Delighted to be able to say that from next month. I’m going to be doing some occasional news presenting on
@BBCThree
/
@BBCNews
’s The Catch Up.
As a disabled person growing up, there was a shortage of visibly disabled people on-screen, so I’m very excited for this opportunity!
There was only one barrier I came up against on my Saturday Dodder Valley greenway trip…
This kissing gate proved impossible to get through independently and would stop many wheelchair/scooter users from using the route.
@SouthDubCycling
@dublincycling
@sdublincoco
@EamonRyan
Just back from a Saturday cycle along the Mersey coast (40k by myself) - something I never imagined doing a year ago.
Cycling over the last few months has been a godsend.
With the right infrastructure & support, disabled people can cycle.
I’m
#PumpedUpToCycle
(
@WeAreCyclingUK
)
Tá pas Éireannach agam!!
When I was 10, I stumbled across
@dfatirl
’s website one night and found out I was eligible for an Irish passport through my grandma.
It’s taken 15 years and a lot of badgering my mother, but today finally I’ve got my
@PassportIRL
! 😊🇮🇪
Delighted to say I’ve been offered a permanent contract within
@BBCNews
after over three years at the world-leading broadcaster.
Massive thanks to
@InExtend
for developing this disabled journo and for their help & support!
More details to come in 2021...
Delighted to say I’m now 5000 kilometres into my cycling journey!
I started a week before lockdown in March, having never ever cycled before.
Being able to get on my handcycle and explore my local community on the Wirral has done my health no end of good in the lockdowns
As someone living w/ cerebral palsy, I’d never imagined I’d be able to handcycle with my dodgy balance.
Prior to lockdown, I’d never cycled before - but the quieter roads gave me the chance to practice on the roads.
Many disabled ppl can cycle w/ right support & infrastructure.
"In pre-lockdown life, I’d see cyclists in my cab to the office and feel a pang of envy and internalised ableism. I wanted to cycle but never thought it'd be something I'd be able to do.
Now, I'm 4,000kms (2,500 miles) in on my handcycle and loving it!"
I may be many things, but I’m definitely not “confined to my wheelchair”
@BBCWalesNews
@BBCWales
As a disabled journalist working at the BBC, you often think you’re turning a corner on disability representation - and then you see language being used like this
As someone with CP, seeing this insult being used by someone I grew up admiring for his football skills really hurts.
And yes I am one, but I’ve two degrees, speak several languages and I’m currently the political reporter for
@BBCLancashire
!
Are you that much of a spastic?
Even the biggest window, lickers around wouldn’t have come out with a mad shout like that.
Women’s football compared to Men’s is pathetic. It’s actually laughable. Proper pony.
Anyone with half a brain knows that.
Stop trying to distort
Renting as a disabled person can be a bit of a nightmare.
On a trip to Derby for
@BBCBreakfast
and
@BBCNews
, I looked at hundreds of properties.
Sadly, I didn’t find a single one that would be accessible for me.
🏠 🏡 ♿️🎥
#TenantsTales
#BBCExtend
The last few days in London on my ♿️🚲 have taught me that so much of my unhappiness of my previous time in the English capital was down to transport-related anxiety around the inaccessibility of tubes & buses...
How great it has been to get to where I want to go to hassle-free!
The Dutch city of Houten doesn’t do kissing gates or chicanes… Instead it has these awesome bumps that allow all to be able to use the routes without barriers!
@cianginty
@Cyclemotions
Back at the Etihad for
@ManCity
’s first home game of the 19/20 season!
16th year having my season ticket here with
@RealMrsPalmer
and here’s hoping it’ll be a great one!
Urgh,
@British_Airways
check-in manager in Istanbul did just try to suggest that I check-in and leave my chair “because it’s creating difficulties”…
I refused (ofc) but it’s so annoying that my mobility aid is seen as a difficulty, rather than something I need to get around.
🚨 Some work news 🚨
After a phenomenal two years in the
@BBCNews
newsroom, from January, I’m going to be working as a producer on the
@bbcworldservice
’s flagship news programme,
@BBCNewshour
.
Extremely excited for this next chapter! 🌎 📻
Happy International Disabled Persons Day!
To celebrate, here’s a video I made for
@bbcideas
on how not to be awkward when talking with disability or dealing with disabled people.
(with the tremendous
@Tanni_GT
& lovely
@lucyedwards
)
#IDPWD2019
#IDPD2019
Wowza, it always amazes me how great the ramps are on the
@Eurostar
and how easy the process is.
Bonjour, France 🇫🇷 (also, can we have a train under the Irish Sea from Liverpool to Dublin?)
#ES9004
Today marks a year since I cycled for the first time...
Over 8,200kms later (and many trips around the Wirral later), here are some of my favourite northern journeys on my handcycle during the lockdowns!
Many more miles still to go ♿️🚲
@MobilityDavinci
To say I’m gutted that the temporary cycle lane is being removed in New Brighton is a massive understatement...
This lane was a massive boost to my confidence when I started cycling as a disabled person and I’m really sad to see it go as I use it all the time.
@WirralCouncil
To anyone who isn’t disabled or doesn’t have experience of life with disabled people, this won’t mean much…
But today, the breaks broke on my handcycle and I was able to get it fixed at the local bike shop.
No hassle, no specialist stuff needed costing extra or long waits!
So delighted to say that I’ve now done 2,000km on the handbike - and I only got it at the start of the lockdown in mid-March.
It’s been incredible cycling around the Wirral (Liverpool x2 and Hull-Hornsea x1) - something I never thought I’d be able to do.
Despite the wind, the snow, and the rain, I somehow managed to do 500 miles/800 kilometres in January on Vinny the
@MobilityDavinci
♿️🚲.
All within a 5 miles from home on the Wirral, especially around
@BirkenheadPark1
and New Brighton!
This time last year, I’d never cycled...
I did this video on Tube access over three years ago for
@BBCNews
but every so often I share it with a non-disabled person and their shocked reaction reminds me how much still needs to be done to improve disabled folks’ lives
So a few weeks ago, my plans to cycle to Thornton Hough were frustrated by a very narrow stile.
I sent an email to someone at
@WirralCouncil
and I’m pleased to say that THE BARRIER HAS BEEN REMOVED and the space is nice and wide to get through! ♿️🚲
Unfortunately, my plans to get to Thornton Hough were scuppered by this extremely narrow barrier that was impossible to get through 😢
@WirralCouncil
@sustrans
Last night,
@robbopalmer
had to come & rescue me off the 🚝 after it arrived at Euston but the ramp failed to turn up.
He and an
@AvantiWestCoast
platform staffer had to push back the door to stop it from shutting after an 18 min wait from arrival.
Massive loss of dignity
An absolute disgrace
@AvantiWestCoast
@NetworkRailEUS
I was close by to rescue
@EllisPalmer94
from an empty train.
One of your staff (Michael) physically helped stop the train locking down for the night & heading for the yard.
Your staff left in the lurch. A ♿️ dignity
Despite this post on the
@BBCNews
Instagram account, as a wheelchair using BBC journalist, let me say that if ou need a wheelchair, please do not fear the mobility aid and put your health at risk despite the ableist narrative that says the risk is worth it…
Very frustrating that I’m not able to get to the accessible toilet on the
@AvantiWestCoast
train back from London to Live as there’s luggage and a pram blocking the space, despite the fact there’s a label there telling them to leave the space free to allow access
Cycled past a local primary school today as some kids were crossing the road and they all shouted “we love your bike” at me…
Heartwarming, and I always think about what a great opportunity seeing someone using a handcycle is to normalise disabled people in the community 💚♿️🚲
Over the years, there’s been a constant soundtrack to the big news events and that‘s been
@bbc5live
...
I’m very excited to announce that I’m going to be joining the Salford-based network as a producer next month!
Here’s one from the archive back in 2015! 😊📻
It’s really frustrating as a disabled journalist to listen to output that talks about disabled people without actually talking to any disabled people, and rather talking to non-disabled people or charity voices 😱😱😱
As the disabled wheelchair-using kid who was always sat in the corner of photos at school, hopefully this will spark a long-overdue conversation about inclusivity in group photos
Apparently, it’s
#CerebralPalsyawarenessday
, so here’s to all of my fellow wobblies who live with CP...
Never imagined my wobbly body and awful hand-to-eye co-ordination could ever cycle using a handbike, but here we are over 5,300 miles later.
Took Bob the
@DaVinciMobility
handcycle down Bidston Hill to my local train station at Birkenhead North to try out
@merseyrail
’s new level boarding trains…
Very impressed at how they allow for independent travel in my local area! ♿️🚲 🚂
“I can get from A to B to C without having to rely on anyone”
Great to talk to
@LpoolCityRegion
about the difference using my handcycle to get around the City Region has made to my life!
Made in Fazakerley by
@MobilityDavinci
, used mostly on the Wirral!
Cycled the 28ish miles from home to Chester today using the
@Sustrans
national cycle network routes!
It was mostly very good (apart from a few unanticipated sharp inclines) and I found this lovely bridge that was perfect for handcycling through 😊♿️🚲
I don’t want to give an inanimate object human personalities, but the New Brighton cycle lane meant I was able to cycle safely and independently for a bit of my journey when I first started out on my handcycle in lockdown no. 1 and I’ll miss it hugely.
🚨🚨🚨 EXCITING JOB NEWS 🚨🚨🚨
Delighted to share that from January, I’m going to be working as the Political Reporter for
@BBCLancashire
across TV, radio and online for a few months!
As someone who is passionate about multilevel public policy making, I can’t wait!
Growing up as a young disabled person, there were very few disabled people out there in the public eye.
Stephen Hawking was one of them and, for me, he showed that despite public perceptions of what a disabled person can do, people with disabilities can achieve amazing things.
Delighted to say that on Thursday and Friday this week, I’m going to be working as a Day Reporter on my local BBC station,
@bbcmerseyside
, for the first time!
Very excited for the opportunity and if you’ve got something that might be of interest, please do send it my way!
Just taken my new
@DavinciMobility
handcycle out for a spin along the banks of the Mersey this evening.
I adore my new way of getting around and there’s no better place than the paradise peninsula, the
#Wirral
, for giving it a scenic spin (camera:
@robbopalmer
).
I had to get the tube across London to watch
@LondainGAA
today and, wow, London must be such a great city to be in if you aren’t disabled and don’t have the transport-anxiety related to only being able to get around 20% of the city-region by yourself.
Istanbul with
@ManCity
was an experience, to say the least.
Yes, we won the
@ChampionsLeague
and that was great! But I’d rather not have felt my wheelchair was going to break on the rubble or been dumped off the 🚍 at 3am…
Me for
@guardian_sport
As a disabled person who went to a Merseyside comprehensive school, I’d have never imagined working at
@BBCNews
when I was growing up.
But the BBC’s
@InExtend
scheme gave me an amazing opportunity to get started as a journalist.
Check it out
#BBCExtend
When I was a teenager, I used to be allowed to get The Guardian once a week on a Saturday and I’d devour it, cover-to-cover!
It’s incredible then for me to see my name in print in the Saturday
@guardian
sports section, talking about Istanbul last weekend!
On Tuesday during the heatwave on Merseyside, I decided to get my old walking frame out of the garage and go for a walk around the garden.
What you don’t see is the bit where I collapse in a heap of sweat at the end, but I kinda miss walking around very badly on my frame!
One thing I wished non-disabled people understood more about traveling when you're disabled is the amount of extra information, time, and admin you are required to give in order to just do something as basic as boarding a flight.
Completed my dream of cycling from my grandma’s in East Hull to pick up coffee to
@TheBlendingRoom
on the Boulevard... And in my
@hullcityretro
top too!!
Honestly, the infrastructure (mostly green bits painted on roads & bus lanes) is incredible and helped me get there safely!
I’m delighted to say that I’m going to be kicking around at
@BBCNews
for another year (at least)!
It’s been a phenomenal 18 months so far on
@InExtend
at
@BBCWorld
Online and Digital Video.
Here’s hoping the next year will be just as awesomely news-y.
Off on a
@Eurostar
adventure to Paris for the day with Bob the handcycle…
Decided to take him over the Channel on his first foreign holiday to try out Paris’ new cycling infrastructure!
Will try to make a thread out of this throughout the day ♿️🚲🇫🇷🇪🇺
Delighted to start today on
@bbc5live
Breakfast!
I’m back to the office after almost six months - but I’m really excited to get started on such a phenomenal show!
Here in Barcelona this week and they have a public transport card that you pay 20€ a month for and the price gives you access to all the transport in the city... Cool, no?
Also, 95% of the Metro stations are accessible and, what's more, all the buses have two wheelchair spaces!
I’ve just had an email from a
@tiktok_uk
PR using the term “overcoming disability” in an email about disabled TikTokkers.
It’s so annoying that people still see disabled content creators as having to overcome their disability to be great, rather than being great AND disabled!
Five years today I joined the Beeb on the Extend scheme targeted at bringing in disabled journalists!
I can’t quite believe I’ve been at the UK’s public service broadcaster for half a decade!
We move forwards to the next five years
From 2018👇🏽
Great to wake up this morning to the news that larger accessible toilets for severely disabled people - known as Changing Places - will be made compulsory for new buildings in England from 2021.
Here’s my film from last year about why they are needed:
Sadly, there are whole areas of London thst I’m unable to get to.
There are whole neighbourhoods, coffee shops, and restaurants I want to visit but can’t, because it’s almost impossible to get around when over 200 stations aren’t accessible at all.
Found this archive picture on my first trike with my grandma many years ago...
Unfortunately, I grew out of this trike and stopped cycling for 20 years, but it reminds me of the fact that many disabled kids want to try cycling, but the infrastructure isn’t there for them (yet)!
I was cycling in London the other evening and when I stopped at the traffic lights, a woman asked me whether I felt safe on my handcycle on London’s roads
I must say two years in, I do, but it has taken a lot of experimentation to get to that point
Delighted to say I’m going to be the early reporter tomorrow for BBC England local radio stations, delivering the top story of the day for audiences across the country.
First time since September since I’ve done this shift and I’m very much looking forward to it!
I’ve just discovered I can get the train all the way from London to Barcelona (via Paris) in a day!
Yes, it takes alllll day, but I’m so excited to do it at some point.
How it started vs how it’s going
It’s three years since I joined the BBC on the
@InExtend
scheme and I’ve now got a gig I’ve craved for a long time at
@bbc5live
💙
Many thanks to all at
@bbcnews
Online and
@BBCNewshour
for their support too 😊♿️📻
A bit excited to say that I’ve booked the ferry from my town Birkenhead for a solo ♿️🚲cycling vacation to the island of Ireland next month!
First stop Belfast, then hopefully Newry/S Armagh, then Dublin and the coastal mobility route to Dún Laoghaire and back!
💚♿️🚲😊
Just had my
#CovidVaccine
💉 after working the early
@BBCNewshour
@bbcworldservice
shift!
I had the AstraZeneca jab (also known as Oxford) - back again in 12 weeks.
Happy to get the AZ one, as it’s said to be most effective with the dosing schedule.
Big thanks to the NHS staff
Gutted that it seems that the London to Berlin train service will not have any wheelchair adapted facilities.
Such a shame, but yet another example of how disabled people get left behind when it comes to transport infrastructure.
Now on Seat 61! All about the new (London-) Brussels/Amsterdam-Berlin sleeper train that will start running on 25 May 2023: Timetable, prices, on board facilities, bikes & pets...
Bus lanes, gorgeous towpaths, country hills, and narrow cycle tracks,
Great to write about my (mostly excellent) experience handcycling on the east coast of Ireland last week for
@IrishTimes
!
It’s also in the paper too, I think, so go out and get one!
Jesus, the trailer to this just makes me so angry...
Non-disabled actors playing disabled folks in a film about how disabled people can’t get laid without paying for it is like ableism bingo and pushes a negative perspective of the (sexual) agency of disabled folk.
The trailer for
#ComeAsYouAreFilm
has entered the building.
One van, two countries, three horny men. Oh, and no parents. It's a wild ride 💦
Available on premium digital release on 17 July!
Find out more:
I’ve now done 1,500 kilometres on the handbike since mid-March.
In many ways, I’m making up for lost time as I’ve always wanted to cycle but never had the means to... Until now!
To celebrate, yesterday I went for a cycle on this ace greenway in south Wirral near Neston! ♿️🚲
This’ll probably seem like nothing to non-disabled tweeters, but I’ve just made myself pasta (with grilled aubergine) for myself in my parents’ inaccessible kitchen for the first time in almost 10 years! It was quite the challenge.
(Last time I was 17 and burnt the pasta...)
I’m officially in my almost-late twenties (27) now and, as such, to celebrate I’ve rehomed the most adorable
@RSPCA_official
cat from my local shelter!
Everyone, say 👋 to Gem!
Per source, Trump was told on Friday he could go to Walter Reed voluntarily, but he would be taken no matter what when his condition worsened. Doctors told Trump if he waited he could lose ability to walk to Marine One (optics of a wheelchair or stretcher obvs would be terrible)
It’s
#worldcerebralpalsyday
today (yay)!
It’s been a very weird year for many of us CP-havers, with normal life and support networks being disrupted by the pandemic.
But there have been a few positives for me from 2020, with
#MyCycleMyMobilityAid
becoming a thing!
I never thought I’d be able to film from my chair, so I’m over delighted to have found a way to be able to film
#mojo
-style from my wheelchair...
Very much inspired by
@mojofestival
last week!
Can’t wait to start filming this way and all advice is very welcome!
All this WFHing has me thinking where I’d live if it was the norm and housing accessiblity wasn’t a barrier.
UK, Merseyside and in Europe: Barcelona or Galway. Basically somewhere near the sea.
But housing access is a nightmare pretty much everywhere.
Happy
#InternationalWheelchairDay
to my handcycle chair and other (electric) chairs, without whom I’d be stuck, totally stuck.
My wheels mean I’m able to get about quickly and independently to enjoy socially-distanced coffees, say, in nearby villages!
A little update on this - I'm going to be joining the team behind
@NickyAACampbell
and
@rachelburden
on
@bbc5live
's Breakfast show in a little under a fortnight!
Really excited to get to join a show I tune into every day to get a sense of what the UK's focusing on!
Over the years, there’s been a constant soundtrack to the big news events and that‘s been
@bbc5live
...
I’m very excited to announce that I’m going to be joining the Salford-based network as a producer next month!
Here’s one from the archive back in 2015! 😊📻
Wow,
@AvantiWestCoast
train manager has just used the term “wheelchair-bound” on the overhead tannoy ahead of the 0943 from Liverpool Lime Street to London Euston?
Is this highly-offensive term on your standard procedure,
@AvantiWestCoast
?
Fantastic Friday news: Delighted to have been accepted onto the prestigious
@JSchofieldTrust
mentoring scheme for 2022! 😊
Very excited for this development opportunity!
As a disabled person, one of the things that I’m consistently amazed and disappointed by when looking at new developments of flats/houses in my local area is how few have any adapted or even adaptable dwellings.
Seems to be a big oversight.
From 2018:
I’ve been successful in my application for the BBC’s Next Generation committee, which considers the challenges facing the BBC from the perspective of younger audiences.
If you’re a young person and you’d like to get more content that’s up your street, drop us a message.
Interesting and important to hear from the Afghan MP
@Mariamistan
on
@BBCNewshour
on the
@bbcworldservice
about the situation in Kabul after thousands of Afghans showed their vocal support for their government's security forces last night.
As someone living with cerebral palsy, someone who does not have cerebral palsy using *that* word as an insult is abhorrent. Not "virtue-signalling nonsense", but offensive, ableist language.
I sincerely hope you apologise for the offence caused in your short video, Mr Barton.
I’ll deal with the virtue signalling nonsense from using the word ‘spastic’ in a short video. (This week)
My timeline was filled with the ‘victim card’ playing gang. They can’t wait to tell you what you should and shouldn’t say.
They’re offended, they say. Offended when I don’t
A real “pinch me” moment when
@MishalHusain
introduced my digital first “Why we came to Stoke-on-Trent” film featuring three migrant women on the
@BBCNews
Channel the other day!
Featuring stories not often heard from an area the national news rarely covers!
#BBCWeAreStokeOnTrent
Very excited to say I’m making my debut presenting
@BBCThree
’s The Catch Up news programme live tonight at 1955 or available on
@BBCiPlayer
afterwards
Cycled into Hull city centre today from my grandma’s in the east of the city!
The Holderness Road/Witham cycle lanes and the flatness of the route made it a perfect trip...
Loving the Humber St regeneration too!