Claire Morgan 18/08/2023 Member Stories

Since we last spoke, I’ve done loads. I went to Holland with the Dragons group. We had a lot of free time and did a few trips to Amsterdam. Karaoke was good! We did three performances for the hotel and had free drinks afterwards which was nice.

Katy and me had a lovely room with a balcony!

I’ve been at Katy’s for a few days and only got back yesterday. We went out and about together a lot. A few events, shopping and visiting friends. We got the bus most of the time. It all went ok

I’m not allowed to go on the bus without a friend or family because of my epiliepsy. I’d like to start having a go on my own so that I can get more confident and be independent before I get married next year. I’m working on my Mum about it. She worries about me. I think it will be good if I don’t have to rely on people to take me on the bus or give me a lift.

I’ve got a bus pass and it works well for me. I use it a lot. I’ve not had any problems with it. I had a new pass recently because I lost the old one. It’s got a few years before it expires. I’ve heard from friends that they’ve had a few problems with their passes which stopped working.

I’ve seen my fiancé a lot lately too. We’ve had our Save the dates and our invitations. We’ve passed on a lot of our Save the dates already. It’s been easier to hand them over to people who live close, but the new stamps are a real problem. I think you have to get the new barcode ones online. I’m not sure if you can get them from a Post Office because I don’t know if there’s one close enough. The new stamps are expensive.

We haven’t done much about finding a place to live after we’re married. There’s so much to do with the wedding plans. We’ve put our names down with a Housing Association so hopefully something will come from that.

40 years of the All Wales Strategy

I don’t know a lot about the All Wales Strategy. I don’t think it’s good that people with learning disabilities lived in institutions years ago. I rely on getting out and about to keep my mental health good. It would make me really unwell If I had to stay in and couldn’t have a choice about going out. It was bad enough with covid lockdowns when there was no freedom!

I think it’s important that people should have the choice about where they live and who they live with. I’m glad I can make those choices myself. If me and my fiancé can’t get a place together in a good area though, it will have a big affect on us. My fiancé works early hours shifts and he has to be close to work.