Latest / Unbalanced with Cerys Davage / 36. Storytime: Summer 2024 recap

Transcript

36. Storytime: Summer 2024 recap · Unbalanced with Cerys Davage

0:09
Hello everyone, welcome back to another episode of Unbalanced
0:12
with me, Kerry Savage, and welcome back to solo episodes.
0:18
I've missed you guys so, so much and I've really missed
0:20
recording, so I'm really excited to sit down and record again.
0:24
It feels like, I mean, it has been so, so long since I've
0:29
recorded, so it feels a bit weird, but it feels so good to
0:32
be back. Obviously I've been very busy
0:34
over the last few months, but I still feel like I've kept in
0:37
touch with a lot of you. Obviously I've been uploading
0:40
interview episodes and the response from those have been
0:44
amazing. So thank you guys so much for
0:46
listening and for supporting. I've been keeping in touch with
0:49
a lot of you through my Instagram at Unbalanced Podcast,
0:53
which has now reached 700 followers.
0:56
So the support that's been shown on there and the new connections
0:59
that have been made have been so good.
1:01
And so the content on Instagram will just keep coming.
1:04
Hopefully guys will keep enjoying that.
1:07
But yeah, let's catch up. Obviously, a lot has happened.
1:10
I mean, no one's surprised that I've been up to a lot.
1:13
As a very busy gal, I can't wait to sit down and to go over
1:18
what's been happening over the last few months.
1:20
I guess I'm just going to dedicate this episode to
1:23
catching you guys up, sharing some of my experiences.
1:27
I've been on a few trips and I wanted to share some accessible
1:31
recommendations and some funny stories and just fill you guys
1:36
in on why I haven't been doing solo episodes over the past few
1:40
months. But first of all, if you guys
1:42
haven't already seen the announcement on Instagram or
1:45
Facebook, Unbalanced officially has a sponsor.
1:49
Thank you so much to the Cure LGMD 2I Foundation for deciding
1:54
to sponsor this podcast. As you guys know by now, Kelly
1:58
is the CEO of the foundation. The work that they're doing is
2:02
amazing. If you guys haven't listened to
2:04
my last episode for LGMD Awareness Day, I really
2:08
recommend you guys do that and, and just catch up on all the
2:11
work that the foundation is doing to research into a cure
2:15
for LGMD. So once again, thank you so much
2:18
to our sponsor. I thought this would be a really
2:21
good time to sit down and go over the summer because I'm very
2:25
much a summer person and I'm going to miss it so, so much.
2:29
The weather is definitely turning cold now.
2:32
I've got a bit of a cold since coming back from my latest trip.
2:36
So you may be able to hear that in my voice, but I know I'm not
2:39
the only person who's battling some kind of cold right now.
2:42
The weather is changing, we're going into autumn, into winter.
2:46
So what better way to embrace that than to just sit down and
2:50
get all cosy and do a podcast together?
2:53
If I hadn't written down some notes, I honestly wouldn't even
2:56
know where to start. And I think the one thing that's
2:59
helping me kind of go through the timeline of the past few
3:02
months is my photos. Just because I take pictures of
3:05
everything. Anyone who knows me knows that I
3:08
take pictures of absolutely anything and everything.
3:11
Just mostly for the memories, to be honest.
3:13
But obviously a big highlight for me and a highlight for the
3:15
podcast was interviewing Tasha from Love Island.
3:19
And the response from that has been unreal.
3:23
You guys have loved that episode, and I'm so, so happy
3:25
about that. It went really well, although
3:28
you could probably tell I was a bit nervous just because she was
3:31
the most well known interviewee I've had so far.
3:34
But I still can't believe that I interviewed the Tasha Guri who
3:37
is currently smashing it on strictly at the moment.
3:40
I've been keeping up with them online, but I really recommend
3:43
it and it's also a nice way to spend your evenings if you're
3:46
looking for something to watch. Not long after that was the
3:49
Estadvod. And I know I've mentioned an
3:52
Estadvod before, but that one back in May, I think it was, was
3:56
led by a youth organisation. But this one includes all ages,
4:01
all generations and it's just another week of Welsh fun, Welsh
4:05
festivities and competing in the arts.
4:08
So once again I competed with my choir.
4:11
We actually only entered one category because this is Death
4:14
Rod was the first time that we entered.
4:16
So we entered a competition specifically for first time
4:19
choirs and I believe that there were 14 choirs in that one and
4:24
we won and it was the most insane day ever.
4:28
The only thing was, because it was such a long day and the
4:31
campus of the Estadvod was so big, I was absolutely shattered
4:35
by the end of the night. So unfortunately I couldn't make
4:38
it out to celebrate with everyone just because it was
4:41
such a long day of walking around and practising.
4:45
And also I was lucky enough to get some freelance work working
4:48
there all week, so I decided to save my energy where that was
4:51
concerned. So after a couple of drinks at
4:54
the Estadvard itself, I decided to go home.
4:57
But it was honestly the most unreal experience and I'm so, so
5:01
proud to be a part of that choir.
5:03
I also competed in another competition at the end of that
5:07
week and this is with a different choir.
5:10
My mum was a part of that choir as well which is really special
5:13
to be able to compete with my mum.
5:15
We came second in that competition.
5:17
But that time I had learnt that there were mobility scooters
5:21
around the place and I had a contact with the main
5:24
accessibility guy and he hooked me up with a mobility scooter to
5:28
get around the place and he also gave me lifts around the place
5:32
in his own little golf buggy. And that just made such a
5:35
difference because the sad foot is so, so big and there's so
5:38
much to see that the best thing you can do, especially with a
5:42
disability, is to try and save your energy as much as possible.
5:45
Especially if you're competing. Because with the first day that
5:48
I competed, by the end of the day or by the time the actual
5:52
competition rolled around, I could barely stand up for very
5:54
long. So that's obviously not very
5:56
good. So I learned from that and
5:58
definitely made use of the services at the end of the week.
6:02
I guess a lesson I've learned from that is that mobility aids,
6:05
they're there to help you. That's why they're called
6:07
mobility aids. They're there to help you.
6:10
And I guess for me, the Eisteddfod would be one of the
6:13
last places I would want to be seen in a wheelchair or
6:16
something, just because everyone Welsh is there.
6:19
And that includes some old friends, people I haven't seen
6:22
in years, that went to my school, my college, whatever.
6:26
I guess the world of Welsh people is very, very small, so
6:29
you're bound to bump into everyone you know in the
6:32
Eisteddfod. So I guess people seeing me in a
6:35
wheelchair would maybe influence the way they saw me.
6:38
I don't know, I guess it's all a thing that's just in my head.
6:41
But that was definitely a way of conquering my fears of being in
6:44
a wheelchair because I did end up seeing a lot of people I knew
6:48
while I was sat in the mobility scooter.
6:51
So that's one way to conquer your fear, go to somewhere you
6:55
know you'll bump into everyone from your past in a wheelchair.
6:59
So not long after the Eustedvod, I went to the Lake District with
7:03
Tristan, my boyfriend, and his family.
7:06
And that was really nice just to catch up with his family because
7:08
they all live in different parts of the UK.
7:11
So it was just nice to all get together and to just relax.
7:14
I guess the Lake District is a really nice way to detox and to
7:18
recharge. So we took a few walks down to
7:21
the lake around Keswick Town, which I've never been to before.
7:25
And yeah, I just really enjoyed my time there and I had a lot of
7:28
chance to chill and not feel guilty about it.
7:32
I feel like when you just chill at home and don't do much at
7:35
home you feel really guilty, but when you go on holidays or on
7:38
trips or something for the purpose of relaxing then you
7:41
don't really feel as guilty. So that was really nice.
7:44
Some guilt free sofa time was definitely needed.
7:47
The only thing I can say about that trip is I'm so glad I had
7:50
my boyfriend. We had brought my wheelchair
7:53
just because I thought it would be nice and it wouldn't restrict
7:56
me in that way. But I didn't end up using it
7:58
because there was a car park in Keswick town, so we just ended
8:02
up driving into the town because walking would have been a little
8:05
bit too far. But I still managed to do it
8:07
quite a bit of walking. It was like a good balance.
8:10
Something I have noticed is that the more I move around without
8:13
pushing myself too much, the less bad days I have with pain
8:17
or having weak legs and falling. And something I actually thought
8:20
of like at the start of this month was that I haven't had a
8:24
weak leg and I haven't fallen since way before the summer.
8:28
Like I genuinely can't remember the last time I'd fallen.
8:31
But ironically, as I thought that and I thought, oh, that'd
8:34
be great to share for the pod that night, I fell in my flat on
8:38
the way to the kitchen. So never mind, that will never
8:42
go away. The random chance of just
8:44
collapsing anyway. But I'm glad it was just at
8:47
home, I fell really awkwardly on my foot and I was really scared
8:50
because it was the night before I was due to go on holiday with
8:54
Tristan. So I'm really glad that I hadn't
8:56
broken my foot. It did recover pretty quickly.
8:59
I'm just a bit of a drama queen in that way.
9:01
But anyway, back in the Lake District, I'm really glad that
9:04
my boyfriend drove and helped me around the place.
9:08
And the Lake District is hilly in some places, so it was just
9:11
nice to have him there. And maybe that's why I didn't
9:14
feel like I needed the wheelchair because I knew that I
9:16
had his arm and he knows me so well that I don't need to ask
9:20
him for anything. So he just knows, like if
9:22
there's a bit of a gradient in our walk, he knows to hold on to
9:25
me differently and things like that.
9:26
But bless him, he had to drive all the way up and all the way
9:29
back from Cardiff and I think the whole trip on the way back,
9:33
including only two stops took us about 9 hours.
9:36
So bless him, he's a warrior for that.
9:38
But it was so worth it. It was such a nice week and as
9:41
soon as I got back it was my birthday the next day.
9:45
So I am now 23 years old if anyone cares.
9:49
For me, birthdays are quite a big deal.
9:51
But this year felt really different because this is my
9:53
first year not with my family on my birthday.
9:56
Usually I'm either at home or on holiday with my family, but this
10:01
time I was just in the flat with Tristan and it was very
10:05
different. But it was just really nice to
10:06
relax. And then I went to lunch with
10:09
Becca, my sister and Tristan and my mum, guy, my grandma.
10:13
Then in the evening I did bingo lingo with some home friends.
10:18
So that was my birthday celebration.
10:20
It was just nice to see friends because especially over the
10:23
summer as well, it's so difficult to make plans.
10:25
Also, it was my last night of freedom I guess, before I
10:29
started my full time job. Literally two days after my
10:33
birthday I started my full time job.
10:35
So August was definitely a hectic 1 and I'm not even done.
10:39
Oh yeah, I'm not done. So hold on tight I guess.
10:43
I'll tell you how my job is going.
10:45
So everyone's so nice. I have to start with that.
10:48
The place itself is huge. It is quite surreal.
10:51
And the fact that I'm actually working at the BBC now is quite
10:54
cool to say. I'm still kind of adjusting to
10:57
that new world and still getting used to how things work.
11:00
But the first month I say was spent doing training and just
11:04
getting things set up because obviously these things can take
11:07
a lot of time and there was a lot of things for me to pick up
11:10
on. But I'd say I'm pretty much in
11:12
the swing of things now. It's going really well.
11:14
I've just been really enjoying some new experiences and
11:17
throwing myself into things that I literally have no clue what
11:21
I'm doing. But then somehow by the end I
11:23
figured it out and I know what I'm doing.
11:25
But also, a new thing that I've had to do a lot is to let people
11:29
know about my disability because, you know, this is a
11:32
brand new set of people who are still getting to know me, let
11:35
alone my disability. And I've struggled with the fine
11:38
line of I don't want to introduce my disability to
11:41
people straight away, you know, for them to, like, base me off
11:44
of that, you know what I mean? Like, I don't want them thinking
11:47
that, oh, yeah, that's the girl with a disability.
11:49
Like, I just want that to be an extra thing.
11:50
Like, Oh, yeah, that's Paris, but she also has a disability.
11:54
So it's been interesting for me personally to, you know, set
11:59
boundaries with people or just have to advocate for myself and
12:03
to let people know when I need help because they have no idea.
12:06
You know, like, I've just started.
12:08
They don't know my needs. So I have to be the one to tell
12:11
people what I need and what I can and can't do.
12:15
So yeah, that's been really interesting.
12:17
We did a social drinks just to like get to know each other.
12:21
But unfortunately the venue had put us all in the basement,
12:24
which didn't have a bar. So obviously I couldn't really
12:26
go back and forth up and down the stairs to get drinks.
12:29
And doing stairs alone is a problem, let alone with drinks.
12:34
So I'm really glad that I just vocalised that I'm not very well
12:38
with stairs and everyone was more than happy to go and get me
12:41
some drinks and bring them back down for me.
12:43
So that was really nice. Luckily the stairs were quite
12:46
sturdy stairs with hand rails. So it was OK to do like, you
12:50
know, I just obviously had to take my time, but I didn't want
12:52
to like make everyone move up to the ground floor just for me,
12:56
you know, especially being a new person, I don't want to seem too
12:59
demanding. Like I don't want to be too much
13:01
of an inconvenience. And I know, I know people will
13:04
say it's not an inconvenience. Like we're more than happy to
13:08
accommodate what we do around you.
13:09
But it's a difficult situation to be in sometimes.
13:13
Like, it isn't like internal battle with any disabled person
13:16
who has to like change plans for everyone just to suit them.
13:20
I know that, you know, the right kind of people will be more than
13:22
happy to help you with that. But you still can't help that
13:25
feeling of knowing like, oh, we're, we're here for me.
13:28
Like we're only doing this because I need it.
13:31
So I guess I just didn't want that feeling on top of trying to
13:34
get to know everyone on my first work drinks event, you know?
13:39
So maybe next time I guess, you know, we've got Christmas coming
13:42
up. Oh guys, Christmas is still feel
13:44
so far away. But I guess we're in the season
13:47
where we can say that Christmas is coming up now in the run up
13:50
to planning things for Christmas, I can let them know
13:53
now beforehand, can you just make sure that this place is
13:56
accessible? I would really appreciate it if
13:59
you guys like research the place beforehand or whatever or ask
14:02
the staff to put us on somewhere ground floor somewhere, step
14:05
three or someone with an accessible toilet.
14:07
Just little things like that may not mean much to a non disabled
14:11
person, but it really just makes all the world's difference to a
14:15
disabled person. So that's something I've learnt
14:19
from starting this job, is to just just let people know what
14:23
you need and then at least they know them for the future so that
14:26
you're not caught in difficult situations where it's too late
14:30
to say something. And you felt like you should
14:31
have said something before, you know what I mean?
14:33
Yeah. OK, let's move on.
14:35
So within a week of me starting my job, I went to Nice, as one
14:40
would do. You know, after starting a job
14:41
and coming back from the Lake District and celebrating my
14:44
birthday, I thought, no, I need another trip.
14:47
It's just really bad timing just because I've been freelance or
14:50
unemployed for the past few months and I didn't have a
14:54
single holiday or trip planned. So I haven't really done much in
14:58
that time. But then obviously as soon as I
15:00
start my job, I have things lined up that I booked, you
15:03
know, months ago. This, it's just been unfortunate
15:06
timing, but I went to Nice with three of my girlfriends from
15:10
home and it was such a good time.
15:14
I'm just going to go through things that I think is worth
15:17
mentioning on this podcast and you guys will see how good my
15:20
friends are. So for this trip, I decided to
15:24
take my wheelchair with me, which I don't always do because
15:28
sometimes if I'm just going on a relaxing holiday, I won't need
15:31
my wheelchair. But for Nice, I know that it's a
15:35
city but also right by the sea, so I knew that there'd be a good
15:38
chance of us walking around a lot.
15:41
So I'm so, so glad I took my wheelchair just because I was a
15:45
bit nervous about taking it in the beginning and I wasn't sure
15:47
whether I should. And it was my friends that
15:50
convinced me to take it. They said, whereas if you bring
15:53
your wheelchair, at least that won't restrict us from the
15:56
activities and at least we won't have to stop all the time to
15:59
make sure you get some rest or whatever.
16:02
At least if you have your wheelchair, we can just keep
16:04
going. Which is such a good point.
16:06
But I was like, you guys are going to be the ones that are
16:08
going to have to push me in like 30° heat.
16:12
But I honestly don't know what I would have done without it even
16:15
just going around the airport. And we flew from Bristol.
16:19
They took care of my wheelchair so well.
16:21
I have no complaints at all because I know that there are a
16:23
lot of horror stories out there about airports damaging
16:26
wheelchairs in the hold and things.
16:28
But I was very, very lucky in that sense.
16:31
I was able to keep my wheelchair up until the gate and the staff
16:35
took me an extra way to make sure that I was able to just get
16:38
straight on the plane without having to walk ages from the
16:41
gate. So that was really nice.
16:43
And then when we got to Nice, they were waiting there with the
16:45
wheelchair ready for me and then we were able to just go straight
16:48
away. We only took carry ONS with us
16:50
and no extra luggage, just I guess to save money.
16:53
But we were only there for four days.
16:55
So we all had our bags and I, I'd stuck a couple of bags on my
16:58
lap while I was on the chair, which was I guess a pro for my
17:02
friends. You know, if anyone had a really
17:04
heavy bag, I'd be able to carry theirs for them.
17:07
So we went straight there from Nice airport to the Airbnb we
17:11
were staying at on the promenade.
17:13
And that walk was pretty long and I don't know whether I would
17:17
have been able to do it, especially with a really heavy
17:19
backpack on my back. And it took us ages to find
17:23
gluten free foods. The first day we really
17:26
struggled to find someone that did gluten free to the point
17:28
where I ended up not even having lunch.
17:30
So my friends all had lunch and then I went to the local
17:35
supermarket to buy some Lays crisps that were gluten free and
17:39
some fruit. And we went to our Airbnb and I
17:43
was kind of low key panicking about where we were going to eat
17:45
for dinner or for the rest of the holiday because nowhere
17:48
seemed to cater for gluten free. And luckily a couple of
17:51
restaurants on the promenade not far from us.
17:54
Like close enough for me to be able to walk without the
17:56
wheelchair. Did gluten free, but it took a
17:59
while to convince the chefs and to convince the staff at the
18:02
restaurant that what they had were naturally gluten free.
18:05
And this happened throughout the whole trip.
18:08
So for example I would go to a restaurant and ask do you have
18:10
gluten free and they would immediately say no we don't, not
18:13
suitable for celiacs. Go and find somewhere else.
18:16
And I was just so shocked and confused because most of their
18:21
menu would be naturally gluten free anyway.
18:23
For example, all the meat is gluten free, all the fish, all
18:26
the veg, they had rice. And unless the chips are fried
18:30
in the same oil and the same pan as things with gluten, then the
18:34
chips should be fine. So I had to interrogate them a
18:37
bit and just be like, well, this is gluten free anyway.
18:40
And they'd be like, oh really? I'm like, yeah, you know, how
18:43
are you preparing this? Like, are you preparing it on
18:46
its own chopping board? Are you cooking it in its own
18:48
pan or whatever? And they'd be like, yeah, yeah,
18:50
yeah. I mean, why would we cross
18:52
contaminate it with anything? And I'm like, well, that means
18:54
it's gluten free then. And then they'd be like, Oh
18:56
yeah, well, I guess so. Only if you're happy with that
18:59
though. And I'd be like, well, yeah, if
19:01
you guys cook it naturally gluten free, then why wouldn't I
19:04
be able to have this? And it wasn't until I think
19:07
about the third night that someone from a restaurant in Old
19:11
Town Nice, where we went for food that night, explained to me
19:14
that it's a policy in France that if a celiac asks to eat at
19:19
the restaurant, if they don't have a separate kitchen for
19:22
gluten free, then that means they can't cater to celiacs.
19:25
Which blew my mind because that explains why I struggled so much
19:30
in Paris last year to find gluten free.
19:32
And I know a lot of people have said to me since I came back
19:35
from Paris, this is like a year and a half ago now, people are
19:38
like, yeah, there's loads of gluten free places.
19:40
We should have recommended you places.
19:42
I didn't know that at the time. So I guess that's their policy.
19:45
But I'm not expecting them to have a separate kitchen for
19:48
gluten free. Like that would be insane.
19:50
Like they would have to have a separate kitchen for dairy, nut
19:54
allergy, you know, all the different types of allergens.
19:56
Like it just doesn't make sense. So I've learnt now that if I go
20:00
to a restaurant in France and if I just pick out my own meal from
20:05
the menu that I know would be gluten free and just double
20:08
check with them how they prepare it, then it's fine.
20:11
There was one place where they couldn't guarantee that the
20:13
chips were gluten free. So I had steak and salad and
20:16
then some rice which was really random but.
20:19
You can't afford to be fussy when you're a celiac,
20:21
unfortunately. So I'm just glad that I was fed
20:24
and I had Lay's crisps to keep me going through the day and I
20:28
had some fresh fruit in the morning, so I really couldn't
20:31
complain. But at least I've learnt that
20:33
lesson now. But it's just weird that that's
20:35
only a rule in France, because I haven't struggled in Italy or
20:38
Spain or anywhere else. It's just a France thing, which
20:41
is, yeah, interesting. One of the days we were a niece,
20:45
we took a trip to Monaco. Oh, guys, I need to tell you
20:49
this, this awful story. If the girls are listening to
20:53
this, I'm sorry that I'm putting you through the trauma again.
20:56
So we took the local tram from our Airbnb to the main train
21:00
station to go to Monaco from Niece.
21:03
So we needed to take the tram for two stops to Nice train
21:07
station. And what we didn't realise was
21:10
that you need to always buy your ticket at the beginning of your
21:13
journey. You can't buy it on the other
21:15
side because there's gates and security.
21:17
So I decided to take the wheelchair with me because I'd
21:21
heard how hilly and just how much walking is required in
21:25
Monaco. So I knew it was a good idea to
21:28
take the wheelchair. But when we got to the train
21:31
station after taking the tram and having to squish the
21:34
wheelchair onto the tram, which is a whole experience in itself,
21:38
and me having to say I don't see all, I don't see all for people
21:41
to move out the way for me. By the time we got to the train
21:44
station, we realised that we needed tickets to get through to
21:47
the other side, but the ticket machine was on the other side of
21:51
the gate so there was physically no way of us getting through.
21:54
The place was swarmed with security and they came up to us
21:57
and asked us for our tickets and obviously we hadn't bought them
22:01
yet so they fined us all €60 each, 06 EUR.
22:07
And then the guy looked at me, sat in the wheelchair and went
22:11
oh but not you, you're fine. Why on earth would he do that?
22:14
I mean I'm obviously not complaining but why are people
22:17
in wheelchairs? Even though I did the same
22:19
mistake as the rest of the girls?
22:21
Why are we exempt from this fine?
22:23
Obviously I paid my friends back all equally so to make sure that
22:27
we were all paying the exact same amount, but I'm just really
22:30
intrigued why I wasn't required to pay the fine.
22:34
So if anyone knows that rule, please let me know.
22:36
But obviously the girls were absolutely fuming that they had
22:40
just wasted €60 just on a tiny mistake that we could have
22:45
bought the ticket at the beginning of the journey.
22:47
But we weren't the only ones. Like I looked around and there
22:50
were so many other tourists that were getting caught out.
22:52
So I don't know if it's a thing that like security know that
22:55
tourists have no idea how the ticketing works in France and
22:59
they just, I guess, take advantage of us.
23:01
I have no idea. But that definitely soured our
23:04
day for a minute. That wasn't a good start.
23:06
And we had been so adamant to save money that we decided to
23:10
take our own lunch with us so we wouldn't spend anything.
23:13
In Monaco, we were so tight about trying to stay in a really
23:17
low budget, but here we were just splashing out on a train
23:21
ticket. There were tram ticket even like
23:23
2 stops. Anyway that was very unfortunate
23:28
but we tried to push it to the back of our minds like try to
23:31
focus OK, we're still going to have a good day, it doesn't
23:34
matter like it's happened now. I guess it's something I can
23:37
share and educate other people. If you guys didn't know, buy
23:40
your tram tickets at the beginning of the journey, even
23:43
if it means having to wait for the next tram.
23:45
Honestly it's not worth it. Anyway, we got to Monaco
23:49
eventually. The train was absolutely packed,
23:51
but we managed to get there quite early so that I had a spot
23:54
on the train with my wheelchair and by the time we got to Monaco
23:58
train station we were very disappointed with how
24:01
inaccessible it was. We had to climb up loads of
24:04
stairs. There were a lot of escalators.
24:06
Some of them didn't work or they were lifts, but only up to
24:10
certain levels and never to the ground floor.
24:13
And it was just very confusing for me.
24:15
I was just thinking how would a wheelchair user that isn't able
24:18
to get out of their chair? Like how would they navigate
24:21
this train station? Like in order for us to leave, I
24:23
had to get out of my wheelchair and my friends had to carry the
24:26
chair up several flights to stairs.
24:29
And to be honest, I know that Monaco isn't the most accessible
24:32
place, but I know that people have done it and we were
24:35
determined to make it work. And if it wasn't for my friends,
24:38
I wouldn't have survived in Monaco in my wheelchair.
24:41
So we were trying to plan out the best way to go around and
24:45
see everything in one go without having to go back on ourselves.
24:49
So my friends took it in turns, pushing me around in the
24:53
scorching hot sun to the points where their hands were literally
24:56
slipping on the handles of the wheelchair and I just gave them
24:59
tissues to grip onto the wheelchair better.
25:02
It was an amazing day. It was just a really cool
25:04
experience to see Monaco. And obviously it's a very
25:07
touristy place so it was very busy and we had a lot of stairs
25:10
from the public at me in a wheelchair.
25:13
So I don't know whether it was because people were wondering
25:15
how I was doing Monaco in a wheelchair, I have no idea.
25:19
It is very very hilly and I would only recommend going to
25:24
Monaco in a wheelchair with someone that is willing to push
25:27
you around. Maybe my friends just didn't
25:29
know what they were getting into going into Monaco with me in the
25:32
wheelchair, but they pushed me around all day and they didn't
25:35
complain once. I would have whinged so much.
25:39
I would have been so annoying if I was the one pushing.
25:43
I don't know how they did it without complaining, but they
25:45
are honestly amazing and I'm so, so grateful to them for giving
25:50
me the best experience of Monaco.
25:52
And I kind of felt like a Princess, to be honest.
25:54
I was just getting pushed around.
25:56
I was carrying people's bags and I did get out of the wheelchair
26:00
a couple of times and walked a bit just to give my legs a bit
26:03
of exercise. And also I just didn't want my
26:05
friends to overdo it. And obviously we still took a
26:08
lot of breaks, you know, got some ice cream and filled up on
26:11
a lot of water because it was such a hot day.
26:14
But we did it. We ended up going back to the
26:17
train station through the other side because there are two
26:20
entrances and exits and the other side was a bit more
26:22
accessible. And apparently that's the bit
26:24
the disabled people should be using.
26:26
But we made it work. And I'm glad we went out the
26:28
other way to begin with because it literally takes you out to a
26:31
complete different part. So we kind of did like one big
26:35
loop of Monaco. And yeah, the pictures are
26:38
insane. They're up on my Instagram at
26:40
Keras Davage, if you want to have a look of Monaco and Nice.
26:43
But yeah, for the rest of the time we were in Nice, we just
26:45
relaxed and went to the beach club that was just opposite us
26:50
and ate some Nice food. And yeah, it was a really nice
26:53
time. And it was a good balance of
26:56
walking around and also relaxing at the beach.
26:59
And we did go into Nice Old Town a couple times and I didn't take
27:03
my wheelchair there. And I'm glad I didn't because a
27:05
lot of the streets are very narrow.
27:07
But also to get into any of the shops on the streets, there's
27:11
always a massive step. So it just would have been
27:13
really awkward with the wheelchair.
27:15
And I didn't mind it too much because there were plenty of
27:17
places to sit down for a coffee or a brunch or something.
27:21
So we made it work. And it was nice to take the
27:24
wheelchair back with me as well and go through the airport sat
27:27
down. Once again, both airports took
27:30
very good care of my wheelchair, so I have no complaints and I
27:34
have nothing but respect and gratitude to my friends.
27:37
And then, yeah, I've just been working over the past month,
27:40
celebrated a few birthdays. Becca, my younger sister turned
27:44
18 and my mamgi turned 90. It was just really nice to
27:49
celebrate with them. Tristan turned 24.
27:53
We went to a really nice steak place in Cardiff City centre
27:56
called Pasture, which has such a long wait.
27:59
Like, if you want to book a good time for an evening, you have to
28:03
book, like, months in advance. I'm not kidding.
28:05
I think I booked this one back in March for September.
28:08
That's how long I've been waiting.
28:11
And it was a surprise for him, and he loved it.
28:13
And it was just a really nice evening.
28:15
Yeah. What else?
28:15
Just been doing. Not much else other than
28:17
working. I still hadn't really had any
28:20
time to record in September, which is why I kept rolling out
28:24
the interviews. Obviously it's been a very, very
28:27
busy month in August, but also in September as well.
28:31
I still had a lot of editing to do for the episodes that went
28:34
out in September and the episodes that will be out this
28:38
month. I've also been very lucky to be
28:40
interviewed by Pranhanda, which is the afternoon talk show.
28:45
And if you guys remember, I did Henna last year, which is the
28:48
evening talk show on S4C. So I did the afternoon one this
28:52
year as just a kind of catch up about Unbalanced and how it's
28:56
been doing. People are very intrigued about
28:58
the fact that I managed to get Tasha somehow on my podcast.
29:01
So I did an interview with Pratham Da and also a couple of
29:05
Welsh speaking magazines as well.
29:07
And yeah, I've just been really lucky to get these interviews
29:11
and to raise more awareness about Unbalanced and LGMD.
29:15
But yeah, I guess not long after that I went to Gran Canaria with
29:18
Tristan, which was my last holiday, I promise.
29:21
And I only came back at the beginning of this month, so this
29:24
one is a bit more recent. I didn't take the wheelchair to
29:27
Gran Canaria and I'm glad I didn't because we stayed at a
29:30
resort that was fully accessible.
29:32
I honestly cannot recommend this place enough.
29:35
It was the Lopezan Costa Meloneras Resort in Mas Palomas
29:40
in Gran Canaria and it was just such a nice holiday and this was
29:45
our summer holiday for this year.
29:47
Last year we went on a holiday in May and I felt like that was
29:50
way too early because as soon as we finished that holiday it felt
29:54
like summer was almost over. So we decided for this year to
29:57
book a holiday at the end of summer and I'm glad we did.
30:02
But the weather was so good out there that it was a bit of a
30:05
shock when we came back to Wales and the weather had completely
30:08
turned. It was really cold.
30:10
But yeah, I'm very, very grateful and lucky that I was
30:13
able to do this holiday with him.
30:15
It's also almost our five year anniversary.
30:18
At the end of this month, we'll be five years together, so this
30:21
holiday kind of feels like a celebration for that as well.
30:25
Any excuse to celebrate something, you know?
30:27
And yeah, we didn't really need to walk very far.
30:29
We still did a lot of walking within the resort, but we didn't
30:33
need to go miles and miles away to shop or something.
30:36
Everything was in the resort, you know, we had a local
30:39
supermarket just opposite the resort.
30:42
There were quite a few clothes shops.
30:43
So yeah, I really just couldn't recommend it enough.
30:46
Where there were steps, there were also ramps and it just felt
30:50
really modern and it didn't feel like I was using a ramp
30:54
especially made for disabled people.
30:56
It just this was a ramp that most people were using anyway
30:59
just out of convenience. It just felt quite nice and
31:02
normal apart from 1 little hiccup.
31:05
I have to mention this to finish off my antics.
31:08
So we hadn't really had a problem with getting sunbeds
31:12
until the weekend and it got really busy over the weekend.
31:14
By the time we got to the pools, basically every sunbed was
31:18
booked up and we couldn't find anywhere to chill for the day.
31:22
We had spent so much time walking around all the different
31:26
places that there were sunbeds that my legs were really really
31:30
hurting. Which kind of like defeats the
31:31
point, you want to be able to relax.
31:34
And we noticed some sunbeds with disabled batches on them.
31:37
So we went to reception and booked a couple of sunbeds for
31:40
the next day. And from what we understood, the
31:43
sunbeds were booked specifically for us.
31:46
But turns out they weren't because we couldn't find them
31:49
anywhere. We couldn't find any sunbeds the
31:51
next day that were free with disabled badges on them.
31:55
So we went back to reception. Well actually Tristan went back
31:58
to reception and left me sitting in a Cafe because I was
32:02
absolutely shattered from walking around, which was why we
32:05
had booked the sunbed in the 1st place to avoid walking looking
32:07
around. But there we go and another lady
32:10
came out and said oh sorry, there was a bit of confusion
32:13
from last time. Turns out that the sunbeds are
32:17
books but not under specific people's names so it's still
32:21
first come first serve. But she said don't worry, I'm
32:24
going to find you some sunbeds to make sure that you guys get
32:26
to just sit down and not have to worry about this anymore.
32:29
So bless her, this lovely woman who also bought us drinks while
32:32
we were waiting by the way. Legend.
32:34
She went off to find us some sunbeds, by the time she found
32:38
some she took us there in a really good spot.
32:41
We finally had somewhere to relax and they both had disabled
32:44
things on them because obviously Tristan needs to help me around.
32:47
The disabled sunbeds weren't any different to the non disabled
32:51
sunbeds, they literally just were booked and had a badge on
32:55
them. So yeah, the lady left us and it
32:57
was all great and I was so happy we could finally relax.
33:00
And our neighbours, the family next to us on the sunbeds, they
33:05
weren't on disabled ones. They turned to me and said, oh
33:07
sorry, these are reserved for disabled people.
33:10
Actually they said handicapped people, which is I guess a
33:13
European term for being disabled.
33:15
They haven't quite caught on with the wit disabled yet.
33:19
And I said, Oh yeah, don't worry, these are for us.
33:22
The lady took us here and they've been kind of saved for
33:25
us because I need this and I have mobility issues.
33:28
And the lady just kind of stared at me.
33:31
And before she even said anything to me, the family were
33:33
talking amongst themselves in their own language about me.
33:36
And it was so obvious to the point where I literally like
33:39
just stared at them until they explained themselves to me.
33:42
And the lady was like, oh, sorry.
33:43
I just, I guess we were just expecting someone old or someone
33:47
in a wheelchair to come and and get these sun beds.
33:50
I was so taken aback by that comment that she said.
33:54
I tried to educate her just a little bit and just say, well,
33:57
if someone was disabled, they could be really young and
33:59
healthy looking, but they're actually not like me.
34:03
And she was like, yeah, I guess so, and just turned away.
34:07
But I just for some reason, in that moment, I felt the need to
34:10
prove to them that I had a disability, which was so weird
34:13
because usually it's obvious when I'm walking.
34:16
Like the whole time I was there, obviously I was wearing shorts
34:19
or something short that showed my knees and my leg obviously
34:23
turned in. So people were staring at me all
34:25
the time around the resort when I was walking, but when I'm
34:28
stood still or when I'm sat down, you can't tell that I have
34:31
a disability, which is why I like to say that my disability
34:35
is visible and invisible at the same time.
34:38
So it was just such a weird one. But they left us alone.
34:41
And this was like our last day as well.
34:43
And it was on LTMD Awareness Day, which is quite ironic, but
34:47
I also had a great time, I guess, celebrating that day.
34:51
I did a little Q&A on my Instagram and Balance podcast,
34:55
which is still available to view.
34:57
If you missed it, I've saved it as a highlights on the page.
35:00
Yeah, it was just nice to connect with a lot of other
35:03
people with LGMD online during that day.
35:06
And just, I guess it just let us all know that no one's alone in
35:09
this and we're all in this together, in this weird time
35:13
where LGMD is affecting us. But also we don't want it to
35:16
take over our lives. So hopefully the advocating and
35:20
the educating will continue. And then it won't just be on
35:24
LGMD Awareness Day that it'll just keep going.
35:27
But yeah, I missed that holiday already so much.
35:30
I know we'll definitely be back. And I was saying to trust on
35:32
this place is future proof because it's also accessible.
35:36
I know that we'll be back a lot. And also the gluten free food
35:39
was great there. They had several restaurants and
35:41
the buff food was really good. Like it was amazing.
35:44
They had loads of different genres of food every night and
35:46
every morning for breakfast. But for me, it was kind of like
35:50
fun to see whether or not I'd end up being sick after every
35:53
meal from gluten just in case. But I made it out of there fine
35:58
without being gluten. Thank goodness.
36:00
And it's also possible to request gluten free food cooked
36:04
separately if you're worried about cross contamination, which
36:07
I definitely was. So I would talk to the chef in
36:10
the morning to request a gluten free pizza or whatever for the
36:14
evening and they would cook that and prepare that completely
36:17
separate and gluten free for you.
36:18
So that was really good and honestly love that place so
36:22
much. Can't wait to be back and I
36:24
can't believe Summers over now. I think that's it.
36:27
I think those are the highlights that I wanted to share with you.
36:30
It's going to be really nice to just settle back into a routine
36:33
to be able to record solo episodes again.
36:36
And if you guys want any extra tips or recommendations for
36:40
travelling or for holiday, for anything that I've mentioned in
36:44
this podcast, then please feel free to message me on at
36:47
Unbalanced Podcast on Instagram. And if you guys want to keep up
36:51
with my personal life, I guess you're more than welcome to
36:55
follow me on at Kerris David as well on Instagram.
36:58
But yeah, it's so nice to be back.
37:00
I'm not going to keep you any longer.
37:02
I've been rambling for too long now.
37:04
My voice is about to snap. I've enjoyed this so much.
37:08
This feels like closure on summer.
37:10
Thank you so much to cure LG and D2 I for sponsoring this
37:13
podcast. Please don't forget to rate this
37:16
podcast 5 stars and to give it a follow and to press the little
37:20
bell button next to the follow button so you're notified every
37:23
time a new episode comes out. I will be back with you very
37:27
soon with another interview episode, so don't go anywhere
37:31
until then. Bye.