As one of DAO's Diverse Perspectives commissions, we've asked John O'Donoghue and Crippen to produce The O’Crypes - a cartoon blog about a family based in Westsea, a seaside town in the south of England.

Episode 4 - This week we hear from Gramps who watches the Olympic opening ceremony with the family

29 July 2012

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Some things never change.  I can still remember when the Olympics were staged here last.  In the midst of Austerity Britain 1948.  Now what have we got?  Austerity Britain 2012. It didn't look like that on Friday night though. I started cringing when the Opening Ceremony kicked off.  Elgar, Jerusalem, maypoles, farm animals, plump rural peasants - it looked like a Country Fair from a bygone age. I was all for switching the telly off then and there. But then it...

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Episode 3 - This week we hear from Nan who takes them all to the pictures

22 July 2012

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We’ve all been a bit down since Jood’s had her benefits stopped. Brad’s been telling me about all of these cases he’s found where ATOS have stopped other disabled people’s benefits. So they’ve stopped taking their medication  in protest, had heart attacks, committed suicide. I don’t think it’s going to come to that in Jood’s case, but you never know with young people. She’s definitely got a lot quieter lately. And she was so...

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Episode 2 - This week we hear from Brad who decides to become an activist

16 July 2012

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Jood’s had her benefits cut! Unbelievable! Mum is so thick sometimes – you’d think she had learning difficulties, not Jood. I told her ATOS were dodgy. She thinks just because they’re sponsoring the Paralympics they must be OK. But every day I read on the internet about some other poor crip being told they’re fit for work and getting their benefits cut. And then they top themselves, or die of a heart attack, or the stress of it all kills them. Because their...

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Episode 1 - This week Mrs O’Crype introduces her family

9 July 2012

Blog

Brad’s been really getting on my nerves. He knows we can’t afford tickets for the Paralympics. He says he wants to see Oscar Pistorius – calls him the Usain Bolt of disabled athletics. Only he doesn’t use the word ‘disabled’. He doesn’t even use the word ‘Paralympics’ – he calls them the ‘Cripalympics’. I do hate that word – ‘Crip’. Even if Brad does use it. I reckon it’s a phase he’s going...

Comments: 8