Fish. Out of water. Purple recently described as a salmon swimming against the tide. Compliment. High energy needed. Fierce determination. Savviness to avoid being hooked. Ability to resist tacking back to the norm and carry on up rather than downstream. Long time. Starting to see some crystal blue waters. Unchartered. A disability nirvana. With a shoal of like-minded other fish.

I jumped. Leapt. In awe last week at the activities to support World Down Syndrome Day. An impairment caused when an individual has a full or partial copy of chromosome 21. Listened to Polly on BBC Radio 5 Live talking about her involvement in a flash mob event in Trafalgar Square. Raw lived experience exposed to the nation. Response from listeners made my scales prick up. Assertively positive. Not awkward soundbites about vulnerable people. Powerful ‘can do’. Not pity. Great. Not guilt. A movement on the move. A community rapidly changing the disability conversation.

Tonight I am honoured to join Ciara Lawrence from Mencap who are doing tremendous work to empower all people with learning disabilities. It is a live podcast from the brilliant The Caring View 💚💙 You can listen to it here: https://bit.ly/3Lna3dK from 7.30pm for an hour. Hadn’t clocked it coincides with the twins bath time in the room directly below. Could be interesting. Listen carefully. Educational hints and tips simultaneously blended with bubble time chaos.

Tune in Tuesday.