Hi
Being a person with sensory difficulties inside a crowd,
whether that be in a nightclub, or a pub or even just at a birthday party
can be pretty bloody scary
So I'm deaf and blind in one eye and I need a lot of space and a lot of light
In order to know exactly what is going on
Because, otherwise, I have no clue, if there's a fire, or there's a stampede of people, or even just where the exits are
Basically, I have two options
With hearing aids, i can hear this
*hissing*
Without hearing aids I can hear this
*whistling*
I lip read, but when it's dark, I obviously can't do that, especially if there are really flashing lights
And I have no depth perception
So, I'm just kind of guessing
How far away you are from me
Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love going out, I love dancing, I love making out in front of the speaker
Meeting new people
Chatting
But I cannot stress enough how incredibly terrifying it is
To have no idea what is outside of this tiny bubble I don't need er, a sort of rollercoaster
I could just leave my house
I think a lot of people who are in situations where they feel quite scared
They probably turn inwards
You know, even do the really sensible thing
And just tell people what they are feeling
Do I do that?
Do I?
No
I get stupidly loud, and I start just jumping to all these conclusions
Because I just want to get involved, and I want to be able to talk to everyone
I really just shout nonsense in people's faces
Meanwhile, Claudia is just stood there like
So, to combat this, dear friends
Here are some signs that you can use to keep me involved in the conversation
And stop me from just randomly shouting nonsense
At you
Ping
So, Clara is gonna be my guinea pig
Yay
And come up with all sorts of questions for me
Of what she thinks would be really good club signs
Just to let you know, all of these signs are not correct BSL
they're not precisely the grammar that's used
They're sign supported english, and they are the slang versions of signs
If you're taking a BSL course, don't do these
in your exam
I have divided my questions into three topics.
One is just, you know, friendly, get me a drink,
The other one is to help you if you're on a date
Okay
And the other one is more serious, it's if you feel in danger, how to let your friend know
And of course, even if you are not deaf, it's very useful
That's the thing, sign language can be really helpful, even if you're not deaf
You don't even have to be in a club really, you know, sometimes you might see someone on the street, and you're like HELP
Mostly, when I go with Jessica, people go 'Hi', and then I have to be the friend that is like, go away
I have told them, yeah, no, move along
it's not happening
She's married, walk on by
Yeah
And to see what kind of drink
you can watch my tutorial all about drinks
on the card
Yes
Okay, Like I grab you?
No no, that's rape
Maybe we'll just go to like, lets both go to the toilet
But generally you just point in the direction of the door
or you could just be like
Because you look bad
How do you say because?
you look bad
because
because you look bad
Do you have to do the circle?
Clockwise
Part two, Flirting!!
This is not my flirting
no
so it's like attracted?
try not to do the face
I feel like they would know
Like, if you were trying to be subtle
like, ooh, that one, mine
Alright, so more discreet
If you wanted to add a boy or girl
To make it more obvious
I fancy that girl
or I fancy that boy
Like weird?
Nah, well, yes, yes
Say the lesbians, this message is approved
Weird
Boy
Sorry, same region, also means Russian
And angry, but
If you want to do it the really short way, just be like
Introduce
Face to face
My fingers are making out
I don't even know if the correct sign for this is what I use
Also I don't like the sign for wanker, but nevermind
Agree to everything I say
Well, it's more like you know, yeah, back me up
If you tell a lie, like just
Oh, like I'm flirting over here, so just pretend I'm super funny
Probably with like your best telling face
Section three
DANGER
Let's just start with the word boring
Omg, that's so obvious
I always think
that sign language and lip pattern
But if you're trying to be smooth about it
Maybe don't lip pattern
Help me
And obviously, this could be like you're mildly in peril, you have no money
Or it could be like help me, i think this man I'm talking to is a psychopath
and he wants to cut off all my limbs
That escalated quickly
But it could be any of thses things
Also another great way of doing it is this
Because you can be talking to someone and you're like, yeah of course Brian
It's so interesting that you like taxidermy
So, your friend, who is across the room will be like
Oh oh, Sally's talking to Brian the taxidermist who may or may not kill women
May or may not
If you feel like really threatened, what would you say?
What would you do?
Now, a really good one for deaf people, especially
Is can you please get me a taxi?
That looks like money
Because you pay, for a taxi
If you're asking someone else if they need help
Because it's directional
That makes sense
Okay, was that helpful Clara?
That was very helpful
What did you learn?
Well, I've learnt very basic things like can, and you and me and need and taxi
Help me, help you
So I think this is going to be very useful next time we are out
Yeah it will. I'll just sign to you next time we go out
What else did you learn today?
Stay away from Brian mostly
I don't think I know any Brians
i don't think I do either
If your name's Brian and you're feeling personally attacked, let us know
Or if you know a homicidal Brian
Run away
So, I've got some all new signed songs and sign language tutorials coming up really soon
As people have been requesting some of those
And I am actually going to get around to them, actually going to do that
In the meantime, you can always rewatch all of my old sign language tutorials
Up here in this playlist
Click on them, click on them now
Learn sign language, it's useful
For all types of situations
Like Brians