In the vibrant world of music, where melody knows no boundaries, Barrington Chambers is an inspiring figure. In our latest edition of "Gear Gadgets and Gizmos," we had the privilege to interview Barrington, a remarkable Afro Caribbean musician whose journey is nothing short of extraordinary. A short time after coming to the UK from Jamaica in 1999 Barrington's life took an unexpected turn when he became blind . But instead of letting this challenge define him, he embraced it and embarked on a mu...
Sep 13, 2023•29 min
Welcome to this Gear, Gadgets and Gizmos episode, where we explore Rob Smith's innovative company, Active Hands. Today's episode focuses on Rob's experience following a spinal cord injury and his challenges in finding suitable gripping aids. Realizing the need for better solutions, Rob designed and developed prototypes in his home, eventually founding Active Hands in 2008. He has designed and manufactured a variety of gripping aids and assistive products offered by Active Hands, which have been ...
May 12, 2023•27 min
Phil Friend the Chair of the Research Institute for Disabled Consumers (RiDC), talks to Gordon McCullough, the CEO of RIDC, about the launch of the National Centre for Accessible Transport. (NCAT) What is the purpose of the centre? Why does NCAT matter? What part will RIDC play? How do we ensure that disabled people are at the heart of the project? All these questions and many others are addressed in this entertaining conversation.
Mar 13, 2023•18 min
This episode features Molly O'Brien, a Senior Research and Insight Advisor at Activity Alliance, a charity that promotes disability-inclusive sports and activities. Molly has hearing and visual impairments. She has first-class degrees in sociology and research methods. She is a qualified yoga teacher and a ballet dancer and enjoys outdoor activities. Molly's impairments mean that she uses a range of devices; hearing aids, portable microphones, magnification technology, and tactile watches , all ...
Mar 02, 2023•28 min
Peter Goadby-Watt has been a photographer for over thirty years. He started his career as a photographic assistant and freelance photographer. He joined the BBC photographic studio (88-90) before joining the Metropolitan Police Service in 1990 - 2014 as a forensic photographer and Head of Forensic Training. There, he honed his skills using multiple formats, film processing and printing; he joined the video team and used professional ENG broadcast HD video cameras and offline editing. In July 201...
Dec 06, 2022•27 min
In this episode of Gear, Gadgets and Gizmos, Nigel Lewis talks about his passion for IT and how it can transform the lives of disabled and older people. He also reminds us there is still much to do to ensure that technology is accessible, inclusive and available to all. His career began in software development, and he has since worked in many aspects of IT services over the years. Nigel Lewis was the London regional director for Fujitsu Services before he joined AbilityNet as their CEO in 2007. ...
Oct 19, 2022•28 min
Shelly Gaynor is Peer Mentor of Independent Living Movement Ireland (ILMI), with a passion for technology, particularly Assistive Technology (AT) and how it can be deployed to remove barriers that many disabled people encounter. Shelly sees technology as putting everyone on an even playing field, and human rights for disabled people are fundamental to her. Shelly directs a Personal Assistants Service through her company, shellyonwheels. Giving disabled people complete control over their own live...
Apr 08, 2022•16 min
Andy Garrett has a retinal partial sight condition [Macular Dystrophy] affecting his central field of vision. He worked as a police officer with the Metropolitan Police before moving to GSK. Andy's role with GSK is as Global Programme Director of their Workplace Adjustments Service. The service supports employees in securing the adjustments and accessibility solutions they need at work and remotely. Andy believes in the value that employee networks bring to building our disability confidence. He...
Mar 07, 2022•22 min
Fiona worked as a sales manager, successfully selling multi-million-pound software systems yet becoming progressively more disabled. When taking clients to the latest cool restaurant or bar, she made sure that venues had the appropriate accessibility & facilities. Realising this information was of use to other disabled people, it became the basis of the website www.BlueBadgeStyle.com and the BBS App. This is now her full-time occupation and passion and is ‘redefining disability with style’ a...
Dec 13, 2021•24 min
Simone was born with shortened arms and legs as a consequence of the drug Thalidomide. She lives in Reading, Berkshire. After attending mainstream school, she worked for many years as a Secretary at Berkshire County Council and for Blue Circle Cement and later as an administrator for the Thalidomide Society. Following the birth of her daughter in 1996 and spurred on by the lack of support for parents with disabilities, Simone helped to set up a national charity providing support to disabled peop...
Oct 05, 2021•25 min
Dr Rachael Grimaldi is an anaesthetist based at The Royal Sussex County Hospital. She decided to try and solve a major problem when she heard the story of a critically ill patient who talked about his terror when he couldn’t understand what healthcare staff were saying to him through their personal protective equipment (face masks, visors and hoods). Rachael was on maternity leave and stranded in the US because of COVID restrictions so she decided to put her time and energy into coming up with a...
Apr 12, 2021•24 min
The coronavirus has had a massive impact on everyone, and the Research Institute for Disabled Consumers (RIDC) had to change and adapt to get through the crisis. In this podcast, Gordon McCullough, the CEO of RIDC, discusses the important role the organisation has played in bringing disabled people's voices into the COVID conversation. With over 2000 disabled members, the RIDC Consumer Panel has provided vital insights that have helped inform and shape government policy during the pandemic. Gord...
Mar 15, 2021•31 min
Hazel Dudley is retired having worked for many years in the Civil Service as a personal secretary. She went blind in her childhood and now puts her considerable skills as a blind person to good use as a panel member for RIDC testing apps and websites. She says she'll try her hand at most things so long as "it's legal." Hazel has developed (pun intended) a keen interest in photography. Using her iPhone she has amassed over 4000 photographs. In this podcast, she explains how she does it. Hazel cle...
Nov 30, 2020•19 min
After leaving school Gavin Neate joined the armed forces and served in the military police as a dog handler. He was based up at RAF Lucas, and just north of Lucas was a Guide Dogs for the Blind training centre and he used to go along and do voluntary work. On finishing his military career and not unnaturally he applied for and then became a guide dog instructor. He saw first hand the difficulties that sight-impaired people faced in their daily lives and determined to do something about it. He be...
Oct 17, 2020•23 min
After a successful career in IT working in the finance industry, Patrick Burke was forced to take medical retirement as a result of Multiple Sclerosis. After initially struggling to adjust to his new "normal" he now spends much of his time exploring the impact of his condition and how it affects others. He continues his search for things that will either make life easier or that will specifically address the barriers MS puts his way. Patrick has been a panel member for Research Institute for Dis...
Oct 05, 2020•20 min
Resolute, determined, funny, innovative and creative Mary Duffy is all of these things. As a Thalidomide survivor, she has invented all sorts of ingenious ways of managing her daily life and her artistic career without arms. Mary lives by the sea in Wicklow in Ireland and is an accomplished and honoured artist. Aside from her painting, she's tried pottery and photography. She loves gardening and is particularly adept at weeding onions using a spoon gripped between her toes. Listen to Mary talkin...
Jul 28, 2020•17 min
Steph's career started in the fashion industry where she designed for high street labels, such as Ted Baker and M&S. She had always wanted to be a fashion designer and says she was working hard, playing hard and keen to make her mark. As her career began to take off disability came into her life when she unexpectedly experienced sight loss. Her company, Making Lemonade was initially born from her lived experience of acquiring her impairment. This quickly led to an interest in the lived exper...
Jun 29, 2020•18 min
Sue Kent is a massage therapist who uses her feet to massage. She pioneered this technique due to an upper limb disability caused by the drug thalidomide. She has 8-inch-long arms and seven fingers and no thumbs. She has a little strength or grip ability in her hands. Sue uses both her feet and her arms to do daily tasks, and she sometimes uses her teeth although she isn't sure this is always a good idea. Sue’s favourite pastimes include sea swimming, gardening and painting, all of which she doe...
May 18, 2020•17 min•Season 1Ep. 13
Rudi has been a wheelchair user since 1971 following an accident which paralysed his legs, arms and hands, although he can still use his hands to some extent despite having no finger movement. He says he was fortunate to have been able to receive a university education, albeit in an ancient, entirely un-adapted environment. He has worked in various industries including the charitable sector, television, the arts and sport both in the UK and the United States. He was very active in disability pol...
Feb 17, 2020•14 min
Ross Hovey works for Lloyds Banking Group as their Accessibility Manager. His role is to create an inclusive environment for disabled colleagues and he leads on the workplace adjustment programme. Outside of work, he is a board director for Changing Places (campaigning for better toilet facilities for the most severely disabled people), a co-chair of … Continue reading "Ross Hovey – Red Through and Through" (http://news.philandfriends.co.uk/2020/01/16/ross-hovey-red-through-and-through/)
Jan 16, 2020•24 min
Shannon Murray is an actress, writer, disability consultant and a solicitor, on top of this she is also an accomplished keynote speaker. Shannon was left paralysed from the waist down after a diving accident when she was 14 years old and first received international media attention a few years after her injury when she won the first ever search for a disabled model. She has since campaigned for the better representation of disability in the media for 20 years and has gone some way to improving t...
Nov 23, 2019•19 min•Season 1Ep. 10
Andy Healey is an aerospace writer and published author. He blogs on mobility and disabled travel at JohnnySombreroRides.com (http:// JohnnySombreroRides.com) . Andy flew helicopters in the Royal Navy and subsequently for an air-taxi operator near London, before breaking his back in a 1985 flying accident. Since then he has written for most UK national newspapers and presented for the BBC and Channel 4. He wrote ‘Leading from the Front; Bristow Helicopters, the first 50 years’ (Tempus) and ‘The ...
Oct 28, 2019•19 min
Jamie Knight is an autistic web developer, writer, speaker and mountain biker. Lion is a plushie who goes everywhere with him.The duo has spent almost 10 years at the BBC working on everything from iPlayer Radio to children’s gaming. Millions of people use Jamie’s code each day. Lion’s BBC career has mostly been in antelope management. Jamie has been speaking about his autistic life for over 10 years. He’s also contributed to books, magazines and co-presented a podcast series for the BBC.In this...
Sep 26, 2019•22 min
Dr Alice Maynard CBE is an experienced Non-Executive Director having worked since the early ‘90s as a Trustee of several Charities and a member of two Housing Association Committees.Alice was Chair of Scope for 6 years, a £100m turnover charity providing services to disabled people with high support needs and campaigning for disabled people’s equality.Alice is a Chartered Director (Institute of Directors) and has worked in the private, public and third sectors and she has established two success...
Sep 05, 2019•19 min
In this Gear, Gadgets and Gizmos episode from the Research Institute for Disabled Consumers (RIDC), I’m in conversation with Vivek Gohil who has managed to find ways to enjoying gaming by bending technology to his will.Vivek is 29 and from Leicester, he lives with the muscle-wasting condition Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, he uses a ventilator to help him breathe and is a powered wheelchair user. He is a Blogger, Speaker, Accessibility & Assistive Tech Consultant and Freelance Writer for the g...
Aug 16, 2019•14 min
Born in 1960, Rosie’s impairment is four-limbed Phocomelia caused by the drug Thalidomide.After graduating with a BSc., (Hons) Degree in Psychology through Cardiff University in 1985, Rosie joined the Civil Service and remained with the Department of Trade and Industry at Companies House Cardiff until 1993 at Executive Officer level.In 1995 Rosie formed the RMS Disability Issues Consultancy, out of a genuine desire to deliver first-class training in the field of Disability Equality and Disabilit...
Jul 12, 2019•21 min
Rick Williams runs his own business based in Brighton. The company have been around for about 20 years and supply consultancy and training services to organisations that want to improve their employment and services provided for disabled people.Rick went blind in his mid-40s as a result of retinitis pigmentosa and this explains his lifelong commitment and passion for ensuring that disabled people, particularly those with sight impairments, lead as independent and inclusive a life as possible.In ...
Jun 29, 2019•20 min
I’ve known Simon Minty for many years in fact for a number of those years we were business partners, so I feel I know him pretty well. In this conversation, Simon talks about the things he finds invaluable in helping to maintain his level of independence and I must admit there were one or two surprises. Simon has delivered training and consultancy in the field of equalities since 1997. He has personal experience of disability, being of short stature and of limited mobility.Based in London, Simon...
Jun 14, 2019•11 min
Hello everyone and welcome to this the inaugural edition of the Gear, Gadgets and Gizmos podcast. We’re delighted to welcome as our first guest Geoff Adams-Spink one of the trustees of Research Institute for Disabled Consumers (RiDC).Geoff was born with multiple impairments as a result of thalidomide. He has shortened upper limbs, a missing right eye and extremely restricted vision in his left eye. He left the BBC in 2011 to set up his own disability equality consultancy and to Chair an internat...
May 30, 2019•15 min
Hello everyone just a quick note to let you know that I’m planning to develop a new podcast in which I interview disabled people about the things they use to overcome the barriers they face because of their disability. I’ll keep you posted as to when this will become available. In the meantime you might want to take a listen to this as it tells you a little more than I have here.
Mar 30, 2019•2 min
