18 minute read
Holidays
Visiting Australia
by John Killick
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Well, Covid19 it would appear, if not eradicated, is at least no more dangerous than a dose of Flu, provided you are vaccinated, so why not? Well, my new wife had not seen her grandchildren for four years and quite reasonably felt that that is long enough! We went online and discovered that our cheapest route was via Heathrow, then LA, and from there to Brisbane instead of Emirates from Newcastle via Dubai. Wrong! Heathrow and BA! That’s what was WRONG! Assisted travel was at best shambolic with staff more interested in talking to each other in a foreign language than moving passengers to their onward flights; almost cost us a missed flight on the way back in spite of having well over an hour to accomplish it! Food not loaded in time on the Well stocked shops in Robina outward flight to LA causing a delay of two and a half hours, which meant that we missed our connecting flight to Brisbane and finished up hanging around LA for twenty-eight hours for an alternate flight to Sydney, which meant an internal flight from there to Brisbane. Next time we will pay the extra £200 and fly Emirates from Newcastle or Glasgow, thus avoiding going anywhere near Heathrow and BA’s inefficient service. Now to claim rather a lot of compensation! Report on how we get on with that in a later edition!
If you’re contemplating any long-haul flight, consider how you are going to manage. A flight to New York, for instance, takes around five hours. On board toilets are pretty small! A carer would struggle to get in to help you! A catheter is the obvious choice. Australia is probably one of the best countries in the world to visit. The facilities on the Gold Coast in Southern Queensland are both plentiful, clean and unrivalled, dropped kerbs at all road crossings, lifts in the shopping complexes, level access to the pubs etc. But first, as a Brit, you have to get there! For this trip, one hour Newcastle to Heathrow, ten hours Heathrow to LA. If that flight makes the connection, (ours didn’t), then LA to Brisbane, 14 hours. (Same to Sydney plus one hour to Brisbane after twenty-eight hour layover in LA.) Now, once there how will you get around? Public transport – haven’t checked the busses but trains are cheap, GoCards cost us about $35 Australian each (including the initial purchase of the card which was $10, then you just re-load at a train station. You can use them on busses and light rail too) for a 100 mile return trip! They are comfortable with ramped access in a designated carriage, worked by the staff and pre-warning appeared to be unnecessary. Trains run from the coast to Brisbane about every half hour. They appear to be spending lots of time and money up-grading stations but all the ones we used had lift access from street level to platforms. OK, so if you consider the agro to get there worth it.Wwhat is
An accessible miniature train runs right round Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary although the whole site is accessible by wheelchair if preferred
there to do and see?
Shopping: Ladies, since I know that for you this is important, shopping malls are as big as any in New York, Paris or London and the best stocked I have seen anywhere in the world. The first supermarket we went into we entered via the fruit and veg department and stood like a couple of idiots with our mouths open! Both sides of the aisle was stacked high with some of the best-looking fruit & veg I have ever seen. Problem, and beware, Australian cost of living has hit the stratosphere! Since we were last here about four years ago, prices have multiplied by well over 100%. I can recommend Robina Shopping centre, but there are quite a few.
Now Pubs for the menfolk: On this trip, we used the Robina Tavern almost exclusively. Their food was excellent, and for me I could get a schooner (about a pint) of Irish Bitter for about $11, £6 approx. A meal would average about $30, £25 approx. six bottles of Yellow Tail which last time we were here cost $18, now costs $24 for three bottles! And that’s from the bottle shops, which are by far the cheapest way to purchase wine. No alcohol is sold in supermarkets in Queensland, other states have their own laws.
What to see: To start with, that blue stuff is the Pacific Ocean not the North or Irish Sea. You can actually swim in it without risking anything vital freezing off! The yellow stuff is coral sand and you can hire adapted wheelchairs, which will traverse it. The yellow painted wooden tower is manned by lifesavers who control beach safety by the use of flags. If red flags are flying it is illegal to swim and only an idiot would try to swim in company with big white sharks or the fierce rip tides you can get on these beaches. Running alongside the beaches are promenades flanked with grass and shade trees. You will also find something almost impossible to find in the UK, Public Toilets! These are both clean and kept in immaculate condition.
Next, during our months’ stay, we visited Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary! Spent a great day there and since the Australian National Trust recognise UK National Trust membership cards, the cost was absolutely nothing! I believe this is also applicable in Canada but have not checked it out. I will enlarge on this in my next article. Then, up in the hills inland there is the Hinze Dam, mentioned in my last article about four years ago. Stanley’s Motor Museum and Restaurant is in Upper Coomera, situated at the base of The Tambourine Mountains. The museum was not air-conditioned, which was a pity since it is an extremely interesting museum. You also have Surfers Paradise, helicopter flights, and float plane flights. That’s just a few suggestions; five minutes on your computer will show you many more! The Gold Coast is one of Australia’s famous playgrounds, go and play.
Inside Stanley’s Motor Museum
The Robina Pavilion - how is this for a great view to enjoy with one’s lunch?
John Killick was the secretary of the Disabled Motorists Federation for over 20 years and was also the editor of 'The Way Ahead' magazine. He continues to be a freelance writer. He was born in Norfolk and brought up in Suffolk, married a Manx girl, and now lives in north east England.
Team BRIT - Britcar Champions and History Makers
Team BRIT – the world’s only competitive team of all-disabled racing drivers has made history in 2022.
Drivers Chris Overend and James Whitley were crowned overall winners of the Britcar Trophy Championship at the end of the racing season in October. This makes Team BRIT the first ever all-disabled team to win a national racing series.
The long-term goal of the team is to become the first all-disabled team to compete in the Le Mans 24 hour race. It has developed the world’s most advanced hand control technology which enables its disabled drivers to compete equally against able-bodied competitors.
The team fielded 4 pairs of drivers across three championships this year. Chris and James delivered consistently strong performances all season, despite it being the first ever year of racing for them both. Driving a BMW M240i, which is fitted with the hand control technology, they finished with a 53 point lead in their class and a 7 point lead in the overall championship.
At a special ceremony held on Saturday 12th November, the pair were presented with their championship trophy, alongside a trophy for finishing first in class.
Chris and James Credit: Peter Markwick
A stunning rookie season
So how do two drivers, entirely new to the sport take away a championship win in their first ever year, driving a car that was completely re-built after being declared an insurance write off?
It's not easy and it doesn’t happen very often, but that’s exactly what Chris and James achieved. 39-year-old Chris from Southampton was born with development dysplasia of the hips and spent years from the age of 12 suffering with injuries and pain caused by an undiagnosed problem.
When he was 24, he was skiing in France when he suffered a severe back spasm undoing his boots. When he returned home a surgeon confirmed that during puberty his femoral artery became pinched, causing his left hip and pelvis to become deformed. The top of this femur had rotated 90 degrees from where it should be and his right hip was 30% bigger than it should be and was partially dislocated.
Prior to this, Chris had forged a successful career as a photographer, working with London Fashion Week and travelling the world on commissions for global titles. He eventually gave up the profession after other operations and became a technical instructor of photography at Solent University.
Chris went on to discover wheelchair tennis, in which he received a world ranking. He joined Team BRIT in August 2021, having discovered the team after looking for hand controls for sim racing. 24-year-old James lives in Eastbourne and is originally from Northern Ireland. He was born without fingers and has undergone more than 30 operations to improve his hand function, many which were carried out before he was five. At the age of six he was involved in a serious boat accident when on holiday with his family in France which resulted in multiple broken bones, internal bleeding and months in hospital.
After being in a wheelchair for almost a year, he was encouraged to contact the GB Paralympian ski team. He went along to a meeting of the development squad and by the age of 10 was invited to join the team. At thirteen he was promoted to the Senior GB Elite Squad and began skiing in World Cup events. In 2014 at the age of 16 he was ranked number two in the World U18s and was selected to represent Great Britain at the Winter Paralympics in Sochi, in 2018 at
the Winter Paralympics in Pyeongchang, and in 2022 in Beijing, where he secured his best ever finish of 6th in the Giant Slalom. He joined the team in Autumn 2021 and began racing this year.
Despite the pair’s lack of racing experience, they have delivered a stunning season of racing, taking multiple podium finishes, before ending the season as champions.
Chris says: “I found Team BRIT after researching what hand controls were available for my sim racing. I never dreamed that those initial conversations would lead to me getting a place on the team and to winning an overall championship trophy. It just goes to show that nothing is out of reach when you have the right people around you and a total dedication to doing the best you can.
“I’m so proud of what we’ve achieved as a team. None of this would be possible without everyone putting in 100% every race weekend. I’m so grateful for the support of our sponsors, our families and everyone that has come to cheer us on.”
James says: “I’m in shock over how well this first season has gone – we have literally made history. A special thank you to the crew, who are just exceptional – their hard work and quick thinking made it all possible.
“Chris and I have been lucky to have clicked so well as team mates. We share a real passion for racing and both constantly think about how our performance will affect each other and the crew. That’s meant that we’ve thrived from driving alongside each other and pushed on hard to get the best results we could.”
Team BRIT also had great success in their debut year of the British GT Championship. Drivers Aaron Morgan and Bobby Trundley were the first ever team of all-disabled drivers to compete in the hotlycontested championship.
A major step up from their racing in 2021, Bobby and Aaron competed in a brand new McLaren 570S GT4 and grew in confidence with every round.
Finishing P2 in the Pro-Am class, they were awarded their overall championship trophies at a black tie event hosted by championship organisers SRO Motorsport in November.
Bobby and Aaron Credit: 938 Media
New rookie racing project launched
From 2023, Team BRIT will field 2 entries in the Citroen C1 racing series, beginning at Silverstone in March. The low cost endurance racing series sees drivers compete in standard, first generation Citroen C1s. The Team BRIT entry will consist of 2 teams of 4 drivers, one representing LGBTQ+ drivers, and a team of all-disabled drivers who require the use of hand controls. The cars will be fitted with the team’s hand controls to enable disabled drivers to compete on equal terms. New rookie drivers are now being sought to sign up for the project, who will receive professional coaching, tuition, testing and support throughout the season, entering all eight races. Team BRIT Founder Dave Player said: “We’re really excited about the launch of this project, which will add another step on our ladder of motorsport development for disabled drivers. “Adding the C1 championship to our race calendar means that drivers who are just starting out in the sport can enter a professional and hugely popular championship at entry level, with the support and guidance they need to develop. “We hope to attract some exciting new drivers to the team for some fun and competitive racing next year.” The team is looking for new disabled drivers to join the project, who will benefit from the use of the team’s hand control technology. The cost to compete in the Team BRIT C1 team will be £10,000 per driver, which includes everything required to race including preseason coaching, race entry and pre-event testing.
For more information email info@teambrit.co.uk after reading the full information on the news page of the Team BRIT website.
Barriers of travel for people with disabilities
Credit: Tourism Australia
Everyone is talking about travel, whether this is the frequent rail strikes in the UK, the many delays and flight cancellations due to the lack of staff or the travel chaos caused by issues at borders. This can be hugely frustrating and has a debilitating effect on all travellers.
Regardless of the post COVID build back, the consequential obstacles presented in travel and current politics, travelling is regularly a difficult and humiliating experience if you have a disability. Consider the 1.3 billion people with a disability of some sort - 80% of which are invisible - who regularly struggle with travel and so often have their dignity and independence challenged.
The fact is that we haven’t embraced inclusive design in the travel sector and therefore people with disabilities are excluded and denied the same customer experience or treatment as everyone else.
The inability for wheelchair users to use aircraft toilets or business/first class; the lack of accessible hotel rooms; the critical lack of accessibility of websites, and the recent uncertainty over blue disabled badges in the EU - where post-Brexit, eleven nations, including France, Spain and Portugal, remain “undecided” on whether they will accept the blue badge UK permit - reinforces negative perceptions of the disabled community as an inconvenience and afterthought.
We want an accessible and inclusive world but yet we have built it to be exclusive. It needs reshaping not adding on or as an afterthought and to achieve this we need disabled people to be involved in the design process ‘Nothing for us without us.’
But many brands are waking up to this and making headway in providing inclusive and accessible travel services. At Hotel Brooklyn in Manchester, a Bespoke Hotel which has long been driving accessibility by pushing aesthetics higher up the agenda, special features can be hidden or detached, which means spaces are pleasing to the eye, whatever your needs. This is surprisingly rare. Roomy marble showers are free of steps, doorways are wide enough for wheelchairs, and some suites have hoists for people. Robin Sheppard, chair of Bespoke Hotels commented, “we call these our liberty rooms; some people won’t see much of a difference in these spaces –we hope that for some, it feels like an upgrade.”
Skyscanner’s Accessibility Lead, Heather Hepburn, commented; “The travel industry has a huge opportunity to do better when it comes to accessibility. We are on a journey to doing our part. Through our Accessibility Programme at Skyscanner, we’re determined to continue to improve accessibility and inclusive design across all Skyscanner products, ensuring that digital accessibility is embedded into Skyscanner’s tools, processes, and ways of working. Alongside raising accessibility awareness and improving advocacy across the business, it’s our mission to make travel better for everyone.”
With a global platform that includes more than 20+ brands, Expedia Group is setting out to make travel more accessible by increasing its own capabilities, is making the needed investments, and taking action to create an equitable experience for travellers.
According to Peter Kern, Vice Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, Expedia Group, “We believe travel is a force for good that can strengthen connections, broaden horizons, and bridge divides. We support this belief by making travel more enjoyable and accessible for all, including people with disabilities. Through our relentless innovation, we put the needs of travellers at the center of all we do and aim to eliminate as many barriers as possible."
Inclusion is integral to the success of the travel industry, enabling individuals regardless of race, ethnicity, ability, gender identity or otherwise, to experience different cultures, perspectives, and opportunities. Travel strengthens connections and broadens horizons, yet historic, physical, and societal barriers often limit equitable access to travel. Making travel more accessible hinges on ensuring products are created to be usable by a full spectrum of people with the widest possible range of disabilities
Adding restrictions and barriers prevents customer buy-in. A simple breakdown of the purple pound shows it is worth around £265bn to the UK economy per year. Only 10% of UK businesses have a targeted strategy for this market. It is in businesses’ best interest to want to tap into this group of customers, as accessible tourism is worth $15.3 billion.
The Valuable 500 recently shared research they commissioned investigating the barriers faced when travelling, surveying 3,500 people with disabilities. The findings can be found on their website www.thevaluable500.com and the 10 most accessible destinations.
The Flagship Event for the Disability Community
Registration for Naidex, the flagship event for the disability community is now live. The event will take place 22-
23 March 2023, at the NEC in Birmingham.
National Accessibility, Inclusion &
Disability Expo (Naidex) is the largest, and longest running disability event in the UK, with the 2023 event celebrating 50 years.
Naidex is for everyone, and welcomes anyone who is living with a disability, as well as anyone caring for or supplying to the community. The event falls across two days so there is enough time for you to discover all that Naidex has to offer! With content, products and features covering mobility, employment and work, health & well-being, independent living, family, sports, rehab/care, relationships, entertainment, food & drink, there is something for everyone. Some of our exhibitors include Hidden Disability Sunflower, eFOLDI, Rollz, Neo-Walk, Cyclone Technologies, Therapy Gyms, Motability and many more. Additionally, Naidex are partnering with Disability Horizons to bring to you the Naidex Marketplace, where you can find smaller and affordable daily aids, tools, and resources to take home with you from the show.
If you wanted to experience the interactive features at Naidex, there’s a chance to attend the much-loved Village Green (which was new for the 2022 show) and join in with Mr Cookfulness’ cooking session. Try out the Mobility Test Track or take on the Adaptive Climbing Wall. Naidex features some fantastic speakers across the show, including Ellie Simmonds OBE (Five-time Paralympic Champion and fourteen-time World Champion), Tommy Jessop (Multi-award-winning actor, best known for starring in Line of Duty), Steve Thompson MBE (Former England Rugby player and World Cup winner) and Lauren Steadman MBE (Professional Athlete & Paralympic champion), who you can catch on the Main Stage.
The Accessibility and Care Theatre will feature seminars drawing upon lived experience of caring for loved ones and the newest assistance technologies and adaptations that are enhancing care and independent living. Speakers include, Charlie Beswick who is an Author and Blogger, and Sally Chalk who is CEO & Founder of Signapse. The Lifestyle and Leisure Theatre is designed to promote improvement of daily living and overall wellbeing, including sessions from sports to dating and sexual wellbeing, there is certainly something for everyone to enjoy in this theatre.
The Naidex team can’t wait to welcome you to the NEC once again for what is set to be a fantastic event, the team are pulling out all the stops!
