Disability History Month has brought out my inner Hospitaller

William Cash | Issue 2 | Culture & Travel, Magazine

From the Archive

Man in wheelchair for the Not Forgotten Association

Whilst we applaud the genius of medical science, don't think 'special care' is a modern invention. The roots of free hospital care go back centuries, says William Cash

I like to listen to listen to Classic FM whilst mulling over the day ahead during a dawn bath. But I have to confess I do switch off when – and it's usually around 6.45 am - the presenter starts trying to engage me in the fact that it’s some ‘Awareness Day’, or ‘Awareness Month’. Examples of November highlights in the 'awareness calendar' include the ‘Veg Pledge Challenge’ and ‘National Novel Writing Month’, during which participants are ‘challenged’ to write a 50,000 word first draft of a novel. Will this global effort produce the next Balzac or Dickens? I’m inclined to doubt it. Did it ruin my morning bath ? Most certainly. But I am now going to admit I’ve spent the morning at my ancient home of Upton Cressett – closed to the public for tours all visitor season due to the pandemic, and now even closed for holiday lets – putting up posters to celebrate Disabled History Month. It launched on Friday and runs until Dec 18th. Upton Cressett Hall’s Disability History Month posters Nobo...

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