I had a very pleasant weekend – Ian came down from Leicester specifically for a suit fitting (he’s one of the ushers at our wedding) and spent the weekend with us, as we went about our usual weekend activities i.e. cooking, visiting family, family visiting, blah.

While we were having lunch in Da Vinci, a cafe in Newport, we were rather bemused to have this guy come up to us and hand us a business card with a message saying something like “I’m deaf and I don’t expect charity, but I need some money, can you help?”.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Asking US three for money because he was deaf was NOT a good idea.  After all, we’re Deaf, and we don’t go round asking for money because we’re Deaf!   The guy noticed that we were deaf, and started signing to me, and I signed back.  He said that he was from London, so I promptly informed him that I work in London.

When he went, the three of us wondered: if he needs money, where did he get his clothes from, as he was quite well dressed; where did he get the money to get a train from London to Newport and; how did he afford to get these business cards printed (they were quite good quality)?

On a more serious note, I was saddened to see a Deaf individual resorting to begging.  He said he wasn’t begging, but he was.  There is no other word for it.  Also, I felt that it put us Deaf people in a bad light; reinforcing the idea that Deaf people can’t cope with life, money, get jobs etc., when we certainly can achieve a great deal in our lives.  That kind of activity isn’t going to improve Deaf people’s lot, and personally, I think it’s quite a lazy enterprise: just get a job or enrol on a course or something.