Access Champion

The location of thej Light cinema, New Brighton overlooks the river Mersey and Liverpool. The light cinema celebrated 10 years in 2021. I remember writing to the then MP, Frank Field, just after my sight loss began over 9 years ago, regarding the lack of audio description films in local Wirral cinemas. As we will see below, this particular cinema took my comments on board. Previously they advertised themselves as not being audio description equipped. Now they are. The website is a bit tricky to navigate when looking for times/days in advance and in an accessible format. The cinema itself is in the corner of a complex of restaurants, supermarket and shops. The automatic door opens to a level space. There's a restaurant area near the window with tables that were good for wheelchair users! No poles to bash into, just slide under the long table! The table was a good height for my wheelchair control panel. An accessibility feature I thought was great, was, when your food order ...

Seeing as today is the last day of Christmas, I thought I’d share a poem I wrote in the lead up to Christmas. Each line was inspired by a one word prompt from psychological author, Maria Frankland. Over the 12 days leading up to Christmas, the writing prompts were things like hope, faith, love, peace, joy and friendship, charity, giving and receiving, forgiveness, time and patience. I found the individual themes quite a challenge to write a scene, story or compose a phrase so decided to compile it all into one big poem. Hope is a light found in the darkest of times. Faith is the belief that hope is there. Love is the warmth when someone remembers you exist, whether its a kind word of encouragement, time of conversation . Joy is the excitement when inspiration is found. Peace is knowing you are on the right path. Friendship is a bond, strong and tight. Like a delicate flower, it needs care, attention and nurture. Charity is not always a monetary gift to a cause, it can be tim...