 weeks pregnant with her third child, Katherine, in February 2023 – who was diagnosed with Down’s syndrome at 14 weeks.
Ashley had previously had a miscarriage in 2019 and doctors had discovered the baby had Down’s syndrome. She gave birth to her first child, Lilian, two, who has Down’s syndrome, in December 2020. Her second daughter, Evelyn, one, who was born in December 2021 doesn’t have the genetic condition.
Ashley said: “They hadn’t seen someone with three confirmed cases of Down’s syndrome. They said I was really young – so thought there must be something else causing this.”
Ashley had genetic testing which revealed she had mosaic Down’s syndrome – giving her a 50 per cent chance of having children with an extra chromosome.
She said: “I was very happy to find out.”
Her husband, Taylor Doyle, 28, a restaurant worker, was supportive of Ashley getting the genetic testing. Ashley – who doesn’t have the facial characteristics of someone with Down’s syndrome – now has an explanation for her problems.
She has lower sitting ears, low muscle tone, a jaw disorder, trouble with short term memory, and inappropriate sinus tachycardia – meaning she often has a heart rate higher than hundred beats per minute. Ashley said she often struggles to understand most humour and can say things without realising they might be offensive.
Ashley wants to encourage others to get genetic testing and see it as a “tool to be prepared”.
She said: “People need to not see genetic testing as a bad thing. It’s a tool to be prepared.”
She also hopes to create a community for people with mosaic Down’s syndrome.
Grace saying Paul afternoon Tuesday of 10 per day afternoon Prime 60 Best Good Afternoon Wishes, Messages, Quotes With Images
April 5, 2023 by QWM
Good Afternoon Messages: To help you bear the not so bearable good afternoon time, we bring you an ultra-positive and refreshing collection of good afternoon quotes, good afternoon wishes and messages, good afternoon images, and good afternoon love messages for her/him. The noontime period is perhaps the most intriguing time for all of us. Around good afternoon time, our work productivity at its peak and also the hunger craving begins to show up. Many working professionals starting looking at the clock deliberately and desperately for lunchtime as they shave to quench their hunger causing exasperation.
playing of the day who everyone in this time difference
Tickets for Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour are the most in demand in the UK right now.
But for disabled fans trying to grab a place for shows at Wembley Stadium, it’s been an even tougher experience.
Accessibility places for the shows there aren’t sold by Ticketmaster, with people needing to call the venue directly.
Complaints include being kept on hold for several hours, with some people saying they were unable to get tickets.
Wembley Stadium has told BBC Newsbeat that demand for tickets has been “unprecedented” and that waiting times were longer than usual.
Saryna Glazebrook says she called over 200 times to get on to the access line.
The 22-year-old, who has Ehlers Danlos syndrome, describes the experience as “frustrating” and feels it shouldn’t be so hard for disabled fans to get tickets.
“I know getting tickets for this show and tour is going to be difficult, but having thousands of disabled people and one phone line just puts about 20 more hurdles in front of us,” she says.
“Especially because I’ve bought accessible tickets online before.”
Eventually, Saryna says she was told by another fan to call Wembley’s hospitality line and ask to be transferred – though she says not all fans were put through.
Saryna’s condition means she needs a ticket for her companion.
“I need someone with me at every point, especially when I leave the house,” she says.
“Because alongside my physical disabilities, I also have tendencies of blacking out, forgetting where I am and getting overwhelmed very easily.
“It’s really helpful as well being able to sit in a space that doesn’t require a lot of stairs or a lot of walking to get there.”
For 27-year-old India, who is the creator of the Swifties with Disabilities Network, it took two days of trying before she was able to get tickets.
“I need accessibility requirements because I have cerebral palsy, a disability from birth, so I struggle with balance,” she says.
She also tried to get tickets through Ticketmaster, but says she wouldn’t have been able to sit in the seats they were selling.
“Without the disabled options I pretty much have no options,” she says.
Ticketmaster are selling accessibility tickets for the shows in Edinburgh and Cardiff.
India says she’s disappointed disabled fans have had to buy tickets over the phone for Wembley.
“I just feel really disheartened because I’m lucky enough to have had a connection with Taylor Swift over the years.
“She’s been really generous to me as a person. And I know she’d hate this.
“She’d be really disheartened that disabled people have basically just been excluded because the phone lines aren’t adequate.”
A Wembley Stadium spokesperson added: “For those customers unable to wait on the phone we have a call-back system in place which can be accessed via our website.”
what’s the tide is in the day
what time did you guys know why?
decorating😁🥰🥰 tiles
Celebrating Disability Pride Month: Conversations With Disabled Soap Stars From Coronation Street, Emmerdale And Hollyoaks
To mark Disability Pride Month, which celebrates the rights and achievements of disabled individuals, we spoke with some leading disabled soap stars to highlight the importance of authentic representation, the ongoing push for equal opportunities, and the small details, now written more often into scripts, that make up disabled lives.
James Moore – Ryan Stocks in Emmerdale
James Moore has played Ryan Stocks since 2018. The character and actor have cerebral palsy. In a fractured and fractious world, his no-nonsense approach to the job cuts through. “Disability representation tends to come from a more personal place,” James says.
Still, disability doesn’t have to be the whole basis for the character: “It’s just something that they have.”
James didn’t watch soaps growing up but he has noticed the change. Productions are more likely to cast disabled actors, but the issue remains: “Disabled characters are few and far between, which is why I feel like there needs to be progress there.”
What then of the pressure to be the “poster child” for both progress and the disability itself? James says: “I feel like everything I have said regarding disability comes from my genuine self and feelings. I feel like I’m quite an outspoken person, and I think if there’s an issue that I’m passionate about, I’m confident enough to make sure my voice is heard.”
As for disabled actors in other soaps: “I know how hard it can be to get your foot in the door. Being a working actor can be a difficult career path, and adding a disability offers further restrictions. So, I admire every disabled actor who persevered, in and out of soap.”
Pressed to name a favourite: “Of course, I have to mention Liam [Bairstow] from Corrie [who plays Alex]. He’s a lovely guy and a terrific actor.”
To conclude, he ponders the future of disability representation — reflecting especially on the hit of COVID-19: “The future of disability representation is unclear at the moment. But, it’s certainly getting better.”
Ellie Henry – Freya Calder in Hollyoaks
For her first major screen role, Ellie Henry plays Freya Calder, who was introduced to Hollyoaks last year and returns to our screens soon.
As a relative newcomer, questions about what makes good disability representation must seem overwhelming but the answer, at their core, is simple: stories written and informed by disabled people: “Not only telling stories of disabilities but of lives – having children, working and even murdering! I still think there’s room for more inclusion within other forms of media, and hopefully, they follow in the footsteps of the soaps.”
Does she feel pressure to be a “poster child” for disability? Her answer is thoughtful and direct: “This is something that comes up for me every single day and is something I struggle with. The disabled community is diverse, and I can only speak my voice within that.
“I feel the need to show people what they expect to see to represent well, but most people haven’t seen a disabled person like me before, sometimes using a wheelchair and sometimes appearing completely healthy, so I am constantly questioning whether the choices I make for myself align with aiding the community in moving forward.”
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She’s put a lot of thought into her perspective — her voice in our community and storytelling. “The best way I can represent is to be authentically myself and be prepared to explain to people what they don’t yet understand.”
Again when it comes to what she wants to see next, it’s all about that staring-you-right-in-the-face honesty about growing up, and the vulnerability and the imperfection of that period.
Ellie says: “There are so many nuances to the experience of being a teenager or young adult in this world and the insecurities that come with that which are only amplified and added to with disability in the mix.”
But she finds meaningful relatability in characters like Izzy from Coronation Street, who lead ordinary lives with children, partners, and jobs. Talking of whom…
Cherylee Houston – Izzy Armstrong in Coronation Street
Cherylee Houston has played Izzy Armstrong since 2010, capturing that rare thing in disability representation: a whole life — daughter, to partner, to mother, to ex-partner, to factory worker.
Cherylee sought to incorporate often hard-won lessons she has learned from living with a disability, particularly during the challenging times of the COVID-19 pandemic.
She says: “You know, you’ve gone through a journey, and I think disability does that a lot in life. It gives you a fast track of certain emotions that people take years to experience.
“And I made a point, when Izzy came back, to be more confident, assertive, witty, and crank up different areas of her personality that were already there. As I think the writers did too. ” To portray that understanding and realism.
Cherylee’s favourite example of disability representation in another soap, something that resonates? Donna from EastEnders, assertive and outspoken: “She was so mouthy.”
But she doesn’t feel a responsibility to represent the entire community. “Because so many of us do so many different things in different ways, I think. I was incredibly fortunate to have my job for as long as I’ve had it.
“But I always try to view it as an actor rather than a disability issue. I believe that the more stories are told, the more changes there will be. And I think that has been separate for me as a career as an actor. So, I don’t feel a responsibility. And maybe that’s because that’d be too big. There are loads of us. We can all share it.”
On the future of disability representation and disability rights: “It’s so interesting because what we’re talking about is some of that stuff makes you stronger, wiser, more resilient. I don’t want the next generation coming up to go through what we went through.”
But then she questions: “Would it be easier? Would it be more joyous? I don’t know. I hope so.”
Annabelle Davis – Lacey Lloyd in Hollyoaks
Annabelle Davis, a relatively new arrival as Lacey Lloyd in Hollyoaks, believes that the most important representations of disability are the ones that are the most authentic – telling real stories from real people. That’s where you can open the audience’s eyes to the realities disabled people face every day.
As one of the few little people in a soap, there is pressure to represent the experience.
Annabelle says: “You want to create a character that the majority of people in the community can relate to and empathise with. You become far more aware of the scripts and conscious of writing.
“I struggled with this at the beginning fearing I was being too overprotective. But then I realised, there are so many little people out there with their own distinctive personalities and challenges, one character could never speak for all of them.”
The goal is to reach a place where representation becomes ordinary, a future where representation is natural and unthinking.
She adds: “When it becomes so normal, we don’t notice it happening. That’s when I think we’ve made it.”
These stories and perspectives highlight the need for storytelling where disabled characters are portrayed authentically, with personal feelings and experiences.
Dr Kirsty Liddiard from the University of Sheffield adds: “Disability representation significantly impacts how different audiences learn about and engage with disability and disabled people’s lives. This is why disabled people’s lives and stories must be represented accurately, honestly and authentically.”
Evening phone smelly pants
yes, pretty signing of the day incorporating nature
The adoptive mother of an eight-year-old boy who had both legs amputated because of abuse by his birth parents has spoken out after he was denied access to some rides at a theme park.
Paula Hudgell and her son Tony visited Chessington World of Adventures in Surrey with friends at the weekend.
But she said he was not able to access any rides except the baby carousel.
Chessington managing director Mike Vallis apologised but said: “Safety is our number one priority.”
Ms Hudgell tweeted that “furious doesn’t come close” to her reaction to Tony not being allowed to go on certain rides at the attraction.
Speaking to BBC Breakfast, she said: “We even tried to queue up for the little rides but Tony was refused access to those as well.
“It’s just not acceptable. We had a very, very disappointed little boy.”
Tony, from Kings Hill in Kent, lost his limbs following abuse by his birth parents, who were jailed for 10 years in 2018.
Since then, Ms Hudgell and her family have successfully campaigned for tougher sentencing of child abusers and spoken out on accessibility issues.
On its website, Chessington states its resort “strives to make sure our theme park, zoo and accommodation are easily accessible to all our guests”.
However, it adds: “Certain rides/attractions in our parks can be physically demanding and vigorous. We therefore reserve the right to refuse admission should we feel there is a danger.”
‘Excluded from childhood joys’
Mr Vallis apologised to the family and said he could understand how upsetting it must have been.
But he explained: “Safety is our number one priority. There are three principles we have to work with – that you are secure in the vehicle at all times, that you are able to brace yourself against the movement of the ride and that we are able to evacuate you from the ride.”
However, he said the park was working with manufacturers to make new and existing rides as accessible as possible.
“We want everyone to come to Chessington to have a fantastic day. We want to improve accessibility,” he said.
Alison Kerry, head of communications at Scope, sympathised with the family.
She said: “There are a huge number of disabled children being excluded from the joys of childhood.
“It’s about thinking about inclusive design right from the beginning and making it an inclusive experience for absolutely everybody.”
Ellie Simmonds’ Emotional Search For Birth Mother
Ellie Simmonds has said tracing her birth mother for a TV documentary unearthed a lot of emotions.
The Paralympian from Aldridge, near Walsall, was born with achondroplasia and was adopted at three months old.
She discovered while filming for ITV her mother placed her for adoption shortly after the diagnosis.
“It was emotional, it was hard, [I’m] not going to lie,” she said. “I’ve definitely found out more about myself than I probably would have thought.”
The former swimmer embarked on her search after losing “a bit of me” on her retirement from sport in 2021.
“I thought, this is the right time. Who am I? I’ve got all these questions,” she said.
Knowing she had been born in Glossop, Derbyshire, she located her casework in the annals of Derbyshire County Council.
Simmonds discloses in the documentary she went to live with a foster family when she was just two weeks old.
She said her birth mother had been told about the achondroplasia diagnosis soon after leaving hospital.
“She expressed concerns to the midwife that she felt that there wasn’t bonding with myself and requested I be placed up for adoption,” she said.
During filming, she learned her foster mother had since died, but her family told Simmonds that she had always been proud of her achievements.
In the phone call, they told the 28-year-old her foster mother had “loved and nursed” her as a baby, adding she “could not have gone to a better family” when she was adopted.
Simmonds also became tearful while drafting a letter to her birth mother as part of the documentary.
She “was not angry”, she wrote, had lived an “incredible life” and hoped to get to know and understand her mother.
“She was a single parent, so you’ve got to try and place herself in her shoes,” she said.
Although she described later meeting her birth mother as a “success story”, she was mindful not everyone was so fortunate.
“A lot of people who go on the same journey don’t get those questions answered and it’s tough,” she added.
She hopes the documentary will spark a wider conversation about adoption and disability.
“We saw, even 28 years ago reading my documents, that people with dwarfism were described as ‘evil’… were probably going in the circus, not mentally with it,” she said.
“I think still now in 2022, 2023, children in care [with disabilities] who are looking for families are seen as harder to place.”
Simmonds said she was thankful for the support of her adoptive parents, who she said were always open about the circumstances of her birth.
“It’s just amazing to bring a person into your family and to give love and to give care and nurture,” she said.
Ellie Simmonds: Finding My Secret Family is on ITV at 21:00 BST.
Being daft with snapchat filters 😆😹
thank you, little camping illustration with pets for anybody that camping this summer ♥️🤩🦋
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call Monday Hope everybody enjoys my company today and had a nice Monday.
Me and My Support Worker being daft on snapchat 😆
High profile comedian, Rosie Jones, has caused controversy after announcing her latest documentary, about online abuse, has been called, Am I A R*tard? [sic]. For many, the R-word is one of the most offensive slurs out there. It’s left many people torn, between rooting for the Golden Girl who’s smashed the glass ceiling for disabled people and reinforcing an outdated insult.
“It makes me feel angry,” says Harry Roche, who has learning disabilities and works for the charity, Mencap. “It made me feel like I’m being discriminated [against].”
Rosie’s Channel 4 documentary sees her as presenter and executive producer. In it she digs deep into her own experiences of online abuse as a disabled woman with cerebral palsy and that faced by others – it’s confronting and has brought up lots of situations she would rather forget.
Earlier this year, she told the BBC’s disability podcast, Access All, that the making of it had been traumatic.
“[It] has been quite hard for me because a lot of the things that I’ve shut away…I’ve had to confront and because of that I’m in therapy.”
It suggests that the comedian wasn’t just trying to be humorous or quirky, and this was a serious attempt to make a difference.
But for lots of disabled people, that isn’t good enough.
In fact, three contributors who agreed to appear in the documentary, and were filmed talking about their experiences, pulled out once they learned of the title.
“I’ve already seen it so I know that it’s a great documentary,” says The Daily Mirror disability rights columnist, Rachel Charlton-Dailey, who herself is in therapy because of the regular abuse she receives as a disabled woman. “But this show, isn’t just about Rosie.”
She says: “I do believe that it was a really tough show for her to make, but what about the people who were making the show and also had to recount all of the things they experienced? And then when they raised their very legitimate concerns [about the title] were pushed from pillar to post and ultimately ignored.
“It could have been so easy as just changing the word, but they instead decided to get rid of so many important voices.”
The R-word originated in medical practice to describe children with intellectual disabilities, but over time it warped into an insult.
It crossed into popular culture, especially in America and the UK. The animated sitcom, South Park was one of those to regularly band it about, something Rachel remembers clearly as it was “huge” when she was growing up. It was later considered to have redeemed itself with the inclusion of disabled characters, Timmy and Jimmy.
But Rachel says she fears Rosie’s use of the word will give a similar approval to its use.
“This is not about attacking Rosie. My worry is that the people who already use that word so freely are going to see this as a license to use it again.”
As the debate around the documentary rumbled around social media, Rosie released an Instagram video explaining her stance.
“I get it, a lot of people will find this word very shocking and upsetting,” she says. “But, in my opinion, society doesn’t take this word and other ableist forms of language as seriously as any form of abuse from any other minority.
“So I said to Channel 4: ‘Let’s do it, let’s tackle the problem head on and use that word in the title and then hopefully people will think twice about using the word and other ableist slurs ever again’.”
TV presenter Mik Scarlet, appreciates where she’s coming from, having got into similar hot water at the start of his career, but fears this could be a case of history repeating itself from a much darker time.
It took him straight back to several episodes of Blue Peter in 1981 which stayed in the memories of thousands of children, for all the wrong reasons.
During an update on the latest Bring and Buy sale to raise money for The Spastic Society (now called Scope), Joey Deacon, a man with cerebral palsy in his 50s was featured, to give some insight to the young viewers about peoples’ different lives.
That short film inspired another slur, which became the “ultimate playground taunt,” Mik says, and which was regularly thrown at him.
“The idea is, ‘let’s do something good’, but I’m unsure that’s the right route. I think Rosie’s programme will end up being devalued by its title. So the R-word might start popping up more than we are hoping.”
Some have argued that Rosie is simply reclaiming an insult – taking the stigma out of the word and using it with pride.
But many have been quick to call out that, as a woman with cerebral palsy, a word related to intellectual disabilities isn’t one for her to reclaim.
The learning disability charity, Mencap, released a punchy statement as soon as it learned of the title.
Jackie O’Sullivan, Mencap’s Director of Communications, Advocacy and Activism, says: “People have told us that they are shocked and upset by the title of this documentary.
“If offensive words are to be eliminated in the narrative around disability, they must be taken out of circulation entirely. They should be regarded as truly unspeakable.
“We have contacted Channel 4 to ask them about their editorial decisions.”
The BBC also contacted Channel 4 and a spokesman said: “The film makes very clear it is an unacceptable and offensive ableist term and its inclusion was carefully considered in conversations with the editorial team, Rosie and a disability consultant
“We have removed three contributors from the documentary at their request and fully respect their decision.”
Harry has been left frustrated by the situation. He loves history, especially reading about the Tudors, and says many words he has spotted in history books have since dropped out of use, so: “Why can’t the R-word fade away?”
“This word is very old school and it’s time to abolish the R-word out of the English dictionary.”
He says one way of stopping similar situations arising again, is by insuring disabled people are involved in media at all levels.
“We need people with a learning disability representing all areas of the media. Doesn’t matter whether you’re on screen, off screen. That could make the world a better place,” he says.
Mik agrees and hopes this flare-up will become a “watershed moment where we say ‘this is it’.
“We can’t keep being poked like a bear,” he says. “We need disabled people to be more involved in all areas of production, so that means not just the presenter that gets it in the neck. We need to be shaping television for the future.”
Rosie’s documentary is due to be released on 20 July and Mik plans to tune in.
“I just think it’s really sad and I think it’s a missed opportunity because I bet the programme is going to be amazing.”
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#SaturdayPositivity #PositivityTeaSaying #PositiveVibes0Saturday #GoAndCheckOutMyFundraiserOnJustGiven
Times of the morning :-)
Oh pounds when I went there with Nat one year ago
lianne, do you hurt when she was a baby? She is now three years old. She is so cute. Love you loads 😹😹😹😹
With many thanks to Benefits And Work.
What is social tariff broadband?
Claimants on a range of benefits are eligible for social tariff broadband deals.
All the major suppliers offer a cheaper deal if you are on Universal Credit, Pension Credit, Employment and Support Allowance, Jobseeker’s Allowance or Income Support.
Some also extend their offer to PIP claimants.
Prices range from £10 to £20 a month with speeds from 15 to 100 Mbits, depending on the supplier.
The Ofcom website has a full list of suppliers and prices, with links to their individual terms and conditions.
What is the controversy about social tariff broadband?
Only one in twenty claimants who are eligible for social tariff broadband have actually signed up, with 4.3 million potentially eligible people apparently missing out on what should be a money saving deal.
Citizens Advice (CA) is concerned that take-up is so low even though one million people have cancelled their broadband in the last year because of the cost of living, with UC claimants 12 times more likely to have done so than non-claimants.
CA believes one of the main problems is that providers are failing to tell their customers about this option.
We wanted to find out whether our readers knew about social tariff broadband and, if so, what they thought of it. We have had almost 250 responses to an article last month on the topic.
Never heard of it
We definitely did get responses from readers who had never heard of social tariff broadband, so CA was correct that more publicity is needed.
“I’m on high PIP and support group ESA and I’ve never even heard of this!. I’m with BT
This is the first that I have heard about a social tariff broadband? How does one apply for it? Do I just phone the DWP or do I phone my current provider? Thanks.”
Happy customers
One grateful reader signed up to BT Essentials after reading our article and is now saving an extraordinary £60 a month as a result.
“I’ve been paying £83/month for 250MB cable broadband with landline bundle. Didn’t know anything about this offer until reading the newsletter. Just changed to 50MB “essential” broadband for £20/month (rising to £28/month after 14 months). They won’t allow me to keep the landline, but since 99% of the incoming calls are from scammers I’ll not be sad to see the back of it. Thanks for the information.”
This wasn’t the only happy customer we heard from either, there were actually a lot of positive responses.
“I had no issues switching with BT it was just a quick online form and have had a perfectly respectable speed since and no loss of service. I live in a rural location so need reliable broadband which so far, 6 months in, this has been. I’m saving £40 a month. My credit score has not been affected. All good.”
“We changed from full fibre cost with BT to BT social tariff and I will be totally honest we have not noticed any difference between the two apart from the cost. Was paying £52 a month to now paying £20 a month. We are in a small town with fibre so that might be why there is no difference.”
“I also have the BT social tariff at £20 a month unlimited broadband and free calls any time. I was paying £40 + for exactly the same, without free calls. So in my opinion it is great. I found out about via Martin Lewis Show. No issues streaming etc, speeds are as before.”
“I switched to BT home phone & Broadband after a BT engineer mentioned it to me during a visit , he actually said “they don’t really want people to know about social tariffs” £20 per month and it is the best service provided i have EVER had!”
“I think personally it’s mostly awareness. I signed up for the same contract I was on previously with BT, no change in speeds, customer services etc. and now save £12 a month. I’m really pleased with it!”
“I signed up for BT’s Social Tariff last year, my previous Broadband provider was terrible, overpriced and virtually no internet speed. I spent a while looking through ‘Social Tariffs’ listed on Ofcom’s website, most were unavailable to me because they only served certain areas.
Reluctantly I signed up with BT (had problems with them years ago, vowed never to return) surprisingly I’m bowled over with the service after a little hiccup to begin, needed an Engineer to connect my service at the local exchange. Customer Services were incredibly helpful. Don’t be afraid to ask them everything you need to especially any hidden extra charges during the set-up phase.”
“My Mum gets pension credit. She is on the social tariff with BT. She is on full fibre with 2 free digital phones for just £15 per month.”
“Hi all, I’ve recently arranged a package for a family member and I opted for the Vodafone Essentials deal. It’s only £12 a month and you get 38mbps. This person lives alone, doesn’t play games or download large files but does stream a lot, apart from general use of Google, YouTube etc. 38mbps is more than adequate for their needs. Sky advise that to stream in high definition you only need 5mbps. Paying any more for a faster connection would be a complete waste of money and they’ve never had any issues since switching.”
“I changed 6 months ago, it’s a no brainer. Speeds are perfectly acceptable for streaming films and tv. Can’t understand why anybody would want to pay full price, it was so easy to change over, no fees or loss of service. Same with the water bill, that’s been halved by applying for their social fund.”
“I signed up for a Social Tariff last year and not only was it simple (with BT) but I had the unexpected bonus of 700 minutes free l/line telephone minutes per month. That’s useful when trying to contact organisations which not only have long ‘wait’ times to answer calls but then take one through multiple options to access the appropriate extension. Download and Upload speeds are steady and reliable – fast enough, for example, to use a ‘Firestick’ without much ‘buffering’.”
Discouraged from switching
However, for every happy switcher we heard from, there was another reader who had tried to swap to social tariff and been misled or discouraged by their telecoms provider. This seemed to be a much bigger issue than not knowing about the tariff in the first place.
“I’ve recently switched from EE to BT home essentials but it wasn’t easy. I knew from moneysavers that there should be no termination fee but when I phoned I was told otherwise. I asked them to check twice and they asked their manager and I was still told I was wrong. It was only when I requested how much the charge would be and they phoned through to accounts that the no termination fee was agreed. However, my final bill from EE included a termination fee. Another phone call got this cancelled but it would have been so easy to have given up. I’m happy I persevered – the service from my new internet is fantastic and the engineer who came to fit it was brilliant.”
“I heard about “social tariffs” and spoke to Vodafone about it. Alas and alack the worker to whom I spoke had not heard about this and essentially informed me that I am in a binding contract, yadda, yadda, yadda.”
“I am so shocked to read this article! I was contacted about starting a new tariff around the time of the price hikes and she insisted I start a new 24 month contract. I specifically asked about the social tariff as I receive ESA and PIP. She said it would be £20 but I couldn’t get the same package, e.g. 67mbs internet and pay as you go calls. I’ve just looked and according to your figures I could have got exactly that, maybe not the same name of the package but all the same details.”
“I wasn’t told it was available with Vodafone, they just want get sales, when I did find out I was going to have to pay a leaving fee. No savings.”
“I made enquiries about the reduced broadband cost to my provider Virgin and they told me if I was to accept the cheaper deal it would be ridiculously slow. I live in a village where at times my broadband is quite slow even though I pay for the fastest speed! I was thoroughly put off by virgin to apply for it so for obvious reasons I didn’t . It would have been so much help financially and very beneficial to me as I live on my own and getting out and about to access services and facilities is a very daunting experience for me especially physically.”
So, it seems that whilst CA is right that some people don’t know about the scheme, even customers who do can find it very difficult to insist on their rights with some providers.
Can’t get it
Sadly for some people, the offer simply doesn’t seem to be available.
“I’ve heard about social broadband tariffs but they aren’t going to apply to me. I live with parents. Mum pays the broadband for the household.”
“I wanted to sign up for BT’s social tariff broadband, but it is only available with line rental included. I live with my parents and the phone line is theirs, I have a separate broadband contract (my parents don’t use the internet). So I can’t take up this service.”
“My ESA is legacy contribution based (after nearly 10 years, still!). So I can’t get the tariff. Even though I haven’t “contributed” since 2014.”
Better off without it
Some of our readers saw no point to social broadband or were very wary of giving information about their benefits to private sector companies.
“Why on earth would I go to an expensive social tariff when my three broadband is cheaper, quicker and more responsive to customers. The social tariffs are a con, pure and simple“
“I will not use that tariff because they demand your national insurance number (bt & ee) which is wrong on so many levels & They demand it, without allowing benefits proof any other way.”
“I dont want private companies knowing im on low income / disability benefits and making the information available for organisations to misuse, eg; lowering credit score, discrimination, etc”
“I switched to mobile broadband (via my smartphone hotspot) in 2011 and I have never looked back. This was due to living in Hull where KC Communications held the monopoly and were consequently pretty expensive with no competition to get better deals.”
“Even when moving to a new location I never bothered with a fixed line. I just didn’t see the point in paying for a mobile AND fixed line. It’s probably saved me £5000 in 12 years (including the electricity costs of leaving the Wi-Fi box switched on). Now with the advances in mobile technology to 5G etc a fixed line is even less necessary. It also saves having extra wires and equipment (aka clutter!) in the home, not to mention reducing previously mentioned electricity costs. A major consideration now prices are sky high!”
Too slow and too basic
Overwhelmingly, though, the main reason people told us they didn’t plan to switch to social tariff broadband was simply because they saw it as too slow and the packages as too limited for their needs.
Our first poster below compared the tariff to the “bubble cars” that disabled people were given rather than ordinary cars. (For those too young to remember, you can read about trikes here).
If the social tariff was simply standard broadband packages at a subsidised rate, it would go much further to ending the growing digital divide.
“The social tariffs just need to be the same packages as standard but with a reduced cost. Currently they offer paltry speeds with no TV or phone options. Why would someone switch to these? It’s the equivalent of the 1970s bubble cars for disabled motorists. We want the same as normal, just help or concessions to get it due to the financial impact of being unwell. Its pretty obvious why there isn’t much take up.”
“I’m with Vodafone Broadband (FTTP) as a regular customer, I get 900Mb for £34 a month (just gone up from £30). Why on Earth would I switch to paying £20 for a small fraction of the speed?”
“The reason we haven’t taken up the offer is because the service they are offering is poor compared to the one we pay full price for. We are a family of two physically disabled adults and two children. We rely on technology and smart devices to make our lives easier. As we cannot go outside much, our hobbies are gaming, streaming music and TV series and we also study online. The social tariffs are not suitable for us. For us, it is worth it – for now while we can afford it – to pay the higher cost as we are so dependant on a good connection. If I had no other option due to finances I would obviously take up the offer!”
“I’m on pip and looked into this but the speeds were too slow. It was a basic version but hubby works from home teaching lessons online, and I have a ten year old stepson and myself who’s only joy as a housebound person with a disability is a limited amount of gaming on the PlayStation, so we just can’t deal with slow speeds!”
“Tried the social tariff, changed back after a week because it was so poor we couldn’t connect two phones at the same time.”
“My provider is Virgin and, whilst they do offer a social tariff, it would be a fraction of the speed I get now. I get 130mbps and I believe its only around 15mbps which is nowhere near fast enough for my needs.”
“Too slow for me, I cannot cope with waiting an hour for adobe to do each update…”
“Even if I am eligible for one of these social tariffs, which I doubt (PIP and NS ESA), they simply don’t offer effective download speeds or coverage.”
“It doesn’t include enough services such as films. It is a very basic service.”
“The lack of a full package is the reason. If you’re elderly and disabled the TV and computer are a lifeline what’s the use of having broadband only if you haven’t got a cheap TV package to go with it.”
Is it right for you?
If you are a relatively light broadband user, just surfing and streaming videos, then there’s a very good chance that you could save money and have an entirely acceptable service using social tariff broadband. But be prepared, you may have to have a fight with your provider before you can switch.
But if you live in a household that is a heavy user of services or relies on online gaming for entertainment, then it may be that the available packages won’t meet your needs.
It’s definitely worth visiting the Ofcom site and checking what is currently available, though, it may be better than you expect.
call Salpi night good night everyone :-)
saying 🦋🤠
another time will be okay on this Thursday morning
going to the airport museum how are years ago and me play pretending I am a pilot ## #PretendingToBeAPilot
With many thanks to Benefits And Work.
Figures released by the DWP last month show that 25.5% of PIP AR1 review forms were returned late or not at all in the 12 months to February of this year. It is not clear how many late returns were due to the DWP not answering the phone to claimants trying to ask for an extension of the deadline.
The figures cover the period from March 2022 to February 2023. They show that between 10,000 and 15,000 claimants fail to meet their return deadline every month.
However, according to Viscount Younger, answering a question in the House of Lords on behalf of the government, only 7% of claimants who received an AR1 form were disallowed for non-return.
Younger explained that:
“It is worth noting there are multiple reasons a form may not be returned within 40 days, or at all, without a resulting disallowance. For example, where a claimant has an additional support marker, or where an extension has been granted. On average, only 7% of claimants in the time period, who received AR1 forms, were disallowed for non-return.”
But, as we know from numerous comments on our PIP Enquiry Line page, trying to get an extension for returning a PIP form can be extremely difficult due to the DWP’s telephony chaos.
“Received PiP review form but my partner who it relates to is unwell in bed for last 3 days. Time scale for return quite short. Rang to get extension today. Keep getting cut off. Must have tried 10 times.”
“So far I’ve been thrown out of the system three times (after all the annoying security stuff and irrelevant information), and been on hold for 50 minutes, 20 minutes, 35 minutes. I’ve had to hang up each time because I had to do other things. I’m trying to arrange an extension of a form return for a young person I’m helping, which is now overdue because I can’t get through… and the form arrived with only a week left to fill it in, and the deadline was a Sunday…unbelievably awful service!”
“Same thing happened to me when the phone went dead I tried ringing again and was told that they had closed. I needed to get in touch with them to ask for an extension for the renewal. Now I don’t know what to do as they will be closed now until Tuesday which is the day the forms have got to be sent in by.”
So, although many people who do not meet their PIP review form return deadline may not lose out as a result, there is a real possibility that hundreds – or even thousands – of claimants are being unfairly disqualified every month because they are prevented from requesting an extension.
You can read the full written answer here.
♥️♥️🤩🤩
your phone for Wednesday morning thank you for all sucrose and things later on this evening and afternoon
‘Inclusive Fashion Is The Next Big Thing’
A fashion student with a chronic pain condition has crafted a clothing range to help others who have hidden disabilities.
Nottingham Trent University student Tegan Cooke has fibromyalgia – a condition which can cause fatigue, insomnia and joint pain.
The 21-year-old’s designs draw on the concept of pressure therapy.
They incorporate gentle compression on the shoulders and knees, designed to offer a soothing pressure.
“The pressure helps secure ‘clicky’ joints and prevents them from moving out of place and being uncomfortable,” said Ms Cooke, a third-year BA Fashion Design student.
“It also gives comfort to achy legs and makes the clothes soothing to wear.”
The edges of the garments are bound so they are flat and smooth, minimising severe skin sensitivity, a symptom that Tegan says she often experiences.
“A thick label sewn into my clothing, or even a loose thread that hasn’t been snipped away can cause intense irritation,” she said.
“For my collection I considered a range of different fabrics, ensuring that they were soft and breathable, allowing the wearer comfort and the ability to regulate their body temperature, another symptom of the condition.”
The designs feature bead embroidery, adding a tactile feature that wearers can rub for therapeutic benefits.
They also incorporate crystals, which symbolically represent diamonds becoming stronger under pressure.
“Inclusive fashion is the next big thing, but I don’t think that people with hidden disabilities are catered for by the accessible market yet,” said Ms Cooke.
“I wanted to create clothing that helps relieve people’s symptoms, but which isn’t plain and boring.”
For her research, she spoke to others with chronic pain conditions.
“It’s clear that many people, of all ages, would benefit from these sorts of designs,” she said.
“There’s particularly a niche for garments that consider wearers who have chronic pain, particularly for younger people who would like something on-trend and vibrant.”
Emma Prince, leader of the Fashion Design course at Nottingham Trent University, said: “Tegan has taken her personal experience of a hidden disability and created a range of garments which would literally benefit millions of other people.”
this evening’s final saying poo Tuesday 🫶🏼♥️🥰❤️🤣
no P illustration for everybody this evening with some of boys as well including butterfly 🦋🦋🦋🦋
With many thanks to Benefits And Work.
Tom Pursglove, minister for disabled people, admitted this month that waiting times for PIP and ESA inquiry lines have been too long, but says that PIP claimants will have to wait until the end of the summer to see an improvement.
Pursglove was answering an oral question from Labour MP Kerry McCarthy about waiting times for PIP and ESA calls.
In response, he told the MP:
“The Department recognises that wait times for the PIP and ESA inquiry line have been too long. To reduce waiting times, we are recruiting more staff and, in the short term, are diverting staff to support better performance. PIP recruitment is expected to reduce waits by the end of summer, while ESA waiting times have improved significantly in recent weeks . . . What I can say, hopefully to reassure the House, is that we are seeing 600 additional agents recruited for PIP from April and for ESA 160 additional agents will be put on telephony through both recruitment and redeployment.”
Whilst 600 new staff does sound like it should lead to a big improvement in waiting times, we don’t know how many staff are currently employed in order to learn what sort of percentage increase in staffing this adds up to.
And, of course, the ultimate test will be whether claimants can actually get through and then get a useful answer to their questions. Much of this will depend on how well the 600 new staff are trained.
So, we’ll continue to ask readers to comment on their experiences on our PIP Enquiry Line page.
You can read the full commons exchange on PIP and ESA inquiry line waiting times here.
