It is impossible not to have been deluged by news regarding the Royal Wedding. One morning we watched interviews with designers who didn't design the dress talk about the dress they didn't design. You can't make this shit up!! I did find myself interested, briefly, in reading about Prince William's preferred cake, all full of chocolate, booze and spongy cake fingers - in a moment of food fantasy, I'd have easily shoved Kate aside and said 'YES!!' while spreading cake all over ... oh sorry, this is a dignified event. However, in amongst all the minutia of flowers and guest lists and details about the food, there is a little fact that seems to have slipped the notice of the media.
It seems that the No Problem Orchestra will be playing a set at the Royal Wedding. They are an Austian band made up of 8 members who have intellectual disabilities, several of whom have Down Syndrome. They are playing the wedding reception. Right now, as I write this, there is a news piece playing discussing the music for the event and there is no mention of the Orchestra. I'm not sure why.
But, in any event, I celebrate their accomplishments.
Here's to what's probably going to be the most spontaneous and fun moment in a heavily scripted affair. Here's to the moment when disability takes the stage, I just hope that those in attendance hear more than the music. I hope they hear the lovely sounds of inclusion.
6 comments:
That is incredibly cool. Thanks for sharing this.
Wonderful. Happy Wedding Day!
Just watching the wedding and wondering about how disability shows up or doesn't. Thanks for this piece.
the knapper, there is a section providing access and support to people with disabilities ... but I've only seen one small report about that bit of inclusion - it's certainly not a focus or even considered a story. An odd ommission given the detail with which this is covered.
Thank you for this uplifting piece to, what I consider to be, an occasion of gross misuse of resources. I am saddened to consider that over $400,000 is being spent on a dress when there are people in this world who don't have the resources to adequately cloth their families and $80,000 being spent on a cake when there are children who will go to bed hungry tonight. I don't know how this can be justified. I must be getting old! I'm glad there is a bit of a redeeming aspect to this affair.
Having spent several hours becoming as excited about the wedding as everyone else in Britain I feel kinda sad this wasn't mentioned. I would have liked to have known about it.
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