Freewheeling

When diagnosed with a terminal illness in 2016 I didn’t imagine I’d see the day my first pamphlet, never mind book, was published. I was afraid because my life expectancy is fluid & scary & something I try not to think about. I made it guys. We made it. Thank you. 💜

Yesterday, the government announced billions of pounds worth of cuts to disability benefits. We know that this is an extremely worrying time for disabled people. Here’s what we know so far 🧵

📹 Video description: Jameisha, a Black person with dark brown skin and short locs wearing a striped top, speaking to camera. They speak about the government’s plans for cuts to disability benefits.

The government has announced the most devastating cuts to disability benefits on record. These plans should shame the government to its core. Here's our initial response to the new Welfare Green Paper 🧵👇

From today disabled workers effectively "stop" earning for the rest of the year because of the pay gap between us and non-disabled workers. That gap sits at 17.2%, with non-disabled employees making about £2.35 more per hour on average. #DisabilityPayGapDay #FairDues

✨ACCESS TO CREATIVE WORK✨ Across the creative industries we are anecdotally seeing people receive reductions in their Access to Work agreements or losing it entirely so we are compiling case studies. We've created a short form here to capture examples: forms.gle/bwxLAMvTxSRNt9…

We hope you caught up with our first two Business/Art podcasts because the next one is coming out very soon! But who will @TomRyalls_ be talking to? Here are some clues: 🚴‍♀️📗

Absolutely and as we have heard stated by Meher Baba (1894-1969): ‘Love is above all and always triumphs’

To build safer communities we need a rethink. As long as local charities are forced to compete for short-term grants measured by superficial outcomes rather than any sustainable long-term benefit, we will lose their huge community knowledge & waste their community building power!

I have joined 3372 GPs in signing a joint letter calling on @wesstreeting to deliver on his promises to change general practice for the better. The more GPs in England who sign up to the campaign the more likely he will listen so please join me & go to rcgp.eaction.org.uk/Joint-Letter-2…

And don’t miss the world premiere of #PrivateView @adelaidefest by the wonderful #RestlessDanceTheatre

Members of Restless Dance Theatre at Time to Talk's Dialogues on Creativity and Disability @AdelaideFest

I believe in #TransRights, I stand with the trans community and send love and courage to everyone feeling scared by the UK’s transphobic and racist political leadership.

@Freewheeling4 @our_big_picture @FestivalofSea Artist ‘hat’ back on now some compact cameras are charging ready 4 experiments while ‘piloting’ ‘Meet the Artist as Pilot’ & possibly documenting (with permission) some of the conversations that evolve. 🙏 @ace_thenorth @ace_thenorth

Lovely to be working with @Freewheeling4 & @SueAustinArtist! We’re very much looking forward to showing ‘Creating the Spectacle’ for Grimsby’s @FestivalofSea 🐟

With @SueAustinArtist preparing 4 this evenings welcome events for artists & staff @FestivalofSea @our_big_picture. Screenings of ‘Creating the Spectacle!’ Parts 1, & 3 alongside a ‘pilot’ of ‘Meet The Artist as Pilot’ #FlyDiveWheelchair Thanks to @ace_thenorth @ace_national

Lovely to be with @SueAustinArtist @our_big_picture with @pauladentonA & @dominicjmason doing final prep for their event as part of @FestivalofSea. See their socials & websites 4 timings for screenings ‘Creating the Spectacle!’ Parts 1 to 3 & meet the artist too@ace_national.

@FestivalofSea @CLEETVUK As the producing organisation for @SueAustinArtist the team are thrilled to see this trailer. Congratulations to everyone involved! Sue is getting ready to travel today and looking forward to meeting everyone during prep and at the events planned by @OurBigPicture.

🌊Come join us for the Festival Of The Sea!🌊 With a community-led programme of live music, arts and crafts, interactive theatre and workshops, this one-day free event promises to showcase more local talent and skills than ever before. Thank you to @CLEETVUK for the trailer!