• The Seer’s Stone
  • The Dodo Dragon and other stories
  • About Sheila Crosby
  • A Breathtaking Window on the Universe

Can a One-Legged Woman get a Parking Permit?

You may remember that two weeks ago we left our intrepid heroine (that would be me) stressing about the paperwork to get a disabled parking permit. I got the updated medical information in with some help from Social Services at the Town Hall. We went along with 60 pages of photocopies only to find that we’d left the letter with the case number behind and the social worker would have…

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Crime Scene in our House

I had a horrible fright yesterday evening. Five minutes after Chai came in I noticed red paw prints all over the floor. About 100 I think. My heart sank. Chai must be injured. Julio helped me catch her, and all 4 of her paws were red.What?I examined her as best I could while she squirmed. None of her paws seemed painful to touch, she was just annoyed at being manhandled.I…

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Savagely Attacked by Government Paperwork

OnWednesday I got an SMS: You have a notification at this URL from the Canarian government. Just that. The URL was a “Notification inbox”. I had no idea if this was something about my “Degree of disability” application (surely not so soon) or my taxes (but I wasn’t aware of anything outstanding) or what. The uncertainty was stressful. When I got home I went to the URL and it said…

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Who is that Wild Punk Woman?

My hair has grown back nicely. So much that it looks like I have it this length on purpose. I toyed with the idea of getting it dyed pink or purple now, so that when it grows I’ll have cloured tips. I still think it would look good, but I’m reluctant to use anything toxic. Then a friend who is much cleverer than I am with makeup was painting herself…

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I met Irene Villas and was Inspired

Most British people have probably never heard of Irene Villas. (Spanish Irene is three syllables, with short vowels.) When she was 12 her mother was driving her to school and they caught an ETA bomb intended for someone else.  She lost both legs, one right at the hip, and several fingers.  Her mother lost an arm and a leg. Now she’s all grown up with children of her own. She’s…

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