Mark Glasgow
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Posts by Mark Glasgow
Cast at Theatre Royal raise funds for cancer prevention
Staff at Glasgow’s Theatre Royal will be rattling their buckets this weekend as they collect for cancer prevention to mark World Cancer Day.
Audiences will be invited to make a donation to World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF) and the charity’s vital science and education programmes.
In total, 39 Ambassador Theatre Group (ATG) venues around the UK will be collecting on Saturday February 4, as cancer organisations around the globe mark World Cancer Day.
Teresa Nightingale, General Manager at WCRF, said: “We’re incredibly lucky that the Ambassador Theatre Group has agreed to promote World Cancer Day with a collection.
“Not only does it raise money for our important work, but it also helps raise people’s awareness about cancer prevention and the message that about a third of the most common cancers could be prevented.”
Nick Potter, ATG’s Managing Director (Venues), said: “We’re delighted to be able to play our part in supporting and promoting World Cancer Day, in particular the crucial work WCRF does for cancer prevention.
“We know our audiences have always been supportive of charitable causes and we would like to thank them in advance for helping out in whatever way they can. “
A Winners Tale
It was with a heady mix of excitement and anxiety we left the house on our journey to Bristol Airport. Taking twin boys of 6 and a half and our wheelchair bound daughter on a plane was a new experience. I had been preparing tick lists and running through worse case scenarios for weeks but luckily all my worries were completely unnecessary and unfounded.
The booking and special assistance request with Easy Jet was amazing, everything was so smooth so that instead of being ‘very irritating people’ as we tried to get through with the wheelchair we felt like proper VIPs as we were whisked through check in, security and boarding. All the airport staff were friendly and genuinely helpful.
We were boarded first and given the first 2 rows of seats which was perfect for fidgety boys and Katia who is unable to sit up unaided so she was able to stretch out across the seats. Katia has profound learning disabilities and was disorientated and grumpy but the teenagers sitting behind her sang twinkle twinkle little star to her and made faces which helped distract her. We found bringing one of her favourite musical toys very helpful as it was a familiar object. The Portuguese staffs were equally as efficient and the disembarkation went very smoothly. Finally we were through customs and there we were in arrivals looking for Hazel and her pink folder.
Hazel waved vigorously to us, there was no question of not recognising us we were not a party that could not easily be missed. We all followed Hazel out into the warm air and with just enough time to shed some of our ‘English Summer ‘ layers we loaded into the transporter and set off to Funchal Ridge with me mentally crossing off each of my worries!
It was a late arrival at the apartment but as we wearily got out of the WAV and wandered through the prettily landscaped garden I could smell the wonderful ly aromatic smell of oleander and feel the warm air around us I knew then I was on holiday and it was going to be good. We had a quick look through the apartment but were too tired to take on much except it was huge, beautifully furnished , the fridge had been stocked up with a pre ordered food shop and vitally important there were PG tips tea bags for me to make a much needed cup of tea. Hazel and Bryn had also thoughtfully set out a plate of pastries and pate which gave us something to nibble on before getting some much needed sleep. We all settled down for the night, I chose to sleep with Katia as she was still a bit disorientated and Ben took the other double bed. The twins settled in to the 3rd
twin bedded room. (more…)
The United Nations (UN) drafted the ‘Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities’ in 2006. Five years on we examine disability equality around the world to see if it looks any different.
If I were God, (any of them: you choose) looking down on the Earth today, what would I see? I’d see lots of different states, cultures, tribes, communities and groups living differently in different parts of the world. Even as God, I’d find it difficult to make sure that all of the tiny little dots – like you and I, lived together nicely treating each other fairly and empathetically. My options would appear to be surprisingly limited: send a flood, strike a few high profile people down with lightning or leave people to sort it out for themselves.
And so God created the UN. Well, that’s not strictly accurate, men and women of good will and intent created the UN to be more like God; as a way to run this fractured world of ours. The men and women of the UN aren’t perfect – because they aren’t God, but they do have a strong resolve to see violence replaced with peace, hunger replaced with contentedness and prejudice replaced by inclusion.
Respect and fairness
These ideals inform many of the roles and conventions of the UN. The convention I’d like to focus on for a few moments is the ‘International Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities’. This is an expression of the UN’s efforts to make sure that disabled people are treated with the respect and fairness that all citizens of the world deserve.
The convention sets out what each Member State’s responsibilities are to disabled people. Even at 10,000 words in length, the document is succinct given its import. It feels as if the objective is for it to be as watertight as possible, using the ‘fewer words mean fewer possible interpretations’ model. Despite this, it efficiency espouses on subjects ranging from accessibility, right to life, access to justice and independent living. (more…)
Tennis – Norfolk wins Battle of the Brits Down Under
Peter Norfolk edged out fellow Brit Andy Lapthorne 6-4, 7-6(6) at Melbourne Park on Wednesday in the first of their three round-robin quad singles matches at the Australian Open Wheelchair Tennis Championships.
World No. 2 Norfolk hit the first of two aces in the opening game of the match before twice going a break up to lead 2-0 and 4-2. Lapthorne fought back to level the contest on both occasions, but Norfolk broke
again en route to taking the opening set on his first set point.
The second set began in the same way as the first, with a lengthy deuce game that Norfolk again snatched. Although the four-time Australian Open champion went on to make it 5-3, world No. 4 Lapthorne’s determination again brought him back level at 5-5 and he proceeded to force the set to a tie-break that was every bit a close as the rest of the match.
Lapthorne looked like he might take it to a deciding set as he earned his one and only set point at 6-5 in the tie-break, but a sequence of three successive points brought Norfolk the victory after an hour and
38 minutes. (more…)
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Sirus Automotive – The New Caddy Conversion
Volkswagen’s new Caddy has recently hit British shores and SIrus Automotive are using it as the base model for three of their conversions. Offering independent driver and wheelchair passenger solutions, Sirus were good enough to bring the wheelchair driven I-Can along to Able towers. They do seem rather proud, and, after spending some hands-on time with it ourselves, we can see why.
First let’s get the tech details out of the way. The model we tested, the I-Can, is based on the 1.6 Turbo Diesel 7 speed DSG Automatic Caddy MPV from Volkswagen. A powerful yet suprisingly economical base vehicle that offers 49.6mpg and low CO2 emissions of 149g/km. Being a Volkswagen you are assured that the build quality is suitably German — so no complaints there.
Able have dealt with Sirus for a number of years so we know they are a quality, skilled company but it’s still surprising to actually see how good one of their conversions is up close.
Adapting a vehicle to accommodate a wheelchair driver is no small engineering feat of course — swathes of interior have to be removed, resculpted and replaced but the Sirus engineers, mechanics and I can only assume, motoring elves, somehow merge this all seamlessly into the base structure. If I hadn’t known differently I would easily have assumed that the car had come direct from the manufacturer to this specification.
To be perfectly honest though, the heart, the pleasure… the point of this vehicle is not the tech specs, or the build quality, or even the price. It is what it offers to the wheelchair driver (or passenger)— true freedom and independence.
The car can be accessed and driven by a wheelchair user without all the transfer hassles, without family, carers or friends having to aid and assist. Just press the button to open the back gate and ramp, roll on in (on your own chair) to a safe and secure driving position and off you go! (more…)
