Something that's been puzzling meI feel I have to mention this as the more I think about about it the more confused I am! You might recall that I recently had a news item about some multi sports sessions organised by the Extended Schools co-ordinator, Mavis Crawford. The sessions offered up to 3 hours of respite a day and from memory I think the cost was only £7.00 for the four days. I was recently reading the Ealing Mencap Newsletter which mentioned that at the EDCM Fun Day earlier this year they organised a Survey on local services and one of the most common complaints was the lack of "respite" and things for young people to do in the holidays & leisure time. With me so far? What I can't understand is why I then received an e-mail from Mavis with the following message "Unfortunately, we have had to make the decision to cancel the multi sports sessions as no one has booked onto them." Did you notice the no one? I would love to hear from you on this issue, what went wrong? I have spoken to some people and they say that the main problem is transport and that for a lot of people one of the main problems is how to reach the venue where the respite is being offered. Please let me know your thoughts. Things I have been doing recentlyLast week I went along to the No Limits exhibition over in ExCEL. Not a quick trip by any stretch of the imagination. However once I arrived I was pleasantly surprised to find a variety of exhibitors there with all sorts of things from mobility aids, devices to aid independant living, some amazing bikes and I joined in a music workshop with the amazing Joy of Sound. They have a range of magnificent instruments, many of which have been tailor made for specific people. Those that need it are tuned to an open chord, which means that whatever we all play it still sounds fabulous. There was a group of around 20 of us playing zithers, cellos, guitars, marimbas and shakers. I had entered the exhibition feeling very shaky (fraternal problems) and the minutes I spent with the Joy of Sound helped me re-focus and I left with a sense of well being and peace, which is a very precious thing! I will be adding their contact details shortly and will let you know as soon as I have done so! I also went to meet John Simnett, who has set up the WizzBike Foundation linked to his WizzBike shop in Brentford. They will shortly be moving the Foundation into larger premises still in Brentford and have as one of their key objectives "to help families seeking advice for members who have a mental or physical disability where cycling can enhance life experience and family togetherness. We had a long chat and John gave me lots of advice as to suitable bikes for Luke. We will be going along to try out some of his suggestions. Again contact details are now on line, so follow that link! Tonight Luke and I are going along to a workshop at the Drake Music Project over the other side of London, and I hope to tell you all about that soon. Their contact details are already on the site, so no need to watch anything in this instance! Use the link below to find out more: So what happened on the night? New developmentsWe hope to be announcing soon some exciting new developments to the site. All I can say at the moment is make sure you are registered with us if you haven't done so already. We welcome registration from everyone involved with the care and support of children with disabilities, whether you're a parent, carer, professional, educator or other. I am determined to use this platform to improve communication within the Borough and to make sure that we are all kept informed. Can't say any more for the time being. TransitionWe are still working on a new addition to the site which will concentrate on Transition. So, if any of you have any suggestions or requests as to what you would like to see included in this new section then please let me know. I still haven't heard from any of you so far which is a shame but I live in hope, this is a vital area for our children's futures and any contributions will help. Use the 'Contact Us' link at the top of this page. Remember if you read something here a while ago and want to find it again you can visit the newsletter page and have a browse through the old editorials. You will find occasional references to Luke throughout my text, you can find out more about us in the Glossary. You can, as always, write to me using the 'Contact Us' link at the top of this page. Best regards, Nick Radclyffe
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