An Important Petition and The 2018 NGS Launch

An account of the 2018 Launch of the National Garden Scheme prefaced by the Autistic Bill of Rights and a petition to save Morley House Respite Unit.

INTRODUCTION

This post in entirely autism focussed, so the text is in #RedInstead. I will build up to the account of the 2018 Launch o the National Garden Scheme, which will occupy most of the post. First, to set the scene for all the follows, stimtheline’s Autistic Bill of Rights:

Autistic Bill of Rights.pub

SAVE MORLEY HOUSE RESPITE UNIT

Morley House Respite Unit plays a vital role in the lives of many autistic people and their families in the West Norfolk area. It is now facing closure. Jessica Kibble, a volunteer with NAS West Norfolk, has created a petition on 38 Degrees against this planned closure. At the moment, less than two full days after launch there are just short of 600 signatures, which is a respectable start, but we need more. Below is a screenshot of the petition homepage, and by clicking it you can sign and share the petition:

MH

THE 2018 LAUNCH OF THE
NATIONAL GARDEN SCHEME

NAS West Norfolk have an allotment/ sensory garden in West Lynn for which we received a grant from the NGS. As beneficiaries we were invited to be present at their 2018 Launch Eventm which took place today at Houghton Hall.

Houghton Hall complex

For various reasons the only person able to be present on behalf of NAS West Norfolk was me. Being represented by one person is not ideal, but with that one person being me it did ensure that there was some genuine autistic presence at the event.

The arrangement was that I would catch a bus from King’s Lynn to the point at which the road from Harpley joins the A148, where I would be collected by car and driven up to the hall (many thanks Julia for making the arrangement and Gus for collecting me). I had initially being thinking in terms of the 8:45, arriving at the Harpley turn at approx 9:10 if it runs to time, but last night following a suggestion that this was too early I changed plans to aiming for the 9:45 bus, about which I had certain misgivings (through long experience I have developed Diogenes-esque levels of cynicism as regards British public transport running to time). 

I was at the bus station with everything I needed in good time, and, mirabile dictu, the bus arrived when it was supposed to. That unfortunately ended the good news. At Gaywood, rounding the curve near the clock tower, an impatiently driven lorry got too close to the bus and damaged one of the external mirrors. The driver had to inspect the damage to see how serious it was, and that was over ten minutes gone with no prospect of any it being made up in the rest of the journey. Fortunately, my delayed arrival at the Harpley turn was not sufficient to actually make me late for the start of the event (10:30), but it was a closer thing than it should have been.

There was a table for me to set up the NAS West Norfolk display board, leaflets and some of my own personal cards, and refreshments were laid on for free (I consumed some of the sausage rolls, which were excellent, and some ginger cake, and also, having been invited to do so, took some more cake away with me). 

NASWN display

Marie Curie Cancer Care were present as major beneficiaries of the NGS, and there was a display showcasing a sensory garden in the Dereham area. Julia, gracious host of our 10th birthday Garden Party, introduced the speeches. There were four speeches by people from Marie Curie Cancer Care, and at the end Lord Cholmondeley (pronounced as ‘chumly’), owner of Houghton Hall, said a few words. 

ceiling section
These pictures were all taken in the room where the stall was.

WindowNGS attendees INGS attendees IINGS attendees IIIPicture Ilight fittingJulia introduces the speechesPicture IIMarie Curie SpeakerJo from Marie CurieMarie Curie final speakerLord Cholmondleigh

Lord Cholmondleigh II
Lord Cholmondeley speaking

NGS attendees IVPicture IIIDereham Sensory GardenMarie Curie tablePicture VPicture VI

In her role introducing the speeches Julia had very kindly mentioned the NAS West Norfolk presence, and many people came to the stall to find out more. Of course this was delightful, but it was also challenging (though I am fairly confident that the only person present who knew just how challenging I was finding it was me). Our branch chair Karan had hoped to be present for the last stages of the event, which would enable her to give me a lift back and to collect the display board for Friday, when a visitng speaker will be giving talks on autism and puberty at a venue near the Hardwick Industrial Estate (unless something else intervenes I will be present for the evening talk). She arrived at about quarter to twelve, which gave me an opportunity to look at the gardens. 

TriptychCourtyardCourtyard IICourtyard IIIAvenueFloor plaque, rose gardenPart of the hallWeathervanesGroundsCiolumn 1Column 2BuildingEntrance to courtyardCupola

Water Feature
This water feature put me in mind of some books by Rachel Caine that I have recently been reading, but unlike in her books these are just statues, not automata!

Water Feature IIstone bathtub and guardiansSC plaqueGravel pathMapWalled Gardenrock formationarchwayClamp IClamp IILong viewGardenscorner treeTreeedge pathThrough the trees

tree temple
This building looks very like a small temple (perhaps given the materials used in its construction, a temple to Artemis!)

Tree temple pedimentTree temple RHTree temple LHFrosted grassGardens IIICourtyard FLCourtyard FRGardens IISnowdropsFrontageTree and stoneworkHoughton Hall IICourtyard blockHoughton Hall

The journey home had a delayed start, because the field in which visitors cars were parked proved to be too muddy for most of said vehicles to handle. Karan’s car was one of those that needed a tractor-assisted start (I will endeavour to remember this next time I find myself travelling behind a slow-moving farm vehicle!). One underway however, our return journey passed without incident. 

Assisted starting

 

Autistic Bill of Rights Shareable Image

Following on from yesterday’s splendid introduction to the Autistic Bill of Rights, stimtheline has now produced this splendid shareable image…

Stim the Line

The Autistic Bill of Rights post that I made earlier has gone over so well, that I thought making an image of it would be a good idea.

These ten “amendments” cover what I see as the most important issues facing our community right now, although these all come from my experiences, which I recognize are not universal. I’d love to get more voices involved, and to put together a community approved Bill of Rights, so if that’s something you’re interested in. or would like to share with a wider audience, please contact me!

Autistic Bill of Rights.pub

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Monday Medley

Links to some of the best pieces from today, includign several about autism, a solution, a problem and some photographs.

INTRODUCTION

This post is divided into three main sections – a sharing section, because there has been some truly outstanding stuff come to my attention today, a problems and solutions section and some photographs. 

THOMAS’ PICKS

To clear the deck for the rest of my shares, which are all around the same theme I start with this little gem from Atheist Republic titled “5 Major Reasons Why Creationists are Dead Wrong

For the rest of this section we will be using shades of #RedInstead because all these pieces relate to…

AUTISM

I start this section with an old post from Autism Mom titled “10 WAYS YOU CAN DEMONSTRATE AUTISM ACCEPTANCE

I have already reblogged stimtheline’s magnificent Autistic Bill of Rights, but I take the opportunity to point you all in that direction once again, complete with a jpg of the suggested Bill of Rights…

ABR

My remaining shares in this section are all from a new find…

TO ASPIE OR NOT TO ASPIE

Not many people have produced three full-length posts in the space of a day that I am eager to share, but this blogger has managed it with the following:

  • Think Different, on of the best pieces I have ever seen on the theme of embracing one’s diversity, in this case neurodiversity.
  • The Nuances of Discrimination, which deals with protecting autistic people from discrimination, and is an absolute must-read.
  • Is Autism a Disability? A wonderful post which tackles head on some of the ways in which the conversation about autism is currently cooked against us from the start. I quote the closing lines of the post as an appetiser:

    It’s a label that holds me down and pushes me into a box I can’t escape from.
    Give me some new words to define me.
    Or better yet, let me define myself.

A SOLUTION AND A PROBLEM

First, a solution to the problem I posed on Saturday in “Failing to Convert“:

Logic Solution

Here is Hamz George’s explanation of why this is so:

Hamz Jeorge 
Jan 6, 2018

Relevant wiki: Truth-Tellers and Liars

Since every statement is false, let us convert them into true statements, and number each statement:

Ann: 1) One of us took the painting. 2) The painting was gone when I left.

Bob: 3) I arrived first, third, or fourth. 4) The painting was still here.

Chuck: 5) I arrived first, second, or fourth. 6) The painting was gone when I arrived.

Tom: 7) Whoever stole the painting arrived after me. 8) The painting was still here.

According to statement #7, Tom is not the thief. #8: Since the painting was there when Tom arrived, he could not have been the last to arrive. Tom must have gone there first, second, or third. #6: The painting was gone when Chuck was there, so he didn’t arrive first. #5: So Chuck got there second or fourth. #4 and #8: As two other members (Bob and Tom) arrived to see the painting, Chuck didn’t get there second, either. So Chuck arrived fourth. #3: This means Bob arrived first or third. #2: Since the painting was gone when Ann left, she didn’t arrive first. Otherwise, no member after her would have seen the painting. So Ann went there second or third and Chuck arrived fourth. But since two other members (Bob and Tom) saw the painting when they arrived, Ann didn’t go there second, either. So Ann arrived third. #3: Therefore, Bob arrived first, and Tom arrived second.

In summary, Bob arrived first. Tom got there next and the painting was still there, so Bob was not the thief, and neither was Tom. When Ann arrived, the painting was still there, but it was gone when she left. So Ann was the one who stole the painting. Chuck arrived last and discovered that the painting was gone.

Yes, Charlotte, you were right.

A NEW PROBLEM FOR YOU TO TACKLE

Another one from brilliant

GCDs

PHOTOGRAPHS

Although not as dramatic as a few weeks back, The Walks, King’s Lynn’s best known park, is still somewhat lacustrine, which has led to it receiving a most unusual visitor – an Oystercatcher, a wading bird which would normally visit a park and for which King’s Lynn would be the extreme South of its possible living area…

gull and oysercatcher
The oystercatcher in shot with a gull.
Oystercatcher
A close-up of the oystercatcher
Oystercatcher - vignetted
a second close-up of the oystercatcher
Oystercatcher BB
What my bird book has to say about the oystercatcher
Oystercatcher range
The Oystrecatcher’s range

As you will see there were a few other fine birds on show today…

Library display
Close examination of this display of local publicity materials just inside King’s Lynn Library, will make my contribution to it obvious – it has looked like that for some time.

lacustrine walksmudlump Imudlump IImudlump IIIBlack muscovyGullsMixed muscoviesMoorhenMoorhensmuscovies x 3Muscovy ducks x 4Muscovy ducksMusocyv ducks x 2Swan 1Swan abd drakeSwans and muscoviesSwans IISwans IIISwans IVSwans VSwanstwo muscovy ducksWater birds

 

Autistic Bill of Rights

What an excellent idea – this deserves to be shared widely…

Stim the Line

If you’ve been through the American school system, you probably remember learning about the Bill of Rights. If you’re not from the US, or you slept through a decade of history classes, what we call the Bill of rights is just the first 10 Amendments to the Constitution. With the exception of the 10th Amendment, 1-9 cover the guaranteed rights of an individual person.

Now, we all know that when the writers pictured a “person”, they thought of a Christian, white, male who owed property, so clearly, the Bill is not as comprehensive as you’d think.

Some groups have used the official Bill as a template, writing things like The Patients Bill of Rights, and The Students Bill of rights, and I think that it’s about time that we made one for ourselves.

Note: Some of these cannot apply to young children, but they should take effect as soon…

View original post 324 more words

Nominated For a Blogger Recognition Award

My official response to being nominated for a blogger recognition award.

INTRODUCTION

My thanks to thetshirtblogger for nominating for a blogger recognition award. This post is my official response to that nomination. This is the tshirtblogger’s own description of what they do:

The Tee Shirt Blogger focuses on diversity in the main, and rather the celebration of diversity, in many ways it is no different to my other blogs, l love the intrinsic rawness and freshness that eclecticism offers us in life for all the good, bad and of course downright ugly.

ABOUT ASPI.BLOG

I blog about a wide range of stuff, with my principal interests being cricket, public transport, nature, science, politics, autism and photography. Nearly all the posts that I produce feature some of my photographs, and this one will be no exception. As branch secretary of the National Autistic Society West Norfolk and an autistic person I have strong opinions on autism and they way in which autistic people are treated, and this frequently comes into the blog. When I share something from another source I will always acknowledge that fact, and link to my original source. If I make an error in a blog post I will correct it, and give the correction at least as much prominence as the initial error had (for an example of me calling myself out go here). For more detail please visit my page “About Aspiblog“.

PHOTOGRAPHIC INTERLUDE – BIRDS

These were taken on Monday:

Cormorant posingMixed birdsCormorantMixed birds 2lapwing and gullFlying cormorantSwimming cormorantdiving cormorantswimming cormorant IIblackbird in treeGulllapwingFlying birdsBlackbird II

ADVICE FOR NEW BLOGGERS

  1. Your blog is yours – blog the way you want to.
  2. Visit lots of other blogs and leave likes and comments – this helps you get noticed and increases the number of people who read your blog.

MY NOMINEES

I could just list my 10 nominees, but I actually going to say something about each of them as well. 

  1. Fargaregardsanna. Anna’s pet subjects include nature, her home town of Trosa and her artwork. As a sample of her work I give this recent post titled “Save Trosa nature – Behåll och stärk Trosas natur“, which features a picture she created based on a comment of mine:
  2. Cindy Knoke. Cindy is a photographer with a great interest in nature. Her most recent post is titled “Punto Tombo~“.
  3. Ioinvaggio. An Italian blog which regularly features lovely pictures. I give you a link to a post titled “Io sono Volpina Blu
  4. The remaining nominees all have some connection to autism, starting with stimtheline, and by way of an introduction I give you “8 Favorite Quotes About Autism
  5. Autism is my Superpower. I was introduced to this blog by someone I will be mentioning later. I point you to the same post that was my introduction to the blog “Environmental (Over)Consciousness
  6. Yarn and Pencil. This blog covers autism, sensory issues, knitting and various other stuff. As an introduction I offer you “Dunster Castle“.
  7. Autism Mom. An excellent blog about one family’s experience with autism. I have an additional reason for including this one – to show that autistic people do not object in principle to neurotypical parents of autistic children writing about their children – we object to neurotypical parents of autistic children writing in a way that contributes to the ‘othering’ of autistic people. Thus the post to which I link to introduce you to this blog is the self-explanatory titled “I Want to be Called Autistic“.
  8. International Badass Activists. This was American Badass Advocates, run by Eve Hinson, when I started following. It has since become first American Badass Activists and then International Badass Activists, while Eve Hinson has become Eve Reiland. I have been introduced to many interesting and important stories by this blog. As an introduction here is her Autistic Union Pledge.
  9. The Unabashed Autist. Although I am nominating this blog, I must also mention that its creator, Alison, also has a creativity blog called Alison Wonderland that is not to be missed. For my introductory post, here is one she put up yesterday titled ““Elaine, do you think I would go willy-nilly into a situation so obviously fraught with potential complications?”
  10. Finally, we come to thesilentwaveblog. This splendid blog is run by Laina, who also has blog specifically for sharing aspergian/autistic writing called Laina’s Collection. As an introduction to thesilentwaveblog I give you my all-time favourite from that site, “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to Neurotypicality“.

PHOTOGRAPHIC INTERLUDE TWO:
MUSCOVY DUCKS

Group shotgrey and blackFourtwoBrownbrown profileblackBrown fron onBrown and blackWhiteThreeWhite II

PARTCIPATION IN THE BLOGGER RECOGNITION AWARD

These are the requirements for those who wish to participate in the Blogger Recognition Award:

1. Show your gratitude to the person who nominated you and provide a link back to the person’s blog.
2. Give a brief story on your blog.
3. Share two or more pieces of advice for beginner bloggers.
4. Choose 10 other bloggers to nominate. 
5. Comment on each blog, letting them know they’ve been nominated and provide a link to your award post.

I will shortly be attending to number 5!

Blogger recognition award

 

 

 

Sunday Sharing Spectular

A mixed bag of a post, featuring autism, politics, mathematics and photography.

INTRODUCTION

As well as the wide variety of ,links that give this post its title it will feature some of my own stuff, notably pictures.

AUTISM

I start with some stuff about Autism, beginning with…

AN ANNOUNCEMENT FROM LAINA

Laina, guiding genius of thesilentwaveblog, has set up a new blog specifically for sharing stuff. Her announcement of this is here, while the new blog can be seen here.

STIM THE LINE

I end this little section with what is a new find for me, stimtheline, with a post titled “Autism is Me“.

GENERAL LINKS

The four links in this section are links that form no natural groupings:

ROBERT LOVES PI ON FULLERENES

This refers to three related pieces that I have seen on robertlovespi. Fullerenes are spheroid carbon allotropes (also known in some circles as buckyballs – both the formal and informal deisgnation pay tribute to the architect Richard Buckminster Fuller who was particularly known for geodesic domes). The three pieces are:

  1. The one that first attracted my attention, titled “The Construction of a Zome Model of a 240-Atom Fullerene Molecule, In Seven Pictures
  2. Then comes “A 240-Atom Fullerene, and Related Polyhedra
    C240 fullerene 2
  3. Finally, “The C-320 Fullerene Polyhedron“.

A TEASER

This one comes from brilliant, though it has a little addition of my own as well:

PN

This is an easy question, even without the multi-choice options given on the site. If the 51 under the dividing line was replaced by 53 it would become fiendishly difficult – can you work out why?

PHOTOGRAPHS

GullPale drakeMoorhenHorse and Cart

Flatfish
This is a twitter find.