Serendipit y

T HE CHRIST MAS

ISSUE

| ISSUE no 6

WEST LAKES MAGAZINE

DIYs, mental health, Christmas act ivit ies, and feminism

Cover art by Juliet Patr ick, reference photo by Lett ie Wareing

DECEMBER 14 2015

Well here we are again, another term and another issue? with a dif ference! For, dear readers, I am retiring! Don?t freeze though (excuse the pun) get reading, for I am about to complain about your biggest heart ache (apart from being lonely and your only consolidation being chocolate and pringles? Just me? Oops). No, what I mean is snow (or the lack of it).

Yes, that?s right, that powdery stuff that strongly resembles talcum powder, but talc probably settles better, and I would also not recommend putting snow anywhere you would usually put talc? I?m sorry I failed you mother. Anyway, moving back to the matter at hand - I?m going to tell you just how to make your Christmas as snow-f il led as you possible! There?s snow way you can make the real thing, but I?ve got a snowverload of other ways to make it snow; where?s Dean Martin when you need him?

Now for ease of use I?ve split these methods into four sections:

- Lazy-as-in-you-won?t-actual ly-

make-snow,

- Lazy, - Your-average-snow-lover, - Oh-my-baubles-is-that-Santa.

You?ll know which section applies to you.

Sect ion 1: (Lazy as in you won?t actual ly make snow)

Flip the virtual page Scrooge, I don?t need your negativity.

Sect ion 2: (Lazy)

All I want for Chr istmas is snow

by Lett ie Wareing

First off , you should be a litt le more excited about Christmas, but I?m not going to judge because there are other ways to deal with this matter; I heard the perfect murder weapon is the icicle? did that happen out loud?

Second of all, here are some ways to make some (terrible) snow for your Christmas (un)loving self :

- Get some paper towels (and no, in this case, one sheet does not do plenty)

- Wet them - Put them in a food processor until

shredded; how realistic. If you?re not lucky enough to have a food processor, try using your cold heart to mash it up!

Sect ion 3: (Your average snow lover)

Hello to my fellow snow lover! In order to make sure that you are fully aware of the risks of this I must warn you of the dawning disappointment: this is not real snow. You cannot make snow balls with it, and you cannot build a snowman (no do not start singing Frozen). So, without further ado:

- Encourage your dad to do a late Movember by stealing his shaving foam.

- Use the whole can mixed in with 500g of bicarbonate of soda

- Woo! Snow! (Except it isn?t :) )

Sect ion 4: (Oh my baubles is that Santa Claus)

For you, my dear Christmas fanatics, I am

bringing out the big guns (well canons). Yes, that?s right peace will be restored on this wonderful day when you can f inally defeat mother nature!

- You need to make your own pressure nose that will cool water to -45 degrees , but don?t worry, it won?t take more than a couple of hours!

- On top of this to make said hose, you need a snow canon, obviously one of these is quite expensive, so don?t worry you can hire one! It?s at www.cumbrianon-exsistantsnowmachines.com

- Cry because you?ll never be able to make real snow

My dear readers, when all else fails do not fear because you should be used to a snowless Christmas of loneliness, crying into your cup of hot chocolate because your cats got you more Christmas cards than actual people.

Merry Christmas!

CHRISTMAS CHARTS

by Alex Hall

Top 10 Christmas songs

1. All I Want For Christmas Is You - Mariah Carey

2. I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday - Wizzard

3. Wonderful Christmas Time - Paul McCartney

4. Merry Xmas Everybody - Slade 5. Fairytale Of New York - The

Pogues feat. Kirsty MacColl 6. Jingle Bell Rock - Bobby Helms 7. Santa Claus Is Coming To Town -

The Puppini Sisters 8. Not Tonight Santa - Girls Aloud 9. Stop The Cavalry - Jona Lewie

10. Do They Know It?s Christmas? - Band Aid 30

Top 10 Christmas Films

1. Love Actually2. Home Alone3. Elf4. How the Grinch stole Christmas5. The nightmare before Christmas6. The Polar Express7. Gremlins8. Home Alone 2: Lost in New York9. Arthur Christmas10. The Muppet Christmas Carol

Show someone they're loved this Chr istmasI'm sure you're all familiar with this years John Lewis Christmas ad. The story is about a young girl named Lily, who looks through a telescope one night at the moon - she's amazed at what she discovers... a man on the moon. Lily longs to send a message to this distant lonesome man. This advert is used to represent the mill ion older people who can go without speaking to someone for as long as a month.

This Christmas, Age UK and John Lewis are partnering up to help as many of these mill ion older people as they can. Age UK are trying to involve as many people as possible, ult imately to try and eliminate loneliness among the elderly community this Christmas. If you haven't been informed already, our school has also been taking part: PD classes have been making cards, students have been donating presents, and 6th formers have volunteered to help out. Age UK are shining a light on loneliness Christmas, after all, no-one should have no-one this Christmas.

I interviewed Mr Haslop, who has had a large part in school's efforts, and asked him some questions about this problem, and as to why it is so important that we all get involved. He told me that he feels very strongly about this particular issue; that he himself is very close with his grandparents, and can't imagine what it would be like for them to be alone this Christmas. He said that Christmas is t ime to spend time with family, and that people in the 21st century shouldn't be going for as long as a month without speaking with anybody.

by Sam Nugent Mr Haslop told me there are numerous reasons you should get involved. For one moment, just try and imagine yourselves in a position similar to what thousands of elderly people are going through in the UK. We all grow older - one day you may no longer have family to be around at Christmas time. Why not support your community and get involved this Christmas? It is very important we all get involved to help combat this serious issue. If we don't do something soon, we could see thousands of more elderly people becoming lonely over this next year.

Feminism. It just doesn't seem to be for everyone, but why?

Especially in the west, it seems, is that there is a stigma surrounding feminism. Feminists are said to be bra burners, hairy, ugly and lesbians. Somehow this is a bad thing, used to discredit what feminists f ight for, and the defence of, ''We aren't l ike this!!'' is used to combat this. But why? Some feminists are hairy, some of us are ugly and gay and don't want to wear bras. This doesn't mean that what we have to say is any less worthy than the ones which live up to beauty standards. But, with these stereotypes surrounding feminism, many are reluctant to call themselves a feminist, but would answer yes if asked if they supported equality. Moreover, many women are left out of feminism, for example trans and/or non binary people, women of colour, women who are disabled, fat women, women with mental health problems. The list is exhaustive. Feminism who excludes these groups is known as 'white feminism', (not to be confused with feminists who's race is white) as it is not inclusive to all groups of women. In this case, many women who could be classed as feminists do not want to associate themselves with feminism for this reason - white feminists will not stand up for them, and their issues, even though they are women too. This lack of solidarity leads to distrust in types of feminism, especially with me. In short, many women face oppression for dif ferent aspects, and a lot of feminists disregard this and only focus on what white women face.

Moreover, 'TERFs' and 'SWERFs' and any 'RadFem' are types of extreme 'feminism' which exclude trans women and sex workers. TERFs - Trans exclusionary radical feminists. SWERFs- Sex worker exclusionary radical feminists.

Rad Feminists and TERFs class trans women as men. They insist that trans women have the same rights and privileges as cis men do, and do not let them in women exclusive organised events nor women's facil it ies like rest rooms. They are often violent with their speech, and wish death upon trans women.

Reasons like above is why I call myself an intersectional feminist, a term created by a black woman called Kimberlé Will iams Crenshaw (in 1989 but has come to light recently), a scholar and professor specialising in race and gender studies. What I class as true feminism, this includes and f ights for the rights for every woman and disadvantaged person. It il lustrates that the f ight for middle class, cis gender, able bodied and white women is just one f ight and does not ref lect the f ight for which every women faces.

Agony Auntby Alex Hall

My group of f riends has done a Secret Santa this year, and I got someone real ly dif f icul t to buy for. What do I do?

Well if you are anything like me and my friends, everyone is going to know who everyone else has about f ive minutes after the name draw. So, my advice would be to ask the person while that one ?everything has to be perfect? friend screeches ?IT?S SUPPOSED TO BE A SECRET!!!!?

However, you are probably way better at keeping secrets than us, so try asking the person?s closest friend what they would like (this tip won?t work if you are the person?s best friend, if that?s the case, you should hang your head in shame for not knowing what they want). If that won?t work, just go with what your gut, because chances are if they?re a good friend it won?t matter to them much (and maybe next year they?ll drop more hints).

Every f i lm, album, book, etc. that I want has been out since October, and al l my f riends have them already, but my Mum has been saying ?put i t on your Christmas l ist? since August . How do I get her to let me buy them now?

Simple. You don?t. You are kidding right? You want me to tell you how to convince a mum to change her mind? Has that ever actually been done in the history of Earth?

Instead, I?ll say this: you?re going to have a much better Christmas morning than your friends, when you?re unwrapping present after present from a list that you?ve been

writ ing since August, while your friends are sitt ing at home with a bar of chocolate because they got greedy and bought everything already.

My f riend hates Christmas. HELP.

Okay this is an actual emergency, is hating Christmas even legal? Step 1: Force to them watch ?How the Grinch stole Christmas?. Step 2: Follow them everywhere they go singing Christmas songs.

Step 3: Throw tinsel at them.

Step 4: Wrap their entire house in Christmas lights and turn them on at 3 in the morning while blasting ?All I Want For Christmas Is You? by Mariah Carey.

Homemade Chr istmas by Laura Mariannou

At Christmas, it?s easy to run out of money, so here are some cheap alternatives and fun things to make for your own Homemade Christmas. They?re easy to make, and look great.

How to make perfect snowf lakes

- Fold a SQUARE piece of paper in half 2 times ,- Fold both sides over each other, so it looks like a f lower bouquet (no. 4) ,- Cut off the edges that stick up to leave you with a triangle ,- Cut into the paper with any shapes you want, but do not cut the corner as this

will ruin the snowflake .

DIY Ornaments

You will need:

- Material and decorations (any of your choice) - Needle and thread - Pins - Stuff ing (cotton wool can be used)

Fold your material in half and draw a shape that you can easily sew

Pin around the outline of the shape. Cut around the outline of the shape, ensuring that you leave some material to sew (don?t cut exactly on the outline) Sew around the outside of the material, leaving a small space for stuff ing, then remove the pins and turn it inside out Stuff the sewn material via the hole, and sew up the small hole that?s left Decorate with whatever you desire!

Chocolate Log

An easy way to decorate a simple treat, only using chocolate and a Swiss roll.

1. Melt chocolate using the double chocolate method (as shown in f irst picture)

2. Pour chocolate over a chocolate Swiss roll - these can be bought or a recipe can be found on line

3. Using a fork, make imprints in the chocolate to create the effect of a log

4. Dust with icing sugar and decorate

The reptil ians - some conspiracy theories that seem very strange - they are one of the most laughed at and most confusing theories out there.

But, should we be laughing? Are they among us?

There are many dif ferent origins and theories out there so I?m just going to cover the most popular.

Michael Barkun was a professor of polit ical science, who thinks that the reptil ian science-f iction fantasy originated in ?the shadow kingdom?, published in 'Weird tales' in August 1929. This story was created by Robert E. Howard, who also created the f iction of Conan the Barbarian. This story focused on these ?serpent men? who were able to imitate humans to inf iltrate humanity. This story inspired a man called David Icke. David Icke, a huge conspiracy theorist, expanded on this story in 'The Biggest Secret' (1999), where he describes the reptil ian people to be extraterrestrials called Anunnaki, who came from another universe to breed humans in our holographic reality. Some of these reptil ians crossbred with humans, who control our governments and, some who are public f igures today. Icke called these the Babylonian Brotherhood. This group of reptil ian descendants? control us from behind the scenes in the il luminati, and other big, ?unknown? groups. Some of these people are: Queen Elizabeth, George W. Bush, Henry Kissinger, Bill and Hillary Clinton and Bob Hope. These people may be secretly controll ing our minds! Although, this theory seems to be totally true (not). I don?t think we have evidence to support David?s theory. Or do we?

www.metabunk.org

Conspiracy: Rept ilian people THEY LIVE! GET YOUR ALUMINIUM FOIL HATS, BECAUSE THIS IS GETTING CRAZY!

by Dylan Swarbr ick

Christmas factsSo Christmas is pretty interesting, right? Well, you don't even know the half of it.:

1. Scientists in the US have calculated that on Christmas Eve, Santa Claus would have to visit 822 homes a second - which is impossible unless you're travelling at 650 mps.

2. Robins on cards were made as a joke to make fun of the postmen that wore red tunics at the time.

3. So, is Rudolph your favourite reindeer? Well, this may take a bit of the fun out of it - scientists in Norway have hypothesized that the red nose is due to a parasitic infection of the respiratory system.

4. Do you have a fake Christmas tree to avoid all the pine needles getting everywhere? Well what's your tree made of? The Germans made the f irst ever fake tree out of dyed goose feathers.

5. So you like the song '12 Days of Christmas? Work out how many presents there are...364 gif ts.

6. Santa's reindeer are actually female, contrasting to the thought that they are male due to their names. We can tell this because at Christmas, male reindeer shed their horns.

7. Do you like spiders? Well a popular decoration for Christmas trees are spider webs because, according to legend, a spider wove Jesus' blanket.

8. Mistletoe is grown in bird droppings which is why it gets that name Mistletoe - it comes from Misteltan (litt le dung twig.)

9. In Germany, if you are pure at heart then you are able to talk to animals on Christmas Eve.

10. The earliest Christmas tree decoration was an apple when in medieval t imes they would decorate paradise trees with apples during the 'Paradise Plays' where the story of Adam and Eve will be celebrated.

11. President Teddy Roosevelt banned Christmas trees from the White House in 1901. 12. In Greece, the letter X means Christ, and so Xmas has been used as an abbreviation

since the mid 1500's.

by Brandon Stevens

IT'S BEGINNING TO LOOK A LOT LIKE

CHRISTMASTHE TRUTH ABOUT

MENTAL HEALTH ILLNESSES PART 3:

SUPPORT AND RECEIVING HELP

by Laura Mariannou

It?s beginning to look a lot l ike Christmas, Everywhere you go.

With Mum?s frantic rush to the shops, Repeats of top of the pops,

But of course, it stil l hasn?t snowed.

It?s beginning to look a lot l ike Christmas, And will for many weeks more.

As we see the Christmas trees,

Up the day after Halloween,

I can?t take much more.

A new xbox one will help me get along, Order soon or there?ll be mayhem.

And I do hate to moan but I need an iPhone, Even though I?ve had 5 of them.

And to be fair I?ll use these weeks to sleep til l 4pm.

It?s beginning to look a lot l ike Christmas, And I?m already broke.

I haven?t got something for Dad,

These presents are driving me mad,

And Nan said she wanted a new bloke.

It?s beginning to look a lot l ike Christmas, Soon The Grinch will start.

I don?t know how I?ll cope, but what I do dread the most,

Are the brussel farts.

by Codie Savage

This article will be divided into two sections: 1- how to support those with mental il lness, 2- Getting help if you have a mental il lness.

Support ing those with mental i l lness.

Expressing care for loved ones; whether they are family, friends or a signif icant other, can sometimes be more dif f icult if they are undergoing negative effects and emotions of a mental il lness. At t imes, you may feel cautious and confused as to how to react to dif ferent situations regarding their il lness, as they are likely to be more vulnerable and you don?t want to worsen their negative feelings. So if you are in a situation like foretold, and struggle to think eff iciently in times of panic, just remember these tips in the form of an easy acronym of the word care.

C- Commit (research and spend time) - Researching: To gain a deeper understanding of some of the effects your loved one may experience, and why they may act in certain way in some situation f irst you must have some knowledge in what they are dealing with. You can discover this by searching through reliable

sources, such as the NHS website, and focus on their particular il lness. Know that everyone experiences and hence deals with mental il lnesses in a dif ferent way, description of the il lness will be generalised, so although the majority of people will meet the said, some will either not have all the symptoms listed, or have some unlisted symptoms.

Spending time: A common issue with many who have mental il lnesses is they experience feelings of isolation and fear that their il lness may cause people to abandon them. By just spending time with your loved one, it can make them feel cared about.

Af fect ion- Displays of affection can help a great deal, as they make the person feel loved. and in some cases, it may even make them feel safer. A passionate hug is a vastly underrated method of showing care when sometimes it can be more effective than words. However, there are plenty of other ways of showing affection other than physically. For example, you could create a personal resource for them which they can use at t imes of need as a method for coping. This could be something like a written list of reasons why you love them; a box of l itt le things that you know makes them happy- (photographs, music, their favourite book, a certain DVD? ); a heart f il led note; something which they know is personal to you- as it could be used as a reminder of your care and support. If the gestures are not self-explanatory make sure you tell them of your support, even this can have a positive impact to an extent.

Respect- There are many things you must accept that you might not be able to change regarding people with mental il lness. This includes the way the il lness makes them, act, think and feel, and as dif f icult as it may be to observe them struggle through it, not everything can be helped.

They may have vastly dif ferent responses to others in certain situations and could be more vulnerable to specif ic occurrences. You should learn to respect that they have had dif ferent experiences, which cause them to react in ways that could be considered unreasonable to some. However, you should also know that a lot of the time they feel guilt for feeling or reacting in a way, and blame themselves rather than their

il lness- consequently lowering their self-concept. This does not mean you should get into the habit of blaming all their negative reactions to their il lness and tolerating unacceptable behaviour, you should establish your limits and ensure you are fair to both them and yourself .

It 's important that in times like the above, you offer support. You must appreciate that mental il lness sometimes take a long time to overcome and trying to rush this process will not be of any use. You must be will ing to have patience and resilience if you truly want to help your loved one get through challenges they may face as part of the il lness, and aid them in order to help them move towards recovery.

Encourage- A lot of the time people may fear, feel too embarrassed, or not have the motivation to seek help, talk about any problems they may be experiencing, or being in situations that had previously triggered a negative effect of their il lness.

Encouraging them to seek help could greatly benefit your loved one as well as the people who care for them, as them receiving help could lessen or make them abler to control and cope with their il lness, directing them closer to recovery. Everyone f inds dif ferent forms of help more useful than others so ensure they know there are plenty of options available, from professionals in mental health, to websites which present ways of providing self-help. Encouraging them to participate in situations that may have triggered a negative feeling in the past could help prevent them from gaining avoidance as a way of coping. Avoidance is obviously a good method if the situation is l ikely to be dangerous, however, in many cases, particularly in those with anxiety disorders, these situations often are not real dangers. For example, they may choose to avoid crowded places, buses, busy shops or talking to people, as these may have triggered anxiety in the past, but avoiding these situations could also make their l ife more dif f icult and in fact be quite an unhealthy way of coping, as many situations are quite necessary to life. As shown in the diagram below this can create a vicious cycle.

In conclusion, if you are unsure as to how you can help show support for someone with a mental il lness, just remember: CARE (Commit, Affection, Respect, Encouragement).

Gett ing help. Finally, and most importantly, I would like to provide a list of services available which offer help for those with mental il lness. This includes services in which you can speak to professionals in mental health, either in person or online, anonymously. Alternatively, there are also online services in which you can receive self-help.

- CAMHS- Child and adolescence mental health service. This is an organisation set up to work with youth who have mental health problems. They organise one a session with the mental health care profession they believe is most suited to the individual and then one can decide upon if they would like to take up a following session. After a while they may transfer you to another professional, which they will work with as part of a multiagency- aiming to discover the cause of your issues, and how you can lessen them. To get in contact you can visit your doctor for referral to your nearest service or search online and there will be contact numbers available.

- Websites which offer 24 hour online services. Features of some include: the ability to anonymously talk to a mental health care professional; being able ask questions under the identity of your account, and a wide offer of self-help sheets, many specif ic to particular il lnesses and in the form of printable booklets and much more. Here are some of these, safe, and reliable websites:

-https:/ /www.childline.org.uk -www.moodjuice.scot.nhs.uk -www.getselfhelp.co.uk -www.youngmind.org.uk

Free telephone lines which provide free service 24 hours a day. These are helplines created by charit ies and their purpose is to provide a service in which one can speak to someone about problems they may be experiencing, including: negative emotions, and loneliness. These helplines keep all content of calls confidential. Here is a list of some safe, and reliable helplines:

Samaritan?s: 116 123

NHS-Cumbria partnership direct: 0800 171 2333

W hat to do at Chr istmas

by Aaron Maxwell

Ah, Christmas at last: t ime to curl up on the sofa like a cat, and hibernate for a week; open presents; and, continue to sleep away your troubles, as the clock counts down until your exams. Anyway, here?s a short l ist of ideas for this winter holiday.

1) Shopping ? So you?ve saved up for 5 months to buy a new 8k TV to play Fallout 4 and Netf lix? Not anymore! ?Tis the season for giving, so why don?t you give away all your hard earned (?borrowed? from parents) money to already, super rich companies, in exchange for glued together bits of plastic that can pass off as a gif t ? try and buy a TV now, ha. Then, there?s the £200 you have to spend on that special someone to prove that you love them with all your heart (wallet/ purse). But, in all seriousness, a thoughtful gif t goes a long way, so be kind to those you care about.

2) Sledging ? The one activity where that plastic tray you were given when you were seven comes in handy. In this thril l ing sport ? yes, I said sport ? you sit atop your steed to gallop down and conquer the mountain that stands before you, until you have to walk back up to the top. Over time, the art form known as sledging has vastly developed, to the point where you can get circular sledges to increase speeds and reduce drag; this gives you the opportunity to make the Grand Prix of sledging with your friends, or, a Disney crossover: Frozen meets Cars. However, this is all weather dependent, so please don?t be disappointed when you can?t take my advice because the snow outside is actually just sludge.

3) Carol singing ? This tradition is a great way to earn a litt le bit of money or a few haters. To begin with, buy that Christmas songbook off of Amazon, and then take to the streets armed with nothing but your good fortune, to improvise some tunes based off of that Disney Christmas song, from that f ilm from that summer 2 years ago - just let it go already! *Sigh*. Anyway, if singing in public doesn?t suit

your fancy, then every home these days comes with a built in recording studio ? the shower; in here you can sing your heart out accompanied by the shouts of your many fans.

4) Eating ? This is the season to bulk up; members of any gym will do this, so why don?t you join them by stuff ing your face with sweets, chocolate, and the Holy Grail: homemade Christmas dinner? Gathered around the dining table, used only once a year for this momentous occasion, with platters of: turkey, roast potatoes, pigs in blankets and all sorts of delicious foods. The joyous moment when the aromas f il l the room as you patiently wait to devour three days? worth of cooking in a few seconds ? the memories. Then there?s the best part: dessert, even when you know you can?t handle any more food, a sticky toffee pudding served with cream and strawberries is just too tempting.

On a serious note to end with, Christmas is the time to forget about our own wants and to give to others. This doesn?t always mean presents, just spending time with those you care about will always be a way to repay the compassion they have given you. So this Christmas, remember not just the story of Jesus Christ, but also those who are with you all year round ? make them smile this Christmas and cherish every moment you have with them.

What have you ever been scared of? Maybe as a young kid you were scared of the bogey man, the monsters under your bed; or, maybe as an adult you had a fear of redundancy, being f ired; maybe you have had a lifelong fear of spiders, dogs, animals in general? but, imagine. Imagine being physically or mentally t ied down, restricted, frustrated because of never being able to do what you wanted to do. Imagine one day someone gives you the opportunity, the chance to have somebody help you do the daily chores- not much, a hand getting dressed because you can?t stand to put your trousers on, or a hand with the cleaning because you?re unable to use the Hoover, maybe not even move freely? Imagine all that being taken away from you, the Angel Gabriel snatched from your f ingertips, but why? Because you cost too much. Now, you must sit and watch as the world around you crumbles, because you can?t do those litt le jobs someone without your disabilit ies could do. You?re alone once more. Not only that you?re scared, because the world is crumbling and you can?t do anything about it.

10,000+ people are being deprived of their social care and i t?s not their decision. So, what gives any person higher power over these people who need social care. A higher person who does not have any disabilit ies does not need this healthcare, but that doesn?t mean these people do not. It doesn?t make their l ives any better to know £3.2 bil l ion has been put in to social care, because it has not helped them- they can have as much care as they want in the hospital, but without the necessities at home how will they cope? These people are not relying on social care, they need it , not l ike our country needs the money- that is economics - this is ethics. This is the ethics of whether we

Social care: ?I?m scared about the future? by Lett ie Wareing

let a person be chained to their house, wheelchair or sofa, or whether we give them the freedom they deserve by a right. It?s called human rights because every human deserves the same- it?s not called human rights so that someone can change them and inf luence them whenever they please. It?s called human rights because lives, health are at stake; it?s called human rights because no one should be able to take them away from you- you are human and they are yours, yet somewhere along the line, that big chain of parliament, someone forgot. It spread like a wildf ire and so did everyone else, they forgot the simplest fact of humanity?

No one should be left alone, when they can?t be alone.

Our social care is a system, there are many systems in our government; but, social care is st i l l a system. But, it is a crumbling one- the charit ies are saying so, the people are saying so, the people requiring social care are fearing so.

What do you expect when you go on a charit ies website? I expect to see all the good things that have occurred and the good things to come, but if I?m honest the website for Scope (the UK?s main disability charity)

I once saw a man struggle to get into his house. As he walked up the path his hands reached out, fumbling desperately for familiarity; when he reached his gate he fumbled, reached and staggered his way across the gate- desperate for the latch. Before I could get across the road he was inside, but the sad thing was, he had no one there helping him- guiding his hands so for once he felt free from the darkness that enshrouded him, so for once he didn?t have to fumble as he felt people?s gazes on him. People walked past that man and he was left in the dark.

Maybe it?s that people these days don?t see the need to help them, I mean they?ve got through life this far haven?t they? But?

If you were that man, that woman, that person on the street, would you give everything to get some help with those painful jobs that you can?t do? Wouldn?t you want to be recognised as a human being rather than being left at home, chained to the sofa?

Simply,

You wouldn?t.

shocked me. Not because of what they have done, but because of what they can?t do- they can?t f ix a situation that they have no power over, they can only look on, pray and plead to get the world on the side against what they can only describe as ?the care crisis?.

?Scope is a charity that exists to make this country a place where disabled people have the same opportunities as everyone else. Until then, we?ll be here.? This is what Scope says as their motto, it doesn?t speak of f inding a cure or some scientif ic breakthrough- Scope speaks a truth that we should all have adhered to long ago: disabled people should not have to take cuts, they should not have be put in the background of society- they are human beings. The fact that Scope stil l exists deeply disturbs me, because after all their hard work they are stil l f ighting for the right for disabled people to be recognised as equals to the rest of the society. They may not be able to walk like us, move like us, talk l ike us; they might not be able to hear or see - but, they are people. Since the day they entered this world they have been humans, they always have been and always will be?

So, once again I ask you? What give us the right as other human beings to deny our fellow human beings the rights to their social care?

When you walked past that person down the street today, did you notice that they were dif ferent to you? They may have had dif ferent hair, a dif ferent nose, they could?ve been a dif ferent gender; but, you stil l saw them as human. So when you passed that man or woman in the wheelchair yesterday did you look at him see him as human? Why wouldn?t they be? When they struggled to get into the supermarket did you help them? Maybe they didn?t look to be struggling, but inside they could be exhausted because that was the third thing they?d had to do that day, not a day-to-day thing for them, this uses every ounce of his body strength to haul himself up and down streets, to cook, to clean, to dress- he was denied the right to help.