No training blog this week simply because I didn’t do much training.
On Monday it was the Bars and Bells session and this week we added some weights to the bars we had been lifting and after the session I did a short cardio round in the gym too.
Tuesday was my only other training day where I did an easy pool session followed by a gym session.
I had issues at the pool due to the disabled changing room STILL being closed. I’ve got used to getting changed in the men’s toilets over the past 3 weeks but on Tuesday it was made worse by the fact the light wasn’t working in the men’s toilet meaning not only was I getting changed in the toilets but I was getting changed in the dark – I was not impressed!
(image to the left was taken with the door open so some light was let in).
The rest of the week has been writing, interviews, meetings and the weekend has been spent in Folkestone. I’ve had a couple of exciting meetings, including one with the Hunts Forum about taking the next steps for turning ADOWS into a community interest company. I had an interview with BBC Sport Cambridgeshire about my channel swim and the Make a Difference Awards, for which this year I have been asked to be a judge! The final meeting of the week was with Level Water.
Level Water is a charity that gives free swimming lessons to children with disabilities all over the UK. They also run multiple open water swimming events each year, all of which are incredibly and increasingly popular. As a result, Level Water has done something that no other organisation has (that I know of); they have created a working group/committee to improve accessibility and inclusivity at their open water swimming events.
The group is made up of experienced open water swimmers with a variety of disabilities and the meeting was incredible, it was so nice to have people take onboard what we were saying and try to find solutions to cover as many disabilities people that attend an event may have. It was refreshing to have an organisation commit 100% to being fully inclusive!
Travelling in a wheelchair with a suitcase is always ‘interesting’, I booked my passenger assistance early and left home plenty early enough to get to the station. However, as I was going into the station I realised I had left my purse, with my train tickets in at home. As a result I left my suitcase at the station and with just 20min till my train was leaving I rushed back home using my triride.
Getting up to about 17mph to get across the meadow I met my neighbour who had brought my purse to the top of my road. She gave it to me, I turned round and sped back to the train station, the journey normally takes about 15min each way but I somehow managed to get to the station and onto the platform as the train was pulling in, how, I’m not sure!
I was getting off the train at St.Pancras but when we got there, there was no assistance (that I’d booked) to help me. Thankfully, the train is flat to the platform but I still struggled to get my case off, another passenger had to help me with it. I managed to get to the lift easily and once in the lift noticed a man wearing a Burning Nights Hoodie! Burning Nights is a CRPS charity and so we got chatting, he had never met anyone with the condition before and was so excited.
I eventually found some help and they took me to the right train/platform. The High Speed trains are a big step up, meaning a steep ramp so I needed a hand to get up it. Once I was up I headed to the wheelchair spot where someone was sitting with their dog. The passenger assist woman told me I wouldn’t be able to sit there and I should sit in the gap next to the toilet (not a wheelchair space and sideways which would be dangerous), I refused. She then decided to start trying to pull me in my wheelchair back into that space and even when I asked her to stop because I was caught on something, she didn’t, she just pulled harder. It was only when the other passenger assist person told her to stop that she did! I asked the woman in the wheelchair space if she could move, which she did, with no complaints. I was not impressed with the ‘assistance’.
You should NEVER move someone in their wheelchair without permission!
I eventually got to Folkestone and discovered the road to the flat we were staying at was closed. Thanks to help from a lovely couple I eventually managed to get there, where I met my mum and sister. The flat was right on the seafront in Folkestone and next to a new (but empty) block of very expensive looking flats!
Where we stayed was lovely and had all we needed. It wasn’t at all accessible and was even more inaccessible than I was expecting but once I was in I was able to furniture crawl and walk round as it was pretty small and a simple layout. Once we were settled my sister went shopping for some food and we then ordered a takeaway for dinner, which arrived almost 2 hours late!
We were all exhausted after a busy day of travelling so headed to bed.
Saturday morning we all rested but late morning we decided to go for a walk along the prom. We walked up a way and then realised there was actually a board walk all the way along the beach which I was able to use. Its been the first time in a long time that I felt like I was actually on the beach and could enjoy ‘walking’ along the Stone beach without any assistance from another person. I loved it! To top it off, I also saw a seal swimming along the beach, not too far from the shore.
We kept going and discovered that the old Folkestone train station has been left with all its original features, but the tracks are now footpaths with a flowerbed running down the middle. We also discovered lots of little stalls and huts selling all sorts of things; a lot of which seemed to be handmade. There were obviously food stands around the area too and just to top it off there was a huge cinema screen with loads of deckchairs in front where people were sitting watching the rugby.
After that we headed back to the flat for a Power Nap and lunch as I had a couple more adventures before the CS&PF meal on Saturday night!