Thank you to Fraser McDermott for sharing this very positive account of a recent trip to the Olympic Stadium in Stratford London from the Isle of Wight. In his own words. Ed
On a somewhat brisk Tuesday morning at the beginning of May, friend Gary Axford and myself set off on an Olympic adventure to visit the Olympic Stadium in Stratford London from the Isle of Wight, to watch one of the many test events being staged in preparation for the 2012 Olympics and Paralympics games, in just a few months time.
Gary has Spina Bifida (that affects the development of the central nervous system and spine from birth) and Hydrocephalus (a build-up of excess fluid on the brain), and has to use a wheelchair.
Always seeking a new challenge
However Gary’s ‘can-do’ attitude and positive outlook on life never stops him seeking a new challenge, or challenging his disability.
Several years ago Gary sailed on an accessible tall-ship, has attended various festivals, tackled the hustle and bustle of city life and even the London Underground many years ago, which turned out to be quite the experience, managing only two accessible stops before being stuck underground, although we were quickly on our way with the assistance of tube staff and a network of tunnels and service lifts.
Latest adventure
May’s recent adventure saw us tackle city life again, but this time using only public transport to and from the Olympic Stadium with great success! A massive confidence boost for Gary and his independence.
The day began at 06.30 with a quick car-trip to the end of Ryde Pier for the short Solent ferry crossing to Portsmouth, we then only had minutes to make our onward connection to London Victoria by coach (return travel for £16 each, booked in advance) from the Hard Interchange.
Greeted by a packed coach and a friendly driver, after a brief technical glitch with the coach’s accessible tail-lift, after a short delay we were on our way!
Assistance in the mobility lounge
As a result of traffic and our earlier technical glitch we all arrived at Victoria Coach Station at around 10am (arriving 25 minutes later than scheduled).
We stayed on the coach along with several other passengers and were taken directly to the Station’s fantastic mobility lounge, who arranged a cab to Westminster tube station (costing £10), saving us valuable time looking for a cab outside. As expected the inner-city traffic was hectic, but our cab ride saw us travel past some of London’s iconic landmarks, including Buckingham Palace!
Arriving at Westminster Underground Station at about 11am, Gary transferred back in to his wheelchair from the ‘people-carrier’ style cab, and we made our way down to the Jubilee Line via three lifts from street level to the westbound train to Stratford, stopping only to credit our Oyster cards along the way.
So far, so good and we arrived at Stratford well before our expected time of midday.
Friendly welcome
We navigated our way through the Underground to the Stadium with the friendly welcome of the London Prepares team within the new Westfield shopping complex (a sight to be seen in itself), we were then greeted by efficient yet thorough airport style security checks.
We could feel the excitement growing as in the distance there was the Olympic Stadium, the epic Black and White structure that will host the Games in literally just weeks surrounded by the beauty of the Olympic Park, we made the trip across one of the network of bridges connecting the Olympic Park to the surrounding area and wider community.
The sheer size and scale of the Olympic Park only just begins to dawn on you, with the enormous sloping roof of the Aquatics Centre on the left, and the towering Olympic Orbit just to the left of the stadium.
Special moment
You can’t help but feel it’s a very special moment and day and certainly thankful for that hour online accessing tickets to the event and all for just £5 (and P&P) makes it truly an experience that won’t be forgotten, that we shared with just a few thousand people and of course athletes from all over the world competing in many of the Olympic and Paralympic sporting disciplines that day, including David Weir.
After watching several hours of sporting activity and exploring the site, you could only begin to imagine the journey undertaken to get to this day, and the relief on the organisers LOCOG and all involved on the journey so far.
A huge achievement
The event finished at 16.00 but we left slightly early to visit the John Lewis store in the Westfield complex to see the panoramic viewing gallery and the London 2012 shop.
When leaving the Stadium we quite literally bumped into Tanni Grey Thompson too, before heading back to central London again by tube to Westminster.
This time opting to walk to Victoria coach station from Westminster, this proved a great success with Gary able to be almost fully independent. Once back at Victoria Coach Station we headed to the mobility lounge before departing on the 18.30 coach to Portsmouth and arrived back on the Island and at home around 22.00.
Start of my journey
For myself, who applied to support the Games through the Games Maker programme in late 2010 this will be just the start of my Olympic and Paralympic journey, after successfully being interviewed and accepted in 2011, attending training and working at a major test event last year. I’ll be supporting several of the Olympic road cycling events in July and August throughout Games time this year.
Even days after visiting the Olympic Park words still can’t really describe everything we saw at the Visa London Prepares Disability Athletic Challenge, as sporting fans, and the dream of seeing our country and nation hosting the Games in our lifetime is a moment that should be treasured and embraced by all! Along with the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee what a fantastic year 2012 is going to be!
Running for the hospice
Fraser is also running the London 10k in July for the Earl Mountbatten Hospice, after his father passed away in 2008, who received superb support and care from the Hospice throughout his short battle with Cancer aged 53. To sponsor Fraser, please visit: www.justgiving.com/AF10K or text to donate, text: “FPAH54 £3” to 70070, to donate £3.
For more information about the Games, visit: www.london2012.com
