Tuesday 22 November 2011

SINCE MY LAST POST plus DEALING WITH THE UNEXPECTED

Hi guys, here's my latest post.

SINCE MY LAST POST
My session at Remploy are going well, I am currently on the second of eight modules. This deals with Stress and Anxiety and how to deal with. It is opening up a lot of issues from my past and issues I wasn't even aware of. Last Tuesday, we talked about how stress has affected me in my life, how stress feels and how it manifests itself. Today, we looked at coping strategies and used the Prospective scale on various situations, my homework for this week is looking at four people with stressful situations and thinking how they might better deal with their particular situations.

A day earlier, we went to the Bankside Gallery, it was the last of their current exhibition. But it doesn't matter who the artists are or what they've come up with, we are always impressed with what they come up with.

We also visited Southwark Cathedral twice recently. Their gift shop has always something we might need or have something we think might make a good present for somebody.

DEALING WITH THE UNEXPECTED
Yesterday, Claudia and I went to the Royal Festival Hall to view a photography exhibition that we have gone every year since we first met in 2003. We were really looking forward to it and after having lunch at EAT and looking in Foyles, we went to the RFH and the exhibition. To our confidence sapping shock, A London University was holding it's graduation photography session there, seeing all the graduates, their parents, family and friends made viewing the exhibition a little uneasy. We were impressed by the standard of the photography and the powerfulness of the photographs, it was just a shame that we had all those other people to deal with.

FINALLY
Just a quick thanks to Carol Ali for her comments. She's a recent friend I've made on Facebook. Everyone's comments are welcomed.

Until next time,

Bye for now,

Chris

Sunday 13 November 2011

MY FORTNIGHT plus BONFIRE NIGHT

Hi guys, here's my post

MY FORTNIGHT
Monday, Tate Britain, Apocalypse by John Martin. Brilliant.

Tuesday, Food Shopping

Wednesday, Remploy, NAS Module 1, final session, Vocational Module, homework, what jobs am I suited.

Thursday, Church in the Afternoon.

Friday, visited Claudia's parents in Dagenham, Essex, weather not good for finishing the shed we started on, a fortnight ago. Had a relaxing day.

Saturday, Bonfire Night, SEE BELOW

Sunday, Church in the Morning, Lunch and Homework completion at my mum's

Monday, a visit to Romford in Essex, to buy bits with Claudia for our craft business.

Tuesday, Remploy, NAS Module 2, Session 1. Stress and Anxiety, homework this week, how stress affects me physically.

Wednesday, JobCentre, not a good time, the DEAs were away, the person I was supposed to see wasn't there and I nearly lost my signing in book.

Thursday, Church in the Afternoon.

Friday was Armistice Day, I went to see Tower Bridge raised, then we went to have lunch and go shopping, then watched a DVD called New York, I Love You. A collection of different love stories in the Big Apple.

Yesterday, we saw a couple of musical films on BBC TWO, Carefree with Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers and Singing In The Rain with Gene Kelly.

Today, I went to church for Rememberance Sunday

BONFIRE NIGHT
November 5th is Bonfire Night, when I was a kid, I loved fireworks, the colours, the noise, the general thrill of it. In my teens, I still liked it. But in my 20s, my views and feeling changed, all because of nearly being at the wrong end of a firework thrown by a idiot. I don't know why that some NTs think it's fun to throw fireworks. But if you're near to one, when it goes off, then it affects you. Since that time, this time of year, Halloween and Bonfire Night, is stay indoors occasions. This year, however, was quite scary. There was a organised display in Southwark Park, near where Claud and I live in Bermondsey. But some wallies in the flats where we live, started setting off fireworks, under the balcony walkways. We dreaded to think what might have happened had anyone been walking on the balcony walkways when those idiots set off those fireworks.

I'll be back soon with some more

'Til then

Bye for now

Chris

Sunday 30 October 2011

MY WEEK plus HALLOWEEN

Hi everyone.

Welcome to my post on the past week and Halloween.

MY WEEK
Monday, we went to the Gerhert Ritcher exhibition at Tate Modern, which we postponed from the previous week, we really enjoyed it, we'll need to make a second visit, it's on until the middle of January.

Tuesday, I had my second Vocational Module session at Remploy, really getting into the swing of this now. This module will take another two weeks to finish.

Wednesday was JobCentre day. It was great to talk with the Disability Employment Advisor about progress with Remploy.

Thursday, Church. Checked out my digital camera and it looks like, we could do things with it. I hadn't used it in three years.

Friday, we saw our friend, David. We had a coffee with him to celebrated his 40th birthday.

Saturday, shopping and photographing some of Claudia's handywork for her crafting business.

Today, church, then lunch at my mum's and downloading the photos onto Claudia's crafting page. Brilliant.

HALLOWEEN
Halloween is to me, quite intresting. All the spooks and ghouls and stuff. The only downside is the children coming round doing Trick or Treat. It hasn't happened the last couple of years. But I'd made sure I was in, ready and prepared for it. I don't mind it, but in these troubled times, it could get nasty.

Anyway, short and sweet, this week, but it will be like this, some weeks. Next time, the subject will be Bonfire Night.

See you next time

Chris

Monday 24 October 2011

MY WEEK plus BIG CROWDS

Hi Everyone,

Welcome to my second post.

This is in two parts, MY WEEK and BIG CROWDS.

MY WEEK
On Monday, Claudia and I went to the Royal Festival Hall at London's SouthBank Centre to see the 2011 London Lord Mayor's Appeal Concert, featuring classical music and singing by a variety of choirs. We both enjoyed it.

On Wednesday, I had my first NAS module session at Remploy, we tackled the Vocational Module which looks at what I'm good at and difficulties and challenges in the workplace. It went well. We finish this module this week. The eight modules will take us a minimum of sixteen weeks. Keep you updated on the modules and what they entail.

On Thursday, we went to church, we've been going to Christ Church, Blackfriars Road, London since November 2006 and we were married there a year later, we go twice a week, Thursday lunchtimes and Sunday mornings. We help the vicar there and are the PCC. I also am an authorised Lay Minister there too.

On Friday, we visited Claudia's parents in Dagenham, Essex and helped put up a shed in the garden. It was a nice day.

Yesterday, we went to the Lyttelton Auditorium at the National Theatre, to hear Simon Russell Beale read the Book of Revelation from the King James Bible, which celebrated it's 400th anniversary this year. It took Mr. Russell Beale sixty-nine minutes to recite, very enjoyable.

Today, we went to Tate Modern to view a exhibition of works by German artist Gerhard Ritcher. It was very interesting, but very busy. It's on until the 8th January, so we have time to make a return visit.

That Was MY WEEK.

BIG CROWDS
With me going to things where there are a lot of people, my subject for this post is BIG CROWDS. How I deal with this, is first to have someone with you. Second, to think through where you're going, how you're going get there and can I get home afterwards. Even with the best laid plans, things can go wrong.

Two years ago, a friend of my mother had two tickets for the NFL American Football game between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the New England Patriots at Wembley Stadium.

Claudia and I decided that we'd go just to experience the new Wembley Stadium. We thought this through and with our knowledge of the Underground, American Football and Wembley Stadium, we decided on the following course.

1) We could get to Wembley on the Underground.
2) We knew that with eighty thousand plus people that even though it would be a straight run home on the Underground, it would be very late when we got home, so we opted to book an affordable hotel near to the Stadium for an overnight stay.
3) We tried to get to the Stadium a good hour before kick-off to get programmes, souvenirs and to our seats to get settled.

All went well until we got to Harrow-on-the Hill, to find our hotel, we spend an hour going round in circles trying find, which we did eventually. Then after a hurried change of clothing, we set off for the game at Wembley. We arrived at Wembley with about ninety minutes to kickoff, but the time it took us to get through the turnstiles into the Stadium, there was about a hour to go. We were in the gods at Wembley, we were in the highest possible row. We had no chance of any souvies or programmes, all we came back with were free flags that the Buccaneers (who were the home team for the game) were giving out. At the end of the game, which New England won 35-7. We took an hour to reach the Underground station and another hour to reach our hotel. In the middle of the night, an fire alarm went off at our hotel and we were told we had to pay for breakfast, we bartered with the fire alarm, the hotel relented.

Lessons here:
1) check where you're sitting at the venue
2) print out a map of your chosen hotel
3) leave plenty of  time to get goodies
4) BE YOURSELF

That's all for now

See you next time

Chris.

Sunday 16 October 2011

Hello and Welcome to Isperg UK.

Hello everyone.

My name is Christopher Smith.

This is ISPERG UK.

This is my first blog.

A week ago, I started the United Kingdom Autistic Community on Facebook, because I want to create an community of the UK's autistic people. I then began to realise that I didn't know any autistic people in the UK on Facebook. I now know two people. I then had a chat with my wife Claudia. She suggested I write a blog. Sounded good. I know this may be a little bit stop-start, but I think this may get to more of the people I want it to reach.

Why I started this is simply because i don't think that the UK's autistics have a National community. I find trawling through the internet to find out about how services are in different parts of the country tiresome. Added it which I feel that the UK's autistics are being let down by officaldom, nationally and locally, may it be in government services, health services, education services, children and adult services, employment services.

I myself have only just started on a disabled employment programme.

Sometimes, national and local autistic charities and groups are the problem, to the point where families of autistics simply have to go it alone.

So I'll be blogging from now onwards with thoughts, words and my general look at autistic life in general.

This week, I started my disability employment sessions, initally tackling all the potental problems an autistic finds in the workplace.

I go to church, Thursday lunchtimes and Sunday mornings. This is useful as I help out setting up for the service and clearing away afterwards.

Tomorrow, Claudia and I are going to a concert at the Royal Festival Hall in the SouthBank Centre on the south side of London's river Thames.

Tuesday, we'll be going to an exhibition at Tate Modern.

Hopefully, I'll blog on weekly basis, and tell you my week from the autistic prospective.

Of course, I would like your comments and feedback, so that I know what I need to think about, look at and wonder about.

See you next week

Chris.