The Way We Roll

This month the one to one show has depth, sadness, reflection and frivolity. The World Health Organisation has eradicated polio in Africa. Phil got polio as a toddler. Simon asks him how does he feel about there being no more polio people? Phil talks about the impact, good and bad that it has had on the direction his life has taken. Phil has had trouble in his own backyard: parakeets, rabbits and...

Geoff Adams-Spink is a Thalidomide survivor, one of the children born in the late 1950s early 60s, with physical and sensory differences after their mother unwittingly took a drug during pregnancy that caused the impairments.  Speaking to your mum about why this happened can’t be easy, but Geoff did have that conversation. His parents had great expectations of him, his mother had a mantra to suppo...

It’s the format you tell us you love. When Phil and Simon shoot the breeze and take potshots at one another with the occasional wisecrack. This month, disability ninjas, changing places, Zoom fatigue and social care: crisis and funding.  Changing Places toilets are the larger loos in public places for those who might need more assistance, a hoist or changing station. After a consultation, the regu...

From Jazz Trumpet to Inclusive Design - John Corcoran shares his journey on The Way We Roll. John Corcoran is a man of many parts whos life and experiences have included being in a pop band, playing jazz trumpet and working as a jazz club impresario. (He once booked Ronnie Scott and Maya Angelou). He has over thirty years of experience and expertise in design, technology, brand, communication, mar...

“…swimming pools were shut. Cinemas, too, and bars and bowling alleys. Church services were suspended. Cities doused their streets with DDT insecticide…they had to be seen to be doing something. Nothing seemed to work. As the summer wore on, the numbers of polio cases grew” Did you think we were talking about Covid-19? Phil talks of the ‘last man who used the Iron Lung’, an early medical method to...

Now in his mid-30s, Martyn Sibley suggests he prefers slippers and hot chocolate to hot air ballooning. However, he admits there are still a few adventures he would like to undertake. Martyn says he’s ‘a regular guy who happens to have a disability called 'Spinal Muscular Atrophy’ (SMA).  He is driven by his mission. When he wakes up, he knows he’s going to be working on one of his several pr...

Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson is a national figure, a person who has moved from a highly successful athletics career to being a prominent political figure in Westminster, as if this was always the plan. How did she manage that?  Born in Cardiff, she picked up the ‘Tanni’ name from her sister’s mispronunciation. She also picked up a strong work ethic from her parents, especially her dad. This meant...

Phil & Simon pressed pause on life and pressed record on Zoom audio to record a special podcast. We have stopped the weekly podcasts and felt we needed a wrap up show inviting back some of our favourite guests. Baroness Jane Campbell, Joanna Wootten and Geoff Adams-Spinks kindly accepted and answer our three questions. What's been hardest during Covid 19 so far? What have you learnt? What...

You’re out with a friend or colleague and because they look different from many, they are receiving some stares which you notice. What should you do? If you’re out with James Partridge, ask him, as it’s highly likely that he’s noticed way before you and he’s already ‘dealing with it’. James is a distinguished person. In his life, his family, his career and a few other ways too. In 1990 his first b...

Why would anyone voluntarily say they have a disability, impairment or long term health condition? Might a reason be when there’s a global pandemic and you feel you’re susceptible? Or bluntly, if you need your supermarket shopping delivered? Trainer, consultant and former lawyer Joanna Wootten asks if more older people are coming out of the ‘disability closet’ acknowledging they have a condition....

Jess Thom is a performer, a campaigner and, a thinker. She constantly strives to remove barriers for everyone, specifically in her work and performance but introducing ‘relaxed performances’ where people can come to a show, make a noise, eat something, wriggle about and just be themselves. Her lockdown, a well run ‘spaceship’ catering to her needs and getting the right support and giving other hel...

The comedy path for stand ups who have a disability has gotten easier in the last few years. That’s what Rosie Jones thinks. We think you also need a bundle of talent, skill and confidence and that’s what she has. She tells us about life back with her family, what she’s eating and what exercise she’s doing as well as her writing in her conference centre aka conservatory. Some say becoming a comedi...

Netflix has a new documentary called 'Crip Camp' about the birth of the disability rights movement in the USA. Our guest, Judy Heumann, is one of the main protagonists. Judy has spent her adult life developing human rights legislation and policies benefiting children and adults with disabilities. She’s worked at the World Bank (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Bank) and the State Depa...

On virtually every Covid 19 show we’ve done, disabled people have expressed concern about how they might be treated if they went to hospital with symptoms. We speak to Dr Frances Dockery, Consultant geriatrician (physician specialising in medicine for older people) about what her work is like. She is a guest in a personal capacity, and is compelling. Equally listenable is Jamie plus Lion. By day h...

How are you really doing? A top tip on checking on someone’s wellbeing is to ask twice. So you get beyond the automated answer ‘fine thanks’ and it shows you are actually interested. Anxiety, relief, confusion, loneliness, all perfectly normal in these different times. In our new show, award-winning comedian Lost Voice Guy makes us laugh with his topical tales. And he only wanted chocolate buttons...

How do you decide who gets the respirator when there’s not enough for everyone? The concern of some disabled people that they won’t get the same level of treatment based on their unconnected impairment, made the news again this week. Geoff also highlights an article from the FT which asks if the social contract between government and citizen will change post Corona. Simon recalls JJ Rousseau from...

Another new style Phil & Simon Show, shorter and with expert guests. News round up from Geoff Adams-Spink including alarming news from the US in respect of medical care. He also asks what are our big asks in a post-virus world. Two weeks in self-isolation isn’t long for me says Baroness Jane Campbell. What’s hard is letting a host of different support workers in to her home, many whom don’t ha...

For the next few weeks, our show will be weekly, shorter and have guests. At last, we hear you cry! We decided we wanted to hear the voice of disabled people during the Covid-19 crisis, hear news and policy as it affects us, and some humour to spread some light.  Former BBC journalist Geoff Adams-Spink gives us the latest news, about the new legislation and where disabled people fit. He talks abou...

A new show with the usual push and pull as Simon and Phil grapple with the world of disability. Phil noticed a London hospital was getting grief for charging blue badge holders (disabled people) for visitor parking. Phil asks, well why not? Resilience is a buzz word, particularly in the field of mental health, so called ‘snowflakes’ and Millennials. Simon was recently asked by an HR recruiter, is...

This podcast includes debates about the UK honours system, can you make jokes about disability and when does health and safety get in the way. We kick off our first podcast for 2020 with a brief discussion of our New Years resolutions. We might review them in 2021. We also mention planned trips this year and the gadgets we found most useful in 2019. We have also tried to second guess what might be...

Just in time for Christmas, but Phil and Simon are not yet full of festive cheer. There’s campaigning to be done! Following the general election in the United Kingdom, Phil and Simon set out what would be in their disability manifesto. Simon gets all "Andrew Neil", and Phil becomes a Trade Union Rep! Is Berlin Tegel the most accessible airport if you have mobility difficulties, Simon exp...

In this Show Phil shares his concerns about TUI Holidays who have changed the rules on the size of the wheelchairs they will carry, this could have major implications for powered wheelchair users.  Linked to the travel theme Simon describes a hotel in the US whose definition of accessibility leaves something to be desired. Simon poses the question; is our generation just too tolerant when it comes...

This month, we were lucky enough to have Diane Lightfoot. Chief Executive of the Business Disability Forum on the show. Phil and Simon have been associates, consultants, allies and critical friends of the Forum for 20 years and we mention the organisation often in our shows. It’s unique, representing business and disability voices in one place. Three years ago Diane Lightfoot became the chief exec...

Our summer holidays are over and we review our respective trips. Gran Canaria, Brussels, Berlin, Twinwood Festival 2019 and a trip around the UK all get a mention. A rarely seen public refusal, Dominos Pizza is asking the US Supreme Court to allow them to ignore the needs of sight-impaired people regarding the accessibility of their website, all because they say they don't have any guidelines...

Caroline Casey is an engaging and emotive speaker. She’s done a TED Talk, spoken at Davos and her current project is to get 500 global companies to sign a pledge to discuss disability in the boardroom. We start by exploring her remarkable childhood, where her parents didn't tell her that she had sight loss. She explains how the Johnny Cash song, ‘A Boy Named Sue’ influenced this thinking. Hav...