It’s one of the biggest ironies in life, that many of us live our lives doings things we don’t really want to do, and neglecting things that are truly important to us, and only finally at the ends of our lives, look back and admit we wish we’d done it differently.

It isn’t a big surprise to most people, that on our deathbeds, most of us regret things like not spending enough time with family, or working too much and not having enough fun. We are, as educated adults, aware, even if we are living a life outwardly that makes it seem otherwise, that the most important things in life are family, love, health, and happiness.

Yet, even though we possess enough common sense to know this, many of us are unable to let go of the pursuit of things that often take us farther and farther away from what…

I’m going to out myself. This was meant to be a secret until later on this year but I’ve been so shocked by some figures I’ve been totting up the last few days, I’m going to let you into my secret early. I’ve been writing a 2016 diary with the aim of publishing it as a book in early 2017. The intention is that it will be an extension of this blog: a combination of Steven’s funniest moments of the year, coupled with a chronicle of what life is like when you are caught up in the social care system. In my diary, I’ve been recording the amount of time, I spend on social care bureaucracy.

I hope you’ve heard of Chris Hatton. In case you haven’t, Chris is the genius statistician for Justice for LB. He also produced a phenomenal daily blog for Seven Days of Action revealing all…

I’ve been wanting to write something for Justice For LB #107days Take Two. It is hard to top the amazingness of last year but the Justice Shed are really going for it. It has clearly been a very hard week in the Justice Shed. The almost permanently silent Oxon CC launched a missile of deadly, cuntish magnitude. It is hard to survive an attack like that. In the past year, I’ve met Sara and Rich several times and each time have been in awe of their courage, dignity and fantastic humour. If anyone can get justice to roll down like waters, it is these two.

My language already gives away the theme of this post. It’s about the battles families find themselves in when something horrendous happens to them or their loved ones. I don’t like war like language – I find it nearly always overblown but it does seem…

I keep gulping down deep sobs ever since I read Sara Ryan’s latest blog post yesterday. (https://mydaftlife.wordpress.com/2015/03/30/oxon-classy-council/) It is the latest in the catalogue of shameful, deceitful, inhumane behaviour by the Authoritys involved in the death of LB. How can the State treat the people they are paid to serve with such utter contempt?

We had an experience back in 2008 of the sham of the “independent internal investigation”. It is nowhere near on the scale of what Sara’s family are going through but it alerted me to the depths Officialdom will sink to prevent the truth from being revealed.

This is a year before Steven was taken away. One day, with no notice at all, the council stopped the contract with the agency that were supplying Steven’s support workers. We weren’t allowed to be told “why” the contract had been cancelled – it was none of our business. Left…

This is a promise. After 14 blog posts on the subject since September 2012, I hereby promise that this is the last post I’ll ever write about my housing benefit battle. One last thing to get off my chest and you’ll never hear from me on the subject again.

Actually, the core of this post is about “spin”, triggered by the conclusion of the HB saga. On Thursday, I received wads of paperwork from the council detailing how they have worked out the reinstated benefit. I missed it first time but there is a recalculation sheet from 4th June 2012, four months before they stopped the HB. This is where the spin comes in.Hillingdon were interviewed by the BBC, The Guardian, The Times & the Uxbridge Gazette at the time and gave pretty much the same statement to all of them – ” Mr Neary notified us of a change…

I’ll be 56 next week. Birthdays are not normally a big deal to me but I keep finding myself reflecting on what this decade in my life has all been about. Not having been 56 before, I can’t work out if the way I feel is the consequence of the last six years or whether its just being 56. For one I’m slower. I notice a bench as I walk down the road and think “Ooh, that looks inviting. I might have a little sit for a few minutes”. But I don’t. Mostly though, its about my mental state and noticing that my reaction to stuff is very different to pre 50s.

I remember my 50th. I was due to start some major dental work the following day, so went out for a slap up meal in case I couldn’t eat properly for weeks. The next day, and seven teeth…

This post is dedicated to Thomas Rawnsley, a decent young chap, who died yesterday after having a heart attack on Sunday evening. Thomas had spent the last two years of his life in ATUs. Both Thomas and his family wanted to live at home, or in his own place near to his family. It never happened.

Has anyone ever met a social care commissioner? I haven’t. Or if I have, I didn’t know they were a commissioner.

Do they have a background in social care?

If I met one, the first question I would ask is: “what do you see as the advantages of removing someone with autism and/or learning difficulties from their home and putting them in an alien, clinical environment for an unspecified (usually very long. The NAO report yesterday said that the average time spent in in-patient settings is 17 years) period?

Then I’d like to ask…

Getting in shape, drinking less and stopping smoking are some of the top New Year’s resolutions, but many people struggle to keep up with these resolutions through the dark, rainy days of January.

What if you could take up an activity which can benefit your health, make a difference in your local community and improve your confidence? So why not make volunteering your New Year’s Resolution and experience some of these benefits for yourself. The health benefits from being a volunteer can range from improved self-esteem to a healthier lifestyle, and can even extend your life expectancy!

Volunteering can also make you happier –  a study done by the London School of Economics found that the more people volunteered, the happier they were. Compared to people who weren’t involved in volunteering, people who volunteered monthly were 7% more likely to describe themselves as ‘very happy’. Weekly volunteers were 16%…