Having been a fit man for 61 years (with a few blips) I was severely injured in a cycling accident in 2019 and am now paralysed below the neck. This blog is intended as a record of my experience since the accident. I try to keep it light-hearted but this is not always possible given the circumstances. The posts are organised with the latest post at the top so if you want to read from the beginning you will need to scroll down.
Listening to writer Hanif Kureishi – who suffered a spinal injury 12 months ago – guest editing BBC radio 4’s Today programme over the festive period made me realise that an update is well overdue. I apologise upfront since this has turned into a bit of a ramble. The programme is well worth listening to, …
Care: If you care for someone or something, you look after them and keep them in a good state or condition. A company is a business organization that makes money by selling goods or services i.e. Its purpose is to make profit for its owners. An oxymoron is a word or phrase that combines two …
I finally have some news worth writing about. There are a few other topics I might attempt to write about, but the worthwhile subject is my successful trip back out to Spain (where I sustained my life changing injury in April 2019) and back without any major drama. Hurrah. Not quite as epic as Bilbo …
It’s not too late to sponsor my carer Eve who is attempting a double marathon across the Isle of Arran this weekend to raise money for the Rooprai Spinal Trust.. https://www.justgiving.com/team/MasonMarwood https://www.instagram.com/p/CCnloCPAW7j/?utm_medium=copy_linkhttps://www.rstrust.com/
This blog entry contains strong language, references of a sexual and religious nature that some readers may find upsetting. If you are of a sensitive disposition you may prefer to stop reading here. I read George Orwell’s 1984 in my early teens, when the year itself really did seem quite remote. To be honest, for …
I am long overdue an update. Apologies. Listening to the radio a few weeks ago I heard a geeky discussion about the future of artificial intelligence. The “expert” speculated that, within the next hundred years, AI would be able to simulate an experience virtually indistinguishable from real life with visual experiences, audio, smell, taste and …
I finally got around to writing my thoughts on safety for the cycle event that has left me so badly disabled. Hopefully, other riders won’t suffer quite such a catastrophic injury.*** Dear Xisco / Mallorca 312 race director, It’s now more than two years since I crashed in the 2019 edition of the Mallorca 312. …
Contemplating England’s prospects in the 1962 World Cup whilst trying to find the perfect tyre pressure – a combination of rider weight and road surface quality. Contemplar las perspectivas de Inglaterra en la Copa del Mundo de 1962 mientras intenta encontrar la presión de neumáticos perfecta: una combinación de peso del ciclista y calidad de …
What follows, of course, isn’t a real conversation. It’s a combination of actual conversations but mostly what goes on inside my head at 3 AM. NHS doctors really aren’t this sweary, even in Glasgow. Doctor: You are completely fucked. Me: Could you be a bit more specific? Doctor: Do you want the good news …
New toys
I think I’ve already mentioned my new four-wheel-drive wheelchair. Over the last few weeks I’ve managed to take it outside and begin to figure out what it can and cannot do without actually testing it to destruction. A few minor adaptations have been required to keep my legs secure but otherwise it’s been a great success allowing me to climb Blackford Hill, follow friends and wife over the links at Gullane and visit the zoo and city farm with my nearly – two year old grandson.