Resilient People Podcast Episode 3: Paul Stevenson

#FreeGary celebration party

Had a great experience this Thursday just gone the 22nd of Nov 2012, I was invited by Trudie Styler to attend a party at Sting and Trudies residence in London

in celebration of the release of Gary McKinnon from unfair extradition, to the USA, and a big victory for British Justice on British soil. And had the privilege of meet some great folk from lords to celebrities ,TV and media journalist and little old folk like me,

The image above is of Cliff O'Sullivan , Gary McKinnon and myself

the amazing thing was none of that mattered as we were all unified in one thing and that was having empathy for our fellow man, in particular Gary, and the injustice that had been served upon him . I also made good use of the time to talk to as many as i could about Tourette’s Awareness and our support group TLC, Trudie and Janis Sharp kindly accepted a gift from TLC of an eco-bag and wrist band carrying the TLC logo. Just wanted to share this with you all and thanks for taking the time to read,

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Quale la sindrome di tourette?

Newcastle upon Tyne

I am very fortunate to live in Northumberland many many photographic opportunities ranging from beautiful landscapes to some great city and street life images . here are a few images from trips i have taken down to Newcastle upon Tyne

These images were taken on the Highlevel Bridge These next images are taken around the quay side Spent a rainy night in January down the Toon with Gordon Williams ,who is a fantastic street photographer ,it was a side to photography i hadn't experienced before ,but ended up with some decent images of the rain ,lights and night time reflections Many thanks for taking time to look through my images of Newcastle upon Tyne in Northumberland

Best wishes Paul

Looking through different eyes. My Northumberland

Welcome to my online Exhibition . I would like to share some of my favorite places here in the North of Northumberland mainly in and around were my family and myself live.

South Town Wood Scremerston

Scremerston just south of Berwick Upon Tweed

Fisheye view of the Coast

Using a fish eye lens has been so much fun making the most of the coast and views along the way

Pier Port of Berwick .

Dog Walkers at Spittal .

The Point factories, Chimney still stands proud .

View across the Tweed . The Old Wooden Jetty at Tweedmouth Docks .

Follow the Tweed inland to the Fisherman's Bothy

Heading down the Coast Towards Holy Island

Life Preserver Cocklawburn Beach

Causeway Refuge Holy Island

Pilgrims Foot Print along St Cuthbert's Way

Pilgrims Refuge St Cuthberts Way across the Sands

Some shots of the Family along the way . Thank You .

Tourettes Awareness Challenge Day 11: Preston – Lancaster – Carlisle

Day 11: Preston – Lancaster – Carlisle The final day of our Challenge started like all the other days – in lovely sunshine. We cannot believe how lucky we’ve been with the weather. Wednesday night had been a bit trying for Liz and Donna – who had gone outside the hotel for Donna to have a cigarette, and faced a barrage of “humour”/abuse from the guy on night duty at the Premier Inn. Liz had attempted to explain why we were all wearing sweatshirts promoting Tourettes Action, and why we were doing this Challenge – but to no avail. Some people have no empathy. A complaint to the duty manager the next morning resulted in a re-credit of one of our rooms and two free breakfasts, as well as a profuse apology. At Preston Town Hall we were able to use the happenings of the night before as illustration of what many people with TS have to endure on a regular basis. The Mayor, Councillor Veronica Afrin, who is a retired nurse with thirty three years experience in the Health Service, had many many questions for us, and was keen to learn a lot more about Tourettes.

She quickly agreed to issue a press release and also circulate our Information Pack within the local authority, but also wanted to know what more she could do to support people with Tourettes in the Preston area. We shall be passing that offer on to our local contacts. Sadly our friend Chris had been too unwell to join us at the Town Hall. After over-running on time due to us having such positive and helpful discussions, we left Preston – with the Mayor kindly insisting on writing to MPs for us – and headed for Lancaster. At the amazing Ashton Memorial in Williamson Park we met Chief Health & Housing Officer Suzanne Lodge, and Michael Hill from the Press Office.

The view over the city, and Morecambe Bay beyond, was fabulous. Suzanne agreed to circulate our information within the authority – and also within the county Partnership and to Lancashire County Council. Michael had already prepared a press release, and took a number of photos to accompany it. Liz was starting to feel a little better after a bad morning. Readers who know about Tourettes will be interested to know that several members of Liz’s family suffer from chronic strep infections. The link between TS and strep throat infections is currently the subject of a number of research projects worldwide. Our Lancaster venue had been thoughtfully selected by Michael to ensure a quick exit for us back onto the M6, which was very helpful in getting us back on track to reach Carlisle by 2 pm. The Lake District scenery was magnificent, with the sun shining on the mountains and forests dressed in their Autumn colours. We zoomed into motorway services for a loo stop and to pick up burgers for lunch, then Donna continued to drive us up to our last stop of the Challenge – Carlisle. Mayor Councillor Ray Bloxham, the Mayoress Mrs Bloxham and Cllr Anne Quilter were all waiting for us in Reception at Carlisle Civic Centre – with warm hugs of welcome, and congratulations for us all.

We were really touched. Also joining us were Antony Cablis, who has TS, and his mum Sandra. Mayor Bloxham took us up to his Parlour, where tea and biscuits were served – along with excellent discussion. He thanked us for raising awareness of the condition – and pointed out that until now he had known virtually nothing about it. He suggested that the Council do a feature in its next Staff magazine (which has subsequently been confirmed), as well as issuing a press release and photograph, and disseminating our information through local partnerships and via Cumbria County Council. After hugs all round, we set off, Jac driving the final leg of our journey together from Carlisle to Eileen’s house. In the car we mulled over our Big Adventure. What an experience it had proved to be. Overwhelmingly positive and beyond our hopes in terms of the welcomes we had received in every single city in England, and the actions that Councils had agreed to undertake. We agreed that we would do the immediate follow-up we had promised in a few cities, and then a further mail-out after two or three weeks. Our Just Giving site will remain active for a month. However, already we can honestly say that the leadership of every City in the country is now Tourettes aware. That in itself was worth doing. Our friend back-at-base Paul has been monitoring some of the regional press activity, and we know that we have reached several hundreds of thousands of people already through local press circulation, and more than 160,000 through Paul’s tweets on Twitter. Of course it’s a small ripple in a big pond, and there remains much to do in raising awareness, busting the myths and improving understanding and support. Not to mention all the research that’s needed. Tourettes Action is a small charity with a big task. We are only pleased to have been able to help a little.

For now we are all back at home with our families, having lots of hugs and appreciating the time together. Jac, who hasn’t had her customary afternoon nap in eleven days, will be sleeping for a week. Eileen, who has enjoyed a peaceful eleven days without a single child or dog in the bed at nights will be back to enjoying her noisy big family as Nanna. Donna, who has three young children who have been looked after by Daddy Andrew, will be back in the bosom of her family and the usual family routine. And Liz, who has been sorely missed, will be back in charge of home, family, and dogs. We all feel privileged to have been able to do this Tourettes Awareness Challenge together. Thank you for following us and thank you for all your support. We’re home! We did it! Already it seems like a bit of a dream.

Tourettes Awareness Challenge Day 10: Salford – Leeds – Sheffield – Wakefield – Bradford

Day 10: Salford – Leeds – Sheffield – Wakefield – Bradford We just can’t believe this is our last night. We have arrived in Preston after another busy and successful day, and tomorrow morning we shall be loading up the Tourettesmobile for the last time. We have really got into some smooth routines – Liz and Donna do Facebook, Twitter and most of the driving (though Jac did a lot today), Jac is photographer and blogger, and Eileen is the navigator and holder of the all-important yellow file with the details of where, when and who. Remember “Give us a P please Bob?” – Well it’s “Give us a P please Eileen” – P for Postcode for the satnav. This morning we started in Salford, where we were joined in the sunshine by Clare Woodall with Joe and Tilly and Jackie Blundell with Reece. While we were waiting for City Mayor Ian Stewart, we had a chance to catch up over a cuppa in the Members Room. We also had the opportunity of an in-depth chat with Councillor Margaret Morris, Assistant Mayor for Health & Wellbeing. Cllr Morris gave us some great pointers on ensuring that Tourettes is considered in both local health strategies and NHS commissioning.

The Mayor welcomed us all to Salford, and before the press photoshoot said a few words to thank us for making the Council think about Tourettes for the first time, and for providing good quality information for that purpose. He undertook to disseminate that information and to issue a press release. After hugs goodbye, we set off for Leeds, where, following a few turns around the frustrating one way system, we met Executive Board Member Councillor Adam Ogilvie on the steps of City Hall.

We were also joined for the remainder of the day by Joe Wallace. The local press had sent a photographer to take some shots to go with the Council’s press release, so we are hopeful that our short but sweet visit will appear in the paper. Cllr Ogilvie agreed to pass our information pack to the appropriate senior officers. Joe squeezed into the back of the Tourettesmobile with Liz and Donna – and we headed for Sheffield, where we were given special permission to park right in front of the Town Hall for half an hour. We managed to have a loo break (you may have seen photos on Facebook of Donna and Liz in the double ladies loo in Yates’s Wine Bar!) and grab a sandwich from Greggs before meeting in the rather grand Reception Hall with the Lord Mayor Vickie Priestley and Cabinet Member for Children, Young People and Families, Councillor Jackie Drayton . The Lord Mayor and Councillors from Sheffield were very keen to support us and ensure that our information pack is disseminated electronically. They also undertook to issue a press release with a photograph to the Sheffield media.

They were delighted to meet Joe and hear first-hand about living with Tourette Syndrome and some of the issues that local authorities need to consider. They were also horrified to discover as we were leaving after slightly more than half an hour’s discussions that the Tourettesmobile had been slapped with a parking fine outside the Town Hall – and said they’d sort it straight away. Thank you Sheffield … Next stop Wakefield. On Tuesday we had been saddened to learn from our contact in Wakefield that the Mayor had died very suddenly on Monday night. Our meeting with Cabinet Member Councillor Olivia Rowley and Director of Children’s Services Mr John Wilson was therefore appropriately low key.

We sat on comfortable chairs in County Hall Reception and talked through some of the challenges faced by people with TS. As it happened, we’d just had a call from our friend Paul in Northumberland, who has been tweeting and updating our blog for us every day during the Challenge. This afternoon Paul had attempted to go shopping but had had to return home after ten minutes because he was being followed in town by an idiot. A timely illustration of one of the major difficulties of community life for people with Tourettes. We were all delighted that Joe made a great contribution to the discussions and, without meaning this in any patronising way, we were very proud of his confidence and self-possession in the meeting. Our final stop of the day was in Bradford. The City Council had arranged to lower the bollards for us at the entrance to City Park, so we could park next to the Lord Mayor for an informal outdoor press conference and photo shoot.

We were delighted that three local reporters had turned up, and we were pleased to answer questions and pose for photographs with the Lord Mayor in front of the incredibly gothic old Town Hall. Despite the biting wind. We have been so fortunate with the weather over the last ten days – it has been sunny every day of the Challenge and we’ve not been caught once by rain – but now we can tell we’re “up North” and Autumn is here. We were joined in City Park by Joe’s Mum Lisa, and by Frances Tiller and her lovely daughter Emily. The Lord Mayor was dashing off to his next appointment, so we hopped back into the Tourettesmobile and left our last engagement of the day. Quick decision – let’s stay in Bradford for a curry!

Lisa, Joe and Joe’s dad Steve led the way to the International restaurant, where we enjoyed a lovely early evening meal and a chat. It did help to warm us up! After saying our goodbyes Liz drove us across the dark and windy moors – well, along the M62 anyway - into Lancashire, where we are overnighting. Tonight in the hotel we have been looking forward to home and back over the days of our Challenge. Tomorrow, the last day, we shall be driving due North, visiting the three cities of Preston, Lancaster and Carlisle before turning the Tourettesmobile East and heading home.