Fintan Ramblings

When we first moved in the area on my street I noticed our house was the only one with a new outside ariel. The television reception is awful but once the tv was plugged in my wife (who is not deaf) was able to watch tv. It was a bit snowy and she could only watch 2 channels. Us deaf people need clear tv reception to receive subtitles other wise it will be ransom asterisks or letters.
I asked next door what their TV reception like and it was slightly better than mine although they use booster kit but I know subtitles will still be rubbish. She said that everyone in this street has an indoor Ariel in the attic.
So I climbed into my attic could not find an indoor ariel but saw a cable leading to outside ariel but cut in 2 pieces (as far as I can see) and a broken hack saw blade.
Obviously the people who lived here before had spent some money improving their viewing pleasure and did not want us to benefit from it.
We called a TV shop to fix the problem we were quoted £100.
We decided to go with sky and the deal is that if we go with a cheapest package it would work out £100 and after 12-month contract we cancel it and watch the free to air channels with clear reception.

Fast forward 4 years and now the sky digital box stopped working. It would cost us more than £50 for them to look at it.
So now we have 2 options we could pay £150 upfront where you have free to air TV or subscribe to Sky TV and get the cheapest package for 12 months and after that you either carry on subscribing or switch to free to air the total cost of that will be £170 so we might as well subscribe to Sky TV and get the extra channels for £20 more

I have spent years banging on about how useful computers and internet especially for deaf people. Like most people of that generation they couldn’t see the attraction their answers range from ‘I use the phone’ or ‘write a letter’ to ‘it looks complicated.’

Now living miles away married with kids of my own both of my parents have got a computer, I thought ‘great we will communicate via emails.’
But nope they still ring me grrrrr.

My mum’s not too bad as she knows how to send text messages using her mobile phone (she learnt the hard way as me and my sisters sent her loads of text) but occasionally she rings me. I have a phone that I can turn volume up on, but I still find it hard to understand her some times because she is whispering. She insists my hearing has got worse. At least her husband agrees with me that she whispers. (mum and dad divorced and went on to re-marry)

My dad on the other hand does not know how to turn a computer on let alone send a text message on a mobile. He still rings me every time. He gets his sons (when they are at home) to work the computer or text me on their mobile . His hearing is getting worse by the year and my wife (and probably his wife) find it comedic seeing us trying to have a conversation over the phone.

I had this conversation with a work colleague and most of his family live miles away and they don’t have a computer. He said it would be a lot cheaper for them to email or chat on internet rather than use a phone.
He laughed when I told him about mine and I said, ‘to be honest if I was blind they would write to me.’

I just built a webpage fora friend of mine, she makes cakes all shapes and sizes.

I will blog a bit more later so meanwhile head over there and take a look

http://www.emmascakecreations.co.uk

On my way home I popped into my local doctor’s surgery and asked what day’s the audiologist visit.
Was told on a second Tuesday but I have to “phone” for appointment ….

Children in Need makes me feel uncomfortable.

I once saw a protest from disabled people outside the BBC studios in protest against Children in Need years ago. They objected to Children in Need projecting them in a negative way, making people feel sorry for the children, and as a result, making the public stay with the image of the disabled as people to be pitied and unable to help themselves instead of showing them in a positive way.
I was told that the BBC has now changed how they report the Children in Need as a result. I wouldn’t know as I don’t watch it.

Another programme called Pride of Britain was on last week

http://www.prideofbritain.com

What annoyed me was the way it has portrayed the deaf in 2004 under the category Child of courage (text copied from the site and My input in BOLD)

I very much doubt this is Scott talking its a crap newspaper reporting style

—–

Inspirational teenager Scott is the only member of his family who can hear – and that means this schoolboy helps his profoundly deaf mum, dad and two brothers cope with their silent world.

Scott answers the phone, orders meals in restaurants and helps with trips to the post office, doctor and dentist.

Ok fair enough there are stupid people who insist on phoning you even though they know your deaf. The thing is, how do they know your phone number?? Did Scott’s parents hand out the number knowing they cant hear the phone? Can understand phone is for his use. Also banks can’t speak to Scott under the Data Protection act. Doctors sign a confidential act so they cant tell him about family problems

When his mum, who is also blind, wants to go shopping, Scott goes too. When his brothers want to order a burger, they come to him. And when his parents want to visit the bank, they turn to him.

I can’t speak for the blind, but ordering food these days is not a hard task. Like other BSL users they point to menu. Seems like they say they are not able to feed themselves without Scott. How did other deaf families cope? Mass starvation of deaf families? Government must investigate!!

Scott is the family’s lifeline, acting as ears to the outside world for his parents, Angela and Iain, and brothers Barry, 16, and Colin, seven, and using sign language to let them know what’s happening. The 14-year-old East Kilbride lad considers signing his first language rather than spoken English – and his dream is for it to be taught in schools just like French or German.

That’s great and I know for most deaf families sign language is their first language. But, sorry Scott, you may have a lifetime of campaigning as British Sign Language (BSL). BSL was recognised as an official British language by the UK government on 18th March 2003, but it does not have any legal protection. This means that Deaf people do not have full access to information and services that hearing people take for granted, including education, health and employment. (see right at the bottom)

He says,” Signing is so easy to pick up when you’re young and the difference it would make to the deaf would be incredible. I learned to sign soon after I was born, but I didn’t learn to speak until well after that. I didn’t speak until I was three or four.”

It’s a wonder Social Services haven’t persecuted his family maybe they thought he was deaf.

Last year, when he was just 13, Scott took his dad and older brother Barry to Canada to visit relatives, coping with the flights, lost luggage and a foreign country. But to Scott it was not particularly extraordinary.

“I just help my family communicate with hearing people,” he says. “I’ve been doing that since I was born, so to be honest, it’s nothing special to me. Even though I’ve had to grow up quite quickly and I have more responsibility, I still do everything other teenagers do. I’m not missing out on anything. I don’t really think about what I do. Helping with the shopping, answering the phone – it’s all really normal stuff to me.”

More responsibility?? Helping with the shopping? WTF? They are deaf they have arms and legs !

“People think it’s hard for me. But if you think my life is hard it’s a lot harder being a deaf child in a hearing family.”

Now this would be Scott talking here and he is correct. I am deaf person from a hearing family.

His proud Gran Elsie Reidy, 65, says, “the whole family is very independent but Scott has opened up new doors for them. He doesn’t allow them to live in a silent bubble.”

Assuming his Gran is not deaf and one of Scott’s parents is from a hearing family, I bet she doesn’t sign, another example deaf child in a hearing family.

“He enhances their life tremendously. He opens up the world to them. And he’s done it all without question.” The Judges opinion,

“Most lads his age would be out with their mates, but instead Scott’s at home looking after his family. No matter what he says, Scott is extraordinary.”

No he does it because he wanted to and judges thinks he stays in looking after the family, gosh they must think being deaf, they are not able to feed / wash and clothes them selves.

About BSL word below taken from another website

British Sign Language (BSL) is the first or preferred language of around 250,000 Deaf people in the UK. It is a language of space and movement using the hands, body, face and head. Around 120,000 hearing people also use BSL, meaning it is used more than Welsh or Gaelic.

Since the BDA started in 1890, we have been campaigning for Deaf people’s right to use BSL, to be educated in BSL, and to access information and services through BSL. We believe this is the best way for Deaf people to take part in society, equally to hearing people. That is why we campaigned for the government to recognise BSL.

BSL was recognised as an official British language by the UK government on 18 th March 2003, but it does not have any legal protection. This means that Deaf people do not have full access to information and services that hearing people take for granted, including education, health and employment.

The BDA wants BSL to be legalised, which will give BSL users the legal right to use it, bringing years of language discrimination to an end.

The good thing about being deaf is that we can lip-read!
I used to work at a horrible meat factory.Just before I started there people told me it had a terrible reputation. I worked weekend s 6AM to 6pm. It was a noisy environment and everyone wore earmuffs, of course I didn’t need to wear them.

One day a new supervisor asked me why I wasn’t wearing earmuffs. I told him 3 times that I am deaf.  He pointed to sign that said I have to wear earmuffs and if I refused to wear them then he said he would have to send me home.
Of course I refused to wear them and he proceeded to send me home until another supervisor came him and explained to him that I don’t need to wear them.
He said that I never told him that I was deaf!!!  Lying bastard.

The established staff there likes to make life difficult for any new recruits but little did they know I could lip read from a distance. Each group have workers where 1 fetch meat in and out the other 2 get the cooked meat out or pots and put on a tray.
I always end up working with “immigrants “ (as the established mainly white English lot say) and they like working with me as most speak little English so its all hand signing J
One day I was lip reading one group and the words I read was let’s knock the meat out at an angle.
When hitting the pots on a table warm water shoots out and splash over you and in face, sometimes bits of meat.  Getting that to happen to you now and again is an accident and but having that happening to you with every pot is not on.
They were aiming at 2 guys on my table, of course, when that was happening they were too scared to complain.
 So what did I do?
Grabbed a bucket of ice cold water and threw water at the guys who splashed my guys.
Shocked was an understatement and they were angry at the fact that they weren’t aiming at me as ‘I wasn’t a foreigner and should be joining in the fun so where’s my sense of humour?’

Another time at a table, I lipread one of the arseholes talking about me, saying, “ I’d love to kick the shit out of Fintan.”
I approached him when we were clocking off and said ‘Go ahead’. 
He went bright red and told him he was all mouth and no action. He avoided me until I left the job.

A lot of times I see someone bitching about other people, even me.  I do mostly believe people are entitled to their opinion and it’s best to ignore them other wise I would be taking on the world !

So if yer wanna bitch or play a trick watch out .. a lipreader may be near you!!…..

Where I live I believe the shopping till’s are slow or is it just me thinking that?

When purchasing items in our local shop, the checkout person tells me how much the item is.

Most of the time I can never hear what they say and when I look at the till the price is not displayed. I suspect the checkout person presses the total key on the till when I hand the money over.

In the newsagent (usually when there’s a massive queue behind me) the till does not display the price until about 15 second later.

So….. I have the option to stand there and wait until the price comes up, tot up the price in my head and hand the correct money over or hand over either a £5 or £10 note knowing the item is a lot less than that….

Come to think about it, I need not to visit the local shops again, as I can do all my online shopping with Tescos, take out a magazine subscription, pay my car tax online or, better still, get my wife to do all the above.