Accessibility – Well Eye Never

Taking The PIP – Reform Style

*Sigh* Ok, fine. I steer clear of politics in this blog as much as I can, and have especially avoided mentioning Reform given their deliberately and dangerously divisive way of conducting themselves. But it was inevitable that they were going to start attacking disabled people, as they’re already adept at spreading misinformation and inciting hatred towards immigrants, the LGBTQ+ community and anybody they consider ‘woke’ or ‘lefty’. Of course we were next. I may be visually impaired, but like most people I saw this coming a mile off.

Disabled people are simply a burden they don’t want to deal with, so they want to cut as much support as possible and shift the responsibilities on to others, without caring if people suffer as a result. And it will naturally be a vote-winner amongst their supporters to paint us as fraudsters and scroungers, because they have no respect for us and no understanding of the benefits system (even though any of them could need it at any time, and some of them already do use it).

Me writing a post like this isn’t going to change their minds either, I know that. As much as I’d like them to read what I have to say, consider it thoughtfully and discuss it with politeness and respect, I won’t be at all surprised if I just get insults thrown at me instead. That seems to be what happens if you dare to criticise Reform on social media, and I could easily put together a bingo card of predictable responses. But I’d love a Reform supporter to prove me wrong, showing a willingness to read and think about things with an open mind, instead of just blindly believing what their party tells them.

I also know that their welfare policy announcement and press conference – for which they didn’t consult disabled people as far as I can tell – is just an attention-seeking distraction technique, and me having a rant is exactly what they want to keep that discussion flowing. So I’ve been in two minds as to whether to write anything about it. But I don’t appreciate them using disabled people like myself as a political football, in their latest attempt to try and kick discussions about their dodgy dealings and a pointless by-election into the long grass, especially when it involves spreading lies about us and threatening to wipe out our support. We can’t just roll over and let extremists treat us like this.

So here are my initial reactions to Reform’s proposals, beginning with some clarifications about PIP.

July 2026 Favourites

Hello again, hope you’re doing well. I know it’s lovely to have sunshine in the summer, but this exceptional period of hot and dry weather is getting a bit much now isn’t it? If you or someone you know is affected by wildfires, droughts or the heat in general at the moment, I hope you’re staying safe and comfortable as best you can.

Naturally it’s been having an impact on my mother, so even though after my foot injury I’m feeling well enough to go out a bit more again, I’ve still had to stick around at home a lot of the time to make sure she’s ok. I’ll be giving a little update about my caring situation in this post.

So again there’s nothing for me to write about in London just yet, but I’m hopeful that will finally change during August, particularly with a booking I have for my birthday that I’m very much looking forward to.

However, there is plenty of entertainment for me to review from July, including a couple of crime dramas I discussed on Radio 4’s In Touch, along with some audio and TV comedies, and I’ve even tried getting back into playing video games. And, as ever, none of it’s sponsored or gifted. So I hope you enjoy!

Doctor Who Review – The Movie (30th Anniversary Blu-ray)

My interest in Doctor Who has mainly been confined to the Modern era from the 2005 reboot onwards, as that was when I first got into it, and I’ve been gradually revisiting and reviewing those series in recent years. It looks like I now have quite a bit of time to complete those reviews too, given that the show is going on hiatus again.

However, I have very little experience of the Classic era. I was still in my childhood for most of the Wilderness Years, when the programme was off air between 1989 and 2005, so it wasn’t a big part of my life growing up.

I did of course become aware of the show, particularly via a couple of charity specials that were broadcast on TV in the 90s, because it is a British institution that is deeply embedded in popular culture. It’s impossible to live here in the UK and not know about it. But I was too young to care. It was just one of those many old programmes that the adults used to watch, and it had long gone. And since getting into the Modern era, I’ve only seen occasional stories from the old days, either in their original form or via modern re-edits.

During its 16-year absence, however, there was an attempt to bring the show back in 1996, via a feature-length American TV pilot simply known as Doctor Who: The Movie, featuring Paul McGann as the 8th Doctor. A lot of fans in the UK liked it, but there wasn’t enough interest in the States to resurrect the show fully.

So it completely passed me by at the time. But I did eventually see it many years later, on Netflix in December 2013, when it was available there alongside a tiny selection of Classic era episodes that I also watched. I had taken the opportunity to check out those stories because of the 50th anniversary of the show – which means my first experience of Paul McGann had actually been his Night Of The Doctor mini-episode the previous month, showing his regeneration into the War Doctor. And as it happens I’ve recently seen that story again, having just rewatched the 50th anniversary specials during May. He also later made a cameo in The Power Of The Doctor in 2022 that I enjoyed.

12½ years on from my one and only viewing, therefore, I have no clear recollection of the film or whether I liked it. So buying the new 30th anniversary Blu-ray is a bit of a gamble for me, but a fascinating one too, as it’s my first proper deep dive into any Doctor Who story before 2005. It feels like I’m watching the movie for the first time again, and all of the special features (apart from the trailer for this release) are completely new to me, as I’ve never owned any previous editions.

So join me as I experience the movie in all its remastered glory and explore all the bonus material. I’ve also put together a playlist of highlights, music tracks, interviews, convention appearances, etc that you can look through too. I hope you enjoy!

May 2026 Favourites

Hello there, I hope you’ve had a good month. Thanks to my foot injury I haven’t been out much for a while, but I am doing fine, as it has been feeling a lot better. And my mother is doing well too, although she did struggle in the heatwave we just had. I’ve included a little update on my caring situation in this post for those who are interested.

For the most part, however, my focus here will be on entertainment. And on that front the most significant thing is that I’ve been on the radio! I was very kindly invited to join in a discussion about audio description, and it’s already had some excellent feedback. Then beyond that, my mother and I have been celebrating David Attenborough’s 100th birthday, and I’ve been watching Doctor Who and some comedies.

So there’s plenty to get through in this roundup as usual, and I hope you enjoy!

Carer & Career Updates – April 2026

It’s now been a month since I left my job as a support worker in order to focus more on caring for my mother, as I explained in my Easter post. And things are still going well on the whole, apart from both of us getting little injuries that have knocked us back a bit. But we are on the mend and there has been positive progress in other regards too. So here’s a little update on how things have been going lately.

February & March 2026 Favourites

Hello again, I hope your year’s been going well so far, and you’re enjoying the Easter weekend. For me, the first few months of 2026 have been a transition period, as I’ve been making the switch from my support worker role to a new zero-hours contract as an accessibility tester, so I can focus more on caring for my mother and looking after my own wellbeing. You can find out more about all of that in my latest Carer & Career Update post.

Because of that, along with the often cold and wet weather, I haven’t done many interesting things in London since my January Favourites. I’ve been out for a few walks, got a haircut and done some shopping when the weather allows, but that’s it – until very recently, when I saw my first theatre show of the year with a friend of mine, which was a much-needed bit of light relief.

So in this post I’ll be talking about my theatre visit, which involved a touch tour and audio description, as well as the variety of entertainment I’ve been enjoying at home. None of it’s sponsored or gifted as usual, and I hope you find it interesting!

Carer & Career Updates – Easter 2026 (New Beginnings)

Happy Easter! This is a time that traditionally marks new beginnings, and for my mother and I that’s certainly true this season.

After a difficult year in which Mum’s care needs increased and my income was slashed, I’ve now left my job as a support worker to focus more on her and myself. I’ve also entered a new freelance zero-hours contract to generate a little bit of income on the side, so I’m not out of work entirely and can still gain some useful experience. But ultimately I can be much more flexible with my time now, to focus on what matters most.

So, following on from my post in January about how things were going at the start of the year, here’s a fresh update on how we’re starting a new chapter in our lives.

Christmas 2025 Favourites – Part 2

Happy New Year! I hope you’ve had a wonderful time this festive season. Or if it’s been a difficult period, or even a tough year overall, then I hope 2026 works out better for you.

My mother and I are certainly hoping it will be more positive after everything we’ve been through in the last 12 months. I’ve written a lot about being a carer for her, and recently brought our story up to date by reflecting on the year and the considerable progress we’ve made. We did have a lovely, relaxing, over-indulgent Christmas, I’m pleased to say, so that’s put us in the right frame of mind for the year ahead. The future of my job is very uncertain, granted, but whatever happens with that I’ll be alright. So fingers crossed things continue to go well for us.

I previously posted about the things I enjoyed during the advent period leading up to Christmas, so now it’s time to catch up with all the other entertainment that’s been keeping me occupied since then. So let’s jump straight into it, and I hope you enjoy!

October & November 2025 Favourites

Hello again, I hope you’re doing alright and are looking forward to Christmas.

During the last couple of months, my mother has been recovering well from her fractured wrist, both physically and mentally, thanks to all the support she’s received from the NHS and social services. There still are, and always will be, times when she gets anxious or finds things difficult of course. But having melatonin to help her sleep at night, and a wheelchair to help her get out and about more, has given her a real boost, along with various other forms of help she’s had. And at the very end of November I was even able to go out for a long walk and explore the shops by myself like I used to do, because she felt able to cope on her own.

You can find out more about all of that in my journal posts as usual, including some recovery of my own after I had a wisdom tooth extracted. You can also hear an interview I recorded in October for RNIB Connect Radio about my caring role, which was featured in their Good Company show and then released independently as a podcast.

All that aside, I’ve naturally been enjoying plenty of entertainment as well including Doctor Who, comedies, podcasts and audiobooks. So that’s what I’m going to focus on here, and I hope you enjoy this latest roundup!

Doctor Who Review – Series 5

Now that the most recent series of Doctor Who is out of the way – and I’ve just updated that review with details of its Blu-ray steelbook release – and as there’s going to be a big gap until the next series while the BBC decide what to do, I’m going to continue rewatching the earlier series of the modern era.

I’ve already reviewed all of the series and spin-offs from Russell T Davies’ first stint as showrunner, so it’s time to move on to the fifth series overseen by Steven Moffat, which aired 15 years ago in 2010. Hard to believe it’s that old already.

With a new showrunner, Doctor, companions, Tardis and theme tune, this was another fresh start for the programme, and it worked really well. So I hope you enjoy my deep dive into it.

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