Luminate is closing! It’s the end of an era, but it’s certainly not goodbye. Luminate may be retiring, but I’m not. I’m moving on to the next phase of my working life, so you will still see me collaborating with organisations doing what I love. Work to me is not really work – it’s more a calling, a passion, a commitment. I will be focussing on continuing my work as an associate with other organisations, delivering disability consultancy and training workshops for better understanding of invisible disabilities, HIV and AIDS, and to help stop the stigma. The Luminate email address will be discon ..read more

During 2019, I spent some time in Canada. There, I met with Deni, Chris and Lori of ACNS (AIDS Coalition of Nova Scotia). We had fascinating conversations, including contrasting the experiences of living with HIV in Canada and the UK. And I had the honour of meeting Joe Average, the well-known artist and HIV activist. Winning many awards and honours over the years, Joe was commissioned to design a new coin commemorating the 50th anniversary of the decriminalisation of homosexuality in Canada, and was invited to meet Prince Charles and Princess Diana during their Vancouver visit for ..read more

Thank You to ALL who Supported Luminate It’s been such a pleasure to work and interact with many organisations in my capacity at a Disability Development Consultant. My thanks go to everyone who has supported me and provided services throughout this time, including marketing by Chantal Cornelius and her team at Appletree, and PR services provided by Angela Belassie at PR The Write Way. And because this is not the end but the beginning, let me share my favourite quote with you: Life is not about being afraid of the storms, it’s about learning how to dance in the rain. So, I ..read more

Parting is such sweet sorrow. Luminate has been a tremendously rewarding platform to work from. Projects like guiding organisations on adaptations for their disabled employees and preventing stigma; talking at events about my story, highlighting how HIV is not necessarily a death-sentence;  speaking on topics like discrimination, resilience, overcoming a challenge, LGBTQ+ and more. Plus, of course, Luminate helped me to promote my book – Ripples from the Edge of Life. It will still be available here, and there will be a fabulous new video explaining how Ripples came into being created by ..read more

If I say the word ‘Prosopagnosia’ to you, do you know what it is? Is it: A country that borders Outer Mongolia? A favourite dish on some Greek islands with pomegranate as the main ingredient? A condition also known as face blindness? The correct answer is ‘c’. When I was diagnosed with HIV and AIDS in 2006, my AIDS-defining illness was Progressive Multifocal Leukoencephalopathy, which effectively paralysed me. I have (mostly) recovered the use of my arms, legs and speech, but some bits of my brain have not recovered. Later, I was diagnosed with dyspraxia as a result of the Encephalopathy. Mo ..read more

This morning, my coffee machine broke. Disaster! But then I realised that, in the grand scheme of things, it’s just a coffee machine. There are other ways to make coffee. Being confined in our homes means that life has shrunk down to what’s happening immediately around us. All those trivial things, like broken coffee machines, irritate or upset us more. Whereas the bigger picture is still going on outside. We need to gain perspective. I said, “Get over it, Roland!”, got out my cafetière and ground coffee, and reminded myself that I’m lucky to have my warm, comfortable home. Heightened Emotions ..read more

Are you the parent or carer of a university student? If so, let them know that this year University Mental Health Day falls on Thursday 5 March. In fact, it’s always the first Thursday of March. These days, an increasing number of students experience poor mental health. The NHS’ mental health services are struggling with resources, in crisis and unable to quickly help far too many people. So it’s important to help create more awareness of both University Mental Health Day and to start talking about the increasingly poor mental health in our young people. I hear from parents that having a child ..read more

This time of year can be a time of reflection for many of us. We tend to look at how far we’ve come in our disabilities or conditions, and to celebrate that we’re still able to enjoy life and share it with our loved ones. As it’s almost Christmas, I’ve linked some song lyrics (some rather loosely!) with the importance of being aware in the workplace of situations like discrimination, diversity and disabilities. It’s a light-hearted view in keeping with the season, so I hope you both get something from them and enjoy them. Wishing you a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Enjoy these sev ..read more

I was flabbergasted when I learned that I had been shortlisted for the 2019 National Diversity Awards (NDA). https://nationaldiversityawards.co.uk/ To be one of 124 nominees after a record number of nearly 30,000 people entered, is no small feat. I had long been campaigning for disability rights after beating the odds to recover from a late diagnosis of HIV back in 2006.  I had been given just two weeks to live; this was a turning point in my life, to say the least. It spurred me on to set up my own company, Luminate, as a Disability Development Consultant, to raise awareness of HIV and hidden ..read more

Did you know … that most oil rigs don’t’ have female toilets? Do You Treat Everyone the Same? Young, white and female? My oil and petroleum client is an organisation that has been formed by the merger of three different companies, from three different countries. People have been brought together from all around Europe, from some very different cultures. They have different working styles and habits, which was making ‘buy in’ a challenge for the management. All the differences seen between these groups of people working together lead the organisation to ask me to deliver training in ..read more