Tourettes Awareness Challenge , Day one

DAY 1: Newcastle – Sunderland – Durham – Ripon – York What an amazing first day! The most fantastic thing was how the Mayors and senior Councillors were all genuinely interested in Tourette Syndrome and the messages we had to share. The Lord Mayor of Newcastle, Cllr Margaret Wood with the most colourful painted nails imaginable, as well as the full city regalia, launched us on our way amid family, friends, balloons and England flags. In the car we did an interview with BBC Radio Tees’s Mike Parr, who then went on to interview Suzanne Dobson from HQ. Great coverage – reaching lots of people on his popular morning show. radio Tees interview starts at 1.33.55 into the program. ( http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01gl2j3#programme-broadcasts )

At the foot of the brooding Penshaw Monument we met the Mayor of Sunderland and senior Councillors and officials from the City. Little Lewis Kempthorne, who has TS, joined us to present the Mayor with the Information Pack. Sunderland had arranged interviews with Tyne Tees TV, which, overwhelmed by the information, agreed to do a feature on Tourettes after we return to the North East. Interviews also in the windy heights of Penshaw with the Sunderland Echo and Sun FM – which also forwarded the interview to its sister company in York for broadcast. Lewis was a star. The Mayor rewarded him by taking him back to school in the Mayoral Limo – what a treat! Dad Lee phoned ahead to school, so when Lewis arrived back there, the Head Teacher and kids were out waiting for him.

From Sunderland off to Durham where we met the Lord Mayor and her consort in the historic Market Square. She very kindly presented us with books about the City and county of Durham – and we presented her with the Information Packs

– not so symbolic, as we are asking all the Mayors to disseminate the information to heads of service – and ultimately to front line staff – within the Councils. Another interview – this time with the Northern Echo – and a photograph, and time to grab a quick cuppa and bit to eat on the A1 before our visit to Ripon. By then the sun was shining, and Donna was enjoying driving the Qashqai around the roads of the North! Sadly we encountered an accident just before Ripon city, so we had to detour, making us a little late. But the Mayor and his consort, who met us in the beautiful gardens of Ripon’s Community House – was very understanding – and again genuinely interested in Tourette Syndrome.

In addition to circulating the information within the Council, he undertook to pass it on to the voluntary sector network in North Yorkshire. Great stuff.

Next stop York where – like in Durham – we had special permission to drive through the pedestrianized zones – this time to the glorious and grand Mansion House right in the centre of the City. The Lord Mayor, Cllr Gunnell, hosted us for much longer than we expected – as she was so interested in the information we’d brought and our personal stories. We were joined by Sam Findlay, 16, who has Tourettes, and his mum Claire. The Lord Mayor took Sam up onto the roof of the Mansion House to see the incredible views of the City from up there, and take some photographs. Her enthusiasm and ours led to the journalist from The Press deciding to do a full-length piece on Tourettes next week, featuring Sam’s story - in addition to including a photo of us Challenge ladies this week. After hugs and goodbyes, we set off for Hull – after five cities – and a restful evening and some sustenance in our hotel overlooking the Humber Bridge. Rich Smith joined us for a quiet drink. After a bit of a production-line operation putting together the remainder of the Information Packs for the campaign, we all had a great night’s sleep . Maybe dreaming of multi-coloured fingernails, a little boy waving from the Mayoral car, and a teenager posing over the rooftops of York. What a fanstastic day! This morning we are ready for the next leg of our Challenge. The sun is up over the River Humber, and we’re feeling good!