“Those who dream by day are cognisant of many things which escape those who dream only by night.” Edgar Allan Poe
Sunday 26 May 2019
If you enjoy walking,rowing, running, swimming or cycling why not join in and get that feel good factor.
Summer is approaching and many of you will be out enjoying the great outdoors, whether this is going for scenic walks, attempting to get that beach body by going for a run, or maybe enjoying a nice cool swim or a ride in the country, taking in all the beautiful sights and sound that come with being outside and a warmer time of year.
If so why don't you join in with Arctic ONE's Summer of Sport? It is a great opportunity to discover a Foundation you may never have heard of before. A Foundation that is very transparent and as you follow them upon their page you can actually see where the money you help support them with goes.
Each year Arctic ONE attempts to raise enough funds so that they can go on to provide support and assistance to a wide variety of individuals and groups, both able-bodied and disabled. They do this with a grant system, which they call their " Forward Motion Grant". Anyone can apply for this grant who is taking part in some sort of sport. You can find out the details upon their page. All they ask in return is that you help spread the word and help the Foundation grow. The more money raised the more people who can be assisted in taking part in what they love to do.
Please find below the link to details of entering Arctic ONE's Summer of Sport. I know everyone and their dog is asking for charitable donations, however, I believe giving to this Foundation is very different as you become part of a family and if you are in turn needing help at some point you can apply for a grant and the guys over at Arctic ONE will definitely look at your application. They have helped people up and down the country with some great projects.
So if you are going to be doing stuff in summer, why not do it and at the same time help out Arctic ONE. Oh and don't worry, if you decide to give they won't be knocking on your door, sending you spam emails and expecting you to donate each month. It is an opportunity to get involved, a one of payment and you can check out either their Facebook Page or website at your leisure and see how things are going and just what your support is supporting people to do.
Arctic ONE Summer of Sport
Cheers Guys
Friday 24 May 2019
An honour and a privilege to support my good friends over at Pace Rehabilitation
Demonstrating adaption for my job role and being able to kneel behind patients |
Of course, I wasn't going to refuse, as by now you will know if you have ever read my Blog, just how supportive Pace has been to me over the years, and it is always a real pleasure to give something back and help out where I can.
Getting back to the ride up, we made excellent time, in fact, we were a tad early so pulled over for a short break on the way up. Scott had informed me the presentation was to start around 11:00am and finish around 13:30'ish...No worries I thought. Well, that was until we got into the centre of Edinburgh. Dear me it was chaos, so much construction going on. What with roads closed, diversions in place oh and a Sat Nav woman trying to direct up roads and lanes that were closed off. Oh and then there were the taxi's, 6 wheeler buses, trams and irritate pedestrians.
After thinking we were where we needed to be I gave the number Scott had provided me with a call and spoke to Jodi, one of the ladies we were presenting to a call. Bless her she did her utmost to direct us. Apparently, we were only 2 blocks away. Jodi recommended we look for Hanover Street I think it was called, so I popped this in the Sat Nav and off we went doing a complete loop of Edinburgh. We finally got to where the Sat Nav lady told us we needed to be, and bloody hell the road was closed. So around we went again, quite the tour of Edinburgh may have been fun if not for time constraints .
Eventually, we arrived up by the Statue of George somebody or other, sure he is famous I just didn't have time for a history lesson. By this time I was a little stressed and back on the phone to Jodi. Jodi then did a splendid job of directing us around this maze of narrow back streets to get to where we needed to be. I was really impressed. Thank god Ern did come with me as I am terrible at directions and would never have found the place.
Both Scott and Toby firstly gave their presentation and when it was my turn they gave me the nod and I just had to wing my bit. Basically briefly explaining my journey, a little about provision and support, and the various prosthetics I have encountered. I also mentioned my thoughts on elective amputation, versus traumatic and the process of recovery and rehabilitation. I then went on to do a little bit of demonstration using my everyday Rheo XC and my BTK Crossover upon my bike.
Toby Explaining what Pace offers and the process |
Toby and a captive audience |
Scott doing his thing |
Rotating my ankle |
Talking about the importance of socket fit |
Demoing BTK Crossover usage/ability |
It's the little things that people can say and do that make a big difference.
A huge thank you to everyone in attendance, especially for all your kind words, it was a real pleasure meeting you all, sorry I didn't get to talk to everyone at the end.
Big thank you to Jodi Gordon for her images and video clips
Thursday 9 May 2019
In search of a reminder from the past
Similar to the car I had |
Friday 26 April 2019
A ride around the Bath Tub Loop 10 times
Coming up the Bath Tub Loop Trail |
Heading down past Stream Valley |
As I set off I was pleased I had prepared for the weather, having put on a base layer, my Race Face Jersey and my Endura Hoody. To be fair it was not really cold as I rode to start with, without my gloves. It was, however, a tad damp and overcast.
A spot of rain over by the pond |
Puddles starting to accumulate upon each lap |
Over by the small pond. Gets some lovely wildlife here |
It has been some time since I have been out and got a good soaking, however, I really enjoyed my time out. It's nice to have a bit of solitude and just relax and reflect on all that is going on. I also use this time to reflect and generally just be grateful for the small things in life, the things that don't cost anything and all of us take for granted.
Saturday 20 April 2019
A ride out with Reptile Number 2
Awaking this morning I was kind of lost as to what to do, and as the morning slowly passed away and I couldn't think of anything I decided to hide under my throw and see if possibly falling asleep would help either motivate me or bring some positive ideas to spring to mind.
Just as I was dropping off, wor Kyle (Reptile #2) poked his head into my room and said: "hey what are you doing in bed, it's a lovely day do you fancy doing something, maybe go out in the bug?" Well obviously now I thought I was having some sort of a weird sleepy dream state event, as Kyle rarely asks me to do I fancy doing anything. Apparently, it had been really slow at KFC and the Colonel had given Kyle the day off.
I agreed to a lookout and suggested Bamburgh, well it was a nice day and it is pretty beautiful up that way, plus Kyle had never seen the Castle before.
Just as I was dropping off, wor Kyle (Reptile #2) poked his head into my room and said: "hey what are you doing in bed, it's a lovely day do you fancy doing something, maybe go out in the bug?" Well obviously now I thought I was having some sort of a weird sleepy dream state event, as Kyle rarely asks me to do I fancy doing anything. Apparently, it had been really slow at KFC and the Colonel had given Kyle the day off.
I agreed to a lookout and suggested Bamburgh, well it was a nice day and it is pretty beautiful up that way, plus Kyle had never seen the Castle before.
On the beach at Bamburgh |
Friday 19 April 2019
Urban Cow Spotting
Urban Cows |
Thursday 18 April 2019
When you come across a film that gives you that "Feel good factor"
One morning a few weeks back, whilst getting sorted for work, grabbing a quick cuppa, and watching a spot of breakfast news, there was a story about a group of fisherman from Port Issac in Cornwall. These group of fishermen had for years been singing old maritime sea shanties, both upon their boats whilst out fishing as well as onshore where they practiced together once per week. The story goes that a record producer spotted them singing whilst on holiday and well from there the rest is history, and I do not want to spoil the story, for those of you who may wish to go and see the film.
What really perked my interest was the fact that one of the actors present on the sofa, was David Johns. I loved his portrayal of Daniel, in the fantastic film I Daniel Blake, directed by Ken Loach.
Anyhoo upon watching and listening to the interview of both some of the actual characters who the film was based on and the actors playing the role of the fishermen when I arrived back in from work that day I did a little research and discovered the FishermensFriends were actually going to be playing at the Sage in Gateshead later this year, the 24th September to be exact.
The following day arriving at work I mentioned the story to my friend and colleague Sue. Like myself, she was very interested and we decided to ask around within our team if anyone else fancied going for an outing, come September to go and see the group of Fishermen sing their songs. Sue also suggested, "hey why don't we go and check out the film".
I had a quick scooby online to see where the film was playing and we decided to go along to Cineworld at the Gate in Newcastle yesterday evening. After experiencing Cineworld at the Gate, although I don't go to the flicks often, I do have to say it is one of my favourite theatres. The seats were ever so comfortable, the screen just big enough and a delightful atmosphere.
The film didn't start until 18:15pm, so following work we had a walk down into the Toon and just had a relaxing cup of Coffee at Starbucks in Old Eldon Square, opposite the St George and the Dragon Statue.
Getting back to the film and what I said earlier about not wanting to spoil it for anyone fancying seeing it. What I can say is it is one of those memorable feel-good films, a little bit like the Full Monty or going back The Commitments. You know the ones, about the working class, hardships and adversity, but also with a few tunes where you find you are tapping your feet along to the rhythm, or in my case foot LoL. There are some sad moments, together with some really funny ones and you really feel yourself being drawn in by the characters. I am not a film critic, and I am sure that certain people in the know will say that the accents or something like that was not correct, however, for me the acting and their portrayal was superb.
It's great to watch a film with some originality and not just another remake of something that has gone before. I am now very excited to head off in September and listen to the Fishermans Friends live. I have never been to the Sage before so it will be a real treat.
Hey if you find yourself at a loose end, why not grab yourself some popcorn and head off to see this, sure you won't be disappointed.
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