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.
Hello again, I hope you’re all doing well. Those of you who saw last month’s roundup will know that I’m going through a difficult patch at the moment because of my mother’s health. We have started to get a bit of help, in terms of medical assistance and reaching out to support services, all of which takes time, and I will explain more in due course. Suffice to say for now that going totally blind has naturally had a big impact on her mental health and sleep, and by extension has affected my wellbeing as her carer. We are ok, but certain aspects are quite difficult to deal with
As a result, I’m not making videos to go with these posts for the time being, as it’s just not practical right now and I want to make things easier for myself. It also means I’m not doing as much out and about as usual, as my caring role is dominating my time much more than it used to – and I am therefore starting to explore the support that’s available for carers.
However, I did manage to go to the theatre a couple of times with friends early in the month, which I was really grateful for, as I needed to confide in them about what’s been going on, and the shows were great escapism, especially because of the touch tours and audio description.
So I’ve got those shows to tell you about, as well as some bits and pieces I’ve been watching at home, and none of it’s sponsored or gifted as usual. So let’s get on with it, and I hope you enjoy!
Last updated July 17, with a section at the end for a few new developments.
For disabled people here in the UK it’s been a very anxious time lately, because of all the proposed cuts to disability benefits in the Universal Credit & Personal Independence Payment Bill, and the misinformation that’s been spread to try and justify them (e.g. falsely claiming that PIP is an out of work benefit or is easy to get, which isn’t remotely true).
I wrote about the plans back in April after the Green Paper was released, and the government have been determined to push it through as quickly as possible since then because of all the backlash – which they knew full well it would generate from the outset but just didn’t care.
Yet despite having a sizeable majority of MPs, it’s not been as easy as they’d hoped, and there have been significant developments recently. If you follow me on Bluesky or X you’ll have seen me sharing several posts by others to raise awareness of what’s been going on, and I thought I’d do a quick update here to give my reaction to the latest events.
Hey there, hope you had a wonderful Easter and a lovely April in general. This has been my busiest month for a while, as there’s lots to mention in terms of outings, including social events, a musical and a concert, along with TV shows and films I’ve been watching at home.
The concert I went to was a PR invite for me to review, but otherwise nothing is sponsored to appear here, and in any case all opinions are my own as usual. So let’s jump straight into April’s post and video roundup, and I hope you enjoy!
Note: I received a complimentary ticket for this concert, but all opinions are my own.
Music is an incredibly powerful, immersive and varied medium that impacts us all in one way or another, irrespective of who we are. It’s certainly been a constant feature in my life, as I’ve always enjoyed listening to it, and when I was a kid I used to play it a bit as well, just for fun. Being unable to read sheet music didn’t matter, as I could memorise things with practice, and I enjoyed improvising too. I still think it would be cool to learn an instrument like the guitar or piano one day, if I had the time, patience and guidance.
So I know first-hand that being able to play and/or compose music is a great form of escapism that allows you to express yourself and be creative. But for many disabled people, it’s not only enjoyable and rewarding, it can be truly vital. It can enable them to communicate clearly, reveal their personality, share their ideas, demonstrate their talents, feel safe, increase their confidence and form connections with other people, in ways that would otherwise be difficult or impossible. Music is the magic key that can unlock so much.
Of course, that can be easier said than done, if there are instruments that are inaccessible, or if you can’t find other people to share things with and learn from. So it’s always nice to learn of ways that disabled people have been given the opportunity to fully engage with music, especially at a young age so they can carry it with them throughout their lives. And I had the privilege of seeing one such group perform last weekend.
As I’ve said in the past, I love the 1968 musical film adaptation of the Dickens novel Oliver Twist, with all its wonderful songs, characters, sets and costumes, all brought to life by a brilliant cast. It was based on Lionel Bart’s theatre show of course, of which there have been several productions since it launched in 1960, and while I have the soundtrack albums for some of them, I’ve never had a chance to see the musical live, until now.
That’s because I recently went to the Gielgud Theatre to see an audio described performance of the current production of Oliver! by Cameron Mackintosh, which launched last year. And on reviewing the situation (for this post that isn’t sponsored), I think it can consider itself well in, because it’s a fine life for those who will buy a ticket to see it.
I very rarely have a rant or talk about politics here, as I like to keep things positive and use this blog as a distraction from the news as much as possible (so don’t worry, I will have my usual monthly roundup of good stuff for you soon). But as the government have got disabled people squarely in their crosshairs at the moment, because we’re such an unwelcome financial burden to them, it would be odd for me not to chuck my two pennies’ worth in, especially as their plans could affect the benefits that I and millions of others receive.
I’m not going to give a deep analysis of it all – goodness knows there are lots of organisations and advocates out there who are far better informed and more articulate than me in covering complex issues like this (e.g. Scope, RNIB, Benefits & Work, Frances Ryan and Jay Watts to name just a few of many). But this is still going to be a bit of a ramble, because I want to give my reaction to the plans to add my voice to all the others, particularly regarding the changes to Personal Independence Payment (PIP) and the way it’s been falsely linked to people’s ability to work.
But ultimately I feel a real sense of unease, disappointment and anger at the way we’re being treated and scapegoated right now. Huge numbers of disabled people and the organisations who support us have already made it abundantly clear to the government that the plans will make things worse rather than better, because we naturally have a deep understanding of what it’s like to live with a disability, claim benefits and try to find work. And I haven’t seen a single disabled person defending what Labour are doing. Yet the government are completely dismissive of all that and insist they know better, and are quite happy to let misinformation spread as well.
So another birthday month has rolled around. And while this time it’s not been quite as crazy as my big four-o last year, it’s still been busier than I expected, as I’ve been out for 3 enjoyable theatre shows and 2 nice meals, most of which have been free thanks to very kind friends of mine.
So I’ve got all of that to mention in this latest post and video, along with my PIP review decision, some films and TV shows I’ve been watching, and the sporting action in the Olympics and Paralympics.
As usual, none of this is sponsored to appear here, plus all opinions are my own, and I hope you enjoy. Let’s crack on with it!
Following on from my review of the Olympics earlier this summer, we’ve just had even more spectacular sporting action with the Paralympics in Paris, which I’ve been absolutely obsessed with over the past fortnight.
ParalympicsGB did extremely well as per usual, scooping up 49 golds amongst their 124 medals, and it’s their many achievements I’ll be focusing on in this post of course. But it was great to watch elite athletes from all nations – of which there were 4,400 competitors from 168 delegations in total – as they shared their fascinating stories and showcased their incredible skills in 22 sports, featuring hundreds of events across a myriad of disability categories.
There were huge audiences supporting them with enormous enthusiasm as well, which was wonderful to see. They generated such an electric atmosphere, in stark contrast to the lack of crowds in Tokyo’s Covid-hit Games, so these have really felt like the first proper Paralympics in 8 years.
And it’s also great that the Games were more widely broadcast around the world than ever before, including on Channel 4. Indeed, the fact that there was barely any time difference with the UK made it possible for us Brits to watch everything live on TV and online, and to have full roundups at the end of each day with the highlights programmes and The Last Leg. So it almost felt like a home Games again, the closest we’ve had since London 2012.
All of which meant there was a lot going on all day every day, which was daunting yet exciting to try and keep up with. So in this extensive review post – which isn’t sponsored by anyone and all opinions are my own – I’ll go through all of Britain’s medal winners along with some of my other highlights, and I’ve also made a Youtube playlist to go with it as well. I hope you enjoy!
Hello again, I hope you’re doing well. This has been a busy and enjoyable month for me, in particular because I got to see two theatre shows and eat at a restaurant for free, plus I enjoyed some more nice walks in the summer weather and have been immersed in the Olympics along with other things I’ve been watching.
The only downside was the fact that I had to have a telephone assessment for my Personal Independence Payments review, which they finally got around to a year after I sent the forms back. They would save so much time and money by not repeatedly reviewing people with incurable and lifelong conditions like mine, only asking us to request extra support if and when things change. But anyway, the assessment was very long, at nearly 2½ hours, of which I thankfully have a recording that they allowed me to capture. The lady I spoke to seemed very nice and was happy to listen to everything I had to say, but what she actually wrote down and how the DWP will judge it is a completely different kettle of fish of course. So we’ll see what happens, I’ll keep you posted.
Mind you, that issue is nothing compared to what some people are having to endure here in the UK right now. My heart goes out to everyone affected by the awful murders in Southport, along with the senseless violence by far-right thugs that has erupted in various cities since then. You cannot claim to have any genuine care about the country if you’re causing destruction, looting, assaulting the police, and attacking people purely because of their skin colour, religion, nationality, etc. That clearly isn’t protest, it’s just pure stupidity, criminality and racism. They don’t represent the UK, and they don’t realise they’ve been manipulated and radicalised into such behaviour by the misinformation being spread online that they blindly believe. It’s just crazy. I’m not going to discuss it in depth, as it’s a horrible topic and far more qualified people are already analysing it. It just might have seemed a bit odd or disrespectful if I hadn’t mentioned it at all, and I hope things settle down soon. Stay safe out there.
So with all that out of the way, let’s get on to the nicer and more fun things in this post and video, in which all opinions are my own and I’ve not been gifted or paid to feature anything here as usual. I hope you enjoy!
Well Eye Never 
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