I have dined out for years on my story of being on the set when John Huston directed the short film, Independence, shot in 1976 by 20th Century Fox for the US National Park Service in Philadelphia. The film starred Ken Howard as Thomas Jefferson, Patrick O’Neil as George Washington, Anne Jackson as Abigail Adams and Eli Wallach as Benjamin Franklin.
A few years back I was luck enough to see Hoss Gifford give a short talk at Flash on The Beach (a developer conference held in Brighton). One of the nuggets he mentioned was the notion of GOOD CHEAP FAST (you can only choose two). The idea has stuck with me so I created this little graphic to illustrate the idea further.
It is assumed by most people that the hard part of getting social care is the assessment process, fighting for what you need and then obtaining it in terms of a specific number of hours from a care agency, or having the cash equivalent as a direct payment to employ your own personal assistants, but I would like to suggest that is the easy part. The hard part is actually what you are going to do with the hours you have to make the most of them.
This video highlights the personal perspectives of two individuals using the services of Raise. They offer an insight into how borderline personality disorders can lead to behaviour that may challenge. Raise exclusively employs people with a diagnosed mental health problem, including cleaners, directors and trainers who can inform from their own personal experience.
I recently had the pleasure of spending three weeks in the company of friends, whose family include these two, Josh and Lexy. They are a couple of months off turning three and are non-identical twins.
There are a whole set of exhortations and expressions which effectively demand the same response from us. From Carpe diem to “seize the time”, we are challenged to take control and make a difference for ourselves and others.
One of my projects is really struggling to get going…
It is called Stories Aloud and is based on the model promoted by The Reader Organisation.
I was training staff and volunteers to read story aloud as a social activity. Then setting up placements for them in wards and day centres where they could read stories and facilitate groups or one to one interaction. The outcomes of increased social connection and some personal reflection related to the story were very beneficial.
Patatap is a portable animation and sound kit. With the touch of a finger create melodies charged with moving shapes. While easy to pick up there is a wide range of possibilities. Switch between multiple color palettes and matching soundscapes on the fly. Whether its on your laptop, desktop, mobile phone, or tablet Patatap invites creators of all ages to engage the mind and senses in a different type of creation process.
‘And that is how change happens.
One gesture. One person.
One moment at a time’
— Libba Bray
But what do we mean by change, and what do we want to change and why?
With the World Cup up and running and a family with connections to Denmark, England, Wales, Germany and France I'm left wondering who to support and what sport as a form of live theatre brings to social care.
Whilst sport may seem unscripted it conforms to all the rules of theatre. With sports, people rehearse, learn a script, play a role and then have to 'ad lib' when the 'live' performance starts.
