Isla

Just a quick blog to say a HUGE thanks to everyone who voted for Isla.

And guess what? It paid off – she’s one of the winners!



This is a huge step in the right direction.

Seeing a disabled person in a non-patronising, ‘normal’ and positive setting can only help to improve people’s perceptions of disability.

Let’s hope Isla’s win leads the way for more of the same. And hopefully one day, we can put a stop to the ignorant hate crimes I have written about previously.

I would have blogged about this sooner, but I’ve been on holiday in Iceland.

It’s a beautiful country. They have the Blue Lagoon:



The Northern Lights:



Geysir:



Gulfoss:



However, this is the only photo I managed to take before my camera packed up.



Tragic really!...

Ladies and Gentlemen...Paul Ross

Warning. This blog is very Paul Ross heavy.

So, that's the health and safety out the way. On with the blog.

Last week I spent 32 hours watching Most Haunted Live.

And it wasn't the huge waste of time that it might initially appear to be. For you see, this 32 hours of bogus ghost hunting was presented by none other than Paul Ross.



I always watch it for that very reason. He never disappoints.

Last year for example, he got called upon to do a lone vigil.

Here is the moment that his photo was selected by the 'ghost' (or production team to be precise) during a seance.



He then had to go to a morgue and lie in one of the drawers.

Now he was ok at first...



But after a while he started to panic...



In the end he ran out in a fright. Yvette asked him what had happened. His response? - "My hand was warm and I'm not wearing a glove"

Spooky.

Anyway, this year he outdid himself.

He got called to do a seance.



It started off fine.



But, oh dear, what's this. Is something coming through?





Paul turns to the team and announces that he is 'feeling sad'...



And he just keeps getting sadder...



And sadder...



And sadder...



And sadder still...



The emotion!



But wait, what's this now?



Apparently the audience have sensed a breeze, there's a ghost in the room!



This is terrifying.



Look into those eyes. Now you know fear.



I'll leave you with my favourite photo of the night. His scary look to camera.



He knows how to create an atmosphere.

Bet you wished you'd watched it now eh?

Right that's enough about Paul Ross. What I need you to do now, is go to my previous blog and vote for Isla, a little girl with Down's Syndrome, to be the Face of Kinder.

Please do this. It would be a great stride torwards more positive perceptions of disability.

Thanks in advance.

Vote for Isla – A Recap

My original blog on this subject is a few weeks old now, so I thought I would repost it.

Just a quick blog to ask you all a favour.

A little girl called Isla is in the running to be the face of Kinder.

Isla has Down’s Syndrome.

Please vote for her and help to change people’s perceptions of disability.

Sadly attitudes remain broadly negative, ranging from casual distaste to full blown hate.

My family have only ever experienced the former, but some people are not so – I hesitate to say lucky because nobody should be treated badly, but you know what I mean.

You may have read about a recent case of disability hate crime that was so appalling it turned out to be a watershed moment.

A family were hounded by yobs to the point where the mother killed herself and her disabled daughter.

This wasn't an isolated incident.

Here is the story of a disabled lady named Di, told in her own words (click on the picture to maximise):



This kind of thing will only dissipate if disabled people are more visible and seen in a more positive light.

So please VOTE FOR ISLA! And encourage your friends, family and co-workers to do the same.

You can vote once a day, and voting is open for another 17 days, so favourite the page and do it daily.

You'll have to register to vote. PLEASE don't let this put you off. It's a two second job. Just your name and email address.

If you're having trouble registering, this may be because of your chosen password.

Your password must be more than six characters and contain at least one capital letter and at least one number.

If Isla won it would be a huge step towards promoting a more positive view of the disabled. Something that is hugely lacking at present.

Thanks.

And finally, care of my Google Analytics tool here are a few more of the strange and stupid Google searches that have brought people to my blog:

‘why women can't be comedians’ – the irony

‘is burt reynolds a christian?’ – what were they going to do with this information?

‘which comedian died by drunk nuns’ – a terrible premonition?

‘where do I send a letter to the creator and voices of Alvin and the Chipmunks’ – now there’s a question!

‘derek acorah child porn’ – is there something we don’t know about everyone’s favourite TY psychic?

‘bible games about hats’ – erm...

Oh and one more time as it bears repeating. VOTE FOR ISLA!

Spot the difference

The evil head of a powerful organisation:



And, er...the evil head of a powerful organisation:



The headline goes quite well with the picture too.

Oh and I just had to share this with you. From the Pick Me Up letters page Click on the picture to maximise:



I don't think I need to comment.

And finally. There are 23 days left to vote for Isla, a little girl with Down's Syndrome, to become the face of Kinder.



Please vote and help to get disability into the mainstream. Something that there is dire need for.

Please vote daily and pass it on!

Thank you in advance.

Please vote (again!)

So to recap. A little girl called Isla (pictured) who has Down's Syndrome is in the running to become the face of Kinder.

Please see my original blog post about this for the myriad reasons she should win.

With the kind help of Twitter users, Facebook friends, readers of this blogs, and everyone on my email list she cleared the first round with ease and made the top 100 with well over 9000 votes.

This put her in the running to be selected by the judges as one of the final 30.

Which she was!

So, you know what to do. Vote, vote, vote!

You can vote daily for the next 29 days.

You'll have to register to vote in this round. PLEASE don't let this put you off. It's a two second job. Just your name and email address.

If you're having trouble registering, this may be because of your chosen password. Your password must be more that six characters and contain at least one capital and at least one number.

Please do this! And pass it on to your friends, family and co-workers.

If she won it would be a huge step towards promoting a more positive view of the disabled. Something that is hugely lacking at present.

Thank you in advance.

Thank you!

A massive THANK YOU to everyone who voted for Isla.

She made the top 100, which means she is in the running to be selected by the judges for the next round.

They will select 30 children from the top 100 and then voting will re-open.

I will let you know the outcome. Hopefully my next blog on this subject will be an appeal for more votes. Cross those fingers everyone!

Anyway, thanks again. I've felt out in the wilderness over disability issues for years, and the enthusiastic support that has been demonstrated for this has genuinely moved me.

Please Vote!

Just a quick blog to ask you all a favour.

A little girl called Isla is in the running to be the face of Kinder.

Isla has Down’s Syndrome.

Please vote for her and help to change people’s perceptions of disability.

Sadly attitudes remain broadly negative, ranging from casual distaste to full blown hate.

My family have only ever experienced the former, but some people are not so – I hesitate to say lucky because nobody should be treated badly, but you know what I mean.

You may have read about a recent case of disability hate crime that was so appalling it turned out to be a watershed moment.

A family were hounded by yobs to the point where the mother killed herself and her disabled daughter.

This wasn't an isolated incident.

Here is the story of a disabled lady named Di, told in her own words (click on the picture to maximise):



This kind of thing will only dissipate if disabled people are more visible and seen in a more positive light.

So please vote for Isla!

You can vote once a day, and voting is open for another 2 days, so favourite the page and do it daily.

Thanks.

Just a quick addendum to say a HUGE thanks to everyone over on Twitter who has passed on the link to my blog post. I have been really ill this weekend and you have all cheered me up massively.

A special mention must go to Robin Ince and Peter Serafinowicz. They have a lot of Twitter followers and by retweeting the link to my blog they helped spread the word to a wider audience than I could have ever hoped to reach. Absolute stars the pair of you!