Carer Update – Our New Bathroom

As our first big renovation job to try and make the house more safe, accessible, comfortable and modern, we’ve just had our bathroom replaced with a new wet room. It was only put in at the end of October, so we’re still getting used to it, but our first impressions are very good.

We used a company called Age Care Bathrooms, and I will stress that they’ve had no involvement in this post whatsoever. This isn’t an advert, just a review I felt like doing. We approached them ourselves and we’re paying the full cost out of our own money. I had been keeping an eye on them for quite a while, knowing that we would be doing this job when Mum was ready, as they have a lot of excellent reviews on Google and Trustpilot, and lots of information on their website, Youtube channel and social media platforms.

The whole process from initial phonecall in early September to the installation at the end of October took 8½ weeks, which isn’t bad at all. So I thought I’d write about how it all progressed and give my thoughts on the results. And then going forward I’ll update this post with any significant developments, to keep it all together.

Contents

Design

Two weeks after I first called the company, we were visited by a lovely guy called Dean to survey the bathroom and discuss what we wanted. He was with us for a good 3 hours, but we enjoyed chatting to him, so it didn’t feel that long. He was really nice and considerate towards Mum, understanding her priorities for safety and ease of navigation given that she’s both elderly and blind. He answered all of the questions we threw at him, he advised us on what was best if we weren’t sure about things, and he had a few physical samples with him, so we were able to feel what the floor, grab rails and shower taps would be like, which Mum really enjoyed.

The following evening we were then sent a link to a photo-realistic 3D rendering of how the bathroom would look, which was very helpful, along with a full list of all the products that would be ordered, and a confirmation of the quoted price (which excludes VAT as we’re disabled and it’s being installed for accessibility purposes). Up to this point there’s no obligation to go through with it until you accept the quote.

You pay them in 3 stages – an initial 25% deposit to secure the job, 65% when the installation starts, and then the final 10% once it’s completed (assuming you’re happy with it). So we accepted the quote the following morning, after sleeping on it to be sure, and they called us to take the deposit in the afternoon. The following week we were then notified of the date for the installation, which would be a month away, and we were sent reminders 3 days and 1 day before it started.

Throughout these early steps, everyone I spoke to on the phone was very friendly, and the emails were professionally written and easy to understand. We were also sent 30 automated emails over 30 days from Sam, the company’s founder, with tips and information, some of which were actually interesting to be fair, unlike some emails that businesses bombard you with.

Installation

When the time finally came in the last week of October, we were visited by Justin, who stripped out the old bathroom and fitted the new wet room in just 4 days. It was a big job too, considering nothing was in the same position it was before. Some people just get the company to replace equipment in situ – e.g. a more accessible toilet, or a shower where the bath used to be – but we were both replacing and moving everything, so the toilet and sink could be nearer the door for quick and easy access for Mum.

Consequently, because he had a target time of 5 days and was by himself, Justin had to put in long hours, arriving at 8:30am in the mornings and leaving at 7:30pm in the evenings. He should have had someone with him really, so he didn’t have to do such long shifts, and I gather the company had several people on holiday (I assume because it was half term week), otherwise he might have had an extra pair of hands on deck. But apart from a guy who helped to bring all the products into the house and do a few little jobs on Monday, an electrician who visited for a couple of hours on Tuesday, and another guy who took away some of the waste on Wednesday, Justin was on his own.

So it’s very admirable and hugely appreciated that he gave up so much of his time and energy to ensure we weren’t without a bathroom for too long. He was cheerful and friendly throughout as well, keeping us up to date and answering any questions we had about how he was doing, what he was installing, and so on. So we were very comfortable having him in the house.

It was disruptive for Mum and I of course, but not too much. We were still able to have our usual meals at our normal times, and having a downstairs toilet in a small outhouse plus Mum’s commode meant we were able to relieve ourselves without issue. All of the items to be fitted were stored in my study and my bedroom, as they’re rooms that Mum doesn’t go into, and the boxes were arranged in a very tidy way so they didn’t interfere with my access to those areas. Justin also made sure the upstairs landing was clear before he left each day, and he put a stack of heavy boxes in the bathroom doorway to ensure that Mum couldn’t stumble in there if she sleepily tried to do so in the middle of the night (which thankfully she didn’t anyway, but it wasn’t beyond possibility).

Nevertheless, we were glad that it was all done by Thursday evening. It’s amazing how tired it can make you feel even when you’re not the one doing the work! But we were naturally anxious for it to come out alright, as once you commit to a job like this, there’s no going back.

Justin then popped in for half an hour on Friday morning to do one or two final little jobs, check things over and make sure we were happy before he headed home. We were advised to avoid using the toilet, sink and shower for a bit longer to allow things to settle, particularly the silicon seals. So we began using the toilet and sink that evening, and then the shower the next day.

First Impressions

So far, after using it for a few days, we’re really pleased with how it’s turned out. There are a couple of little things they need to come back and complete, which I’m assured they’ll do soon, but we’re managing fine. It’s going to take Mum a while to fully adjust to it, so she can navigate and use everything independently, because she needs to learn her way around a completely new space that she can’t see, so it was initially a bit frightening for her. But she’ll get there, she’s already making a good start.

In the room we have the following…

A view of the left wall in our new bathroom, with an off-white coloured floor and ceiling, and light grey marble effect panelling on the walls. In the left corner is a raised toilet, with a metal grab rail on the wall and another metal grab rail that has been folded down from the wall on the other side. There are 2 glass shelves above the toilet. In the centre of the wall is a tall white cupboard unit with 4 doors, 2 on each side one above the other. Next to that is a white shower curtain attached to a curved white rail, followed by a fold-down chair with grey cushioning on the seat, back and arms. That enables you to sit down and use the shower, which is attached to the wall on the right.
  • A raised toilet, which is lovely to sit on with its greater height, and the flush buttons are slightly raised so you can feel them. There are also two grab rails next to it, with one on the wall and a fold-down rail on the other side. There’s a toilet roll holder below the rail on the wall, and another one attached to the underside of the fold-down rail. All of the grab rails on the walls are metal with rubber rings at regular intervals, so you can’t slip on them. And the fold-down rail includes a pole with a non-slip foot that touches the floor, so it takes the weight when you press down on it. There are 2 glass shelves above the toilet as well, both of which I can reach easily, and they’re handy for storing things like extra toilet rolls.
  • 2 cupboard units standing together, each with 2 doors one above the other. Each door opens to reveal 2 shelves, which can be moved or taken out if necessary, so there are up to 12 spaces (3 behind each door) to store things in. They’re narrower cupboards than we had before, but they’re big enough for what we need, and by their nature they make you use the space properly by folding or arranging things neatly. Our old big cupboards had got very disorganised. Also, on top of each unit is a tray-like space with raised edges that you can place any discarded shelves into. So I’ve put one shelf in there, that I took out to make room for tall bottles of cleaning products.
  • A shower, which is nice and powerful with easy lever controls. The head can be raised or lowered on the vertical riser rail, and a lever on the shower head can change how the spray comes out. There’s a shower curtain that can be pulled all the way around that corner of the room, which is weighted at the bottom so it doesn’t flap around. There’s also a shower caddy on the wall, and a cushioned fold-down chair, with arms and legs that also fold out with it to keep you stable. The extractor fan is high up on the wall nearby too. It’s all much better than the old shower we had with a tray and glass screens, and the new flooring doesn’t get slippery even when it’s wet, so there’s no need for mats that Mum might trip on. The drain’s easy enough to pop out and clean as well – we weren’t shown how to do that (and I forgot to ask Justin before he left), but there’s a handy video on their website that demonstrates it clearly.
A view of the right wall in our new bathroom, with an off-white coloured floor and ceiling, and light grey marble effect panelling on the walls. In the left corner there is a fold-down chair with grey cushioned seat, back and arms. In the centre is a metal heated towel rail with groups of bars separated by gaps. Then in the right corner there is a half pedestal white basin, with space underneath it and a 2-door mirrored cabinet above.
  • A couple of grab rails, which sit just below the window, take you from the shower to the opposite corner with another fold-down chair, where you can dry yourself, taking a towel from the heated towel rail next to it.
  • A half-pedestal basin, with easy to use lever taps and space below it. We were going to have vertical grab rails either side – one on the right wall and one on the front wall as you face it – so that Mum can use them to stabilise herself when standing at the sink if need be, and turn safely to exit the room. And we were also going to have a horizontal grab rail on the outer wall of the bathroom to help Mum get to the stairs more safely. But the 3 rails provided for those purposes were too long, so Justin has noted on his completion form that shorter ones need to be provided. So hopefully they’ll be installed soon.
  • A two-door mirrored cabinet above the basin, which can be illuminated using lights down the vertical edges. To turn the lights on you wave your hand under the lower right corner, which is pretty cool. There were 2 shelves inside, but one has been taken out to make room for Mum’s electric toothbrush to stand on its charger. There’s only one 2-pin shaver socket in there, so I’m charging mine using an adaptor in my bedroom instead. But that’s alright, as it means Mum can’t get confused as to whose toothbrush she finds in the cabinet when there’s only one there. There are 2 USB ports next to that shaver socket as well, although I don’t know what I’d use them for yet. The shelves are quite shallow, in that they don’t have a lot of depth to them, but it’s big enough to store the things that Mum needs. And now she has that cabinet, she can’t knock stuff on to the floor easily, like she used to do when storing things on the open shelf above our old sink.
  • LED spotlights in the ceiling, in an equally spaced 3 by 2 formation along the length of the room. They light the space really well, it’s not glary because there are no glossy surfaces, and they’re more energy efficient than old lightbulbs. And talking of surfaces, the light grey marble effect panelling on the walls is nice too.
A cabinet above the sink in our new bathroom. The 2 doors are open wide, revealing a grey interior, with a shelf positioned low enough for an electric toothbrush to stand on its charger. A 2-pin shaver plug socket and 2 USB slots are attached to the ceiling of the cabinet. The space below the shelf is still tall enough to carry various items. The cabinet is illuminated by strip lighting down the inner and outer vertical edges of each door. The doors are mirrored on the inside and outside.

So there’s plenty there, along with all the things under the floor or in the walls that Justin had to do. I did see the large underfloor shower tray he put in, which he just managed to squeeze in amongst the joists. And he replaced some old rotten floorboards as well, which is good.

The only other thing we need to do is get a new window and blind installed, as that’s not something this company does unfortunately. But we need new windows all over the house anyway, so the next priority is to find a good installer for that, before we then look at upgrading other rooms. We did speak to a national company last year out of curiosity, whose sales tactics we weren’t impressed by, but we’re now looking at local installers who appear to have a good reputation to see how they fare.

Aftercare

The installation is guaranteed for 12 months, with the warranties on all the products lasting several years depending on the manufacturers. But we can also subscribe to ForeverCare for ongoing support, including an annual service where they do a thorough check of everything and deep clean the room. So we’ll probably sign up to that, because we will do our best to keep it reasonably clean, but being visually impaired we won’t be great at it, so it’ll be good to know that they can come in once a year.

They also have a partner company called Age Care Maintenance, whereby you pay regularly into an account with them, and use that money to pay for handiwork around the house, including accessibility adaptations, plumbing heating, electrics, decorating, small building jobs, flat pack assembly, other odd jobs, etc. So we might up going for that as well, as it could be very useful.

Conclusion

So that’s as far as we’ve got at the moment. As much as it sounds like an advert, we have genuinely been happy with the installation, their professional attitude and friendly service up to this point, and hopefully that will continue. Time will tell how long the various products keep working or stay in good condition of course, but we’ll see how it goes. I have no reason to think there will be any problems.

In any case, I will update this post when there are significant new developments, so that anyone checking this out for a review of the company can see how things have been going. And I’ll highlight any such changes in my future monthly roundups or carers updates.

Toy Story Reviews – Films 1-2

Forget all the soulless AI slop that plagues the internet now. If you want impressive computer animation that has true love and extensive creativity put into it by supremely talented and hard working people, I defy you to do better than the Toy Story films. It’s been over 30 years since the first one warmed our hearts with its stunning visuals, wonderful characters, entertaining storyline, great humour and uplifting music. It achieved that magical balance of appealing to both children and adults alike, and it still holds up as a masterpiece today.

The sequels have proven to be very good as well, and this year we’ve had the 5th instalment in the franchise. I’ve recently bought the Blu-ray for it, despite having never watched it before, purely on the strength of liking the previous films and reading the rave reviews for this new outing. It’s very rare that I buy a sequel I’ve never seen unless there’s very good reason, but that’s how much confidence I have that it will be up to a sufficient standard. I hope I’m right!

So as I’ve got plenty of time to do so, and as it feels like we’ve reached a significant milestone with the franchise, I figured I would rewatch all of the previous films, and then try out the new one for the first time, as well as exploring all the soundtracks and extra features.

There’s so much to look through that it really is like diving into another world, and I’m delighted to see that all of the Blu-rays have audio description available for those who need it. Also note that I’m watching the 2D versions of the Blu-rays, as I don’t have the eyesight or a suitable player to watch the 3D editions. But that’s fine, as the standard versions look amazing anyway.

So let’s get into it all. In this post I’m going to focus on the first 2 films, then in the next part I’ll explore the rest. None of this is sponsored or gifted, I’m just a big fan, and I hope you enjoy looking through it all with me!

Statues of Jessie, Buzz Lightyear and Woody from Toy Story on Paignton Pier.
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The Beatles – Box Set Reviews – Part 1

Over the last decade, The Beatles have released big box sets of some of their classic albums, each containing a lot of fascinating extra material, the most recent being for Rubber Soul this month. Smaller and cheaper versions have also been available with fewer tracks, but I’ve shelled out for the biggest super deluxe box sets with everything in, as I love their music. They were such an iconic group, who produced countless classic songs and experimented in ways that others had never done before, inspiring many artists that followed.

Each set comes with a big hardback book full of insightful information about the genesis of the album, the music scene and the world in general at the time, the writing and production of the tracks, the story behind the album cover, and much more, along with loads of photos. Most of the text is by former radio producer and author Kevin Howlett, but there are introductions from Paul McCartney in all of the sets, additional forewords by Giles Martin (son of George Martin) in some cases, and input from other people here and there too. The print is small and occasionally poorly contrasted (e.g. black text on a red background), but I’m able to use my phone to take photos of the pages and then use my computer to enlarge the text on my big monitor, adjust the colours, and even have it spoken to me if I wish. So I still get to enjoy it.

As for the music, it goes without saying that it sounds fantastic now it’s been remastered, with great clarity to everything, and there’s plenty of variety to keep things interesting. The discs, which are housed in cardboard sleeves, include the remastered stereo and original mono versions of each album, a Blu-ray Audio disc in most cases (one of which also contains videos), alternate mixes for a couple of albums, and 4-track EPs in a couple of cases.

But the most interesting and important CDs in each set are the sessions discs, featuring demos, rehearsals, alternate takes, studio banter and so on. They present the songs in brand new ways, making you feel like a fly on the wall in the studio as you get to hear how they developed. Those discs should be listened to in conjunction with the track by track discussions in each book, which provide a detailed analysis of every song, including the stories and inspirations behind them, the recording dates, the instruments played, the tracks and overdubs on the master tapes, the relevant tracks on the sessions discs and in the Anthology sets, notable live performances and cover versions, and more.

I don’t have the equipment to play the Blu-ray audio discs in surround sound, so I’m only listening to the audio from the CDs, but I’m happy with that. There have also been separate sets for those who want vinyl instead, and while I’m pleased it’s still a popular format, I’m glad they’ve kept it separate, because I don’t buy or play music that way. It irks me when box sets force you to pay a lot extra for a vinyl record in order to get everything on CD, so I’m glad the Beatles haven’t gone down that route.

I therefore want to do a comprehensive review of all their box sets, and mention their other albums along the way for completeness. And because there’s so much material, I’m going to split it across 2 posts. So in this first post I’m going to cover their box sets for Rubber Soul, Revolver and Sgt. Pepper, and take a quick look at the albums that preceded them. None of this is sponsored or gifted, as I bought all the box sets myself, and I hope you enjoy!

Glen kneeling and smiling towards the camera next to a long couch on which are waxworks of The Beatles. Ringo Starr is holding his drumsticks, while the other 3 are playing their guitars.
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September 2026 Favourites

Hello again, I hope you’ve had a good month. I know the news hasn’t been very cheerful lately, but other than sending love to the amazing people at the RNLI (who some people bizarrely get mixed up with the equally wonderful RNIB), and reassuring you that I’ve never used AI to produce my content and have no plans to do so, I’m not going to comment on recent events beyond that.

Instead, I’m going to share my usual mixture of entertainment that I’ve been enjoying, including TV shows, autobiographies, interviews and more, as well as an update on how things are going for my mother and I. None of it’s sponsored or gifted as usual, and I hope you find it interesting.

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Sneaky Sasquatch – Game Review & Progress

Now that I have more time on my hands, since leaving work to become a full-time carer, I’ve been getting back into video games as one of various ways to keep myself entertained. And I’ve started with Apple Arcade, seeing as I own a Mac and was able to use a special offer of 3 months for the price of 1. I played a few games on there during lockdown in 2020, but then stopped and have only recently taken another look at it.

My initial assumption was that I would just write relatively short reviews in my monthly Favourites posts, as I’ve done with other titles previously. But I’m currently playing a game that is absolutely massive in scope and has been keeping me busy for a few months already, so it warrants a post of its own to do it justice. I will move on to try other titles in due course, but I want to see how much of this one I can complete first.

The game in question is called Sneaky Sasquatch. It was one of the original launch titles on Apple Arcade back in 2019, but it’s still getting updates and high ratings now. So I thought I’d take a look to see what all the fuss is about, and it is indeed very addictive. There are some aspects I can’t do very well or at all because of my limited eyesight, but on the whole it’s a lot of fun.

I’m therefore going to share my general thoughts about the game here, along with a more in-depth look at the progress I’ve been making on the various tasks and missions you can do, which I’ll keep updated every so often. None of this is sponsored or connected with the developers in any way, so all opinions are my own, and I hope you enjoy!

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Queen Album Review – Innuendo

By the time the 1990s began, Freddie Mercury’s health was in steep decline due to AIDS, which he was diagnosed with in 1987. The band denied it whenever they were asked about it, and the press couldn’t get definitive proof to back up the suspicions they’d had for at least a couple of years. But Freddie’s increasingly gaunt appearance fuelled the rumours, especially when the band accepted the award for Outstanding Contribution To British Music at the Brit Awards in 1990, to celebrate their 20th anniversary in the music business. A clearly emotional Brian May delivered their acceptance speech, with Freddie only having the energy for a quick “Thank you, goodnight” at the end. It would turn out to be Freddie’s last ever appearance in public, giving the footage particular poignancy in hindsight.

Behind the scenes however, tucked away at Mountain Studios in Montreux to avoid the intrusions of the media, Queen were busy in 1989 and 1990. Freddie was determined to keep recording until it was no longer possible, and the band agreed to credit all the songs they produced to the group as a whole to avoid any arguments, which made things a lot easier.

The Innuendo album that came out of those sessions in February 1991 was an immediate hit, going straight into the charts at number 1 in the UK for 2 weeks, and remaining in the top 10 for a further fortnight. It stayed in the top 100 for 19 weeks altogether until 22 June 1991, dropping out 5 months before Freddie passed away on 24 November. It then returned to the charts for a further 16 consecutive weeks from early December.

Colourful drawings of the 4 members of Queen, from the booklet with their Innuendo album. John is wearing a colourful jester's hat with bells on, and has a pointy white beard and curly moustache. Brian's hair is made of blue and green striped snakes, and his face is partially obscured by a white theatrical mask with colourful feathers sticking out of the top of it, as if he's just pulled it off to reveal himself. Freddie is wearing a black and white chequered top and has cats crawling over his shoulders plus a black cat on his head. Roger's outfit has red and white stripes along with blue stars, while a blue bandana around the top of his head has yellow stars and suns on it, and he has long blonde hair billowing out to the sides.

As an album in itself, it’s a beautiful mix of genres and themes in the way that Queen were renowned for, harking back to their 70s sound at times. But given what we now know about what the band were going through, it’s quite moving too, as there are clear references to the fact that things were drawing to an end. And while Freddie’s condition meant he was too unwell to go on tour, he still found it in himself to deliver some absolutely incredible vocals. So the difficult circumstances certainly didn’t diminish the quality of their work, and it’s widely regarded as one of their best albums.

A blue-tinted photo of the 4 members of Queen posing together, from the booklet with their Innuendo album.

One big frustration, however, is that the music videos have never had a proper release on DVD or Blu-ray, including the last one that Freddie ever recorded. They had been featured on the Greatest Flix II & Greatest Flix III VHS tapes, and some of them appeared on the Japanese-only Greatest Karaoke Hits VHS & DVD releases with on-screen lyrics. But they were omitted from the Greatest Video Hits 2 DVD, and while fans clamoured for a third DVD of videos to tie up all the loose ends, it never materialised. Thankfully they are on Youtube, but I like to have my own personal DVDs and Blu-rays of their work where possible.

So with all that said, here’s the latest in my series of in-depth Queen album reviews, looking at each of the tracks on Innuendo, including alternate versions, music videos, live performances, covers and more where appropriate. I hope you enjoy!

P.S. If you’re wondering why I seem to have skipped an album after my recent post about A Kind Of Magic, it’s because I already reviewed the Collector’s Edition of The Miracle 4 years ago. I have added a few little extras to it, but I didn’t need to write a whole new post.

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August 2026 Favourites

Well, I never thought I’d want a summer to end, but I’m glad that one’s out of the way! Occasional spells of hot weather are welcome, but to have 6 intense heatwaves in close succession over the last few months has been quite exceptional, and ultimately it got too much for my mother and I. So it has set us back a bit, but it also led to an important realisation about being a carer, which is helping me to move forward. You can see the blog post I made yesterday for more about that, it’s been good to get it off my chest.

It means I still haven’t been anywhere exciting for a while, but at least I’m getting out of the house again for local walks and shopping, which I’m happy about. And when I’ve been at home, I’ve been enjoying plenty of entertainment as usual, with a few TV shows, a couple of audiobooks and an addictive game. So I hope you find this latest roundup interesting as usual.

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Caring For Mum – Grief Encounters

Since leaving full-time work earlier this year to focus on caring for my mother, it’s been a difficult few months for reasons we hadn’t expected. We’re doing better now, but it was a rough ride sometimes that has set us back a bit and given me pause for thought.

For one thing, I managed to pick up a foot injury, which stopped me from going out. I believe it was metatarsalgia, as it affected the ball of my foot. Thankfully it’s been slowly getting better with rest and more appropriate footwear, and I am now going out around my local area for walks and shopping again quite comfortably. I still get occasional faint twinges, reminding me to be a little bit careful, but they’re increasingly rare and disappear quickly.

In addition, while I was recovering from that, we had a series of 6 intense heatwaves to deal with here in the UK. Occasional spells of hot weather are fine and very welcome, but this was a relentless period of above average heat and stifling humidity with barely any respite between each wave. Suffice to say it did my elderly mother no favours, and thus required me to stay indoors most of the time to look after her. We both got quite fed up with it, as it felt like it was never going to end! And now it finally has, it’s taking time for Mum to get back into the full routine she had several months ago, as being unable to do much for so long has affected her confidence and independence. So it’s still limiting how much I can go out, as she doesn’t like being alone for too long.

What’s really struck me as I reflect on the summer, however, is that I’ve been on a similar rollercoaster ride to last year in terms of my mental health while caring for Mum. And as I’ve found myself making comparisons and noting the similarities, something has finally clicked in my mind. It was probably obvious to everyone else, but it’s only in hindsight that I’ve been able to see and acknowledge it by name.

I’ve been grieving. I’ve been going through the stages of grief. So I wanted to offload and structure my thoughts with a post and a video about it.

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Queen Album Review – A Kind Of Magic

By the mid-1980s, it seemed as if Queen weren’t on top of their game any more. Their 1984 album The Works had sold well and they were still attracting big crowds to their shows, yet something was missing. The band were tired of the endless cycle of recording and touring – particularly Freddie, who went off to make his own solo album, Mr. Bad Guy – and they weren’t dominating the music scene in the way they used to.

It felt like the band had passed their peak, and they were just sailing along without making much of a splash. But then fate smiled upon them and presented them with the crest of a huge wave in the form of Live Aid in 1985. Their barnstorming 20-minute set of classic hits, regarded by many as the best rock set of all time, delighted existing fans and drew in many new followers who had little to no awareness of them. And most importantly, it re-lit the fire within the group, reminding them what they were capable of and why they were loved.

They capitalised on that success by releasing the song One Vision in November 1985, and then a couple more songs the following March, before blessing the world with their latest album, A Kind Of Magic, in June 1986, which also served as the soundtrack to Highlander. It deservedly shot straight into the UK charts at number 1, and stayed in the top 10 for 16 weeks, out of a total 30 weeks in the top 40.

It was their first chart-topping album since The Game in 1980 and Greatest Hits in 1981, and their final 3 studio albums with Freddie that followed all reached number 1 as well. This was therefore the start of their revival – although, as the Magic tour would be their last set of concerts together, it was also the beginning of the end in a sad way, which Freddie was privately aware of.

So to celebrate the 40th anniversary of this classic album and Freddie’s final ever concert, I’m going to dig through each of the tracks here, looking at music videos, alternate versions, live performances, covers and so on. And don’t forget you can find lots of videos in the playlists that I’ve linked to beneath the table of contents as well. I hope you enjoy!

Double page spread from the booklet with Queen's album A Kind Of Magic. It shows a dazzling, colourful array of cartoon imagery against a black background littered with tiny colourful stars and other objects. The large cartoon imagery across both pages includes representations of all 4 band members, some dancers, a microphone, two bowls of water that each contain a fish, another fish flying around with a wide open mouth that gives it a shocked expression, a rabbit jumping out of a top hat while a frog appears to be diving towards it, a cauldron, a lamp with a large genie that has emerged from it, and a blue book with the word Magic on the cover.
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Taking The PIP – Reform Style

*Sigh* Ok, fine. I steer clear of politics in this blog as much as I can, and have especially avoided mentioning Reform given their deliberately and dangerously divisive way of conducting themselves. But it was inevitable that they were going to start attacking disabled people, as they’re already adept at spreading misinformation and inciting hatred towards immigrants, the LGBTQ+ community and anybody they consider ‘woke’ or ‘lefty’. Of course we were next. I may be visually impaired, but like most people I saw this coming a mile off.

Disabled people are simply a burden they don’t want to deal with, so they want to cut as much support as possible and shift the responsibilities on to others, without caring if people suffer as a result. And it will naturally be a vote-winner amongst their supporters to paint us as fraudsters and scroungers, because they have no respect for us and no understanding of the benefits system (even though any of them could need it at any time, and some of them already do use it).

Me writing a post like this isn’t going to change their minds either, I know that. As much as I’d like them to read what I have to say, consider it thoughtfully and discuss it with politeness and respect, I won’t be at all surprised if I just get insults thrown at me instead. That seems to be what happens if you dare to criticise Reform on social media, and I could easily put together a bingo card of predictable responses. But I’d love a Reform supporter to prove me wrong, showing a willingness to read and think about things with an open mind, instead of just blindly believing what their party tells them.

I also know that their welfare policy announcement and press conference – for which they didn’t consult disabled people as far as I can tell – is just an attention-seeking distraction technique, and me having a rant is exactly what they want to keep that discussion flowing. So I’ve been in two minds as to whether to write anything about it. But I don’t appreciate them using disabled people like myself as a political football, in their latest attempt to try and kick discussions about their dodgy dealings and a pointless by-election into the long grass, especially when it involves spreading lies about us and threatening to wipe out our support. We can’t just roll over and let extremists treat us like this.

So here are my initial reactions to Reform’s proposals, beginning with some clarifications about PIP.

Continue reading “Taking The PIP – Reform Style”