I began March thinking it would be another regular month of working and enjoying a couple of pre-planned outings. Instead, I was hit with some shocking news that I never thought would happen…
Disability Horizons is set to close after 12 years
On the 2nd of March, I received the most unexpected voice note from our cofounder Martyn Sibley saying he has decided to close down Disability Horizons in April.
I was totally shocked and upset by this and my head was spinning for days.
My colleague Joanna and I had a chat on the phone soon after and discussed a way we could take over the ownership and find ways to cut costs. We tried presenting our ideas a few days later to Martyn but sadly his decision was final.
I then had the horrible job of announcing the news to the rest of our team.
We then had to keep it confidential until the 31st of March, which was torture, especially when clients were still contacting us and I had people asking me how things were at DH and I had to pretend all was fine.
You can find out more about the closure and the reasons why in Martyn’s article – Disability Horizons set to close after 12 wonderful years
I’ve had an incredible 10 years working at Disability Horizons as a writer and editor. At times, it has felt like the one thing that has kept me going and the only place I felt valued, included and have a purpose in my life. I’ve learnt some valuable skills to improve my writing and gained the confidence to run my own publication.
On the plus side, Joanna and I have decided to create a new fresh online publication that will launch in May (more details below).
So, for the last time, here are the articles I wrote and edited this month on Disability Horizons:
- Bake Off finalist Sandro Farmhouse joins National Autistic Society as celebrity ambassador
- Introducing Panopreter the text-to-speech experts
- Introducing eSight: assistive technology for the visually impaired
- Top TV talent back first BBC Writersroom’s open call for disabled writers
- Get creative and active with inclusive dance, music, cooking and sports at Naidex 2023
- An eggs-traordinary Easter for all the family
- Have your say on improving safety for London’s black cab and minicab passengers
- The Human Rights Watch Film Festival 2023: supporting and celebrating everyday activists
- Via: representing visible inclusive accessibility across events and exhibitions
- Dacia Jogger is the UK’s only wheelchair accessible car for families
- KUPOCARE: designing innovative and reliable mounting kits for people with disabilities
- Calling all disabled entrepreneurs! The Stelios 2023 Awards for Disabled Entrepreneurs are now open – £100k of cash prizes to be won! Don’t delay…apply today
Crip Life™
As I mentioned above, Joanna and I are going to launch a new online magazine called Crip Life. We understand it may appear a controversial name but we will explain it all soon.
The site will be launched on Monday 1st May 2023. In the meantime, you can access the latest updates and exclusive news on our Facebook Page.
Health
The main reason our new site will not be launched until May is that I’m due to have eye surgery next week and will need at least two weeks of recovery and a couple of weeks to draft content.
I’m having the usual chelation procedure to remove the calcium buildup on the front of my left eye. I have had it done many times over the past decade but this time instead of going to Moorfields in London, I’m getting it done in Southampton.
In the past, I’ve found the train and taxi journey to London a nightmare, especially post-surgery, and the quality of care I received at Moorfields has been rather poor. Therefore, I’m hoping for a smooth 45-minute journey in the car and better quality care this time in Southampton.
Wales and Naidex
I did get to enjoy a couple of outings this month. In early March I went to visit my best friend Pluggy in Wales. We had one day in Cardiff where we enjoyed Nando’s and the cinema then the next day I met her for breakfast in a café in her hometown Abergavenny, which was lovely.
A couple of weeks later I went to the disability exhibition Naidex in Birmingham. Initially, it was going to be for work purposes but after Martyn’s announcement, I just went for the fun of it. The awkward thing was, at the time, the DH closure was confidential so I couldn’t tell anyone what was happening. So, I apologise to those of you I did speak to and had to keep that big news quiet.
My highlight of the trip was getting to watch two comedians with cerebral palsy – Aaron Simmonds and Lost Voice Guy (Lee Ridley) – perform live. Aaron had a great love story at platform 9¾ and Lee did some incredible singing on his iPad.
Books
I finally finished the third book in the School for Good and Evil series. It was a long read and felt like it was never going to come to an end. I still have four more books in the series to read but I decided to read some other books for now.
I read Scoop: Behind the Scenes of the BBC’s Most Shocking Interviews by former BBC Newsnight producer Sam McAlister, who was responsible for many of Newsnight’s exclusive interviews over the past decade, including Prince Andrew, Stormy Daniels, Sean Spicer, Brigitte Hoss, Steven Seagal, Mel Greig and Julian Assange. It was a fascinating read and I love reading about journalism.
I’m now reading Spice Girls’ Melaine C’s autobiography Who I Am. It’s been an interesting read so far but also sad to know about her difficult childhood. I’m just at the point where the Spice Girls were formed.
TV
I’m almost done finishing The Vampire Diaries. I’ve got about half of series eight to go. I admit I did get a spoiler online as to how it will end because I was flummoxed how almost two series on, Elena still hadn’t returned from her “magic coma” despite being the main character. It turned out the actor playing her chose to leave after series six and only returned in the final episode.
Although I think Stefan and Caroline make a good couple, I still think Elena and Stefan should be together.
Audio Description petition
My campaign for audio description has continued throughout March 2023 and the petition has now gained a total of 3671 signatures, which is incredible!
But I’m eager to reach thousands more. The more signatures we get, the more likely changes will be made within the TV and film industries. Please, please, PLEASE continue to sign & share my petition!
Guest Bloggers Wanted
I’m still eager to collaborate with even more bloggers in 2023. So, if you’re a lifestyle, disability and/or music blogger, send me your blog stories. Plus let me know if you’d like me to feature on your blog as a guest blogger.
I’m flexible with any type of blog post – life story, disability awareness, music event, musician promotion – basically anything to do with life, disability or music!
In addition, I have a guest blog series called “RFD Question Time with…” where I interview disabled people and/or bloggers. If you’d like to be interviewed in this series, please also contact me.
Blog post roundup
In case you missed any of my blog posts this month, here is a roundup of them:
- Music Interview: Virtue In Vain
- 10 grammar tips to help you write the perfect blog post or article
- Music Interview: Skidders
5 favourite blog posts
Here are my 5 favourite blog posts I’ve read this month:
- My wheelchair & me! at My Life Kerry’s Way
- Symptom or Side Effect…or Could It Be Something New? at Despite Pain
- Blind leading the blind at Well Eye Never
- Being Excluded With A Disability at Hannah’s Hope
- 10 years later: disabled student to disabled employee at Chloe Tear
