Mobilise - Promoting mobility for disabled people

Mobilise member Frank Napper tries out the extreme sport of kite-buggying and finds it fantastic fun!

When my wife and I visited Cornwall to do some research for our website, www.disabledholidayinfo.org.uk we visited several attractions including the very wheelchair friendly Eden Project and Falmouth Maritime Museum which was particularly accessible. However it was some unexpected kite-buggying with the Mobius Disability Kite School on Perranporth Beach that gave me my most memorable day.

Another younger researcher (I am 64!) was due to test the kite-buggying, but couldn’t make it so I had to be the guinea pig for the day. I was very nervous beforehand and was not looking forward to the experience. However once I had met the team of instructors who reassured me that I could do as little or as much as I felt safe with, I felt more confident.

The first thing I had to do was transfer, with their assistance, from my own wheelchair to a beach wheelchair. This is a chair with balloon like tyres that I needed to sit in, in order to get onto the sandy beach from the car park. This in itself was a novel experience, to be pushed across deep sand on to and across the wide beach area. Continue reading »

Mobilise August Classifieds

For accessible holiday cottages, adapted vehicles and mobility vehicles see our classifieds

Mobilise member Rob Mannion shares his experience of driving in the Emerald Isle.

Even though I see many British mainland registered cars during my frequent trips to the Irish Republic and Northern Ireland, I think many more of us, especially disabled drivers, could enjoy the Irish travelling experience. From Cork to Donegal and from Belfast to Bangor, there are some wonderful people to meet and truly dramatic scenery to enjoy in the land of my ancestors. Continue reading »

Jackie Weeden tells us about the scooter formation team that is putting the fun into fundraising!

The Red Wheelies Mobility Formation Team like many things came about by accident.   All the team members have  multiple sclerosis and ride mobility scooters and  wanted to race their scooters, after all even lawn-mowers are raced so why not scooters? After some initial trials and tribulations to be allowed to race they found a suitable venue.  It was while waiting to race that a couple of the girls started weaving in-and-out of each other and eureka the Red Wheelies were born.  A dressage choreographer designed the original  routine, a uniform was agreed on and as the scooters being used were all red the name Red Wheelies seemed just right. The Red Wheelies were born and took part in fun days raising money for local MS charities. Continue reading »

What do museum artifacts tell us about the experience of living with a disability in the past? Ruth Burwood, Senior Access Curator from the Norfolk Museums and Archaeology Service decided to find out and uncovered a wealth of hidden stories.

For some time museum staff in Norwich had been aware that the displays in museums often only represent a particular version or experience of the past, and therefore exclude some of the community. Our own Disability Access Advisory Group had told us that they did not see themselves in the displays, and felt that the stories of disabled people in the past were missing from our museums.

To address this we decided to find out what relevant objects existed in our collections. Why had they become hidden? We wanted to ensure that in future, anyone could discover these objects and the stories they told. With approximately 1.5 million objects and specimens in our store, we were excited about what we might find…
Continue reading »

Scottish ministers are considering changing the rules which allow Blue Badge holders to park on single and double yellow lines.

Councils across Scotland have told the Scottish Executive that soaring numbers of Blue Badge holders and increasing congestion mean the current rule which allows holders to park on yellow lines is making some roads unsafe.

Local authority bosses want ministers to ban badge holders from parking on double yellow lines and restrict access to single yellow lines to three hours.

Motorists who break the new rules would face fines of up to £100. 

There are now 270,000 blue badge holders in Scotland – nearly twice as many as a decade ago.

But there is growing public unrest over the level of Blue Badge fraud.

In Edinburgh alone it is estimated as many as 70 per cent of the 18,000 blue badges currently in circulation are being misused in some way.

In response, the Executive wants to beef up fines for misuse of the badges from £1,000 to £2,500, as well as introduce independent medical tests to verify disability claims.

The move to change the yellow line rules was  backed by The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, which claims the ‘no parking on double yellows’ rule should apply to all road users.

But campaigners for the elderly and disabled warned the plans could unfairly hit genuine Blue Badge holders. Mobilise will be strongly opposing this proposal.

A public consultation on the Executive’s plan will run until October.  if you would like to respond to the consultation CLICK HERE

Eva McCracken tells Mobilise the inspiration behind her book, Walking on Wheels, a guide for wheelchair and electric scooter users who wish to access and enjoy the Scottish countryside.

When people ask me why did I write Walking on Wheels, I have a stock answer.  “Because it was needed”, I say.  There was a complete dearth of information on barrier free countryside paths accessible to those of us requiring wheels for our mobility. That, of course, is only part of the story but the more I think about “why” the more confused I get.

Was it in my nature?  Was it my upbringing?  Would it have happened had I lived a century ago? Perhaps I was just part of our early 21st century, “go-for-it” attitude and saw an opportunity?

What I know for sure was that Walking on Wheels was part of my journey through life living with MS. It would never have happened had I not become an ‘MSer’, dependent on an assortment of wheelchairs and scooters for the past 10 years.  I feel very fortunate in my nature and my nurture.  I’m an optimist by nature and a problem solver by education. Continue reading »

When driving in Europe, there are numerous rules and regulations that differ from country to country.  To help you stay safe and legal on the roads this summer, Mobilise Motoring Editor Jim Rawlings has put together his top tips for motoring in Europe.

Before driving abroad you should always familiarise yourself with the driving laws of the country you are visiting, check your breakdown and medical cover and check your insurance. The following advice is intended to flag up some of the most common ‘pitfalls’ that await the unwary driver, but it is not comprehensive; if you are traveling abroad we would strongly suggest undertaking some further research on the exact legal requirements of the countries you intend to visit. Happy holidays – and don’t forget to cancel the milk!

Germany

Some German Autobahns have no speed limit. However, where speed limits are displayed they are rigorously enforced. Continue reading »

The ‘Transport for Disabled People: Past, Present & Future’ exhibition at the Coventry Transport Museum has now closed. During the three months that the exhibition ran it attracted visitors from as far away as Scotland, Spain, France, Poland and the USA. The exhibition was run in conjunction with Mobilise and Mobilise Trustee J. Grant Cobb collected the following plaudits from many of the people who came to see the adapted vehicles on display:

“Excellent exhibition, well put together”

“I enjoyed seeing how disabled people used to be challenged to get about. Thank goodness for the progress we are now enjoying!”

“Beautifully laid out exhibition – spacious and thought-provoking.”

For more information on the show see our previous news item

Fuel Costs

Anyone who pays to put fuel in a vehicle can’t help but have noticed how fuel prices have rocketed in the last few months. For disabled people who are totally reliant on their vehicles to get around paying these prices is unavoidable although some members have written to me saying that they are stru

ggling to pay their fuel costs. One such letter came from Mr D R Rogers from Rainham who wrote saying;

Is this progress? I suffered a disability which has prevented me from working for the last 23 years. I am almost solely dependent on benefits. Some years back people with mobility problems were allocated a blue three wheel invalid carriage, with only one seat and were unable to carry their family. Continue reading »