Author Archives: Jon Crannage

Mick

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Mick, Treetops

Mick, Treetops

“This is my first trip on the boats.  I’d like to come back . Some people might find it boring, just the changing scenery going by all the time, but that’s them.  I like sitting here, watching, and relaxing.

I used to do five mile runs with bricks in my hands and then do weights in the garage….just for training.  I also used to take the dog for a walk and see foxes. And we don’t do holidays much any more.

At home now I sometimes sit with the television off and look at the garden.  On this trip I can look at the water and the banks and hedges.  That’s my favourite bit; it’s always changing.”

June 2010

James

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James

James

James Munro Callan
Thorpe Acre Church Wednesday group
Talks about his trip on Symphony on his way for a pub lunch at Zouch

“I’m registered blind.  I can see a little bit but I have to wear my special St Dunstan’s  glasses to rest my eyes. I’ll be 86 in July.

I was an able seaman in the navy.  I was called up and served three years.  I helped the shipping convoys across the Atlantic. Then I worked in iron foundries for the railways, making parts for locomotives.

I love swimming.  I learned to swim in a canal up north you know, when I was six.  And I loved dancing, but my legs won’t let me any more.

What do I like about the trip on Symphony?  I can see the swans;  they go past slowly enough – not like the traffic on the roads.  I have to be careful of the cars now.   And I like the fact that I’ve nothing to do!”

Peter

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“I was diagosed with MS the same week the twin towers came down.  My twin towers came down too. September 2010.

“There had been signs that something was creeping up.  But I didn’t connect up the dots.  I had fallen out of the shower…fallen out of the patio doors.  I kept tripping up on the slightest of uneven paving stones, and my daughter would say ‘Dad!  Pick your feet up’.

“The doctor had diagnosed either a tumour or multiple sclerosis.  I asked for a second opinion.  I had to go into hospital for a week of tests. I was coming back to the ward after tests on the Tuesday when everyone was around the telly, watching the twin towers in New York.  Then I got my diagnosis on the Thursday.

“I used to work in the community, setting up community credit unions.

“Now I have to have the electric chair.  I can’t even write any more.

“I’ve been twice on these boats.  Being outside and a free agent is the one thing I miss.  And this allows me to be more of a free agent.  I like the company of people.  It’s about being on an outing with people, doing something different other than the mundane. It’s a bit of variety.  With the illness you become a non-entity.  This is a change, and you’re with people.  It doesn’t have to be a big thing – just something different.”

Peter Tattersall
Hinckley MS Group
10 June 2010
on Symphony