Television review – Road Trip

Channel 4, Friday 20 February

Six friends (Pino, Janet, Paul, Danny, Ono and Kelly) with learning
difficulties take to the highways and byways from London to John
O’Groats to “discover the meaning of life, the universe and
everything”, writes Kathryn Stone, director of learning
difficulties charity Voice UK.

Paul’s joyful, uninhibited dancing moved me. He also described the
way his painting “made him free”. Ono and Kelly were like Thelma
& Louise – only stronger. Ono comforts Kelly when she gets
upset rattling up the side of a steep mountain on a rickety train.

The friends take turns to interview people they meet on their trip:
“Is Bath as clean as its name?”; “How many burgers can you get from
that bull?”. Most people are patient and interested. But when Kelly
took the mike I started to fret. Her speech difficulty proved a
bridge too far for one woman who tripped up in her hurry to get
away.

And then came Jennifer. Jennifer picked up that Kelly’s
difficult-to- understand question was: “Will you dance with me?”
For a few brief moments, their beautiful, graceful ballet …
deux made the world a much better place. Later, Kelly’s karaoke
Ain’t No Party Like An S-Club Party moved the audience to
applause.

At the end Ono said that she had learned about Kelly and thought
Kelly should try and speak more clearly. Kelly said that Ono should
listen more. And that’s something this excellent film tells us: we
should all listen more.