View from the Chair

6th June 2010

Hello and welcome to my latest blog.

I'll start this blog with what's been going on at home, or should I say away? After April's disappointment of postponing our holiday to Egypt due to the volcanic ash we finally got away. My wife Pam, my sister Jayne and brother in law Graham set off on our first holiday away together, and we had a great time. Well worth waiting for, a great break, good food, interesting beer, a nearly accessible hotel which was supplemented by staff who had a fantastic "can do" attitude, we enjoyed baking sunshine with temperatures into the high 40's. One evening it was actually 39c at 11.30 in the evening. I remember it not just for the heat but because we found our first and only lift and accessible toilet outside of Sharm el Sheik airport. If you are ever visiting Naama Bay I'd recommend you take a refreshing drink at the famous Camel Diving Centre, bar and restaurant. The atmosphere is fantastic.

Diving in the deep blue sea

Whilst away, Graham and I passed our PADI Open Water Scuba Diving qualification; but not without a few anxious moments. Firstly Graham was worried about how he would cope with his perforated ear that he had got whilst diving at 3m in a pool back home; as out in Egypt we would be diving to 18m! But surprisingly during the first of the four compulsory deep dives I found that I couldn't achieve balance or buoyancy; it was an absolute nightmare. The skills tests were fine, but when I tried to swim I ended up in a right mess; totally disorientated. During the second dive I gave the signal to Ramey my instructor that I wanted to abort the dive. My frustration and disappointment was clear to see. After a very quiet evening and a not to pleasant night's sleep Graham and I arrived for day two and the next two dives that would result in a pass or fail. I convinced Ramey that I should spend time adjusting the distribution of the weights, which at 10 kilograms were double that that used at home; this is due to the more buoyant salt water. Well after ten minutes we got it right and then Ramey introduced an idea of his own; he suggested that I placed my flaccid right arm into a sling to avoid it hanging; and hey presto this improved my balance and buoyancy to a level that I'd never experienced.

After two successful dives and more skills tests which included Graham successfully removing and replacing his mask underwater Ramey declared that we had both passed. Yippee! Back at the Aquarius Diving Centre we were met by Omar the Centre's Director and Master Diver; the smile on his face and the hug that nearly squeezed the life out of me said that he too shared in our success. On the Sunday before we flew home we undertook our first dives as qualified divers; and where better that the famous Ras Mohammed which hosts some of the best dives sites in the world. Our first dive took us to Shark & Yolanda Reef which includes spectacular coral, bizarre fauna and the most colourful fish I have ever seen; including Nemo, ok it was one of many anemomefish but it sure looked like Nemo. Graham described it as our own live in aquarium, that said but I've never seen hundreds of toilets and sinks in an aquarium. They are scattered across the soft white sand around the wreck of the merchant ship Yolanda which sank in 1980 together with its cargo of porcelain toilet fittings. We were joined by Pam and Jayne on the boat; but Pam won't remember much about it as she was too busy being sea sick. During one of the many dashes to the toilet Jayne described Pam as a baby giraffe trying to find its feet!

Our second was a drift dive in Ras Ghozlani; but all didn't go to plan. As the name implies the dive involves drifting with the current. After being dropped into the sea at point A, one drifts down current to point B to be picked up by the boat. Once we got down to around 17m Ahmed our guide realised that the current was travelling in the opposite direction. Graham and I were oblivious to any problems as we were experiencing the feeling of simply floated as we were carried by the current. Once again it was like another world of coral, fauna and fish; we also stopped off to go into an underwater cave which was a very memorable experience as the light from above lit up the inside of the cave. Once we got to the surface we had to wait around for twenty minutes until the boat spotted us and picked us up.

As the dive boat headed back to the port where our adventure had begun early that morning our guide asked if anyone fancied a third dive; as you can guess mine and Graham's hands were up before he finished his sentence. But we couldn't believe that there were so many experienced divers not taking up the offer; finally three of us joined Ahmed for one last dive of the day to a new site Temple. As we entered the water it was clear why it was called Temple; all around us was the most magnificent shaped towers of coral. Amongst the fish we also saw giant moray eels; but as we headed back to the boat Graham spotted an adult spotted eagle ray, as we swam towards it, it turned around and the next minute it was swimming alongside us; it felt amazing. Then in the blink of an eye time was up and we completed the dive.

I suppose what I should mention is that getting into the water off the boat simply required a leap of faith; literally. I sat on the back of the boat and dropped into the sea. Getting back onto the boat is trickier; there is two and half foot between the surface of the sea and the back of the boat. I had to remove my tank, weights and buoyancy jacket; whilst the guys on the boat slipped a long towel under my arms and I hung on whilst they literally dragged me back onto the boat. I'm glad that Kathy and Ann my colleagues in the health and safety team back at 5 Borough weren't around to risk assess the procedure!

Moving back home!

Back home at WDP there has been another few weeks of mixed emotions, Audrey Rogers a good friend and fellow trustee is slowly recovering in hospital after a serious health problem; but good news is a plenty. After months of planning and a great team effort we finally moved back to our refurbished Centre for Independent Living in Beaufort Street. With help from two local haulage companies Relay and TDG, our friends at Thorn Cross, staff, volunteers and our families we finally closed the gates at 5pm on Sunday afternoon at the Orford Day Centre our temporary home for the past twelve months. There is still a great deal of work to do; including the single storey extension on the caretakers house, the conservatory, signage, internal fitments to the showrooms, but with the help of Dr Fouad from St Georges Healthcare Group based in Warrington we have been able to complete the Mobility Training Track, and it has ALREADY been the feature of a news item on BBC Merseyside.

Another great boost for WDP was the news that all twenty four members of Team WDP had completed the Manchester 10k run. The team included my sister Jayne who will admit she wasn't looking forward to it, as it was her first run ever since leaving school (a few years ago). Kate Higgins, a member of staff at WDP and a fellow wheelchair user also completed the course, and she has the scares to prove it. After hearing about Kate's efforts this has encouraged me to sign up for next year's event. My plan is, first lose some weight, then get a wheelchair that can last the course, then get in some training, oh and then find a very fit person to push me (only up the hills).

On the Sunday before we left for Egypt I was honoured to be invited as a guest to the Warrington Adult Learners Week Awards ceremony. That in itself was a pleasure but more rewarding was witnessing several members of the WDP team receiving their awards. Chris Mitchell, Dawn Rostrun, John Tickle, Steve Boyd, Susan Davies, Donna Hubbard and Lillian Smith were each nominated and Steve and John received awards. Maria our Learning Centre Co-ordinator beamed with pride! It was great to see Pat Kitto one of my fellow trustees marshelling the troops in her customarily polite way with partner Nick happily clicking his camera at every opportunity.

Recession hits charities

I have made a habit of including a national topic in my last few blogs; I'm afraid that this one isn't good news. Whilst away on holiday I read that nearly 15,000 charities have folded during the past twelve months as the credit crunch has taken its toll on donations which is the life line for many charities. This is a stark warning for other charities because as I mentioned in a previous blog Local Authorities and NHS Primary Care Trusts are desperately seeking ways to cut back on spending as the pressure mounts on their budgets. During the next few months WDP will be developing new ways to generate income that is less reliant on grants from the statutory services or donations from businesses and individuals. The future is clear we will need to ensure our own sources of income by developing innovative services that offer high quality, safety and reliability at affordable prices. Our first step towards this will be the launch of a mobility recycling scheme for electric scooters and wheelchairs, which we will extend to include servicing and repairs from our new workshop at the Beaufort Street site.

Disability Awareness Day

Finally; the launch of this year's Disability Awareness Day is only four weeks away and the big day will be held a week later on Sunday the 11th July. I'm pleased to report that we have received great support from our sponsors; with the North West Development Agency leading the way as our principal sponsor; we have a great line up for the DAD Week with something for everyone; the Arts Marquee, Sports Zone, Main Arena and a great variety of exhibitors will make for another fantastic event. Have you noticed that Sunday the 11th July is the same day as the world cup final? Have you spotted the unique selling point, DAD the alternative to the world cup!

Until next time, thank you for your interest.