PIP – Well Eye Never

July & August 2025 Favourites

Hello again, I hope you’re doing well and have been enjoying the summer. If you’ve continued to follow my blog over the last couple of months then (a) thank you so much and (b) you’ll have seen there’s good reason for me not going out much lately, given the issues at home that I’ve now opened up about. Looking after my mother has become a much bigger drain on my time and energy than it used to be, but we are gradually getting help now.

Still, beyond all the disability and care-related stuff I’ve been sharing recently, I’ve also kept myself occupied and distracted with various forms of entertainment, some of which I’ve written separate blog posts on as well.

So here’s a quick roundup of things I’ve written about and entertainment I’ve been enjoying over the last couple of months. I’m still not making videos to go with these posts for the time being, but I hope you find these bits and pieces interesting.

Taking The PIP – Part 2

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.

Taking The PIP

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.

41st Birthday Favourites

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!

April 2024 Favourites

Hey there, hope you’re all doing well. I’m good, although like all disabled people in the UK I feel great unease over the government’s proposed changes to our benefits. My PIP review still hasn’t been dealt with after 9 months as it is. I’m not going to rant about it here though – I’ve posted a brief thread and shared several other posts on my Twitter/X page if you want a wider sense of people’s reactions. But please do read the proposals and respond to the consultation if you can (by 22nd July), as it’s vitally important to have our voices heard at this early stage. Same goes for the separate consultation about fit notes (until 8th July) too.

But anyway, on to much nicer things, and there’s plenty that I’ve enjoyed during this past month, including a couple of exhibitions, a West End musical, a theatre workshop, stand-up gigs and other comedy shows. One of the exhibitions was a press invite for my journalist friend Emily, and I’m due to be paid for the workshop I took part in, but nothing is sponsored to be featured here and all opinions are my own as usual.

So let’s crack on with this month’s post and video, and I hope you enjoy!

July 2023 Favourites

Hello again, I hope you’re all doing well. For me, July has been a relatively quiet month, thanks to the wet weather, my PIP review and preparations for my birthday month in August all interfering with my time.

Nevertheless, in this latest post and video roundup there are a few nice outings I can mention, a couple of comedy shows I’ve been bingeing on, and a bit of music as well, none of which is sponsored or gifted as usual. So I hope you enjoy!

October 2019 Favourites

Right then, time for another monthly update. There isn’t a huge amount to mention for October compared to some months, but there are still some bits and pieces I want to share with you, focusing on disability, health, technology and entertainment. So I’m sorry if this seems a bit shorter than usual and doesn’t contain much about London. But rest assured my November Favourites is going to be much more extensive, as things are getting back to normal and there’s a lot happening right now.

So for me this post and video is a nice way of easing myself back into things. And as always I’m not sponsored or endorsed by anybody mentioned here, these are all my own opinions. So I hope you enjoy!

July & August 2019 Favourites

Right then, I’m back. And it’s fair to say that this past month has been a bit of a write-off. A few things forced me to take a break from blogging for a little while, and prevented me from getting out and about the majority of the time. So I apologise for not posting recently, but I just haven’t been in the mindset for it.

As a result, this post covers both July and August together, as there’s very little to mention for the latter month. To put things into context I’ll start by explaining why I’ve been absent, and I’ve also posted a short video in relation to that. Then I’ll go straight on to the more cheerful stuff, and there’s still quite a lot to mention, including a musical, a movie, a comedy show, museums, walks, events, my new computer and TV shows.

So let’s crack straight on with my latest post and video recap. As always, I’m not sponsored by any of the people and companies mentioned below. I hope you enjoy my latest post and video recap!

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