Sam: Please note that this episode includes a trigger warning. We’ll be discussing ableism and some of the challenges of being a disabled parent.
-Music-
Sophie: Hi, I’m Sophie-Marie Odum, Lifestyle Magazine’s editor.
Sam: And I, of course, am Samantha Renke broadcaster and disability rights campaigner and a very big welcome to The Motability Lifestyle Pod! In this podcast, we invite our friends from the disability community into the studio for a conversation about, well, how we can all live our best lives, particularly when navigating a disabling world.
Sophie: Before we get started on this episode, just a reminder that if you’re listening to us in the car, you can watch the full episode on YouTube, complete with captions and British Sign Language. Also make sure to click Subscribe or Follow wherever you’re listening, so you’re the first to know when the new episode lands. In today’s episode, we’re interviewing Mum and content creator Sophie Bradbury-Cox. She’ll be discussing parenthood, the positive power of wearing colourful clothes, and accessible travel.
Sam: I love her. I fangirl absolutely. Travel! Interestingly, I’ve been travelling somewhere recently myself. I’ve been jet-setting Sophie. I know. I went to Jersey. So I was invited for, controversial, a rival magazine that I sometimes write for – Enable Magazine. They invited me to do a review of a fully accessible hotel called- It’s in French. I’m gonna try and say it correctly Maison Des Landes and essentially, you know, it’s just a hotel that is completely kitted out, I’d say, for whatever your needs are. It was just phenomenal! I mean, I feel like I need to marry a millionaire now to, you know, live over there and be in one of the glorious homes. But honestly, if you have ever thought about going to Jersey or never thought about going to Jersey, check it out. I’m still kind of coming down from the, “Wow, wow, how beautiful!” I thought I was in Spain at one point.
Sophie: That’s amazing.
Sam: Yeah.
Sophie: And it was only an hour away.
Sam: Literally an hour. So I flew from Manchester. It was an hour, I’m assuming London about half an hour. But beautiful! Beautiful, beautiful. It did have London prices. However, the hotel we were staying at, I was a half board so, to be quite honest with you, stick a croissant in your handbag and you’re good to go.
Sophie: As you do.
Sam: As you do.
Sophie: That’s a standard thing.
Sam: She’s like “I won’t go on holiday with Samantha!”
Sophie: Talking about travel, I have a very exciting announcement for our first reasons to be cheerful.
Sam: You got me a present?
Sophie: No.
Sam: We’re going to LA! We’re going to Vegas!
Sophie Maybe. Maybe it could be a tenuous link.
Sam: Yes! Oh.
Sophie But I might need a drum roll.
Sam: Oh, I can’t do that. I don’t want to do [Sam makes a noise] No that’s a telephone. Moving on! Okay, okay. That will do.
Sophie: So the first season of The Motability Lifestyle Pod video equivalent, which is known as a vodcast-
Sam: A what? What a vodka?
Sophie: Vodcast.
Sam: Oh a vodcast.
Sophie: “Vodcast” so instead of “Podcast” Vodcast which has BSL and captions, which we talk about all the time. It will be available on British Airways long haul flights from June.
Sam: As in like you know when you go on your little screen.
Sophie: The in-flight entertainment, yeah.
Sam: We’re gonna be on a flight?!
Sophie: We are going to be on a flight.
Sam: Oh, God help you all. We are- Blooming heck! Have a couple of vodkas then for that really I mean, I’m not going to- Can you imagine scrolling. “I’m off to the Bahamas. Just scrolling.” No, honestly, that is, joking aside, that’s epic news, isn’t that epic?! Because I guess, like, disability isn’t really represented when you’re up in the air.
Sophie: That’s true. And as far as I’m aware, it’s the first airline to have an accessible vodcast online on their in-flight entertainment system. So it’s a major win for us. Yeah.
Sam: And also the community. That’s great work. Thank you so much Soph because it was your- It was your due diligence that got us that wonderful opportunity, wasn’t it?
Sophie: Yeah. It was.
Sam: It was you going “Mmmmm.” “I’m going to reach out to these-”
Sophie: It all came about when I went on holiday last year, which I spoke about again in season one.
Sam: Yeah.
Sophie: Traveling, a ten hour flight with kids. But it was fine and yeah on the plane, I just was scrolling through and I just thought, “I think the ‘The Motability Lifestyle Pod’ would sit really nicely here.” Because there’s nothing else for, if you’re disabled traveller or you just want- Even though the podcast is for everyone.
Sam: Exactly.
Sophie: It has a disability angle, but there was nothing like that.
Sam: I love that
Sophie: On the in-flight entertainment system. I just thought, “It would fit quite nicely here.” So if you’re travelling.
Sam: As of when?
Sophie: June.
Sam: This June.
Sophie: June 2024. You can find us on the in-flight entertainment system. But if you’re not travelling, you can still find our vodcast on YouTube, which is @MotabilityLifestyleMagazine with BSL and captions. But if you are flying, then please do share photos, videos on our Instagram which is @Motability_lifestyle_magazine. And yeah, we’ll be happy to reshare it.
We want to see all your videos, all your photos. So yes, some exciting news to kick off.
Sam: I just feel like I now need to book a holiday just for that purpose.
Sophie: Moving on to our second reasons to be cheerful.
Sam: Yes!
Sophie: Cool Crutches & Walking Sticks has launched the UK’s first customisable kids’ crutches. The range is set to revolutionise the lives of millions of children living with a disability. And there’s multiple designs available, such as footballs, unicorns, rainbows, glow in the dark or anything, completely customisable. So you know if you’ve got a picture you want to have printed, it’s possible.
Sam: I love that. I remember years ago when I got a- My first- One of my first wheelchairs, I believe it was from WizKids. I think they fundraise which is wonderful, WizKids do a lot for young, disabled kids and young adults. And I think, you know, that whole process of like, you got to pick your paint, you got to pick your colour. And of course, seven year old Samantha was like “Pink! I want the Barbie pink!” But just having a bit of independence and having that control, you know, saying like this is- Yes, This is a mobility aid, but I want it to reflect me and my personality and, you know, it- Because it is part of who you are. You know, I love my wheelchair. It is like my freedom. And I want to express that. So I over the years have had all sorts of- Do you remember, was it in cornflakes, the clicky things that you put on- Spokes that were like Monster Munchie.
Sophie: No.
Sam: No? We’re the same age!
Sophie: I know Pokemon. Is it Pokemon?
Sam: They were like reflectors but you got them in like Rice Krispies and stuff.
Sophie: Oh yes! Yes, yes.
Sam: Remember? My wheelchair was like covered. In that and then I went through a phase with beads and all sorts so I love this like for crutches. That is so cool. It is isn’t it?
Sophie: Yeah. Super cool so if you do want to find out more information just- Make sure you just visit www.coolcrutches.com.
Sam: So tell me, who have we got to interview today?
Sophie We’ve got another Sophie.
Sam: Oh, just to confuse matters.
Sam: Bloomin’ heck!
Sophie: Because that is such a great name! Obvs. So, yes Sophie is a content creator. She’s a fashion and lifestyle content creator. And her name on Instagram is ‘Fashion Bellee.’
Sam: And it’s spelt hang on. It’s spelt: Fashion and then capital B e l l e e. Just to again confuse matters even more. Just in case you’re wondering.
Sophie: Exactly. Sophie is a UK-based fashion and lifestyle content creator and first time mum to four year old Zyra and she shares her experience with 35,000 followers. We are so excited to discuss style, motherhood and more. Welcome to the pod, Sophie.
Intro to Guest –
(Sophie-Marie Odum will now be referred to as Sophie MO and our guest Sophie Bradbury-Cox will be Sophie BC)
Sophie BC: Hello. Hello, hello.
Sam: I absolutely feel outnumbered right now because I’m sat between two glamorous Sophie’s but we all start with an S, so I feel like- I feel like the S is powerful, strong! Strong names. How are you, Sophie?
Sophie BC: Really good thank you, yeah, really good! Life’s a bit hectic at the minute but it’s really nice to talk to you both.
Sam: I have to say I love your Instagram page. I’m sure we can talk about that a bit later. But like Instagram can be a little bit heavy. And when I scroll your Instagram is just so bright and beautiful and it is absolutely colour therapy. So thank you for always bringing a little bit of sunshine to my world. So thank you for that.
Sophie MO: Yeah, I agree.
Sophie BC: I try my best.
Sophie MO: I agree and talking about Instagram, we recently saw on your Instagram that your daughter Zyra turned four – congratulations! Which means that she was a lockdown baby and I can- That is something I can relate to because my second born was born in 2020 as well. And just reflecting on that, it was such a- Because it was my second pregnancy as well. It was such- It was so different to the first. Obviously it being a global pandemic was one major factor, but two, that, you know, the doctor’s appointments, your nurse appointments, your scans, your partners couldn’t go with you. You had to go alone. Even when you was in labour, you know, you couldn’t have your partner with you until you’re in active labor, which is four centimetres dilated. So, you know, so that was also a very, you know, weird and scary experience. And then when you did have the baby, the partner couldn’t- Your partner couldn’t stay with you until I think they could only stay like an hour or two maybe. And then they had to go. And then when you go home, you’re not sure if you want visitors.
Sam: Isn’t that what they normally do though like “Oh, yeah. Well done. Love, right. Well done. I’m off to the pub.”
Sophie MO: Tap on the head.
Sam: BC: Tap the baby’s head.
Sophie MO: Yeah, yeah, yeah exactly! But yeah then when you got home, you wasn’t sure if you wanted visitors because again, you’re worried about, you know, spreading the coronavirus and then the baby groups, they were cancelled. It was just a really difficult experience. And I was very mindful that it was my second and that, you know, it was very different to my first. And I- I felt my heart really went out to first time mums because it was very- I can imagine how isolating it must have been. But yeah, what was your experience, Sophie?
Sophie BC: Yeah I mean, I think in a way, it was nice that it was my first time because I didn’t know any different. So it was almost like, well, this is how it is. I’ve got to accept it. I’ve got no choice. but yeah, it was weird with the I mean, she was right at the beginning of April, so it was kind of right when it was all kicking off. So we had like, most of my appointments were pretty normal because we- It hadn’t really gone by then and then when I was in hospital, actually, because I needed a carer, they allowed my husband to stay with me. So he-
We had a room that we stayed on the labour ward and we stayed there the whole time. So they just kind of shut us in this room. And then that was it. Like the nurses came in and out with their masks on and everything and thankfully he could then stay with me while she was born. And then, I mean, I had a C-section anyway. And then he then stayed until we left. So I was really lucky in that sense that he could be there because, like you say, you only had that sort of two hours with them, which is so sad. Like, you just don’t get that experience. So yeah, in a way I was quite lucky. It was horrible seeing all the nurses with all the masks on and everything. I still wouldn’t even know to this day what my midwife looked like because I never saw her face. So yeah, it was a weird experience.
Sam: I think when you have a disability, you are so used to things not being as standard. I’m not-I’m not saying that that wasn’t a challenging time for parents you know, disabled parents, but I sometimes feel like we are so prepared for not the worst. That’s the wrong but just so prepared for things just going a little bit awry. You know, that somehow we are mentally like, “Okay, this is a bit rubbish but-“
Sophie BC: We’re prepared for change-
Sam: Yeah, absolutely. Now, I- I’m starting my motherhood journey. An actual motherhood journey. Not another cat. Just, just to clarify, you know, going to speak to my specialist, genetic testing and just a whole heap of, can I say headache? Already a little bit of heartbreak but take me back to the beginning of, you know, you deciding as any, you know, lovely young couple like yeah, let’s expand our family. Did you meet any ableism? From let’s start with, you know, the public in general or a bit closer to home because I know that you know, I love my mum dearly but I know that she is worried about me falling pregnant.
I don’t think it is necessarily that she doesn’t think I can cope. I think there might be a little bit of an element of that because they don’t, you know, they don’t always see how independent you can be in your own home, even your parent. But I think just on a medical point of view, like oh my goodness, you know, is this just going to put Samantha in harm’s way and that’s a really hard pill to swallow when you don’t have the support. You know, I want my mum to be like “Oh my God, I can’t wait to be a Grandma!” Can you share any of your own beginnings? You know, did you experience any of this or were people supportive on the whole?
Sophie BC: To be fair, I think people were quite supportive. I mean, my family were definitely supportive but I think that’s because I knew quite a few people who had my condition and they’d had children. So I kind of knew that some of them had, like, a worse type than my own. So I kind of- They were in a different situation than me, but almost worse off in a way.
So I thought if they can do it, hopefully because I’m just that little bit stronger, that I’d be able to cope. I can remember going to see- I’d actually got pregnant by this point. I went to see my consultant, my one neurologist for my SMA and he was like, “Oh, you do realise that this could change everything for you? It can affect your muscles, it can affect your breathing.
It can really affect your disability.” And I thought “God, I never really even checked that. I never even thought about it.” It was just like “I’m just going to do it.” I’m quite strong-willed anyway, so I was like, “I can do it, I’ll be fine.” So then when he said that, I was like, “Wow,
I didn’t really think about that.” But now it’s- I’m pregnant, it’s too late. I’ve just got to get on with it. So, yeah, that kind of did make me think about it. And it has affected my disability in a way. It’s definitely made me weaker. And, it’s affected my muscles in a way that I didn’t really think that it would but, you know, it’s never going to be a straight thing. Like most women probably are changed by pregnancy. It does it- It affects everybody. So, yeah. So it wasn’t too bad. Really not too bad.
Sam : I think issue is we’re just not having those conversations. No one, you know, we don’t talk about, you know, disability and parenthood shall I say, you know, we don’t see strong images of pregnant disabled women or people with a cervix, you know, doing like, we don’t see that. And we- And even the doctors, as you said, you know, your doctor informed you which is wonderful. I’ve had quite a few doctors be quite blunt and quite hesitant to, you know, promote or be encouraging, shall we say. I need to be very careful what I say here but they, you know, they try to sway me otherwise instead of being- Instead of saying, as you just said, “You know what? These are the- This is the reality. But at the end of the day, it’s your choice. You are a woman and you should be able to experience parenthood if you- If you want to.” But there is no education, there’s no sex education, there’s- There’s nothing out there. And I think this is why maybe you know, our loved ones are quite scared because they’ve not been told, you know, and it’s this like elephant in the room, isn’t it?
Sophie BC: Yeah we are. It is an ableist society isn’t? It’s a society that thinks, “Oh, disabled people can’t. They can’t do that. They can’t or won’t be able to do that.” And you don’t ever hear the positive stories or anything. And you, that’s what you need. You need like, you don’t get a leaflet and it’s like, “Oh, here’s a disabled mum and this is how she copes.” But you don’t get that. You just have to kind of muddle through it on your own. Which is crazy.
Sam: You do and I think unfortunately, a lot of the really incredible, you know, parents or disabled parents out there who are very public about their, you know, parenthood journey.
I mean, the- The abuse is- Is- It’s just extreme, you know, it’s just- It’s this, you know, if you’re disabled, you can’t do anything. So therefore your child will suffer.
Sophie BC: Yeah. I mean you can like it’s so easy to get judged. I mean so many times I’d go out with Zyra and my sister and people would presume that she was my sister’s child and they would be like “Oh, well, is that your daughter?” And I was like, “No, she’s my daughter.”
And then they’re like, the shock on their face was, “Oh, she can have a child.” Like they just don’t expect it at all. And yeah, I think social media is an amazing tool in a way because I’ve met so many people that- Disabled mums that I didn’t know. I like, I hadn’t seen anything of them but having them on there and them like smashing life and getting through it and doing it was so encouraging because, yeah, you don’t get that. You do- You do almost- You’re expected not to be a parent and not to do all these things. So yeah, I think it was lovely to have that, like, community on there, which was amazing.
Sophie MO: And that is the beauty of social media isn’t it. That you can find that community. Is that where you’d say you went to for like help, information and advice and what to do, you know. Because the first time mum you know, no matter what is a challenge, it’s hard. You just don’t know what you’re doing. You’ve got- There’s no book that can tell you to do X Y Z.
You sort of figure it out on your- By yourself. But it’s useful to have, you know, signposts.
Sophie BC: Yeah. That’s it. And I mean, I went to my first midwife appointment in my like local GP and she was like, “I’ve never had anyone in a wheelchair before. I’ve never had a disabled person. So we’re going to be learning this together.” And I was, “Okay? Well I know nothing about being a mum or nothing about midwifery or anything.” I was like, “You’re supposed to be the one that knows everything. “So yeah, it was a bit of a oh, okay. So then like I say with the social media. And that I was like, “Please help me because nobody knows anything at all. I just need your support. “So it was yeah, they were incredible to have that community on there.
Sam: But it is empowering. I think the first time that I saw someone with brittle bones, which is my condition, and the same kind of stature as me, I think they had, like, 3 children and I think just that was so powerful, even as a child, you know, and you’ll probably be the same. I didn’t have disabled role models. Dame Tanni Grey-Thompson did an interview and she said she was a mother. I must have been about 7 or 8. And I just remember glaring up at the screen going, “What? People like me can have babies?” And I just remember being like “Wow.” You know, that’s just so, so powerful.
Sophie MO: Representation matters doesn’t it?
Sam & Sophie BC: Yeah.
Sophie MO: It does.
Sophie BC: And that’s all you need, isn’t it? It’s just that positive representation of people.
Sophie MO: Exactly. And now you Sophie, you’re probably inspiring other expectant parents as to what to expect and what to look out for. So what tips and tricks have you learned along the way over the last four years that you’re able to share with our listeners?
Sophie BC: I think it’s just to, like, be yourself and not put yourself down. Because I think it’s so easy to compare yourself to other mums that can do everything. Like, I really struggled early on because I couldn’t pick Zyra out the cot myself. I couldn’t get her dressed, I couldn’t change her nappy. Had to have carers to help me do all those things. So I was there, but I couldn’t physically do it and I think it used- It really got me down that I couldn’t do it. And then I kind of just had to learn over the years, don’t punish yourself for it. Just because I’m not a conventional mum doesn’t mean I’m not her mum. Like I’m still giving her that love. I’m still looking after her in all the ways that I can do. It’s just not conventional. And I think that’s really where I had to be like hard on myself and stop myself from putting that pressure on me and just letting it be as it is. And I mean, she’s incredible. Like, we get on so well and we have such an amazing relationship, so it’s not affected us at all. And in reality, she’s so caring and so thoughtful because I think she’s had to be and she’s so independent because I can’t do it all for her. So she’s kind of had to do that herself. And yeah, I think it will be an incredible thing for her, as she grows up, to have that awareness of disability and that foresight, that it shouldn’t stop you doing anything. And so hopefully it’ll be a good thing.
Sam: This is a subject we could talk about for hours and hours. Unfortunately, we don’t. So let’s talk about another wonderful subject. Fashion, because, as I said at the beginning, you are definitely a fashionista and you brighten up my Instagram feed, which is always lovely. Tell me about your own passion for fashion and how you, you know, cultivated your own Instagram page that was so bright and bold and wonderful.
Sophie BC: Aw thank you. No it really, I mean, I’ve always loved fashion, like, from when I was young. And I think it just- Having social media was such a great way for me to see disabled people. Like, I wanted disabled people to be seen in fashion. Because you never saw that when I grew up. There’s no one in magazines, no one on the TV, no one on the catwalks that reflected me and who I look like. So then kind of Instagram came about and I would just start sharing my outfits and things and like, dressing brings me joy. Sometimes people expect disabled people to be in black and dark colours and blending into the background And I was like, “No, I don’t want to blend into the background. I want to wear bright colours. So I thought there’s people probably will stare anyway, so I might as well make it worth their while-
Sam: Absolutely.
Sophie BC: With all these bright crazy colours yeah I just think it’s fun. I think it’s a great way to express yourself.
Sam: It’s funny isn’t it. Because I use fashion I think definitely was a strong- A strong grounding anchor when I had, you know, difficulties growing up. And I just loved fashion to express myself. Very similar to you, you know, if they’re going to stare, make them stare. But I do remember this one lady came up to me. I think I was at like a car boot as I normally was. As growing up, you know, and she went, “I think it’s great that people like you dress nice” and I like, “People that what? I don’t understand.” You want me to wear a- Do you want me to wear a bin bag? I mean it was a compliment because at the time you remember Kangol, the brand. I had a Kangol hat and I wore it back to front, you know, like-
Sophie MO: That was the fashion. That was the fashion.
Sam: It was wasn’t it. It was so cool. It was. Travel! Travel is a big part of your life as well. Tell us loads about travelling because I have just come back from Jersey, which has been wonderful, and it was an accessible hotel and I just got my confidence back in traveling with my chair and not, you know, worrying about it going missing. But you document a lot of your travel on your Instagram as well. Where did that come about, or was it just purely your love of travel and you wanted to share that with our community?
Sophie BC: Yeah. I think it’s just another one of those things where it’s a scary thing. Like, a lot like I’ve always been scared of travelling and flying. Especially, like you say, with wheelchairs- Get lost or damaged, and I kind of just wanted to show my side of it, really.
And my experiences, whether good or bad, you just never know. I don’t tend to fly a lot because I am still worried about planes. And we flew to America last year, we went to Disney World, and thankfully everything went so smoothly. We flew with Virgin and they were fantastic that the wheelchair was fine, there was no damage and the relief when you get there and everything’s in one piece is just amazing. But we do tend to do cruises because we get on a Southampton, you can drive down, you can get on straight on with my wheelchair and it’s just less things to have to worry about. It’s just a nice experience. So we do tend to do that more often. Yeah, I love a cruise. I just love a holiday.
Sam and Sophie MO agree
Sophie MO: What about though traveling with kids. How is that for you? Like-
Sophie BC: Entertaining.
Sam: Yes, that probably fits nicely! That’s one word for it.
Sophie BC: Yeah I think a lot of snack. Yes. Snacks is always a great thing to do. When we were on the plane we did-We had snacks, we had colouring, we had tablet. You know, you had all these things that you could do to kind of keep them entertained and distracted without causing too much havoc. But thankfully it was okay. It all went really smoothly.
Sophie MO: Oh good. Because that’s another stresses honestly.
Sophie BC: Yeah definitely.
Sophie MO: Where are you traveling to next?
Sophie BC: We’re actually going in two weeks to Disneyland Paris.
Sam and Sophie MO : Nice!
Sophie BC: So we’re going on- We’re driving on the ferry, so I haven’t done that for years and years.
So that will be a really interesting experience. But I literally found out yesterday that they have a changing places toilet on the ferry. So they have two new brand new like ferries and they’ve got changing places toilets on them. So like for a disabled person that’s so incredible because I fly- I have to transfer with a hoist. So for them to have that option is absolutely amazing. So I definitely think travel is getting better and there’s things that are improving but I feel like there is a long way to go when it comes to disability and travel.
Sam: So what would be your advice then to anyone who might be a bit hesitant and trying to take that plunge back into the world of travel? What would be your top tips I guess?
Sophie BC: I think, I mean, I do a lot with my wheelchair, so especially when I’m flying, if because of my- I’ve got my electric wheelchair and even manual wheelchairs, I kind of tape bits up that can be taped up and protect them with bubble wrap and things like that. I think the more you can do, I mean, you shouldn’t have to do it, but the more you can do to kind of protect it, do it. And yeah, you just got to go for it. I mean, you can’t, like, life’s too short. Things might happen, bad things might happen. But, yeah, you just got to go for it and try and experience it, because why not.
Sam: Hear hear to that. Where we all going then? Can we come with you?
Sophie BC: Let’s go!
Sam: Have you got enough room in the back of your car for us two, what do you reckon? We can squeeze you in. It’ll be fine. I’m only a little ‘un. Put me in a handbag. It’ll be fine.
Sophie MO: It’s been so great to talk to you Sophie, thank you so much for your time today.
Sophie BC: Oh, no. Thank you for having me. It’s been lovely to speak to you. Thank you.
Sam: Take care.
Sophie BC: Thank you. Bye.
-Music Break-
-Intro for Car Chat With Matt-
Sophie-Marie Odom is now back to Sophie
Sophie: So that was a really great chat.
Sam: That was.
Sophie: Wasn’t it?
Sam: We could have gone on for hours and hours. I feel like I need to reach out to her and be like, “Can I ask you this as well?” No. How lovely to have her on the show. She just brighten up my feed. She really does.
Sophie: That’s why I wore this blue jumper today.
Sam: Really?
Sophie: It was! For those who are listening and not watching, I am wearing a blue jumper, a bright blue jumper. And that was for Sophie. Because I generally don’t wear a lot of colour. I’m trying. I am trying to be more active in that decision-making process when I go shopping but generally I always default to black and white. Oh, Matt. Hello!
Matt: Hello.
Sam: You’re not- You’re not very bright today Matt.
Matt: No, sorry. I’m sort of letting the side down, I’m sort of greyish brown, I suppose.
Sophie: You do look very fashionable.
Matt: Yeah. I’m pretty- Well, I don’t know whether I’ve ever been described as fashionable.
Sam: It does look like you brushed your hair this time, though.
Matt: Yeah. No I’ve done that. I did brush my hair.
Sam: Have you not noticed? His hair looks-
Matt: It’s about as much-
Sophie: I think you look very smart Matt.
Matt: Oh. Thanks, guys. Oh, I love this podcast.
Sam: You know what, I really always wanted a brother. So whenever I get, like, a brother-type figure, I just want to absolutely ridicule them in the most loving way. And unfortunately, that is you at the moment.
Marr: That’s fine.
Sam: You take it on the chin, don’t you?
Matt: Exactly. Yeah.
Sam: He cries at home a lot.
Sophie: Oh! Matt we were also talking to Sophie about parenthood and you’re a first-time father.
Matt: I am, yeah.
Sophie: Do you have any tips out there for first-time Dads? My top tip would probably be actually more about yourself in terms of just don’t get too stressed about it. Like it’s really easy to feel like you have no idea what you’re doing and that you’re doing everything wrong.
And actually no one knows what they’re doing with their first child. And it’s just, you know, give yourself a break. Would be would be my top tip. You know, don’t be so hard on yourself.
You’re doing good.
Sophie: I love that advice. Thank you.
Matt: Yeah.
Sam: And why are you here again?
Matt: Someone’s got to waffle on about cars.
Sam: Oh, yeah. That part- Well, it is my favourite part. Because you know what? It’s Car Chat With Matt.
Matt: They’ve been much better for Season Two.
Sam: I know, I know.
Sophie: Training.
Matt: It’s my favourite bit. So today, I’m going to be giving some advice on long journeys in an electric car. It’s one that’s come up a few times. We get a lot of questions about it, because more and more people are getting electric cars now because the car manufacturers are desperate to sell people electric cars. There are good reasons for that. I won’t bore you with them, but they’re desperate to sell electric cars at the moment. So there’s actually some quite, you know, quite attractive deals on the Motability scheme at the moment in terms of low advance payments on what are quite nice electric cars. So more and more people have them and a lot of people have been using them around town, are using them as they normally would fine, but are coming around to a time where they’ve actually got to do a long journey and haven’t done that before. So we get a lot of questions about, “Oh, what’s the best way to do this?” So I’m just you a few little hints and tips that might make that a little bit easier for people. And obviously, feel free to chime in if you’ve got any of your own questions. So the very first thing, and there are caveats to this, because I appreciate some people, their car is dictated by a specific set of needs. And so they have whatever car they have and they don’t have an awful lot of say in that. And that’s fair enough. But what I would say is, if you’re someone who regularly travels long distances, if, you know, once a month you’re going to go and see- Drive 400 miles to see your Aunt and Uncle in such and such county. Then consider that before you choose your car. You do- I do quite often see people who go, “Oh, I have this monthly trip or, you know, maybe a monthly trip to see a specialist.” So this is what we were talking about.
Sam: My specialist is now over two- Two hours away.
Matt: So, I mean, if you can consider that beforehand, obviously sometimes these things are sprung on you and you don’t know beforehand. But if you know that beforehand that you are going to make regular long journeys, consider that when you choose the car. There’s often a reasonable gap in range in terms of how far an electric car can drive. So sometimes you see people have this problem, but they’ve chosen a car that can do, you know, just over 100 miles, say on a charge. It’s like, well, unfortunately you’ve kind of chosen the wrong car. If you need to do that journey regularly and you know you do, you know, you want a car that can do 200 or 300 miles on a charge. So I just, you know, that’s the first thing to consider is consider what car you’re getting. If you are making regular long journeys, get one that’s got a decent- A decent range on it. Next up, it’s planning. Planning. It’s as simple as that.
And it doesn’t have to take a lot of planning but that is the easiest way to take the stress and worry out of a long journey in an electric car. And, you know, I’m talking 5 or 10 minutes the night before is all it really takes. There are different ways of doing this but what I tend to do is have a look at my route that I’m going to take anyway on Google Maps and then have a look roughly about where I think I’m going to need to stop. So generally, once you’ve got an electric car, you have a rough idea of how far it can go. And it might not even be dictated by that. It might be that actually you need a break after an hour or two. And they do you know, the AA for example does recommend that you take a break every two hours just because of fatigue and whatnot. And if you’re anything like me, after 2 or 3 hours in a car, I want to get out. I want to drink. Usually, actually, I want something to eat. Let’s be honest, I want something to eat-
Sam: You want your McDonald’s don’t you?!
Matt: I’ve seen a KFC or McDonald’s sign on some services, so I’m pulling over and then doing that. It’s good for concentration as well. It’s good just to have a break. Stretch your legs. And as you said now I’ve got a baby. Often it’s stop, change, nappy, do a bit of feeding, get her out of that car seat. So, yeah, it’s often dictated by that but I generally have a look and say, “Okay, about two hours in my journey- Into my journey, or say whatever 120 miles into my journey, I’m going to be around here” and I have a look on- There’s a few apps you can use. Zap-Map is very good, which gives you a map of where all the chargers are in the UK and you can filter those so that it only shows you the actual, you know, fast ones. You can choose what speed. If you know what speed your car can accept, you can go all the way up to 350kW or you can filter by 50, 150, whatever speed you want. So I then look, you know, where those are on that journey. And more often than not, there will be a- You know, a couple of services within that sort of range so you can have a look. And within those apps, they usually tell you how many chargers there are in that place, which is good because if you- If there’s a place that’s only got two chargers, the chances are you’re going to get there and they might already be in use. If this place has got 20, you’ve got a much more chance of getting there and charging straight away. The other thing to consider when you’re choosing where to stop is what facilities are there. You don’t really want to stop somewhere if it’s just in a car park on an industrial estate and there’s not a-
Sam: Yeah.
Matt: If you’re going to be sat there for 45 minutes or something, you don’t really want to be sat in the middle of nowhere. So generally, motorway services are a good place to stop because they often, not all of them, but a lot of them have decent, you know, decent charging facilities. And then you can go in and get yourself a drink, something to eat, coffee.
Sophie: Can I ask these: these motorway petrol stations or service stations, are they more expensive because you know with petrol they are always more expensive.
Sam: They are. Premium.
Sophie: Yeah, way more expensive.
Matt: And generally they are. Yeah. I mean, more often than not the price of charging is kind of dictated by the speed of the charges as well. It’s- I mean there’s a few different elements to it but generally the faster charger, they’ll tend to charge you a little bit more. But any sort of public charging that’s anything above 50kW, which is the sort of lowest speed that you’d consider rapid charging, anything above that is going to be a bit- It’s going to be much more expensive to charging at home, put it that way. So that’s a good point. That is something to bear in mind to budget into your trip is if I’m going to go there, how much money will I need for charging? Again, one of the useful things with lots of these apps, such as Zap-Map, Motability also have one called Motability Go Charge, and you can get a card as well that you can use for that to help, you know, charge you don’t have to set up apps and that kind of thing. A lot of those apps will also tell you what the price per kilowatt hour is at the charging station. So if you do want to, you can check a few and see where the cheapest charging is. Or if nothing else, it gives you an idea of how much you’re going to be expecting to pay when you do charge that.
Sam: Do these apps- because I know some some in London, when I used live in London, some of the apps would actually tell you for black cabs basically the electric, and they would actually tell you whether they were in use or not.
Matt: Yes they do. Do they literally go to that. So they will tell you how many are in use. And you can also see, you know, whether someone is charged there recently. It’ll say, “Oh, you know, this was used two minutes ago.”So you’ve- If that’s happened, you’ve got a good idea that they’re working. Obviously on another problem. It’s not you know, it’s not, it’s not- I don’t want to sound all doom and gloom. It’s really not that bad. But sometimes you will get somewhere and the charger might be out of use or out of order. And you know, that is a real problem if you’re expecting to be able to charge somewhere. Which is why going somewhere that has more charges is always helpful. But what you can see on on things such as Zap-Map is people can leave comments and they can say, “Oh, I charged here yesterday. All worked as expected. Fantastic.” Whereas you might see someone else say
“I tried charging and it wouldn’t accept my bank card.” Or you know, “Be warned, such and such is an issue here.” So that’s also a good way to get an idea of what to expect when you get there in terms of whether the charges have been working recently, whether there’s anything to be aware of so parking restrictions, for example, sometimes you’ll get to one and it’ll say, “Oh, you can charge here, but your parking is limited to 45 minutes.” Or something along those lines. So it just- It just helps, if you’ve not been there before, it just helps give you an idea of these things in advance and go, “Okay, maybe I won’t charge there. I’ll charge somewhere else.” So Yeah. So it’s just like that planning. That sounds like a lot but it’s actually, once you’ve done it once or twice, it is really quite easy.
Matt: You just go, “Okay, I’m driving from there to there. I’ll probably need to charge halfway.
What’s around there? Oh there’s Reading services and that’s got 20 fast charges. Fantastic. I’ll charge there.”And it’s basically that. Once you get used to it, it is quite easy. The first ones are obviously nerve-wracking. The other thing I’ll advise as well, if you’re a bit nervous about it is, you know, plan in to stop before you need to.
Sophie: Yeah.
Matt: You don’t want to be going- I’m aiming for this charging station. And when I get there, I’m going to have, you know, two miles of battery left. Because if you get there and there’s a problem, you know, just adding unnecessary stress to the journey. So if you are a bit worried about it, stop earlier than you need to. And if there is an issue, you know, you can always get to a charger further along.
Sophie: Yeah.
Matt: There are a lot of charge points. It is quite hard to get to somewhere where you think I’m low on charge and there’s no chargers nearby. There are a lot of them now.
Sam: You don’t look out for them though if you- If you’re not using them, I guess, you’re a bit oblivious.
Matt: Yeah, yeah.
Sam: But once you get into that world, sounds a little bit like a private membership club.
You know, you will become more aware, you’ll become more savvy and confident.
Sophie: Yeah.
Sam: Making those journeys.
Matt: Absolutely!
Sophie: I was going to ask as well what about accessible charging. Because I know that’s a big topic as well.
Matt: Yes I mean it’s difficult because the initial lot of charges that were rolled out, they they obviously just didn’t have accessibility in mind at all. So that is something to be aware of. Some of them, the screens are too high. Some of them have rubber curbing that’s in the way if you’re in a wheelchair and you can’t actually get to the unit. The actual units themselves and the cables are quite thick and heavy. So yeah, that is something to bear in mind. But obviously you can, you know, if you’re thinking you’re going to go on a journey like that, you can obviously just go to a local charger and just- So you can get an ide of what it’s like in terms of how heavy these things are. And because it is different to charging at home. Your home chargers are a bit lighter, a bit easier. You don’t have the same accessibility issues. So yeah, I’d maybe advise just going to a fast charger that’s near or rapid charger, I should say, that’s more local if you want to get a feel for what they’re like and an idea of what problems you might encounter.
Sam: Because there are some apps, obviously, if you don’t have an electric car that you can-
When you go to a service station, there’s an app that will tell the, what do you call- The clerk. To come out and assist you essentially but that- It will be problematic Wouldn’t it I guess?
Matt: Because a lot of these- A lot of these charging places, particularly at, say, service stations, they’re just sort of in a car park and there’s no one there. They’re just in a car park in the middle- And usually quite out of the way in the car park as well. So, yeah, unfortunately there’s not necessarily anyone around to help you.
Sam: Just do a, “Oi love, oi, yeah you. Come over here will you love.”
Matt: Yeah.
Sam: “And you don’t mind waiting an hour with me do you? And you can take it back out. Cheers.”
Matt: Yeah. So that is something to bear in mind. But I mean it is definitely something that’s being worked on. There’s, you know- There are manufacturers who are working on clever solutions. I’m not sure how realistic they are, but you can see there’s lots of prototypes where there’s, you know, robotic arms that plug in themselves and there’s this sort of thing, and more practically, Motability themselves have, you know, released a standard that the industry should try to abide by in order to make chargers more accessible for everyone.
And that involves things like the weight of the charges, the height of them, the height of the screens, the actual parking bays themselves. Because that is a big issue is that a lot of the time, the parking bays are just regular sized bays, which is really unhelpful. Or often I’ve been to quite a few where they have bigger bays but it’s not obviously marked that they have, you know, that there’s a reason they’re bigger. It is because they’re accessible parking.
And so people are just parking thinking, “Oh it’s a nice- Nice big bay. I’ll park in that.” Yeah. Because they’re not clearly signposted. So it wasn’t until recently actually there’s a place near me where I’ll sometimes charge and there are three charges, and one of them does actually have crosshatching around the edge. And it’s suddenly occurred to me, “Oh right. Okay!” You’ve got like, you know, that’s- Yeah. But it’s not marked in any way. And obviously I’m someone who’s quite tuned in this and it- I didn’t clock straight away. And I think well Joe Average isn’t.
Sam: So are they just not using them because obviously the universal wheelchair symbol for-
Matt: Yeah. No it’s just marked up the same as the others. There’s no- And I don’t know whether that was a- I can’t imagine it’s a conscious decision. I imagine it was just an oversight.
Sam: You’d think so.
Matt: Oh, I’d hope so. I’d hope- Well I don’t whether I’d-
Sam: Maybe I overthink it sometimes I think have they done it to be more and inclusive in the sense of, you know, not all disabilities are visible.
Matt: Oh, potentially.
Sophie: Yeah.
Sam: Then we need- We need a memo if you’re gonna do that. Tell us! Yeah. And let us know what what you’re plan is.
Matt: The problem with that though is then the people parking in it who don’t need accessible parking.
Sam: That’s what I mean.
Matt: So that is a bit of an issue.
Sophie: But on the topic of accessible charging, if you are listening or watching and want more information, we spoke to Catherine Marris, didn’t we?
Matt: We did.
Sophie: In season one, episode five.
Matt: Yes.
Sophie: I believe.
Matt: And she went into quite a bit of detail about the work they’re doing.
Sam: It was a good one. That was a good convo wasn’t it. learned a lot.
Sophie: Yes. I think we all did.
Sam: That’s not even sarcasm, I actually learnt a lot.
Sophie: So yes, you can go back and have a listen.
Matt: Yeah. Absolutely. Yeah. And it’s worth listening to because she does go into the sort of work that they’re doing and it is great work. So yeah, fingers crossed there are more rolling out. There are- I went to a relatively new charging station the other day that was recently been made. And there was A) the charges were better anyway. But also there was two dedicated accessible charging bays that were much bigger than the other bays as well.
So, fingers crossed that that’s, you know, starting to sink in now. And then and yeah, that’s the way we’re moving. So that’s good. One other thing to consider when you are charging on the road, if you’re using a rapid charger to protect the battery, cars charge at their fastest between 10% and 80%. So if you kind of want to get on with it, once it gets to 80%, the car is going to start slowing down its rate of charge. So if you don’t- You know, if you don’t need to go up to 100%, you can be on your merry way. And that would be the fastest way to go but yeah. So that’s something else to bear in mind. The last thing I’d say to bear in mind is if you’re going somewhere, don’t just think about how much charge you need to get there, because you don’t want to arrive there and have, say, 20% battery left and then go, “Oh, okay, I’ve got to get home.” You know, bear in mind, is there some way there to charge when you arrive? If not, maybe stop before somewhere where you can charge and then charge at that same place on the way back again, if that makes sense. So just keep in mind you don’t want- It’s not just about arriving there. You’ve got to arrive there and then have enough battery to get back or get to another charge point when you’re there.
Sam: My math is just not very good.
Sophie: Is it like a rule of thumb just to make sure- You know, like with petrol, you make sure you don’t go below a certain- Is it the same with charging? You just don’t want to go below a certain percentage.
Matt: I mean I try- I mean it’s up to you really. And I think- I think- Well, I don’t want to say this because it’s probably- I don’t have wrong foot people, but I think they have a built in safety as well. I think a lot of cars, but different manufacturers have different built in safety. And I think that could be anywhere from like two miles to 20 miles. I don’t know. So don’t risk that. I personally try not to let it go below ten. A) because once it gets to 10%- You know. So you know, if you’re in somewhere around from- It’s alright if you’re somewhere where, you know, but if you’re in unfamiliar territory, you’re like, “Okay, I’ve actually got to find somewhere.”
Sam: Insurance companies are they, you know, I’m not saying- You might not know Matt, but are they thinking about the worst case scenario going, “Oh we’ll come and collect you if you have run out of-” You know, like, is that now part of their package?-
Matt: So it’s- Your roadside assistance.
Sam: That’s what I mean. Rather than insurance, I guess. Sorry.
Matt: Yeah. That’s fine. Yes so your roadside assistance companies. So generally now they are equipped to handle electric cars. So there’s a couple of options and it varies by provider but some of them will have a dedicated generator that they can do just to give your car a bit of juice. You can then drive it to the nearest charge point. Others will have- So there’s the slight complication with electric cars. It’s towing them. They can’t all be towed in the same way as regular cars because it can potentially cause damage to the drive motors.
So they have to be towed in a certain way. But again, that’s something they’ve thought of now. And they have vans that can tow the car with all four wheels off the floor or whatever. So yeah, basically that’s been thought of and it’s covered. I’ve never had to use that personally. I’ve never come close to running out of battery and I’ve driven a lot of-
Sam: You’re always so ahead of the game Matt!
Matt: I’m far from- I’d like to think it was that, but in reality, I’m probably the most disorganised person in the world. So I think, if I’ve not run out of battery, I think it’s probably fairly doable for most-
Sam: There’s hope for us all.
Matt: Yeah, exactly. I think there’s hope for everyone, yeah. So other than that- So that’s kind of it and then obviously the general- Just the usual rules for long distance driving apply. So just do your usual checks on your car before you set off. I’ll fully charge your car before you leave as well. I mean, that’s obvious, but fully charge your car before you leave. Just check your tyres are all fine. Check your lights are all working, that kind of thing. Check you got your washer fluid, just your basic car checks that you should do before any long journey, regardless of your car. Darn exciting stuff. Bring snacks and drinks because, hey, it’s a long trip. The last one is if you really do want to get the most mileage or range out of your electric car if you can. There’s a huge difference between driving at, say, 65 and driving at 75. If you’re driving at 80, you’re using so much more energy Than driving at 70, no one should be driving at 80. We all know that. Boo. You know, drive properly people! Obey the rules of the road! But a lot of people will drive at 80-
Sam: Unless you’re in Germany and, well, yeah.
Matt: Yeah autobahn. Yeah, go for it. But yeah, driving 80 uses a lot more energy than driving at 70. You know, something around 25%. It’s a lot. So if you do want to eke out that battery, just, you know, dial it back a bit, drive within the limits and you’ll find your car goes further.
Sam: I love the parallels between cars and power chairs because I always put- There’s three-
There’s this- There’s like indoor slow, indoor moderate, outdoor moderate, outdoor fast. And of course what does Samantha always go for? Come on guys! Like- Maximum speed all of the time. And then I’ve like, you know, done like two minutes and I’m like why is it gone from 90 to 72. And I get really annoyed. I thought maybe if I lowered it down to outdoor moderate. But it just feels so slow. You know, can’t get away from people fast enough. And then they, you know, say hi and then want to talk and then it’s like, oh-
Sophie: You love it.
Sam: Oh I do love it. But yeah, it’s so true. Yes. It dips down so fast. As I always car chat with Matt has been delightful. Insightful. What rhymes with that? Delightful, insightful!
Sophie: Thank you Matt!
Sam: Thank you.
Matt: That was great. Thank you very much. Pleasure as always.
-Outro-
Sophie: And that’s it for this episode of The Motability Lifestyle Pod. Thanks to our producer Charlotte Mason at Insanity Studios and her team, including Saffron Mirza and Abi Sandler and our Editorial Assistant Lucie Rhodes at Wonderly.
Sam: If you like this episode, click Follow or Subscribe. Tell all your friends, and please leave a Review and Rating if you’re listening or Like and Comment if you are watching. If you want to tell us what you thought or if there’s something you’d like to hear come and say hello on Instagram @Motability_lifestyle_mag And for some behind-the-scenes content. follow us on TikTok @Motlifestylemag. You can also watch the full video on YouTube with captions and BSL. You can find us on @MotabilityLifestylemagazine. And finally, if you want more information about the Motability scheme, go to Motability.co.uk or if you want to learn more about Motability Foundation, visit Motabilityfoundation.org.uk And well, that’s it. I have been Samantha Renke.
Sophie: And I’m Sophie-Marie Odum.
Sam: See you all next time.
Sophie: Bye.
