- Lifting evidence - 6th March 2025
- Blunderbuss - 5th March 2025
- Slamming on the brakes… - 4th March 2025
During 23 years with the BBC, and a 41 year journalistic career (when he was trained to use clear and simple language, avoiding jargon), bizarre events have often occurred for our Editor, Welshman Phil Parry, and now this is underlined by news of a woman who was “stuck” because a lift was out of order.
Looking back, a lot of the events I was involved in were ABSURD!
In one I actually had to hide in a lift which was broken so the doors were always open, and leap out at the opportune moment to confront an individual.
At the time this seemed perfectly normal, but of course it was totally ridiculous!
I was put in mind of this amazing act for a television Current Affairs programme, by what has just happened to a woman in Swansea.
This poor woman has said she was driven “stir crazy” after being left stuck in her flat for almost a week because of an out of order lift in her building, although I have no idea if the doors were inoperable.
Sonia James has arthritis, fibromyalgia, high blood pressure as well as asthma, and cannot use the stairs in her building, but she is one of a number of residents at the Ty Derw retirement housing complex in Sketty, that were effected.
The housing association in charge of the building, Caredig, said it was conscious of the impact on residents, and fixed the fault as soon as possible, although clearly it was a huge problem at the time.
Ms James said then: “There’s a few of us in the building who have mobility problems which means we can’t use the stairs, so we are just stuck in our flat”.
Obviously this was bad, but not as comical as having to leap out of a broken lift to ‘doorstep’ someone!
The memories of Phil’s, astonishing award-winning career in journalism (during which ridiculous incidents often took place!) while he was gripped by the rare neurological disabling condition, Hereditary Spastic Paraplegia (HSP), have been released in a major book ‘A GOOD STORY’. Order the book now!
