Maybe Today

A picture of life at Le Court, the flagship Cheshire Home near Petersfield, Hants. Describing itself as a “Musical Documentary about the dreams, hopes, fears and difficulties of disabled people”, Maybe Today was made by disabled filmmaker Brian Line (resident of Le Court Cheshire Home) with the support of local arts student Monica Mazure and members of the Le Court Film Unit, who were all residents of Le Court. It shows how residents raised funds to build an extension enabling everyone to have a private room. With its combination of folksong and a homespun (almost home movie) shooting style, it’s a curious but intriguing film.

Le Court was the unlikely birthplace of the UK disabled people's civil rights movement. Resident Paul Hunt reacted against the institutional constraints of Le Court and formed a plan to live independently in the community. He lobbied his social services department to give him cash to pay for his own carers. He won the right to direct payments, and left Le Court. Hunt, along with other disability activists, went on to to form UPIAS, the Union of Physically Impaired Against Segregation - the first self-organised and user led disability rights organisation in the UK. The right to direct payments, or personalised budgets, is now enshrined in UK law.