BSL NEWS 01 June 2020
News Headlines With the lockdown easing, primary schools in England are re-starting classes. In sport professional snooker and horse racing are benefiting from the relaxation of social distancing rules. America has witnessed more clashes between police and anti-racism protestors.
Help for Lockdown Sufferers
Do you remember the first pandemic film? Not the 2007 Will Smith version the original Omega Man, Charlton Heston (candidly the original was with Vincent Price, but I didn’t see that one), who is the only human left in the world following an epidemic. The rest of humanity were either turned into zombies or had […]
BSL NEWS 30 APRIL 2020
News Headlines 1. Lockdown The cabinet will meet this morning to discuss how the coronavirus lockdown measures may eventually be lifted. Boris Johnson is expected to explain the government’s approach to the public about how they’ll make the decisions. He’ll restate the hurdles that must be passed before any restrictions are lifted including making sure […]
BSL NEWS 28 APRIL 2020
News Headlines 1. Health Services Hospitals in England are to begin restoring some services which have been put on hold because of the coronavirus pandemic. NHS England ensured that 33,000 hospital beds were cleared to cope with an expected surge in coronavirus patients. The Health Service has successfully handled the inflow of COVID-19 patients. The […]
BSL NEWS 22 APRIL 2020
News Headlines Care Homes The latest figures from the 10th of April say 1,043 people have died from the virus in care homes in England and Wales although ministers have admitted that number is inaccurate. The Shadow Health Secretary John Ashworth says the government urgently needs to pull together a detailed plan for the sector. […]
BSL NEWS 21 APRIL 2020
News Headlines 1. Face Masks Experts on the Government’s Scientific Advisory Committee will discuss the issue of advising the public to wear masks in public during the Coronavirus pandemic today. Chris Hopson of NHS providers said that the impact on the health service must be fully assessed and that securing the supply of masks where […]
BSL NEWS 20 APRIL 2020
1. Lyrics Sale The original lyrics to Bob Dylan’s 1960’s classic ‘The Times They Are A-Changin’’ are up for sale. It’s a sale on behalf of a collector at a fixed price of £1.7 million or $2.2 million. It went on to become one of the legendary protest songs of the ‘60’s. It’s just one […]
BSL NEWS 17 APRIL 2020
News Headlines 1. Lockdown The Government is today expected to extend the UK’s Coronavirus lockdown by a further 3 weeks. The Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab who is deputising for Boris Johnson will chair meetings of the Cabinet and Cobra Committee before a decision is announced this afternoon. Ministers have signalled they are not planning to […]
BSL NEWS 09 APRIL 2020
Dominic Raab Stands In For Prime Minister The Foreign Secretary, Dominic Raab, who is standing in for Boris Johnson, will chair a meeting on the Coronavirus today to consider whether restrictions on people’s movements should be extended. The Welsh Government have decided to inform the Welsh public that the lockdown restrictions are being extended. The […]
BSL NEWS 08 APRIL 2020
Prime Minister’s second night in Intensive Care The Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, was admitted to St. Thomas’ hospital in London last Sunday and moved into Intensive Care after having tested positive for the Coronavirus 10 days earlier. This was due to his cough and high temperature. He is being administered oxygen but is breathing unaided. […]
BSL NEWS 07 APRIL 2020
Prime Minister Moved to Intensive Care. The Prime Minister, Boris Johnson was moved to Intensive Care due to his Coronavirus symptoms worsening and so that if there comes a need for a ventilator he is closer for that to happen. Mr Johnson doesn’t currently have a tube inserted in preparation for the use of a […]
BSL NEWS 06 APRIL 2020
Prime Minister Working Remotely. The Foreign Secretary, Dominic Raab, chaired a meeting on the Coronavirus Response. The Prime Minister is currently in hospital after being admitted last night for more tests since being ill for the previous 10 days. Lord Kerslake, former Civil Servant, said the Prime Minister can work remotely with Dominic Raab but it […]
BSL NEWS 02 APRIL 2020 part 2
Coronavirus Testing The Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, has faced widespread criticism over his government’s testing strategy for the Coronavirus. He has failed to set up large scale testing. For example of 0.5 million NHS frontline staff in England, only 2,000 have been tested. Mr Johnson has said he will ramp up the process of testing […]
BSL NEWS 02 April 2020
Coronavirus Testing Taken from BBC News website on 01 April 2020 Last weekend 900 NHS staff were tested for the Coronavirus. The government have said they feel these numbers are low and they would like to see more testing of Health Workers. The government says that increased testing hasn’t been possible due to not being […]
Coronavirus Information
The following links have information about the Coronavirus: https://www.signhealth.org.uk/coronavirus/ New government announcement 19 March 2020 – schools update What is Coronavirus? How do I avoid getting sick or spreading the virus? What are the symptoms of coronavirus? I was in contact with someone who might have coronavirus, what should I do? How do I avoid […]
BSL News 30 March 2020
News highlights from the past few days in BSL. Taken from BBC News website on 27th March 2020. The government has advised that people buying and selling property should put on hold all property sales until after the Coronavirus crisis has subsided. The Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick has asked parties of contracts that have already […]
No BSL for Boris at Summit
Boris Johnson refuses deaf people access to his presentation at the Africa UK Investment Summit 2020
Ordrs
If you have certain disabilities then some day to day activities can be pretty hard to do. Shopping, in particular, can be quite a challenge. Wheelchair accessibility can be poor, communication with shopkeepers can be limited for the Deaf, searching shelves a barrier to the blind. There are delivery services run by supermarkets that allow […]
Developing British Sign Language
BSL is living, growing and evolving better than it has ever done and the lives of Deaf Britons are more empowered than ever.
When accessibility is lip service
One of the activities at Appa me ltd is teaching. We teach hearing people British Sign Language (BSL) to foster communication and accessibility between hearing and Deaf communities. There already plenty of issues surrounding this, such as lack of the current lack of a GCSE in BSL (see Independent article) or even the recognition of […]
Brexit, Deaf & Disabled people and our Welfare State
Brexit: What does it mean for Deaf and Disabled people living in the Welfare State? by Michaela Aitken Today I received some disability news that reminded me we are living in unprecedented times; another disability provider has had to close its doors due to funding withdrawal. Its clients and customers now left with a solitary […]
Communicating with People who have Hearing Loss
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] Some general Advice for clear communication for people with hearing loss. A small amount of thought and effort in communicating with deaf and hard of hearing people can make a huge difference. For Sign Language Users whose main link to the world is visual, it is helpful to use: Some basic signs and […]
MidlandsAbility
MidlandsAbility Improving Workplace Opportunity for those with Disabilities Our director Imran Umar had the pleasure of attending the MidlandsAbility Network Launch at KPMG in Birmingham. MidlandsAbility is an exciting new network which aims to increase confidence in recruiting, developing and retaining employees with a disability. MidlandsAbility is made up of a core group of Midlands […]
Funky Finger Weekly Baby Group
An Event on behalf of James Wolfe Primary School in Greenwich, London Are you a deaf parent, or are you a parent of a deaf baby? If so this group, run by the specialist Centre for Deaf Children at James Wolfe Primary School is for you. Come along and share your experiences as a […]
2017 General Election and Accessibility
The 2017 General Election is fast approaching and the parties have all published their manifestos. So how do they score on accessibility?; Conservative Party: Green Party: Labour Party: Liberal Democrats: UKIP: Scottish National Party: Main presentation: PDF with text and images Main Presentation: Webpage Main Presentation: Webpage Main Presentation: Webpage Main presentation: PDF with […]
A Simple Intro to BSL Grammar.
Having read our previous article on how to learn languages let’s have a look at some useful ideas for learning British Sign Language (BSL). In English you would say something like; “I made some pancakes” But in BSL it would be more like; “Pancakes I made” In a language, the sentences (clauses) have a specific […]
DWP Overlooks SME Advice and pays the cost
Turn a Corner appa were delighted at the recent successful prosecution of Ethel and Paul Neal, founders of Neals Communication. A Croydon based deaf support company purportedly serving S.E. London and local regions. It is one of a group of companies in an interconnected collection of directors, owners and employees forming a conspiracy of fraud. The […]
Our Clients: Andrew Muskat
Andrew, a grafter, has worked at Lloyds for over 34 years. Today he tells us about some ofthe barriers and solutions of working as a Deaf person in hearing corporate Britain. In the early days (1980’s) paperwork was king. Proper paperwork, where you had to use pens, paper ledgers and handwritten procedures. In many ways […]
Blog of a Support Worker: Rhys Farrugia
Bus Drivers! When I was at the youthful age of 5, I was asked “What do you want to be when you grow up?” As bold as brass, ambitiously and confidently, I replied with “Bus Driver!” At the time, I obviously didn’t envisage the unsociable hours; London congestion and faulty Oyster card readers. 20 years […]
