Extract from New Pathways Magazine

• Football Fanatic Gets Best Seats In The Stadium!
• Life Is For Living

Football Fanatic Gets Best Seats In The Stadium!

Issue 63 September/October 2010

“Spurs have done everything to make my life easier by finding me a seat at the end of a row with no stairs.” Adam Margolis, 31, was diagnosed with MS in 2005. He runs a legal services business and is happily married to Laura with two daughters, Bella, 4, and Ruby, 3. They live in London.

My love of football started when I was five. My dad took me to the Tottenham Hotspurs ground at White art Lane in North London. It was Boxing Day 1984 and I saw Spurs play West Ham. After that I went every Saturday to watch Spurs and have been a Spurs season ticket holder for 26 years! After I left school I started following Spurs all over the country; even travelling to Europe to watch Spurs’ European games. I have also been to see England play in a few major tournaments (although judging by England’s recent performance at the World Cup in South Africa I won’t be doing that again!)

I have met the Spurs manager Harry Redknapp and players including Ledley King and Jermaine Defoe. My greatest moment as a Spurs fan was when we beat Arsenal at Wembley back in 1991 and Gazza (Paul Gascoigne) scored “that goal”.

Trouble Getting Into the Stadium – But Spurs to the Rescue

My main MS symptoms are my legs which really drag and are very heavy. I find it difficult to walk around, and have a stick. I also have a compact scooter for longer journeys. I am lucky to have a great wife - Laura - who gives me all the support and constantly reminds me of all the positive things I can do. Laura won’t let me feel sorry for myself. (Unfortunately she is an Arsenal fan!)

The first time I noticed MS was affecting me going to football matches was walking from the car to the game and then climbing the stairs to my seat in the upper stand. I contacted Spurs’ disability liaison officer who explained how the club can help. They have done everything to make my life easier by finding me a seat at the end of a row with no stairs.

At Spurs, as long as you receive Disability Living Allowance at the higher or medium rate you are allowed to buy a disabled ticket. This allows you to bring a free carer and gives you the option of a wheelchair or non-wheelchair place. I always go for the ambulant space and Spurs look after my scooter for me. I am on the waiting list for a disabled season ticket but Spurs have done everything to make my life easier by finding me a seat at the end of a row with no stairs. Spurs have limited Blue Badge bays within the ground but I tend to park outside as it’s easier to get away!

As far as other football grounds are concerned, I have to say that Wembley is excellent with some great views. It hurts me to say this, but Arsenal currently have by far the best disabled facilities, with underground parking and lifts that take you very close to the seats, toilets with RADAR keys and a good view for disabled fans (most clubs put you in the corner and have really bad views).

Over the next few years I just hope my beloved Spurs can outdo Arsenal both on and off the pitch, building a new ground that has the best disabled facilities in the country.

Life Is For Living (Extract from New Pathways Magazine December 2010/January 2011 edition)

All Jan needs for a scenic trip round Europe is her car, her wheelchair and her husband! By Jan Taylor

Janet Taylor, 63, has had MS for around 25 years and been in a wheelchair since 2002. But that does not stop her and husband David making the most of their specially-adapted caravan for scenic jaunts on the Continent. Retired, they live in Poole, Dorset.

We have had many wonderful caravan holidays around Europe in the past, including plenty after I was first diagnosed with MS in 1986. But by 2003 when I became confined to a wheelchair and unable to straighten my legs, we thought that might be a thing of the past. Then I discovered Low Dose Naltrexone (LDN), which stopped the disease progressing, and although now unable to stand at all I am able to look forward to life again and in May this year we set off once more from Dover on a continental caravanning trip.

It’s not easy having a holiday when you’re seriously disabled. You’re never sure if the facilities will be suitable - whether or not you can manage the toilet, the shower or the bed. Our caravan was very old - consigned to a hard standing at the back of the garden for some years but with a few amazing modifications, we decided we were ready to try it again.

David cut down an old wheelchair to fit through the narrow caravan door and manufactured a wooden ramp to get me in. A charity put a hoist rail in the caravan so I could be winched into the cubicle which can be used both as a toilet and as a shower! Getting into bed would mean David would have to swing me round on a hoist onto the bed and then use a sliding board to get me out again. He also widened the bathroom doorway.

Planning my toilet trips on the German Autobahns

Using a sling and hoist to get me in and out of the car and onto the narrow wheelchair, I could then be pushed up the ramp and hoisted onto the toilet. Let me assure you I had to think well in advance of when I might need to go! Travelling down autobahns, the first job was to find a suitable lay-by and then it would take a good 15 minutes to get me onto the toilet.

We first tested the whole system by touring Scotland for a week – prompted by our wish to attend the LDN conference in Glasgow. Having made sure we could manage, we took a deep breath and in May this year decided to go for a month’s holiday in Europe.

We took the Norfolk Line from Dover to Dunkerque at a very reasonable price of £37 each way. It was our first experience of this operator and we found them very good – a nearly new boat with good disabled facilities.

Arriving in Dunkerque we drove east until late afternoon when we looked for and found a cheap campsite for the night. The next day we travelled on to Koblenz in Germany where the campsite, an old favourite, is right on the banks of the Rhine/Mosel river junction. Although noisy –trains, barges, cars – it’s a hive of activity and very interesting.

Cable Cars, Cakes & Coffee

A new cable car will be completed next year to take you over the river and up behind the castle. From there we headed for another favourite campsite in Dorbirn, Austria where the mountains begin and where we took the first cable car ride of the holiday. As with most cable cars it was disabled friendly. Coffee and cake in the café at the top looking out on the view is such a pleasure, although not good for the waistline.

On we travelled through Liechtenstein and into Switzerland, a land of mountains and fantastic views. David loves to drive up and down steep passes but was more circumspect on this holiday and made sure he looked up their suitability for caravans before attempting them – on past trips we have found ourselves in very scary situations with sheer drops littered with the remains of caravans that didn’t make it!! On one occasion we were stopped by the police at the bottom of a mountain pass, not because we had done anything wrong, but to land a helicopter on the road in front of us to take an accident victim to hospital.

Although our original aim was to go to Lake Bled in Slovenia, when we settled in a beautiful (and not very expensive) campsite just outside St Moritz in Switzerland we wondered why we should continue east when we had such scenery, weather and good company on that site. So we stayed for a week soaking up sun and scenery. Our neighbours were from Switzerland and Holland and had been returning to the site for forty years. They made us feel so welcome.

On board the caravan we had taken a small TV, so we didn’t miss watching Wimbledon or the World Cup. It was often David’s priority, even before getting me out of the car, to set up the satellite dish and make sure there was a good picture! The only awkwardness was us shouting for Spain when surrounded by the Dutch!

We went up most of the many cable cars in the area, some very high indeed, enjoying panoramic views and delicious though expensive coffee and cakes at the top. The air in Switzerland is invigorating and the sun gives you a fantastic tan. Just think of all that vitamin D!!

All too soon we were making our way homewards through France, and deciding that yes, it had all been worth it and we would certainly do it again. The delights of all those wonderful mountain and lake views, all that sunshine and good food, and all those friendly encounters, made it a most enjoyable and relaxing month’s break.

It was certainly worth the effort, but you do need a good, strong companion!!

For details about disabled access facilities at football grounds and other sports venues check out the website of The National Association of Disabled. Supporters (NADS): www.nads.org.uk • email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it • Tel 0845 230 6237

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