Strictly Come Dancing 2012 Launch Show

This season Strictly Comes Dancing turns 10. That’s a fair old age for a reality show. In the competitive early Saturday evening slot, can it maintain its viewing figures without constantly reinventing itself and alienating its core audience?

With Moira Ross as its executive producer since 2010, the show became increasingly reliant on props, gimmicks and shock tactics, from sequin-covered wellies for a Countryfile presenter to aggressively heterosexual competitors snogging very camp judges as part of the choreography. It was hard to recognise the dance being performed. The audience share grew considerably, but many diehard fans became disenchanted. The name Strictly Come Dancing appeared less and less appropriate.

Ross moved on at the end of the 2011 competition, to take charge of the BBC’s massive flop The Voice. So what of this year? Will things be any different under new co-executive producers Andrea Hamilton and Glenn Coomber?

Clearly, the show needs a good mix of celebrity contestants. But it’s disappointing to see that all the usual suspects are there yet again: The Ex-Eastender (Sid Owen); The ITV Daytime Presenter (Richard Arnold); The Older Man (Johnny Ball – and be prepared for endless jokes both about his age and about him being the father of Zoe Ball, host of It Takes Two); The Boy Band and Girl Band Members (Nicky Byrne and Kimberley Walsh); The Retired Sportsman (Michael Vaughan); The Fat One (Lisa Riley); The Ringer (Denise van Outen); The Game Old Girls (Jerry Hall and Fern Britton); The Actor You Recognise When You See Him (Colin Salmon); and The Children’s TV Star (Dani Harmer).

The only novelties are two medal-winning 2012 Olympians (Victoria Pendleton and Louis Smith). It’s a shame no Paralympians were included in the cast, but this was probably both impractical given the training timescale, and a mercy given some of the less sensitive jokes and comments they and we might otherwise have been subjected to.

The purpose of Saturday night’s 65-minute launch show was for the celebrities to be introduced to their professional dancing partners. This is a slim enough premise, so it was padded out with group dances, training VTs, and a performance by Mika.

The partnership reveals were fairly unspectacular, and in the main uncontroversial. The only one that seemed a little...odd...was the pairing of actor Colin Salmon with professional Kristina Rihanoff. There’s around a foot difference in their heights, so even when Rihanoff is wearing heels the differential will be substantial. It’ll be interesting to watch how she compensates.

There were some very good things in the show. New judge Darcey Bussell performed a beautiful rumba-based American Smooth with Ian Waite, which incidentally showed yet again why Waite should never have been dropped from the programme’s roster of professional dancers. A professional group cha-cha was good on the whole, although some of the lifts went a bit awry. As seems to be traditional in Latin dance, the men were either wearing wifebeater vests or had forgotten the purpose of their shirt buttons.

 But there were also some bad things. Some very, very bad things.

For instance, one thing that had not changed from last season was Bruce Forsyth’s level of presentational skills. It’s really not very professional to have to read the name of the programme’s new judge from a cue card, on camera. Moreover, actor Dani Harmer, wearing one of the show’s typically skimpy costumes, looked thoroughly uncomfortable when he put his hand on her back and asked if it was cold. And I’m not sure the situation was much improved when he moved his hand to the top of her head, as if leaning there (she’s not a tall woman).

Speaking of costumes, the Wardrobe department continue to struggle with dressing anyone over a size 12. They’d put Fern Britton in what can only be described as a pink sack with fringes, while Lisa Riley had been adorned with a stretchy blue wraparound curtain and a brooch. Neither flattered.

The programme finished with a group dance including both professional and celebrity dancers. It’s really too early to say definitely who shows promise, but Louis Smith, Dani Harmer and Colin Salmon all looked good. Nobody obviously had to be pushed into place, which is always a good sign! So much depends on the developing partnerships though, and what happens over the three weeks of training before the first full competitive week of the programme.

It would be wonderful if the new season of Strictly meant we’d be seeing more dancing and fewer pointless VTs, backstories, poorly delivered jokes, autocue and cue card fumbling, inappropriate behaviour, and so on. I’m not hopeful. But I’ll still be watching!

Fighting in the disability movement

So, look. There are a lot of rucks going on inside the disability movement at the moment: arguments breaking out, people blocking other people on Twitter, not-so-subtle digs in articles and blog posts...the list goes on.

I don't know anyone who likes it like this. Most people I've heard from hate it, as I do.

Many things contribute, I think. But in happier times, when we weren't being assailed by the Coalition's attacks on the jobs, incomes and even lives of many disabled people, we wouldn't be trying to pull together in one movement. There are many of us within the anti-Coaltion, anti-WRB movement who would otherwise be fighting and leading our own campaigns. We like to be in charge. We find it difficult to be told we're wrong. (And yes, before you all tell me, I'm fully aware that I'm as guilty of that as anyone else!)

And many of us operate on a hair-trigger anyway: quite aside from the aforementioned Coalition actions, things like pain, fatigue, and other effects of our impairments can have a huge impact. Then there's family issues, again potentially so stressful and painful.

And if you're putting yourself "out there" on social media, you tend to attract trolls: no-marks with nothing better to do than hurl abuse, and who don't care that there's a real person at the other end. The sensible thing to do, of course, is to block them. But people like us don't like not getting the last word....

So what can we do? These are my ideas - grateful for any more (but no obscenities please ;-)

1. Try to remember who the common enemy is! Hopefully this will get a bit easier once the summer recess is over and they're back in session.
2. If you feel yourself losing your temper, take 10 seconds before hitting Enter. Could the person at the other end of the Twitterchute feel just as bad as you? Almost certainly!
3. Remember to disagree with the opinion, not the person.
4. It can be hard to tell somebody's mood in writing. Did they mean that as a joke? Sarcastically? Sod's Law says that inevitably we'll take things the wrong way!
5. Block trolls. Early and resoundingly. Don't let them wind you up.
6. Finally, we have to support each other, and pull together. We need everyone for this battle.

"Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much" ~ Helen Keller 

 Now, if I could only learn to take my own advice...

Edited to add: This excellent post by @markoneinfour looks at these issues from a specifically mental health perspective.

Every breath you take....

My friend got a Brown Envelope from the DWP yesterday (they deserve the capitals).

DWP envelopes are terrifying: they contain our futures. Another friend spends most of her time in bed, barely able even to sit up. The letter in her envelope demanded that she attend a medical to decide whether she can get ESA. She was given two alternative locations: the nearer is on the third floor with no lift (she uses a wheelchair) and the other is 2 hours journey away, on inaccessible public transport.

The first person I mentioned got good news: following an appeal, she's in the support group for ESA (as she should be). But she's still uneasy. She can't help worrying that the DWP are filming her on "good" (read: less bad) days.

I confessed that I worry I'm being filmed through the windows of my house, if I do something like lift the kettle. She felt the same.

Others joined in the conversation. It began to seem that this was quite common.

Certainly, it's good to know I'm not alone in my paranoia. But isn't it dreadful that so many people are being made to feel this way?

Constant media coverage of benefit scroungers, and misleading use of statistics. Politicians with anecdotes of someone they met once who was really quite fit for work, honest guv. Dob-your-neighbour-in hotlines.

Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they're not out to get you.

MS research roundup July 2012

Another research roundup, and so soon! But there's just been so much interesting research to tell you about.

We already know that someone's risk of getting MS is linked to where they were brought up: very roughly, the further away from the equator, the higher the risk. Another known risk factor is having antibodies to Epstein-Barr virus (EBV): people with MS are far more likely to have EBV antibodies in their blood than people without.

British researchers investigated the distribution of EBV infection, and found it was the same as for MS: infection was more common further away from the equator. We still have a lot to learn about what causes MS, but this could be a piece in the puzzle.

I've often written before about Vitamin D. Its importance is showing up over and over again in any number of different conditions, including MS. Now an Australian study is under way, to see whether taking Vitamin D can prevent MS. The trial will test 3 dosage levels of Vitamin D against placebo in people who've had a first attack of MS-like symptoms, and will run till 2016. It'll be interesting to see the results.

All of us with MS are different: each of us has different symptoms and a different disease course. We can look at averages, though. American researchers studied over 1000 people with MS. They found that RRMS does not inevitably develop into SPMS, and the onset of progression is more dependent on age than on how long the person has had MS.

As neurons are damaged by MS, cell metabolism is disrupted and there is a buildup of sodium. British and French researchers found that sodium buildup measured by MRI could indicate the degree of MS progression. In those with more advanced disease, sodium buildup in the motor cortex is correlated with greater levels of disability.

This is early-stage research, but could become really useful in monitoring disease progression. With advanced disease, sodium was raised even in apparently normal white matter. 

A group of researchers in Germany have discovered an antibody found in the blood of about half of people with MS that is not found in people without the condition. The antibody's implications aren't fully understood as yet, but in rodents it binds to and damages brain cells known to be important for neurological function.

In time this may lead to a blood test for MS and/or a treatment preventing the antibody from binding to brain cells.

Researchers in America have used monoclonal antibodies to stimulate myelin repair in mice with a condition similar to MS. Similar work had been done before, but using far larger molecules than in this research.

They found the molecules were effective, and quick and cheap to synthesise. They were also stable and unlikely to cause an immune response. Much more work needs to be done, but this could in time be a suitable candidate for human trials.

The nerve damage in MS is caused by T-cells, part of the immune system. American researchers are about to start clinical trials using an extract of sea anemone venom, which they've found is a highly selective suppressant of T-cell activity. They hope it should prevent further damage to the nerves.

It's already known that fingolimod (Gilenya / Novartis) reduces relapse rates and disease progression. Swiss researchers have now shown that it's also associated with a reduction in the number of lesions, and slowing of the rate of brain volume loss. Not everyone is able to have fingolimod, but for those who can, this is just another benefit of another hugely useful treatment.

Modafinil (Provigil) is approved to treat excessive daytime sleepiness in narcolepsy and some similar conditions. It is also used for fatigue and sleepiness in MS. In a small trial, people taking modafinil had no significant change in disability level over 3 years, while those not on modafinil did have significant changes.

A much larger study is needed, and particularly comparisons made between taking modafinil with different disease modifiers. This is a really interesting result though,with a lot of potential.

Taiwanese researchers carried out a meta-analysis of studies on the effect of cranberry juice on UTIs. The results confirmed that cranberries do protect against UTIs. The effect was particularly strong in women with recurrent UTIs. There were,however, concerns about the amount of sugar in cranberry juice.

Finally, some excellent news: Canadian researchers have found that people with MS are less likely to get cancer than the general population, particularly bowel cancer. The risk level varied for different types of cancer.

Further studies are needed to find out why people with MS have these different levels of cancer: it may be because both MS and cancer involve the immune system. Still, good news is good news!

Back to the institutions?

I suppose we're getting used to living with austerity. Rising unemployment. Prices going up while incomes don't. Half the shops in the High Street boarded up.

We could argue from now till Christmas about the government's economic policy and its priorities in spending. The fact is, as things stand, there isn't enough money to go round. And that seems to be impacting particularly on disabled people.

I've written before about the many problems with the benefits system for people who are disabled or have long-term illnesses. One thing that's remained sacrosanct, though, is our right to live independently in the community (obviously with appropriate support) - rights that are now enshrined in law.

That's why it's disturbing to see that Worcestershire Council plans to bring in a "maximum expenditure policy", imposing a cap on the cost of social care packages. People with significant care needs are likely to be forced into care homes.

The campaigning disability group We Are Spartacus's new report, Past Caring, analyses the council's proposals. As well as criticising the council’s current consultation exercise, the report shows the proposed policy:

• Will mean disabled people get less support
• Will mean a deterioration in care standards and quality of life
• Could lead to disabled people forced into residential care, even if they don’t want to
• Could force disabled people to rely on charity for the help and support they need
• Goes against the recommendations of the Government’s flagship white paper on social care reform
• Could be open to a legal challenge

There's no question that local authorities currently face huge challenges. But forcing disabled people to leave their homes, costing far more money in the long run, is not the answer.

We're having to get used to a lot of new things. They say you can get used to anything. But not this. Never this.

The Medical Ethics Association, the Telegraph, and the LCP

The Daily Telegraph recently carried an emotive, distressing story. Six doctors had written to the paper suggesting that the Liverpool Care Pathway (LCP), a structured system of care ensuring that people in their final days or hours of life are in as little distress as possible, was being applied inappropriately to reduce strain on hospital resources.

The aim of the LCP is to unite members of the multi-professional team concerning continuing medical treatment, discontinuing treatment, and comfort measures in the last days and hours of life. All non-essential treatments and medications are stopped. Treatments may be started for symptoms such as pain, nausea, or breathing problems.

In some cases, for instance if pain can't be controlled, terminal sedation may be used. As patients receiving this type of deep sedation are typically in their last few hours of life, artificial hydration and nutrition are not given: the patient wouldn't be eating or drinking significant amounts anyway, and fluids may make distressing symptoms like respiratory secretions and pulmonary congestion worse. Palliative sedation therapy doesn't hasten death: it just makes it less uncomfortable.

There were several things in this article I...took issue with, shall we say. I'll list them below.

• It describes the LCP as a "controversial scheme". Quite the contrary: reviews have shown it to be effective and viewed positively by patients' relatives.One study found it reduced the extent to which doctors used medications which could shorten the patient's life. It is national policy in the UK, and now being introduced in other parts of the world.
• Predictably, the article makes an issue of the withdrawal of artificial hydration and feeding. As I said above though, someone in their last few hours of life wouldn't be eating or drinking anyway, and hydration could actually make symptoms worse.
• The six doctors concerned are "experts in elderly care". That doesn't make them experts in palliative care, a quite separate speciality.
• The doctors claim there is no “scientific way of diagnosing imminent death.” Well no. Not to the second. But doctors and (particularly) nurses generally have a pretty good idea of who's on the way out. If a patient's condition improves, they're taken off the Pathway and start the appropriate treatments again.
• The six doctors wrote their letter in conjunction with the Medical Ethics Alliance, a Christian organisation founded to promote pro-life policies. I don't know if they're all members, but presumably they're sympathetic to its views. The MEA believes that terminal sedation and the withholding of artificial hydration and nutrition is euthanasia. I think I've shown above why this is not the case.

If, as the doctors suggest, informed consent is not always being sought for going onto the LCP, then that's wrong and needs to be sorted out. But it's no excuse for scaremongering like this from the Medical Ethics Alliance and the Daily Telegraph. The LCP is good, compassionate, and evidence-based. It'll be a damn shame if people are too frightened to use it.

Tightrope #spoonie

Are you healthy? Pretty much? Imagine you're standing, there, wherever you are just now - living room, office, street - and someone runs over and gives you a shove. Of course, you're shocked. Sure, your arm might hurt a bit where they pushed you. But basically, you're OK. Your feet are firmly planted on solid ground.

But it's different for me, and other spoonies like me: people with dreadful, crippling fatigue caused by a long term illness such as MS, CFS/ME, lupus, cancer etc. You have to imagine we're standing on a tightrope, already a little wobbly. The result is that when we get that unexpected shove, we start wobbling furiously, and quite possibly fall off.

This, of course, was an analogy. The tightrope is our fragile health. The smallest thing - a few hours' shopping, or a sniffle that you'd shrug off - can send us crashing to the ground and put us in bed for a week.

And while we're walking our eternal tightrope, so much of our concentration is taken up with juggling: how much energy do I need to save to go out tomorrow? Is this just a bad day or am I getting a bug? I hope I can sleep tonight! How long can I put off the washing up, to save energy?

If you have a spoonie in your life...please don't push them?