Olly Benson

@ollybenson.uk

2526 Followers 297 Following

NHS Englander. Ex VCSE and BBC. Mainly interested in volunteering, VCSE sector, public participation and engagement, so stuff around people, building communities, health, power, digital, media etc. Husband | 🚸 Dad x2 | 💔 #ACHD 🌍 Warwickshire, UK

Me in shades and hi Viz tabard
Inside one of the airship hangers at Cardington.
All health conditions 2 April 2026 Deep venous thrombosis Significance: Significant Status: Active Notes: Right femoral vein obstruction 4 October 2024 Immunisation course to maintain protection against SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2) Significance: Minor Status: Past Ended: 1 November 2024
I’d do it again’ — the man who lost £19k fighting Saga subscription bill James Ahmed was so annoyed when his lifetime subscription went from print to digital that he took the company to court James Ahmed’s two-year legal wrangle ended with defeat in the court on Monday
View from a train window of a large beach, sea and distant mountains.
Lifestyle Questionnaire Which eye(s) are affected?* Left Right Both eyes Reading e.g., Newspapers, books, shop signs etc* Yes No Unsure Hobbies including sports, crafts etc* Yes No Unsure Mobility e.g., Driving, seeing bus numbers, crossing roads, difficulty on uneven ground such as steps* Yes No Unsure Do you have difficulty with glare in bright conditions (e.g., from sunlight)?* Yes No Unsure Do you have difficulty with glare in dim conditions (e.g., headlights from oncoming cars/streetlights)?* Yes No Unsure
Screengrab of email: Email reads: "Hi Jason, I attended your really useful Better Writing workshop late last year." There is a pop up suggesting that to improve the Grammar, I should change your to you're.
Woman in the interior of a car. She is sitting in the left-hand side drivers seat with her feet in between the driver's and passenger's seats. The woman is wearing a green shirt and beige skirt.
Screen grab of Index of Multiple Deprivation showing that SK1 3AL is in the 93% of deprivation.
Screenshot of The Times homepage. Text reads: Russia ‘jammed signals of RAF jet’ carrying defence secretary John Healey was flying home after visiting British troops stationed in Estonia, which is seen as a likely target for an invasion Below this is a picture of a wingwalker on a red bi-plane
Screen grab of text that reads: Charlotte Tobitt of Press Gazette, Guardian founder Jim Waterson and BBC Studios Audio's Thomas Curry
Angela Rippon talking to patients on a ward.
Red sign with white writing: RICHARD III COBTAINS SCENES OF DESTH, VIOLENCE AND THREAT. THIS PRODUCTION USES LATEX BALLOONS, ONE OF WHICBH IS POPPED ONSTAGE
Screen grab of BBC News app saying 'News from Coventry and Warwickshire ' The four story headlines are: • 'I have no kidneys but I am doing the London Marathon for the second time' • Stories to make you smile from across the West Midlands • How to run a marathon, from those who have done it • Marathon mistakes: when races go wrong.
Two children sitting on grey train seats. The table in front of them is covered with debris including food packaging, water bottles, a Nintendo Switch and pink headphones. The kids faces have been coloired out.
Angela Rippon stares directly at my camera whilst speaking at the podium.
View of Westminster Bridge from the terrace at the Houses of Parliament. Behind the bridge is the London Eye and the Shell building.
Canal in foreground with red brick buildings on far side and glass office block on the nearside.
Me with George Webster. On wearing my suit, George is where a stripped top and glasses.
Looking down the carriage on new LNR train.
Picture form the audience of the stage at De Montfort Hall with Stephen Fry on stage with interviewer. Behind is a large picture of Stephen Fry.
Two rail tickets that say Seat Reservation, then with details of the specific train, and then "No specific seat reserved".
In an atrium looking up. In the foreground some trees with green leaves in a large container. Above them, six or seven floors up, is a glass roof. You can see bits of a walkway with frosted glass behind the trees.
Screen grab of The Times newspaper article. Text reads: Martin was certainly an enthusiastic campaigner for Brexit, giving £200,000 to Vote Leave. He does not spill a drop of regret, pointing out that Remain-backing economists warned hundreds of jobs would be lost if Britain quit the UK. In reality, he points out, there are now over two million more people in work than before the referendum.
Screengrab from National Trust website. Text reads: Train We're just a 20 minute (1 mile) walk or a short taxi ride from Coventry train station. Bus You can jump on the X18 (Stagecoach bus) to Stratford from Stop TS2 near Sainsbury's in Coventry city centre, arriving on London Road right by the entrance to Charterhouse (nearest stop – Acacia Avenue) in just 10 minutes. The X18 runs every 30 minutes. Alternatively, you can catch the 3 (National Express Coventry bus) towards Warwickshire Shopping Park from Cross Cheaping (Stop BS6) in Coventry city centre, arriving at Humber Avenue on London Road right by the back entrance to Charterhouse in just 7 minutes.
Your transthoracic echocardiogram appointment is on XXX XXX at XXX XXX at Clinic 5, 2nd Floor, KGV Building, Barts Heart Centre, EC1A 7BE. Please arrive 30 minutes early in order to have your height, weight, blood pressure and electrocardiogram performed. If you also have a doctor's appointment on the same day you will receive a separate reminder for this. Please arrive on time for your echocardiogram, if you are late we may not be able to see you. To cancel or rebook call 0203 765 8765/8716
Screengrab of video on BBC News website with split screen showing members of the band Blue signing into microphones in a studio. In the top right hand corner is the Radio 4 ident.
Text from Telegraph article: Our children go to state schools and we don’t plan to send them to private schools, as it is not something we would like – nor could we easily afford it with three of them.
Image shows hotel room, edge of bed, chair and footstool and bedside table with a cup and alarm clock on it.
Screenshot from BBC News. Text reads: News from Coventry & Warwickshire. 1st Headline: Fire service welcome new investigation dog 2nd Headline: Tributes to fearless award-winning police dog.
Front cover of Christmas Radio Times showing Gromit and Shaun the Sheep.
Blue HST train carriages with Pullman branding alongside a platform.
Email screenshot. Words say: nona. Give the gift of sustainable joy this Christmas - enjoy 20% off when you spend £50 or more. Image below shows two green plastic clothes pegs holding red and white fabrics on a clothes line. There are green trees in the background.
Screenshot from The Times... Mamdani’s gaffe over ‘aunt’s’ fear of wearing hijab after 9/11 The mayoral candidate faced pushback after recounting a story about an aunt who was too afraid to wear a hijab on the subway amid rising Islamophobia in the aftermath of the 9/11 terror attacks. Mamdani told the story after his rival, Andrew Cuomo, laughed in the middle of a radio show when the host suggested Mamdani would “cheer” if another 9/11 took place. But Mamdani later faced scrutiny and accusations of lying after revealing the woman he was referring to in the story was actually his father’s cousin. He claimed he had called her “aunt” all his life. “Zehra fuhi, my father’s cousin, who passed away a few years ago,” he said. Fuhi means aunt in Urdu and Hindi.
Screen grab from the article. Large text reads: 61 comments.
Crowd of around 50 people stood outside the stage door at the Other Place theatre.
Neil Pearson (white male with dark hair in gray suit with red and white tie) and Siobhan Redmond (white female with red hair wearing pinkish jacket and white shirt) in press shot for Between The Lines TV show. They are shown in front of street scene.
View of the Tyne from the Level 5 gallery of the Baltic. In the foreground is part of the Gateshead Millennium bridge, behind it further down the river is the Glasshouse music centre and the Tyne Bridge. There is a clear blue sky.
Screen shot of text saying Coming Soon
Picture of pages from Mog in the Fog book. Speech bubble says "Now we make tea." / "Good tea. Good butter in it."
Grap showing Internet Explorer usage and murders in the US. The green bars show murders and a blue line shows market share of IE. The line maps the green bars exactly, going from high on the left to low on the right.
Screenshot of Santander Cycles app with pop up that says "Cycle Hire isn't responding. Close app or Wait"
View from the front of a DLR with window onto a track that goes up and round to the left. In the cab there is a mocked up control panel. A girl's hand is in front of some of the control panel.
Black ink stamper with a logo that shows (in reverse) a play icon, a pause icon and a slash mark.
Blue playground sign with white text. Text reads: The equipment in the play park is suitable for children up to the age of 12/14 years. - It is recommended that children are supervised at all times. - Please give due consideration to other children playing - Open: 0900am - Dusk (Winter) & 0900am - Dusk (Summer) - Please report any damage or incidents to Leisure Services.
Front of cream coloured stone cottage with brown door and plants growing up the walls. In front of a gravel path with grass either side and two children stand looking at the camera.
Hand written sign saying Father Fogive over two pieces of white paper on top of a computer keyboard on a desk with cables and a mouse.
An image of Feathers McGraw from the Wallace and Gromit films. He is holding up a mirror that he is looking into, whilst stroking his head which has a red glove on it, to make him look like a chicken.
NHS Points Scheme We are announcing a new NHS Points Scheme which will be developed to reward people for taking positive actions to improve their health. Based on loyalty schemes popular with supermarkets, coffee shops and mobile banking apps, people could receive gift vouchers or discounts at their favourite high street stores by simply upping their step count or making healthier food choices. We will shortly launch a market engagement process to start the conversation with business about what behaviours could be incentivised.
A graphic showing the outline of the Glastonbury site (in red) overlaying a map of the centre of Coventry. The ring road is easily within the Glastonbury site, and the railway to Nuneaton wraps around it on the left.
Screengrab from Times newspaper. Picture of three models in beach and leisure wear, one sitting, two standing, posed on a balcony Text below says: Would you spend £1,000 on a beach towel. This summer's must have accessories cost hundreds of pounds each - don't expect them to make contact with any actual sand. Fashion.
Set of double doors with sign above that said "Stairs to stairs".
Read sign outside of stone building. Sign reads: Apple Store. This building known as the apple store was most likely a folly built for decoration in the 1800s.
Image of red street sign with white words saying Speed Activated Signals Ahead). Sign is high on a square pole, placed on a pavement and behind is a low dry stone wall with a forecourt and then bungalow. There are two white cars parked directly behind the pole, and bushes to the left of the image.
My and my son stood holding a selfie frame in front of the Coventry Very Light Rail, which is a silver tram with large windows. I'm wearing sunglasses and a blue T-shirt and khaki shorts and my son is in a blue hoodie and t shirt.
Ruins of old Coventry Cathedral. Right in the foreground is a half eaten falafel wrap.