Summer 2009 Newsline - Spinal Injuries Scotland

Why does Spinal InjuriesScotland work closely withDigby Brown Solicitors?• Digby Brown have been ranked Band 1 for Personal Injury by Chambers Guideto the UK Legal Profession for 2006, 2007 and 2008.• They recognise that someone with a spinal injury requires a solicitor with theknowledge and experience to really help.“we adopt a holistic approach topersonal injury cases for thosewith spinal cord injury. Our aimis to assist the client to receive fulland prompt compensation butalso to help them to recoverphysically, psychologically andemotionally. In essence, DigbyBrown’s job starts well before theperson leaves the hospital.”Robert SwanneySenior Partner, Digby BrownSolicitors• They start the process from the moment instructed rather than waiting yearsuntil compensation is awarded.• They apply the Rehabilitation Code of Practice to arrange early interventionon behalf of the client to include an immediate needs assessment to setshort-term goals including: modification to housing, provision of transportand support workers.• They instigate a needs assessment to be carried out by an independent partywho assesses the immediate requirements of the patient both physically andintheir home environment.• Through Digby Brown, interim payments may be available to provide helpand assistance to the person.• Digby Brown have a dedicated department to keep up-to-date with thecontinually changing legislation, these changes need to be constantlyconsidered and adhered to.• Insurance companies deal with Digby Brown and their reputation goes a longway when it comes to robust negotiations and a no-nonsense approach tolitigation.• Digby Brown’s track record speaks for itself.That’s why Spinal Injuries Scotland works closely with Digby Brown.For further information contact Robert Swanney:0141 566 9502 robert.swanney@digbybrown.co.uk

All enquiries and applications to our addressat:Spinal Injuries Scotland,Festival Business Centre,150 Brand Street,Glasgow G51 1DHTel: 0141 427 7686Fax: 0141 427 9258FREEPHONE Line: 0800 0132 305Email: info@sisonline.orgWebsite: www.sisonline.orgSIS is a company registered in Scotland limitedby guarantee and recognised as a charity.SC 015405. ISSN 1363-6723Any opinions expressed in the SIS Newslineare those of the person writing and notnecessarily shared.*Articles from the Newsline are available ondisc or in large print on request.Area RepresentativesIf you require knowledge local to your area,call the office. We will pass your name on toone of our Area Reps who will then contactyou.Spinal Unit VisitsSpinal Injuries Scotland staff and volunteersare in the spinal unit every Thursday from2pm - 4pm on the ward and from 4pm - 5pmin the day room.Legal and Welfare AdviceServicesIf you are concerned about a legal or welfareissues, call the office on our FREEPHONE 08000132 305 and we will put you in touch withour advisors.FREEPHONE Line 0800 0132 305If you need someone to talk to aboutanything, use the above number for enquiriesgreat and small. If no-one is available thenplease leave your name & number with yourmessage and someone will get back to you assoon as possible.Honorary PresidentHRH The Princess RoyalPatronsFionna CarlisleSir Ian WoodCouncil MembersLiz Anderson (Treasurer/Company Secretary)Clare ByrneHelen DarganLaurie DuffyTrevor Eakin (Vice Chair)Peter JoyceGeraldine LynchAdrian O’Donnell (Chair)Keira ProcterStephen RhodenFrank SwanIn the OfficeAndy MacleodDougy JohnstoneAlan CookNabila SattarNewsline Summer 2009Communications ManagerPeer Support ManagerWeb AdministratorVolunteer“It’s that time again,to update everyone onthe comings andgoings and anythingelse of interesthappening in andaround the NationalSpinal Injuries Unit inGlasgow.There have been a few departuresin the months since my lastupdate so here goes; Staff NurseRichard Montgomery has left togo travelling around the world,he’s going to explore Europebefore making his way to the landdown under-we wish him well onhis trip to Australia.SN Margaret Montieth has left totake up a post in CommunityNursing in Motherwell; SN AdelineAitken has transferred to theVictoria Infirmary in Glasgow andNursing Assistant Donna Kilpatrickhas also left, we wish all of themwell in the future.Big congratulations go toOccupational Therapist AmandaHowat who recently gave birth toher and her husband’s first child, ason called Dylan-young Dylanweighed in at 7lbs 3oz’s. Not tobe out done, I became aGrandmother for the first time, mydaughter Michelle gave birth toher and husband Neil’s first child,a son they have called Ethan,Ethan popped into the world atthe impressive weight of 10lb 3oz’s. So it’s big congratulations toAmanda and I’m pretty pleasedtoo!Louise Cownie is returning to theOT department to cover forAmanda while she is off onMaternity leave. Rebecca Reid gotmarried in May this year so againit’s big congratulations to her andnew hubby.The Step-Down unit is now fullyoperational and is being well usedby patients and their families forweekend and overnight stays-thisenhanced facility has gone downvery well with everyone and givesDargan’s Diary:those who have been in the unit for a while thechance to escape from the ward and spend someprivate time with loved ones and friends.There has been some change in the SIS office too,we will be announcing our new Chief Executivevery shortly; we also have to announce that SIS’Commercial and Events Manager, Lucienne Sencierhas left the charity after almost four years. We allwish Lucienne well in her future career.Finally, we were greatly shocked and saddened tohear of the sudden death of Chris Dyer at the ageof just 24. Chris had been injured in 2006 and hadworked extremely hard on his rehabilitation at thespinal unit.Following his discharge he returned to Peebles tolive and to be close to his family. Despite thedistance involved Chris returned to Glasgowregularly to assist SIS in the office, making use ofhis marketing background to assist in ourfundraising events.The funeral service was held at Peebles Old ParishChurch on the 17 th of March where Chris’ familywere joined by many friends. Our thoughts remainwith his family and friends in these monthsfollowing such a sad and tragic loss.”Hamish McBain3

Margaret McKillop with Keira Proctor2009 Awards LunchRobert Swanney and Gordon TownsonSIS marked Spinal InjuriesAwareness Day on Friday 15thMay with our second annualAwards Lunch. This year wechose the grand surroundings ofthe Old Course Hotel in StAndrews to host the Lunch.Once again we were fortunateto secure sponsorship for theevent from our legal advisers,Digby Brown.The event is there to recognise those whohave made an outstanding contribution toSIS over the years and occasionally forspecific projects.Volunteer of the Year this year went toKeira Procter; since 2005 Keira has been aregular volunteer covering the Spinal Unitvisits and more recently the relativesupport evenings. The charity wouldsimply not function without our dedicatedgroup of volunteers, overseen by PeerSupport Manager Dougy Johnstone. Whatis particularly impressive is that she is notexactly “handy” for the spinal unit-living,as she does, in Dunoon. This involves theferry crossing between her home townand Gourock and a thirty mile drive. Therehave been occasions when due to badweather that the ferry has been put off;this then means that she has to drive thelong way round, by the Rest and beThankful in foul weather, a total of 70miles. It is for her ongoing dedication tohelping others and the lengths that sheoften has to go to, that Keira has beenrecognised by the charity.Supporter of the Year in 2009 recognisesthe fantastic ongoing support given to SISby the Diced Cap Trust and specificallytheir Chairman, Gordon Townson. TheDiced Cap is the charitable organisationrun by serving and retired members ofGrampian Police and was formed in 1990.Since then the Trust has raised anddistributed over One Million Pounds,which is a truly extraordinary sum. SIS has4 Newsline Summer 2009

een the grateful recipient of manythousands of pounds in recent years,which has gone a long way to enabling usto keep up our standard of serviceprovision. Gordon is the prime mover inmaintaining the Trust’s support for SISand we look forward to continuing ourlong association and indeed friendship formany years to come.Contribution to the spinal cord injuredcommunity for 2009 goes to LynnNewborn of ConocoPhillips based inAberdeen. Lynn has been the driving forcebehind ensuring the success of the annual“Oil and Gas Quiz” held every March inAberdeen and London at the same time.Her seemingly boundless energy isinfectious and ensures that the eveninggoes without a hitch. She has fulfilled thisrole tirelessly for many years now and it isall the more remarkable that her full-onwork life sees her travelling frequentlybetween Aberdeen and Norway, so whereshe manages to find the time for to createa successful event is anyone’s guess.Lynn Newborn and Adrian O’DonnellThe Old Course Hotel, Golf Resort & Spa, St Andrews:Facilities for Disabled guests.When choosing a venue for any of ourevents, SIS always ensures that they areaccessible for wheelchair users, soundslike a “no-brainer” but not allorganisations are quite as thoughtful. TheOld Course Hotel was checked out forsuitability and certainly came up to themark; here’s what general facilities thehotel offers for their disabled guests,should you wish to visit Fife and treatyourself with a stay in this luxuriousworld-famous hotel.General access to the resort:A ramp is set at the front door with entryvia an automatic door into the resort toensure easy wheelchair access.The main facilities within the Old CourseHotel are located on the ground floor,including the reception and conciergedesks, library, Kohler Waters Spa, SandsGrill, The Jigger Inn and banqueting rooms.Another ramp can be used to gain accessfrom the hallway on the ground floor intothe Conservatory (up four steps) whereAfternoon Tea is served.Specially-adapted bedrooms withfeatures for Disabled Guests:Two Jacques Garcia Eden Junior Suites havebeen designed to accommodate disabledguests. Both suites feature extra widedoors to the bedroom and bathroom,which are of suitable size for wheelchairaccess; these rooms also have a walk-inshower and emergency pull-cord.Conferences, Meetings and Events:The majority of the banqueting rooms arelocated on the ground floor; any roomsthat are not on the ground floor areaccessed via the lifts.Kohler Waters Spa:The Kohler Waters Spa gents’ and ladies’changing rooms offer specially-designeddisabled access toilets and shower roomswith Kohler products.WC Facilities:Disabled public toilets are located on theground floor, both near the front ReceptionDesk and within the Millennium(conference) wing of the hotel.Old Course Hotel St. AndrewsOld Station RoadSt. Andrews KY16 9SPFor Reservations call:01334 474 371 orEmail reservations@oldcoursehotel.co.ukNewsline Summer 20095

SIS Director Peter Joyce met withJonathon Shaw MP at Westminster inApril to discuss the campaign.Unsurprisingly the representations weregently rebuffed but since Parliament nowfinds itself embroiled in the shameful MPs’expenses scandal-they may wish toredeem themselves in the eyes of theelectorate and instead of keeping theirseason ticket for the gravy train, they maywant to make use of tax payers money tohelp sections of the community in mostneed.As promised. Here’s what the Telegraphhas to say about the “Right” and“Honourable” Rosie WintertonMiss Winterton’s claims, which areclose to the maximum allowance forsecond homes, will raise concerns thatsome MPs spend large sums oftaxpayers’ money on improvingproperties.The Labour MP claimed £4,690 for“soundproofing of bedroom wall andredecoration to bedroom, bathroom,living room, kitchen, staircase” in February2007.The payment was reduced to £3,800 bythe fees office after it refused to pay forsoundproofing with acoustic felt and“acoustic mineral wool slabs”.The labour and materials for thesoundproofing cost £890.Three months later Miss Wintertonclaimed £2,574 for installing a newtelevision aerial and work on the frontand back of the house.Another claim for £550 at the same timerepaired a leak from a lavatory, whichcaused “damp stains” on the ceiling ofthe room below.Miss Winterton, 50, is a close ally of JohnPrescott, the former deputy primeminister. She has known Mr Prescott sinceshe was a student and began her politicalcareer working in his Hull constituencyoffice.She was Mr Prescott’s head of officebetween 1994 and 1997.Mr Prescott supported her selection forthe safe seat of Doncaster Central andMiss Winterton was elected to Parliamentin 1997. She was promoted to theGovernment in 2001.Miss Winterton bought the flat in a treelinedcul-de-sac in south London for£315,000 in 2003. The terrace house isnow believed to be worth at least£380,000. In 2005, she submitted a billfrom a garden landscaping firm for£3,000. The fees office withheld thepayment on the grounds that it “may beconsidered excessive”.The landscape gardener’s invoice includeddecking, 38 bags of gravel and deluxetrellis. “Please observe the quality of thetrellis,” wrote the gardener. The feesoffice agreed to pay £1,700 aftercorrespondence with the MP.Other claims included £298 for linen andcurtains from House of Fraser and £96 fortowels, as well as £750 a month formortgage interest. Last year, MissWinterton also claimed £1,100 for aburglar alarm. Over four years, sheclaimed £86,277. “All my reimbursedclaims were either for replacement itemsor for repairs and maintenance work,”said Miss Winterton.“The claims for the particular items aboutwhich you asked were discussed with thefees office and they decided which partsof the invoices should be reimbursed.However, it is obvious that we do need anew system which I support.”As health minister, she was in charge ofintroducing the NHS dental contract in2006. Last year, the House of Commonshealth select committee found thatinstead of improving access to NHSdentistry the reforms have made it worse.Hundreds of dentists have left the NHSafter refusing to sign up to the contractand in the two years after the contractwas introduced, 900,000 fewer peoplesaw an NHS dentist than in the last twoyears of the previous system.Rosie WintertonJob: Minister for Work and PensionsSalary: £104,050Total second home claims2004-05: £20,9022005-06: £21,6342006-07: £22,1102007-08: £21,631© Daily TelegraphWell? Wouldn’t it be nice ifwe could all get our housesand gardens improved andsimply bill someone else?“Anyone for a 42-inchplasma?” “Tax Dodgeanyone?” Of course all ofus here at SIS Towers inGlasgow clean our ownmoats, buy our own telliesand actually pay a plumberto fix our toilet, and wecertainly don’t rent our“second” homes from oursister/daughter/familytrust… you get the idea!Andy MacleodNewsline Summer 20097

Rough Guide to AccessibleBritain 2009 LaunchedFree guidebook to Britain’s best venues for disabled people available nowThe new Rough Guide to Accessible Britain was launched in April, containing details of over175 of the UK’s best attractions catering for disabled people. The free guide featureseverything from the Scottish Gliding Centre for ‘walking on air’ experiences, to shopping inLondon’s Spitalfields market.Now in its second year, the Rough Guideto Accessible Britain was compiled by anarmy of disabled writers across thecountry, as well as readers of the firstedition of the guide who answered a callfrom the publishers to give details of theirfavourite days out.The book has also taken onboardfeedback from the first edition (publishedin April 2008) and the new edition isarranged into geographical regions thatare easier to navigate. Plus, the newRough Guide to Accessible Britain includesmore hidden and off-the-beaten trackattractions, and features additional ideassuch as bars and restaurants to make themost of a day out.Developed by Rough Guides in associationwith Motability Operations-the companythat manages the car scheme for disabledpeople in the UK - the new book iscrammed with fun ideas forholidaymakers regardless of their mobilityor accessibility considerations.Adrenaline junkies can learn to fly withthe British Disabled Flying Association inLasham, Hampshire; whizz through thewater at a Sailability school in Rutland; orwatch sharks being fed at The Deepaquarium in Hull. For those who want totry something new discover what happenswhen a frozen banana is smashed atTechniquest in Cardiff; have a go in aflight simulator at the Ulster TransportMuseum in County Down; or enjoyaccessible zip wiring at the Thames ValleyAdventure Playground in Maidenhead.Alternatively, for explorers who fancysomething more sedate, the guide alsodetails everything from Wisley Gardens inSurrey for exploring roots underneath thegardens to the relaxing voyage throughthe Standedge Tunnel on the HuddersfieldCanal.All reviews feature easy-to-followinformation about the range ofaccessibility features including blue-badgeparking, toilet facilities and wheelchairaccess as well as audio-described toursand BSL-interpreted talks andperformances.Lara Masters, writer for the Rough Guideto Accessible Britain and model and TVpresenter said:“It will certainly come as no surprise todisabled people that the way venues andattractions treat the DisabilityDiscrimination Act requirements varieswildly. As well as addressing specificaccessibility information, the Rough Guideto Accessible Britain pulls together thebest exciting ideas for making the most ofyour leisure time.“The practical advice and informationgives you the confidence to get out andabout, and the fun engaging tone RoughGuides is known for makes forinspirational reading.”Highlights of the new edition of theRough Guide to Accessible Britain include:• Over 175 attractions and ideas for daysout covered, including festivals,markets, bars, restaurants, sportsarenas and events that are disabilityfriendly• Reader Reviews by readers of the firstedition of the Rough Guide toAccessible Britain8 Newsline Summer 2009

• Things Not To Miss section highlightingthe top five attractions in categoriessuch as free, heritage, hidden, familiesand outdoors• Listings of useful organisations tomake getting out and about eveneasier• Information on the hassle-freeMotability Car Scheme that providesan affordable route for a brand newcar for recipients of the Higher RateMobility Component of the DisabilityLiving AllowanceThe book is FREE to Blue Badge holders bycalling 0800 953 7070 or visitingwww.accessibleguide.co.uk – the book isnot available in the shopsMotability Operations, the company thatmanages the car scheme for disabledpeople, has supported the publication ofthe Rough Guide to Accessible Britain.This is part of the organisation’scommitment to increase the informationavailable to disabled people to ensure thatliving life to the full is as barrier-free aspossible.Mike Betts, chief executive, MotabilityOperations explains:“As one of the writers for the new editionof the Rough Guide to Accessible Britainsaid, ‘Getting out and about is good forthe soul.’ This sentiment is the philosophybehind the both the Guide and the hasslefreemotoring package from Motability.We hope that the new, enhanced Guidewill provide ideas and information to givemore people, more fun days out withtheir family and friends.”The Rough Guide to Accessible Britain(second edition) is available FREE toBlue Badge holders by calling 0800 9537070, or order online atwww.accessibleguide.co.uk. The book isnot available in the shops.Financial Services provided byLighthouseGP is a benefit for SISmembers, family and friends providingaccess to specialist independent financialadvice. It’s important to obtainindependent and expert advice to helpreview your existing financial situationand secure your future.Independent Financial Advice means thatthe SIS appointed Advisor, JamesMcLaughlin, is free to choose from theentire financial services marketplace indelivering unique, innovative solutions forindividuals and businesses alike.SIS Independent Financial Advice willdeliver unbiased advice, driven solely byconsiderations of value for money, fitnessfor purpose and client need. Alwaysaccessible, they are enthusiastic aboutwhat they do and aim to form life-longrelationships with our members and theirclients because they deal in their futuresecurity and prosperity.For each client referred by SIS,Lighthouse, the Independent FinancialAdvisor will pay 25% of its resultantincome to the charity at no additionalcost to the client, thereby helping thecharity to continue its own funding.For more information contact:finance@sisonline.org or callFreephone Line: 0800 0132 305Newsline Summer 20099

As you may have read elsewhere in “Newsline”SIS Director Peter Joyce and Maggie, his partnerjoined SIA at Westminster to continue the campaignfor the Winter Fuel to be extended to people with SCI.Without a doubt Jonathan Shaw, the minister was pushingthe “Warm Front” scheme as the preferred method ofassisting disabled people with heating and making theirhomes more fuel-efficient. On this, he wanted feedback onexperiences of this scheme.To argue the case on fuel poverty grounds, the ministersuggested that we marshal our arguments better andproduce information on how many people with an SCI areactually in fuel poverty circumstances.It was put to him that some pensioners still receive DLA(they were on it before pensionable age) and the winterfuel allowance. He responded by saying that anomalies willhappen when different benefits are set up.If there was one thing gained from this experience, it wasthat we must really know our brief. It was a steep learningcurve and one we must learn from if we are to tacklepoliticians on this and other issues.Early in the hour-long meeting, the general subject of thegovernment ministers being defensive over the banksreceiving billions of pounds was raised. Can you imaginehaving the meeting now! “Tell me minister, how much didyou claim in expenses”?!?!But I must thank Maggie, my partner and PA, for the classicmoment. During the meeting she reached out to feel myhand and made sure her comment to me of “ your handsare cold” wasover heard. Theminister thensaid “Oh, is it toocold in here” andproceeded to turnthe thermostatup. Was it too coldin the office? Tofinish the sameway as a classicpolitical TV series“YES MINISTER”.SORRY!We waxed lyrical in the last issue abouta new accessible tourist attraction on theClyde, The Wheel of Braehead. Errr, sorry,unbeknown to us by the time Newsline cameout, the structure had been dismantled andremoved! We enquired with Braehead who confirmedthat it was planned as a permanent attraction anddespite only opening in late 2008, had now been takenaway from the site. Sorry about the misinformation!INTERESTED IN WATER-SKIING?Call Alan Cook at the SIS Office on 08000132 305 or Leslie Wallace at the Uniton 0141 201 2553.WINTER FUEL ALLOWANCEHaving approached Lib Dem CouncillorSusan McDonald (Renfrewshire Council)outlining the SIS campaign for winter fuelallowance. I then approached SNP Bailie DavidMcDonald (Glasgow City Council) to ask if he couldassist with our campaign. On Thursday 14th May 2009I was invited by Bailie David McDonald to attend theGlasgow City council meeting. He was speaking onbehalf of the SIS campaign for people with a seriousspinal cord injury. Bailie McDonald put forward a motionadvocating that the winter fuel allowance be extended topersons Under 60 with a serious spinal cord injury.During his speech Bailie McDonald welcomed me to thecouncil chamber and gave a short account of the historyof my injury and how it had affected my life. He thenproceeded to inform the members of the impact thisinjury had on me and persons in a similar position, forexample, the feeling of frozen arms even in mild weatherand the serious risk of hypothermia during wintermonths.Bailie McDonald had calculated the cost to theGovernment of providing extra fuel allowance to Under60’s with SCI. At present over 60’s automatically receivethis payment which is non-means tested. Bailie McDonaldalso broke down the Government benefits we receive andhow we are expected to meet these extremely high fuelbills from these benefits.He was seconded in his motion by Councillor Hunter. Themotion was carried unanimously to rapturous applause.After the meeting several councillors thanked me for myattendance and they had picked up on several pointsof interest including the fact that the Spinal Injury Unitin the Southern General Hospital is heated to a highertemperature than other wards due to patients’ inabilityto move around and regulate their body temperature.They also stated that they would like to hear fromsomeone involved in the campaign giving them moreinsight to the problem.NOTEIn spring of this year Lib Dem Councillor Susan McDonald(no relation) put forward this motion to Renfrewshirecouncil backing the SIS campaign which also receivedunanimous support from all parties.Both councils will now present this motion to the relevantHealth Ministers. Watch this space!! Perhaps othercouncils will follow suit.Cathy Crilly C5/6Minutes can be accessed on www.glasgow.gov.ukINDEPENDENT LIVINGSCOTLAND SECCThe bi-annual exhibition returns to the SECC in Glasgowon Wednesday 9th and Thursday 10th September. Thechance to see so many products in one place at onetime does not come around very often, so this is a greatopportunity to check out adapted vehicles, stairlifts,wheelchairs and much, much more. We will have apresence there, so why not pop along and have a chatwith at our stand at F4, near the main entrance.member’s eboard www.sisonline.org.uk

Carriage Driving Sports Group for drivers with disabilities:Para Equestrian Driving - Mind Over Matter!TrainingThe group holds a number of trainingsessions, if you are interested in attendingfuture training please contact MargaretBrockie atmargaretbrockie@talktalk.net or 01204531 301 www.cdsg-dd.co.ukThere are approximately 80 CarriageDriving Groups within Riding for theDisabled Association where people candrive on a weekly basis. Amongst theseare many with spinal injuries, some ofthem caused by riding accidents and theperson wants to keep up theirinvolvement with horses. Although thereare many ambulant disabled drivers thereare many who drive from theirwheelchairs.Wheelchair users need a quick release lapstrapso that they cannot be pulled out oftheir chair should the horse stumble orpull it’s head down, and wheelchairsmust be clamped into the vehicle usingvarious “Unwin” clamps. You can see thepotential for danger as there is always anelement of risk whenever one is involvedwith horses. For this reason Riding for theDisabled Association; has very strict ruleson training and inspection of ponies,vehicles, harness and accompanying ablebodied drivers (RDA Whips).For those drivers who progress beyondwhat RDA can offer there is the CarriageDriving Sports Group for drivers withdisabilities. At the CDSG more advancedtraining in dressage, conedriving and obstacles isgiven and it is from thisgroup that the British ParaCarriage Driving Team come.Several of these are driverswith different degrees ofspinal injuries. At all theseevents safety is very much atthe forefront as carriagedriving can be quite adangerous sport if all thecorrect procedures are notfollowed.RDA National Officenumber is 0845 6581082or contactmargaretbrockie@talktalk.netHere when you need usAllied Mobility, based inScotland, offers a wide range ofwheelchair accessible cars,MPVs and minibuses. Our expertteam are dedicated to findingthe perfect vehicle to meet yourneeds at prices you can afford.Allied Mobility is a supporting partner of SpinalInjuries Scotland (SIS). A donationis made to SIS for every saleor rental of a wheelchairaccessible vehicle.Vehicles for sale, hireor on MotabilityAccess to Work grantsFree homedemonstrations**applicable to vehicle sales only0800 587 9600www.alliedmobility.comNewsline Summer 200911

Rob Pearson (C6/7) and his passion for paintingA little about my background; it was 1991 when at the age of 21 I slipped from the top ofa stack of pallets at work. I landed awkwardly and ended up breaking my neck. It was a C6/7complete injury, so I’m paralysed from the chest down and unable to move my hands.Strathclyde Police were thehosts this year of the BritishPolice BasketballChampionships, held inGlasgow in May. SIS was verypleased to be the chosencharity to benefit from theI never took an interest in artalthough I did get an ‘O’grade at school; in 2002when I started to hold a pendifferently by looping itthrough my middle finger, allof a sudden I could write adecent signature!I got a set of pencils and a“learn to sketch” book andstarted to practice somedrawings on paper-whichwas fun as it gave me a newhobby. The pencil drawingwas my first attempt at alarger picture; thebackground and foregroundare from 2 different books!Over the last few years I’vedone drawings for myfriends and family, and soldone or two, when in 2007, Iwas asked why I didn’t docolour paintings? So I triedcoloured pencils, but wasunable to put enoughStrathclyde Police Basketball Teamfundraising side of the event. PC EmmaMark was one of the main organisers ofthe event and of the fundraising effort sowe owe her and everyone else whoattended for the fantastic donation of£937.00. In these hard times for everyone,even charity does not avoid the creditpressure on the pencil to get the darkercolours. I then thought about oils, butinstead I got a set of watercolour paints,bought some books and started topractice painting.I’ve done around 8 paintings now, andthey usually take me anything from 3 to 6weeks depending on the detail. I like topaint just a little bit each day so I don’tget tired and make mistakes! I preferdoing town and cityscapes as I enjoy thechallenge, and get pleasure when eachpainting is finished.Here are some photos I took of mypaintings; one shows Florence, and no,I’ve never been! I did go to Calton Hillthough! The one with the tram issomewhere in Glasgow, I’m not surewhere as I painted it from a black andwhite photo.The workstation with my easel is where Ido my painting; the photos I get arefrom Picasa Web or similar websites. If Isee a good photo I’ll print a postcard of itand then try to paint it!crunch so we are delighted to receivedonations, great and small. Strathclydeput up a creditable showing in thetournament too, losing out in the semis tothe eventual winners, the MetropolitanPolice.When a local young man andwork colleague wasparalysed in a road accident,John Ross and somecolleagues and friends fromCumnock decided to raisesome funds for SIS. We weredelighted to be there to pickup a cheque for £1,000 inearly April. Further monieswere raised and donated tothe person who was injuredin the accident; the amountraised is testament to the motivation andgenerosity of this Ayrshire community. Asis often the case, small local communitiespull together in times of adversity and arethere to assist people in need. We weredelighted to be the recipients of theirextended kindness and will be able to putthe fabulous donation to good use. Oursincere thanks go to John and all hissupporters and sponsors, the staff fromEmergency 1 in Cumnock, the staff andvolunteers of Cumnock retained FireStation and the wider community in theCumnock area for their kind support.Photo Courtesy: Gary McLaughlin, GroupChief Photographer, Ayrshire Weekly Press.12 Newsline Summer 2009

The Wickerman Festival 2009Friday 24th and Saturday 25th July.The festival, now in its eighth year is generally likened to a smaller, Scottish version of theworld-famous Glastonbury Festival held in southwest England every summer.Wickerman is named after the genuinelydisturbing 1973 cult horror film, much ofwhich was shot in the local area; the filmstarred Edward Woodward, ChristopherLee and Britt Ekland. If you don’t knowabout the film then it is very much anexploration of the darker side of life,Woodward plays a policeman called in toinvestigate a child who has apparentlygone missing on a remote Scottish island;the fictional “Summerisle”.The whole extravaganza culminates in theburning of “The Wickerman” a hugestatue of a man, made out of guess what?They always check to make sure no-one isinside prior to torching it, lest anyone elsecomes to the same unfortunate end aspoor old Edward Woodward and acollection of farm animals did in themovie!Andy MacleodHe soon finds out that the locals havereverted to some rather base beliefsystems and are prone to pagan rites andlots of naked romping. Can’t promise anyof that at the festival mind you but whenlots of people get together in a tented cityin a field and a few MD 20/20’s aredowned, you never know?It has certainly grown in stature over theyears it has been in existence and nowattracts some amazing names and acts.Some of this year’s headliners includeAmerican soul legend Candi Staton, 80’selectro-pop loonies The Human League(anyone who writes lines in a song like: “acrow and a baby, had affair, the resultwas a landslide, the result was a dare” I’mafraid just isn’t right). Veteran politicalsinger/songwriter Billy Bragg is there toadd his left-wing voice to proceedings,add to that one of the best acts to comeout of Liverpool in recent years, TheZutons, you can see that there is a prettyeclectic mix.There are performance areas to suit manytastes, the main, or “Summerisle” Stageis obviously the premier platform, butthere’s an Acoustic Village, a ReggaeTent and there’s even a HeadphoneArena.Billy BraggNewsline Summer 200913

What do the organisers say about disabledaccess to Wickerman?What do the organisers say aboutdisabled access to Wickerman?“The Wickerman Festival will makeevery effort to make the festival asaccessible as possible for all disabledticket holders and their carers.However, we must point out that theWickerman is an outdoor event held ongrass farmland and as such there arenatural hills and dips which make theground uneven in areas. This maypresent challenges for those withserious mobility issues and wheelchairs.All tents and stages are accessible towheelchair users without too muchdifficulty; however, in the event of rain theground may become muddy makingaccess more problematic. There aredisabled toilets located throughout thesite. We do not have an official wheelchaircharging point, however, anyone wishingthis facility should visit the first aid point.Disabled Car Park: Only vehicles with ablue badge can park in the disabledcamping area; this area is also thedisabled camping area.Disabled Camping: The disabled campingarea (and car park) is a designated areapositioned within the family & quietcamping area. Blue badge holders canpark their cars next to their tents; all othercars will require to be parked within themain car park.Access to the main arena is located nextto the disabled camping area and is arelatively level stretch of ground. Due tospace limitations within the disabledcamping area we can only permit theperson with a disability to pitch their tentplus one other tent if with a group offriends.”Contact: Helen ChalmersThe Wickerman Festival10 Quay StreetUllapoolWester RossIV26 2UETel: 01854 613746Mob: 07968 433272Email:helen@thewickermanfestival.co.ukwww.thewickermanfestival.co.ukThe Zutons14 Newsline Summer 2009

LOCATIONThe Wickerman Festival takes place atEast Kirkcarswell, near Dundrennan,South West Scotland, down the A711and just over an hour’s hop from theM74.For those of you relying on the directionalguidance of a satellite navigational systemthe postcode that holds the key is DG64QW.Ticket NameSKIDDLEOnlinePriceOUTLETPriceAdult Weekend Ticket(age 16+) £80 £85Concession Weekend Ticket(Age 13-15)Available exclusively online £40N/AChild Weekend Ticket(Age 0-12) Free FreeAdult Saturday Ticket(age 13+) £53 £55Child Saturday Ticket(age 0-12) Free FreeCampervan Ticket(General Area, No Tents) £25 £25Campervan Ticket(Family Only Area) £25 £25D’n’D Toilet pass (Unlimited)Available exclusively online £6N/AD’n’D Shower pass (Unlimited)Available exclusively online £6N/AEtickets: Tickets purchased throughSkiddle.com are E-tickets, you will notreceive tickets in the post. You will needto have access to a printer because youThe Human LeagueNewsline Summer 2009need to bring your printed ticket to thefestival. All tickets are barcoded forenhanced security and can only beregistered once but the bonus is if youaccidentally delete your E-ticket on yoursystem, the organiser’s system can do thesame and reissue a completely newbarcode.New Weekend Concession Tickets:Families are encouraged to attend and tohelp make the festival more affordable, aconcession weekend ticket for 13-15 yearolds has been introduced-they wouldpreviously have had to pay the adult rate.This ticket is available exclusively onlinethrough Skiddle until Wednesday 1st July(after which full adult price will apply). Allunder 16s must be accompanied by anadult and a maximum of 4 tickets can bepurchased per customer.Proof of Age: Everyone under the age of16 must be accompanied by an adult andbring proof of age-anyone without proofof ID will be liable to pay the full adultticket price at the gate. It is alsorecommend anyone who looks under 21to bring ID with them. The ages shown onthe tickets refer to the age of thechild/concession on the day of the festival(not the age at time of purchase). The 3forms of photographic ID which will beaccepted are: CitizenCard, Passport orPhoto Driving Licence. These are the onlyofficial proof of age documents that willbe accepted-Don’t say you have not beenwarned!Organisers have teamed up with theCitizenCard to offer half price cards toWickerman ticket holders. At £6 thesecards don’t have an expiry so can be usedeach year (and for other events).http://www.citizencard.com/wickerman.phpDown ‘n’ Dirty Passes (D’n’D): Down ‘n’Dirty passes will be available to purchasein advance again this year. These passesallow use of the upgraded ‘posh’ flushingtoilets and hot showers. Prices are £6 fora toilet pass and £6 for a shower pass andboth give unlimited use. Please note thatthe number of passes is strictly limitedand this offer is available exclusivelyonline. Some tickets may be available atthe event (if not already sold out) butprices will be more expensive and showerswill be charged per use. D ‘n’ D passes arenon transferable. One pass is required perperson.Caravan/CampervanParking: Adult Weekendtickets include camping andcar parking on Thursday23rd, Friday 24th & Saturday25th July. Saturday ticketsinclude car parking andcamping on Saturday 25thJuly only–gates will not opento Saturday ticket holdersuntil Saturday 25th July at09.00.Anyone wishing to bring acampervan or caravan willneed to purchase aCampervan ticket. This yearthere will be two ticketsavailable - Family andGeneral. The familycampervan/caravan ticket willallow access to the familycampervan/caravan area andallow a space to pitch 1 tent.This ticket is only available tothose with children under16. The general campervanarea will not allow tents tobe pitched (as per previousyear’s policy).15

Rough RiderzYou may recall that in 2007, we introduced you to the“Rough Riderz” mountain biking club, well they are stillgoing and are setting out to raise £6,000 to buy aFourcross Bike for use by people with a spinal cord injury.A team are taking on the “Castle to Castle” challengefrom the 1st to the 3rd of July, they will be cycling fromCumbria to Edinburgh, quite an endeavour.Robert Bailey was a victim of a spinalinjury in June 2007, suffering a crushfracture to T12 in a pleasure boataccident. Fortunately Rob was luckyenough to escape any permanent damageto restrict his quality of life. Prior to hisaccident he always enjoyed outdooractivities, his main hobby being the sportof mountain biking. In the early 90’s Robrode for Keswick Mountain Bikes in racesthroughout the North and North West ofthe UK.Since becoming fully fit and active againRob has decided to raise funds for aspecialist Fourcross bike to help the UK’sonly mountain biking club that caters fordisabled riders: “When I learnt that afracture to T12 was one of the mostcommon causes of paraplegia I realisedhow very lucky I had been. Since then ithas always been a desire of mine to givesomething back and when I heard aboutthe Rough Riderz mountain biking club Icouldn’t think of a more appropriateorganisation for me to help”The cost of a Fourcross Bike is over £6000;this is currently Rob’s target which he isstriving to raise through sponsorship andother fundraising events. He also aims todonate 10% of the monies raised to TheBack-Up Trust.To raise these funds Rob has set himselfthe challenge of riding from MuncasterCastle in West Cumbria to EdinburghCastle. The “Castle to Castle” route willtake Rob and two friends, Steve Smye andPaul Martin, along the coast of WestCumbria and through the Borders toBerwick. The final stage takes themthrough the Tweed Valley to Innerleithenand over Dewar Hill, finishing at16 Newsline Summer 2009

Edinburgh Castle. This is a total distanceof 320 miles, ridden over 3 days,following Sustrans routes.At just 31 years of age Philip Hall, fromLancashire, suffered permanent damageto his spinal cord in a serious roadaccident in September 2003. NowParaplegic, Phil can no longer walk andneeds to use a wheelchair. Prior to this hehad led a fit and active life, alwaysrelishing a new challenge.Phil’s first opportunity to return tomountain biking came during 2006 whilston a sporting holiday at an activity centrein Colorado. He enthuses: “On these fourwheelers,my disability means nothing.The problem is that whilst there is alreadya well established and fully integrated 4-wheel mountain biking scene over in theUSA & Canada, it just isn’t currentlyavailable to try anywhere here in the UK”.On his return from America, Phil set aboutlaunching ‘Rough Riderz’. The club isdedicated to making four-wheel downhillmountain biking available to anyone inthe UK. Phil remarks, “I am currentlytrying to secure adequate funding to beable to offer people ‘taster days’ so theycan try out the sport for themselves. I’vealready had some help from ‘Aspire’, aleading spinal cord injury charity. Variousother sporting and disabled organisationshave also reacted very positively to thesenew 4 wheel downhill bikes, the disabledMTB scene and the clubs ambitions”.Rough Riderz is now working closely with,and supported by, the ForestryCommission.More information can be found atwww.roughriderz.co.ukNewsline Summer 200917

Those Tee Shirts are getting everywhere you knowAfter the first outing for the SIS tee shirts in Vegas and the wilds of Canada, we weredelighted to receive some pictures of supporters modelling the shirts even further afield-allthe way down under.Molly McBain with Sydney Harbour Bridge behindGlasgow businesswomanFiona McBain was visiting herbrother and his family inAustralia recently and whilethere they all took in a scenicferry ride around the worldfamousSydney Harbour, oneof the world’s greatwaterways.As you can see the cruisetook our young models pastthe iconic Harbour Bridge;Hamish McBain sounds likehe should be marchingthrough the highlandlandscape claymore in handand munching on rawhaggis-but he and his oldersister Molly despite having aScots dad are indeed bornand bred Sydneysiders.The other picture is a bit of atrick one though-Fiona, you might havethought, was also snapped on board shipwith Molly and Hamish but she wasactually visiting Auckland Harbour in NewZealand’s North Island, no less picturesquehowever. We would be interested ifanyone else is travelling and they want tomodel SIS’ tee shirts around the world,then please contact the office 0800 0132305 and we can send you a shirt. All weask is that you take some pictures of yourtravels and send them in.Andy MacleodFiona at Auckland HarbourHamish at the BridgeIt’s those“things welike to hear”again!ShoppingSupermarkets seem to be aplace where “we” encounterdifficulties; it is nowstandard practice for thecheckout staff to ask “helpto pack your bag sir/madam?” Well; wemight not need it if you didn’t press the“turbo boost” pedal under the desk (weknow its there!), so that our shoppingwhizzes past us on the conveyer belt atthe speed of light!We particularly appreciate when “noveltymini funfairs” occupy the six disabledspaces nearest the door, or that essential“win this car” promotion simply HAS tobe parked sideways over three accessiblebays.RelationshipsAble-bodied members of the opposite sex(or the same sex depending on yourorientation), when we ask you out to themovies/dinner/a drink we don’t mean “justas friends”! And for those of you who doaccept such an invitation in the correctterms (i.e. “a date”) when you are askedto come back for a coffeea) we don’t actually have any; andb) it means exactly the same as if anyoneelse is asking you!Stuff!We’re not all “good at the basketball”.The stupidity of peopleStephen Rhoden recounts this barelybelievabletale from his holidays in 2008:“We were on holiday down at Henley-on-Thames in Oxfordshire and on the thirdday Margaret (my wife) slipped on a stepand damaged the cruciate ligament in herright knee. This resulted in a visit tocasualty and her being issued with twoelbow crutches as she could not weightbear on this leg. One day while outshopping a woman stopped us in thestreet to ask if we had ‘been in a carcrash?’ We were dumbfounded and shemade it worse by saying ‘you two look sofunny; you really shouldn’t be outtogether’; best not repeat the responsethis incredibly insensitive woman got butsuffice to say not many of the wordswould get onto ‘Countdown’.”Taxi DriversWhen you ask “so, whit d’ye daeson/hen/pal” And we answer, “well I’mcompleting my Doctorate in ParticlePhysics at University” that actuallyqualifies for a little more of a responsethan “aye that’s good, keep ye busy eh?”Yes, quite!18 Newsline Summer 2009

Sport and Options WeekAfter the success of last year’sParalympic Week, the SpinalInjuries Unit will be running aSport and Options week laterthis year.The week will run from Monday 17th toFriday the 21st August and is open toanyone with a spinal cord injury-old ornew. It is a chance to try out a variety ofsport and recreational activities andperhaps find something that you didn’tthink you could do or even pick up a newsport or hobby. The activities will be runboth in the unit and in surroundingfacilities.The timetable for the week is currentlybeing planned but it will include Sailing,Kayaking, Handcycling, a BBQ and apicnic in the park. We are also planningto camp overnight at Loch Lomond foranyone who would like to try this out. Anumber of sports sessions will also be onoffer through the week and we hope toinclude athletics, basketball, rugby,tennis, badminton, bowls, table tennis,archery, shooting and others.Once the timetable has been confirmed,full details will be available in the unit andon the SIS website. For the week to be asuccess, we will be relying on help andsupport from a number of differentsources and if anyone can offer support ofany kind, from sponsorship tovolunteering to help out during the week,it would be greatly appreciated. The weekis being supported by the Spinal Unit,Options charity and ScottishDisability Sport; SpinalInjuries Scotland and TheSportsman’s Charity.The week will be followed upwith a sponsored push orhandcycle around Millport onFriday 21st August to raisefunds for Options, the charitybased at the unit thatintroduces patients of theunit to a variety of activitiesincluding sailing and gliding.Options also funds theminibus that is available forpatients to use if they do nothave an accessible vehicleand allows staff to getpatients out and about.Anyone wanting toparticipate or sponsor shouldcontact the therapydepartment.For any more informationor if you think you canhelp, please contact ClaireLincoln or any of thetherapy staff at the unit on0141 201 2558 orclairelincoln@nhs.net.“O Flow’r of Scotland“By Leslie Wallace (Occupational Therapist-Hand Specialist at the QENSIU)Led by our own King(Susan–physio) and BraveheartsWallace (Leslie–OT), Loudin alias‘Goose’ (Grant -nurse) andconverted-Scot Frith (Carl–nurse)we were bound to do Scotlandproud at the Inter-Spinal UnitGames at Stoke Mandeville.The competitors were Graham Cullen(Dad!), Lorraine Dargie (danger Dargie!)and the kids–Simon Logan, CraigMcRonald, Ryan McCann and Alex Gray. Itsoon became clear that we were destinedto go far–with the youngest competitor at14 years old and the most recent injury–amere 5 weeks post injury and the quietyet firmly competitive natures from all!!Following firm words with the airline staffre. moving and handling we had asmooth journey, arriving at Luton andNewsline Summer 200919

collected by what can onlybe described as a 1st classminibus–replete with trailerno less! Dormaccommodation found, wequickly recruited an extrabed for Lorraine in Leslie andSusan’s room and found our‘restaurant’ area for theweek!! The compulsorysocialising was a little slowthis first evening, we think itmust have been the accentlanguage barrier and simplythat the folk couldnaeunnerstaun’ us!!!!!!!!Day 1: ‘Have a go day’-so wedid!! First the wheelchairrugby!! Weightlifting,athletics–which incidentallySimon and Craig were prettyawesome at!! Hand bikes,Graham you looked the partat least; then shooting, pooland snooker, we had a fairlypacked and active day.“Points team!” was the callof the King!! We had a littlesiesta and then thereappeared a lovely bright lightin the sky, with NO clouds,they told us it was called thesun! Anyway it drained us(nothing to do with the earlyrising for the showerroutine!)Refreshed and fed wedecided to try the socialisingbit in the evening againmaking a little more progressthis evening, striking upwhat was to be valuableallegiance with a few of theDublin, Pinderfields andMiddlesbrough teams (whoincidentally had a couple ofour ex patients in their team)Sean from Back Up deservesa mention for his assistancein local orientation. So, the‘Celtic’ (phonetic k!) supportwas building in preparationfor the big St.George’s daydinner and awards ceremony.Day 2: Competitioncommences; Alex was firstto compete in the bowls soteam Scotland supported ‘en masse’, sadlyAlex was narrowly beaten at the tie breakextra end. Next up was the para shooting(not literally!) Craig, Alex, Ryan andSimon were our representatives let’s justsay that they all did well with Craig goingon to win. The table tennis starred Ryan,Simon and Craig, with Ryan and Simonreaching the second rounds, Lorraineentered this event too but did not getthrough the first round unfortunately. Thebasketball ‘have a go’ session proved tobe a big success with the ‘kids’ takingevery opportunity to ‘have a go’WHENEVER they could and we need toinclude Goose in their category now!The Archery competition began withSimon, Ryan and Graham taking part withCarl’s experienced help; the boys did wellwith Graham going on to win the tetracompetition. The tetra bowls competitionbegan too, Graham thrashed the moreexperienced Belfast competitor (havingfirst asked for advice on technique neverhaving tried this sport before-what achancer!) Almost embarrassingly Lorrainedid exactly the same againstMiddlesbrough! So the completelyinexperienced bowlers ended up in thesemi-finals. We had hoped for an allScottish final, however some questionablejudging saw to that. By this time thebowlers’ assistant, Wallace’s phrase of‘taking part counts, BUT it’s the WINNINGthat MATTERS was becoming standard.This was quiz night; Awesome–what awealth of knowledge, from Carl’s uselesstrivia to Graham’s wisdom to Grant’smusic knowledge and Leslie’s ability todecipher codes, what a team. We were2 nd out of 16so a very creditable showingindeed, the chocolate orange and roseswe won became our prized possessions.Then it was Thursday: Finals Day, Alexhad an early start for shooting so we allgot up to support him – we win as ateam, lose as a team, we work as a team,“c’mon team” was the call of the Kingtoday. Craig and Graham also had theshooting competition today and bothwent on to win both the para and thetetra trophies. Next came the finals of thetetra bowling; Graham thrashed thecompetition today to win 3 rd place easilyand ‘Danger Dargie’ went on to win 1 stplace beating Dominic from Stokeconvincingly.The afternoon brought the swimmingcompetition, with Craig entering one race,Lorraine two and Graham three. As theonly female tetraplegic entry, Lorraineswam at the same time as the Male tetrasso won all her races. Graham (thealbatross) was awesome, beatingbackstroke and freestyle competitionhands down (so to speak!) Craig, Leslie,Carl and Susan won the team valuablepoints for taking part. I think we lost thekids to basketball for that 3 hours andgained valuable assistance from SylvieCoupaud (one of our researchers fromupstairs) who had joined us the daybefore as another assistant.As we all glammed up for our big eveningahead, team leader King was showingsigns of excitement, daring to think thatwe might actually have a chance ofwinning! So with hair straightened orgelled, team Scotland arrived-Saltire flag‘n all. We got split between tables withthe bowling judges, then after our lovelytraditional English roast dinner wecollected our trophies one after the other.The most emotional one being forLorraine for the best individual performer,there wasn’t a dry eye in team Scotland(eh Carl)!! We began to realise thatactually we had collected the mosttrophies from all the teams, a greatachievement, then as they counted downand announced the runners up werealised that we had actually won theoverall competition-fantastic!So there we were with our St. Andrewsflag, up collecting the biggest shield of alland on St. George’s day too-we sentthem homewards tae think again!!Besides winning the whole competitionand all the individual events I think thatevery single one of us found the weekfantastic with each one achieving theirown goals whether it was how to fall outof a wheelchair with style, wheelchairdancing skills or just having a good time;personal goals were the highlight for mostwith a fun time beyond the injury, facingnew challenges and achieving the firstever Scottish win in the 22 year history ofthe games on St. Georges day was magic.20 Newsline Summer 2009

SIS Director Clare Byrne (T4)on Retraining and Motherhood post injury.I was injured in a road traffic accident on Boxing Day 2000, whilemy husband Stephen and I were driving to our then home in Yorkfollowing Christmas with family in Cumbernauld and Paisley.A complete lesion at T4/T5 was the result,and following surgery at Middlesbroughspinal unit, we made the life changingdecision to move back north so that Icould do my rehab in Glasgow where wewould be surrounded by friends andfamily for support. It was a decision wetook very little time over as I look backnow but really the only one to make giventhe good name surrounding the spinalunit at the Southern General.I spent five months in rehab, and onceone comes to term with the realities ofliving with a spinal cord injury, at somepoint the question pops up–what to donext?My background was in retail managementand laterally I had begun specialising intraining and assessing young people incustomer service and other aspects ofretail work. This was a very mobile roleand had involved me driving aroundYorkshire and carting around with me lotsof files and a laptop, visiting around fourdifferent retail outlets each day. Even ifmy company had had a Scottish branch(which it did not) the job would not havebeen practical from a wheelchair.However, and I’m not sure how or when,the idea of cake decoration was placed inmy mind at the spinal unit. Certainly I hadreceived the latest Nigella Lawson bookthat Christmas which was packed full ofgoodies! But I hadn’t really baked sincemy school days. Nevertheless the seed wasplanted and I realised it was something Icould do from home. I mentioned this tomy cousin who was visiting me (yes, youEileen!) and before I knew it she hadarranged for me to meet up with two ofher colleagues at the college of FoodTechnology in Glasgow. To cut a long storyshort I started my course there a fewmonths after being discharged from thespinal unit and moving half a mile up theroad to the Margaret Blackwooddevelopment of adapted housing inCardonald.Happy FamilyThat course lasted ten months or so andlooking back it was a great move as it didnot give me time to get too settled into aboring regime of daytime television athome. It gave me a good grounding inthe basics of cake decoration, and alsoforced the college to get their acttogether with their disabled access, whichwas far from ideal. To be honest though Ihave probably learned a lot more throughmaking cakes at home as practice doesmake perfect. When Stephen and Idecided to have a go at self-build afterstruggling to buy an appropriate house, Ithen had the opportunity to incorporate alittle work room into the design of thehouse, just off the kitchen. This has beenideal as it keeps the cakes separate fromthe family kitchen. All of my customcomes via word of mouth and customershave included quite a few staff membersat the Southern General!22 Newsline Summer 2009

Pingu CakeOur son Patrick was born in November2004. My pregnancy was fairlystraightforward apart from a lot ofsickness and heartburn! At this point,Stephen was working towards an MBAwith the Open University, which meant hewas working from home; so we were inthe fortunate position of being able tocare for our new baby together a lot ofthe time. However, as the pressure onStephen increased in terms of assignmentsand exams, we had to involve a few morehelpers to assist me with childcare andfree up Stephen so he could concentrateon his studies. Thankfully our families andfriends were very helpful again and therewas no shortage of grandparents andaunties and uncles to help me out.I had taken a few months’ break fromcake making after Patrick’s birth; however,a close friend was getting married in May2005 so this seemed like the natural timeto get baking again and make herwedding cake. Of course, things hadchanged now–it was no longer easy todevote hours at a time to decoratingcakes and I found it far easier to workwhen Patrick was sleeping. So this meanta fair amount of evening working.Patrick’s first year was spent in Cardonaldwhere we struggled to contain all thebaby equipment and cake equipment inour compact and bijou residence. InDecember 2005 we made our longawaited move to our new home inAllanton, and the juggling of baby andcakes became a lot less complicated!Now that Patrick is four (going onfourteen), he is very independent. I do stillwork some evenings–not because Patrickcommands so much of my time now butbecause he loves to “help” me–andwedding cakes plus sticky fingers are nota good match! He is certainly very keen inthe kitchen and loves to crack eggsparticularlyif the outcome is a chocolatecake. I still have help,particularly from Patrick’snow retired granny,Margaret, (it’s not alwaystrue what they say aboutmothers-in-law!) and ourgood friend Rona. Theadditional help is invaluablewhen I have a few cakes onthe go! We are also veryfortunate that Patrick is quitea placid and friendlycharacter and as suchdoesn’t make a fuss when ababysitter is brought in tofree me up. Indeed, myinvolvement with SIS is madepossible because of theselovely helpers too!If anyone would like to askany questions about mycourse, or indeed the wholetopic of parenthood after aspinal cord injury, do feelfree to contact me atclare.byrne@sisonline.org orvia the SIS office.Who’d be a parentBarbie BirthdayWedding CakeNewsline Summer 200923

Dave RhoneyThose of you with long memories may remember that I wrote an article on fatherhood backin 2006 when Angus was about two and a half years old. Time has flown and Angus was sixon May the 13th. I have to ask where the last three-and-a-bit years have gone?one step and there was no real issueabout access as they said immediately“that’s fine we can put a ramp in!” Theyeven asked for advice from me regardingputting it in.Car parking is another funny one, some ofthe looks and comments I’ve had whilebuilding my chair up at the side of the carwhilst parked in a parent and toddlerspace have been great, they have beeneven better when I’ve gotten Angus out ofthe car, stuck him on my knee andwheeled away, priceless!They are a bit like the looks we get whenAngus shouts daddy and then jumps onmy knee, especially if I’m with some of myfriends, it is almost like no one expects theone in the wheelchair to be the dad. Thegood thing is that Angus is not reallyaware of any of it; I am just his dad!The year before Angus started school wewere able to get him a place in the schoolnursery class.Dave & AngusThe NinjaWhen you become a new parent lots ofpeople tell you to make the most of it,“Before you know it he will be startingschool!” This got said frequently and atthe time I just thought “yeah OK”, but toeveryone who told me that, you wereright, they grow up so fast! Some nightswe put Angus to bed and by the time hegets up in the morning I’m convinced hehas grown another 2 inches!We have faced a number of challengesover these last three years; things everyfamily face and then some which areparticular to a wheelchair user. Child carefor example (sadly we gotta work!!),finding a good private nursery is difficultenough but then when you do, is itaccessible so you as the chair user candrop off or collect your child? We werevery lucky, the nursery we found only hadAgain we were very fortunate in that thenursery entrance was ramped, the nurserystaff were very good and we never reallyhad any issues. Once I had been in a fewtimes they got used to me and the chair.Some of the other children were a bitinquisitive at first but once they had seenme a few times that was that. One of thenursery projects was transport, thechildren were asked to think of thingsthey get a ride on and Angus said mydaddy’s wheelchair! So I was asked to goin and talk to the children about mywheelchair. The nursery staff managed tosecure the use of the games hall andarmed with a spare chair, I spent an hourwith about twenty under fives trying toexplain how I ended up in a chair andletting them all have a test drive. Greatfun!On the 18th of August 2008 Angusstarted primary school, for both myselfand Lorna it has to be one of theproudest days of our lives. Angus lookedso grown up in his uniform and was not24 Newsline Summer 2009

in the least bit nervous. That honour wentto his mum!We arrived at the school with all the otherparents and children, the only slight issuewas that I had to go in a different door tothe rest of the parents and could not getan answer on the intercom so Lorna hadto come along the corridor to open thedoor. The rest of the morning went welland we picked Angus up at lunch timewith a HUGE smile on his face. When weasked how school was he said amazing!Almost a year down the line he still lovesschool and his last report card said he wasa pleasure to teach! We are not surewhere the love of school comes from butwe both hope it lasts. The amount ofthings Angus has learned over this firstyear in school has been awesome, he canadd and subtract he reads well and hekeeps coming out with things whichastound me and his mum.As well as starting school Angus alsobegun learning Tae Kwon Do (a Koreanmartial art) this year and has achieved hisblue belt in the little ninja programme.This means twice weekly trips to trainingwith either me or his mum. The only slightproblem there is the gravel car park whichwe all know can be a pain to cross but atleast when we get inside I have acomfortable seat!Angus at WorkLast summer I bought a hand bikeattachment for my chair to go cyclingwith Angus and his dog. Often when weare out people will talk to us and they sayits amazing doing that in a wheelchair.I’ve had similar comments just being atthe shops with him, just because I’m in awheelchair and happen to be lookingafter my son. The general populationseem to think its something special seeinga wheelchair user carrying out everydaytasks.Well its not! Its life, for me its part ofbeing a father, a parent, a husband. Mywheelchair just happens to be a tool I useto allow me to carry this out.When you suffer a spinal cord injury youhave two ways to go, sit there feelingsorry for yourself or get up and get onwith life as best you can!The choice as they say is yours, no onecan do it for you.Going to the RugbyNewsline Summer 200925

Incapacity Benefit and Work-YourQuestions Answered by:Kathleen McMonagle, Welfare Rights Adviser, Digby Brown SolicitorsAs you may be aware, Employment & Support Allowance was introduced on 27 October2008 and replaced Incapacity Benefit and also Income Support on the grounds of disability.This means that if you make a new claim on or after this date, you will, in general, have yourclaim treated as a claim for ESA instead of IB or IS on disability grounds.If you are already claiming IB or IS ongrounds of disability when ESA wasintroduced, you will continue to do so forthe time being, although the governmentplans eventually to transfer all claimantsto ESA.What happens if I want to try out somework, will my Incapacity Benefit beaffected?Generally, you are not allowed to do paidwork and receive Incapacity Benefit. If youare considering doing any work, evenvoluntary work, get advice from an adviceagency before doing anything else. Even asmall amount of unpaid work could havean impact on any future assessment bythe DWP of your capability for work.If the work is paid, rather than voluntary,you should also get a better-offcalculation done by an advice agency. Thiswill tell you whether you will be financiallybetter or worse off in work.What happens if I stop claimingIncapacity Benefit, start work and thenhave to stop again because of healthreasons?There are linking rules which may make itpossible, for the time being, for you to goback to your former benefits, after aperiod of employment.Eight week linking ruleIf you have 2 spells of incapacity for work,separated by a period of 8 weeks or less,you can reclaim Incapacity Benefit, andIncome Support on disability grounds, asif your claim had been continuous.28 weeks. You have to start employmentwithin a month of the last day you arepaid the benefit. You are thenautomatically covered by the Welfare toWork linking rules. This means that if youbecome incapable of work again withinthe 104 week Welfare to Work period youcan go back on to your former benefits.Permitted workThere are some instances when you canwork and receive Incapacity Benefit. This isknown as “Permitted Work”. Thepermitted work rules allow you to dosome work, and earn some money butstill be officially recognised as incapable ofwork. Remember also that as with anywork you do, the physical or mentalactivities involved in the work can betaken into account when deciding if youare capable of work or not.Getting adviceWorking and Benefits is a complexsubject. This article is only a brief outlineof the rules. You can get welfare rightsadvice from a number of organisationsincluding your local Social WorkDepartment or Citizen’s Advice Bureau.Every care has been taken to ensure thatthe content of this article is accurate atthe time of writing. However, noresponsibility for loss occasioned to anyperson acting or refraining from action asa result of any information provided inthis article can be accepted by theauthors.Welfare to Work ruleTo qualify for Welfare to Work you have tohave been receiving Incapacity Benefit orIncome Support on disability grounds for26 Newsline Summer 2009

The Marathon as a sportingeventThere is academic debate about veracity of the claims that themodern sport of marathon running stems from feats attributed toPheidippedes. It is alleged that he ran the distance of over 26 milesfrom the site of the Battle of Marathon to Athens to inform theAthenians that they had been victorious against the Persians. Poorold Pheidippedes not only ran all that way but apparently afterarriving and announcing “we have won”, he promptly droppeddead!Whatever the truth of this ancient tale is,the marathon distance of 26 miles and385 yards is run in over 800 locationsworld-wide every year, many of theseevents raising untold millions for charity.We were fortunate indeed this year tohave competitors in both the Edinburghand London events.Watch out in later issues of Newsline forthe exploits of those intrepid runners whoalso completed the Glasgow Women’s10K and Edinburgh Marathon, also in aidof SIS. We owe a huge vote of thanks toeveryone who puts their body on the lineto raise funds for SIS.Izzy Maciver in the LondonMarathonIn the time of 5 Hours 7 Minutes and 57Seconds she completed the course insweltering heat, raising some very muchneeded funds for SIS into the bargain. Itook myself off down to London to cheerIzzy on and I can attest to the swelteringheat on the day, so to complete the eventat all was a fantastic feat.There was the usual compliment of fairies,Rhinos, Gorillas and superheroes amongthe more sensibly dressed runners but allseemed to be having a great time and themassive crowds were giving everyone ahuge ovation when they passed-therunners could not have failed to beboosted by such wonderful support.Izzy tells me she is determined to get hertime down next year; this is her third yearon the trot (sorry, lousy pun!) to completethe London marathon and in 2010 SIS’Golden Jubilee year, is planning to getdown to 4 and-a-half hours. All we cansay from here is “Go Izzy”Andy MacleodNewsline Summer 200927

Home-made AttractionsThere is little doubt that many people are feeling the pinch associated with the credit crunch; so you might be lookingfor some places of interest to visit here at home in Scotland over the summer? We have put together a few attractionsthat are accessible and offer some variety around the country; from Daleks in Glasgow and Whisky in Edinburgh to themountains of Lochaber and the fishing heritage of the northeast, down to the beautiful gardens of Dumfriesshire, wehope that you find something worth a look. If you have any suggestions of your own, then we’re always happy to hearabout them in the SIS office.“Doctor Who” Exhibition Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, Glasgow“The Art Galleries”, as it isknown locally is a Glasgowtradition, almost a rite ofpassage for Glaswegianschoolchildren. Everyone has amemory of their first visitthere; from that first nostrilfullof fusty air you’re hooked!Aaah! That smell, the aromalies somewhere betweensubway station and wetLabrador!It has undergone a recent,multi-million pound revampwhich not only improvedaccess, but resulted in thecreation of an entirely newfloor, quite a trick and havingbeen there I can vouch for itnot only being a fantasticplace to visit, but also a very accessible onetoo.No longer is going to a museum the dry andstuffy affair it once was, especially here atKelvingrove. Visiting exhibitions break up theregular fare on offer and with recent“guest” exhibitions including the life, times,music and fashion of Kylie Minogue, you cansee that wide appeal is the order of the day.The latest visitor to the west end of Glasgowis the “Doctor Who” exhibition, which is sureto be a huge hit with fans of the revitalised TVclassic Sci-Fi series. It is currently on and has avery lengthy run, not closing until the 4th ofJanuary 2010, so there’s plenty of time tocatch up with it.It’s all there, from the 60’s classic “baddies”like the Daleks and Cybermen to more up-todatecharacters like the Ood and Judoon,every generation of “Who” fans will becatered for. The exhibition has original propsand costumes from the series and is sure tobe very popular.For more information:www.doctorwhoexhibition.comBuy your tickets now from www.SECxtra.comor phone 08444 815 816Adults: £7.50 plus booking fee.Concessions: £4.50 plus booking fee.Family ticket: £18 plus booking fee.Buy 10 children’s tickets and get twoadult tickets free.Tickets are now on sale in the Kelvingroveshop near the lower ground floorentrance.Kelvingrove Art Gallery and MuseumArgyle Street, Glasgow, G3 8AGPhone 0141 276 9599Text phone 0141 276 9500 or 0141 276 9511Fax 0141 276 9540.Opening hoursMonday to Thursday and Saturday 10am to5pm, Friday and Sunday 11am to 5pm.Disabled parkingDisabled parking is available within the carpark. There are ten spaces reserved for BlueBadge holders.Accessible toiletsAccessible toilets are available on each floor.Those on the lower two levels also containadult changing tables, and adjustable sinks.Toilets are locked so as to reserve them forthe use of disabled visitors – ask staff toprovide keys for you.EntrancesThere are three entrances to Kelvingrove:two at the car park entrance, and one at theArgyle Street entrance. A lift is located atthis entrance.Threave Gardens, Castle Douglas, Dumfries & GallowayOpening times vary by season, find out at0844 493 2245 orwww.nts.org.ul/Property/61/ ClosedJanuary.Situated a mile west of the small town ofCastle Douglas, Threave Gardens is run bythe National Trust for Scotland. There area number of reserved parking spaces closeto the visitor centre and the tarmac allowseasy pushing, which continues in thepathways through the estate (mapsavailable). The paths are smooth and theviews over the rolling countryside towardsthe Galloway Hills are glorious.The visitor centre has level access to theshop, restaurant and outside terracewhich enhances those stunning views. Theinterior has something of a“Scandinavian” feel to it with lots ofexposed natural wood forming thestructure.Whether its daffodils in spring, the multicolouredborders in summer, or the everchangingautumn shades Threave is atreat whenever visited.*Photography: Courtesy National Trust forScotland Photo Library28 Newsline Summer 2009

Macduff Marine AquariumIf you find yourself in northeast Scotlandthen it is almost impossible to avoid thetopic of fish (also known as feesh, fush orfash in various parts). It has been themajor industry in the area for generationsbut falling stocks and the influx of the oilindustry has diminished this somewhat inrecent years. An attraction that makesmoney out of fish without the need forsautéing or deep frying however is theaquarium in Macduff.With all sorts of species from corals tolobster, octopus, turbot and gurnard,there’s loads to see. You can go along as afully inclusive family as the venue is totallyaccessible, being on one level. Getyourself along and see different habitatsand even watch as the divers feed thefish. The times and days of feeding vary soit is best to check ahead of time to avoiddisappointment.Nevis RangeNevis Range is committed to ensuring thatthe facilities they provide are accessible tovisitors of all physical abilities, includingthose with limited mobility. The gondolacars themselves are able to accommodatewheelchairs up to 60cm (24”) wide andthe operators will readily slow or stop thegondola cycle to allow access to less ablevisitors, until they are onboard and fullyprepared for the journey ahead. There aredisabled toilets located at both the topand bottom stations and there isadequate disabled access to theSnowgoose Restaurant and the basestation Café.It is not necessary for you to inform NevisRange of your visit beforehand, whenpurchasing tickets staff will provide youwith the necessary information to ensureyou have an enjoyable visit. Once onboard the gondola, the GondolaOperators at the base station will informthe Top Station Operator that aOPENING TIMESMacduff Marine Aquarium is open everyday from 10am–5pm.Last admissions: 4.15pm.The aquarium is closed only on thefollowing dates:25th, 26th, 31st December1st, 2nd JanuaryPRICESAdults ........................................................................£5.40Children (aged 3–15) ..................................£2.70Seniors ......................................................................£3.35Family (2 adults, 2 children) ..............£14.85Tickets are VALID ALL DAY so you cancome and go as often as you like.LOCATIONThe aquarium is situated on the HighShore of Macduff, just east of theHarbour. The aquarium is all on one leveland suitable for wheelchairs andpushchairs. Disabled-access toilets andbaby changing facilities are available.wheelchair user or less mobile customer isonboard a certain gondola, to ensure thatthey are prepared to stop the gondola onyour arrival at the Top Station.If you require any further assistance orinformation before your visit or whilst onsite please don’t hesitate to contact or aska member of staff who will be more thanwilling to help.The Gondola is open all year round*,weather permitting. It is recommendedthat if you are travelling a long distanceto visit you phone in advance to check wewill be open on the day of your visit, asoccasionally strong winds can restrict ouroperations.Normal opening hours: 10am - 4pm.WINTER - when skiing Nevis Range openat 9am on weekdays and 8.30am atweekends, closing times are restricted bydaylight hours. * The gondola is closed forannual maintenance between midMacduff Marine Aquarium11 High ShoreMacduffAB44 1SLTel: 01261 833369Fax: 01261 831052Email: macduff.aquarium@aberdeenshire.gov.ukNovember and midDecember inclusive, and notnormally open on Christmasday.SUMMER - opening hours areextended during July andAugust when operatinghours are from 9.30am -6pm.It is best to check in advanceif you feel that your visit maybe affected by changes inopening hours.Ticket Type Adult Junior Senior Family 2+2Return £9.50 £5.50 £8.25 £25.00Multiple Trip £11.50 £7.00 £10.25 -1 week £20.00 £12.00 £17.00 -Annual £41.00 £25.00 £35.00 -Newsline Summer 200929

Steamship Sir Walter ScottSet in the stunning Lochsand Mountains of theTrossachs and only an hourfrom Glasgow, the steamshipSir Walter Scott plies its tradeon Loch Katrine-the source ofGlasgow’s drinking watersince 1900.Turn the clock back to thedays when Victoria was onthe throne by boarding thisdelightful little ship andmarvelling at the stunningscenery of Loch Katrine andthe surrounding mountainslike the imposing Ben Venue.No longer coal-fired butrunning on eco-friendly biodieselthe ship sails theroutes it has for over 100years. The Sir Walter Scottwas built at Dumbarton,then dismantled and cartedoverland to the loch-thinkabout that in 1900!From the seven dedicated car parkingspaces in the tarmac car park it’s an easypush to the booking kiosk and beyond,the separate toilet block. On the otherside of the car park, the lift-accessed“Anchor’s Rest” bistro has a very cosy feel,where everything from a coffee to a threecourse meal is available; there’s also anaccessible toilet in the building.Once booked on board it has level accessall the way to the gangplank which has asmall (6cm) step on and off but once onboard the deck is level. For the opening ofthe 2009 season the ship has beenconverted to include an accessible toileton deck as well as a bar and seatingrearranged for improved access. It is notonly the opportunity to sail on a piece ofmarine history but to enjoy a chilled glassof white or a frothy cappuccino as youalso drink in some of Scotland’s finestscenery.Trossachs PierLoch KatrineBy Callander, FK17 8HZwww.lochkatrine.comSailing TimesFrom mid April The Steamship Sir WalterScott departs from Trossachs Pier at:10:30am Sailing to Stronachlachar(Departing from Stronachlachar Pier at11:30am), arriving back at Trossachs Pierat 12:30pm.1:30pm 45-minute scenic cruise3:00pm 45-minute scenic cruiseTicket type Sailing to StronachlacharScenic CruiseRound Trip Single 45 MinsAdult £9.50 £8.00 £8.00Child (U 16) £7.00 £6.00 £6.00Concession £8.50 £7.00 £7.00Purchase your ticket from the BookingOffice at Trossachs Pier - or book inadvance on 01877 332 000All times are subject to revision due toweather conditions or operational reasons.Advance Booking is stronglyrecommended. Reduced fares for childrenand concessions. Group reservations anddiscounts available on all sailings.Scotch Whisky Experience Disabled FacilitiesEdinburgh is well catered forwith tourist attractions, fromthe castle to art galleries andfrom our seat of governmentto the soon-to-reopen UsherHall. Well, as an alternative,why not try out a littlesample of Scotland’s nationaldrink-at the Scotch WhiskyExperience on the RoyalMile?The Scotch WhiskyExperience is a winner of theScottish Tourist Board ThistleAwards in the “Tourism ForAll” category. This recognisedexcellent practice in facilitiesfor disabled and youngervisitors. You can lunch ortake in a tour, taste some ofthe product or just learn a little about thisancient drink and a mainstay of theScottish export market.AccessThere is full wheelchair access throughoutthe attraction; entrances to the Box Officeand Shop are through fully automaticdoors and a lift takes guests to each level.The Building is spacious with plenty ofroom in all tour areas, Shop, Bar andRestaurant for manoeuvring wheelchairs.Wheelchairs access the Barrel Ride behindthe cars.Guests who can leave their chair canaccess the Barrels, which can be heldstationary. An elevator provides access toevery level of the building. There is adisabled visitor WC with all the necessaryapproved facilities and access.Disabled Visitor GroupsGroups of any size can be catered for butIf you are an organiser please contact:0131 220 0441 at least 10 days inadvance.The Scotch Whisky Experience354 CastlehillRoyal MileEdinburghScotland EH1 2NETel: 0131 220 0441Fax: 0131 220 628830 Newsline Summer 2009