Simon Minty's recent thoughts and more

Not so much a blog, more to let you know about what I fear might be too many podcasts!  My regular monthly ones, BBC Ouch and The Phil & Simon Show have cracking new shows out. There's also a new one, where I am a guest. This podcast is called WB-40 and I was interviewed by the most excellent Matt Ballantine who was asking how comedy and humour can be used to influence people. I've put links to the shows in the title and links to the individuals by clicking on their name.  If find yourself needing a distraction from Christmas television or want to try out the new headphones someone gave you as a present, take a listen. Let me know what you think.                     BBC Ouch                      Left to Right -  author  Christian Donlan , co host Kate Monaghan                       ...

Acting on Disability team,  L-R Georgie, Ben, Simon, Don and Juliette Just back from a trip to the USA to provide training for a global tech firm.  The Sminty team, all five of us, decided to  walk the ten blocks from our hotel to our first event in downtown Manhattan. We thought we would make a striking alternative to the famous Reservoir Dogs photo - two men on mobility scooters, two women with hidden disabilities and a man who has Aspergers.  As we walked I was talking about how polite New Yorkers were, how they move out of the way for wheelchair and scooter users and often say hello or smile. An older lady, wrapped in a thick scarf in sweltering heat, saw us. She stopped and as we passed her, pointed at me and yelled ‘Now that is not normal!’ My fellow scooter user waited a moment and then asked me ‘Well how do you feel about that?’ I paused to process it and then answered, ‘I feel I should be angry or upset but actually I am rather pleased. I now hav...

It seemed inevitable that one day there would be a podcast of Phil Friend and me chatting about all things disability. Phil and I have been having such conversations for nearly twenty years, until now, unrecorded, whilst working, travelling or just hanging out together. We have different backgrounds, we are different generations, have divergent politics and different comfort zones. We both share a commitment and passion for equality, fairness and inclusion of disabled people and have spent many years working to achieve it or at least some progress. The great thing about our discussions are that we know one another so well and respect each other so don't have to pull any punches now. Sometimes we're considered, sometimes we shoot from the hip. We can make each other laugh and still, after all this time, make the others jaw drop with a single comment. There's two shows out already. We'll continue to make a show each month until we run out of things to say. Which mea...