Today we went sailing

Today I abandoned Genny on the dock to set sail on the "J" class yacht "Hanuman"

Hanuman is a 2009 recreation of the 1937 classic Endeavour II. These yachts were originally built for America's cup racing and she will be racing again in the 35th cup races in Bermuda May 2017

Shirley Heights

Shirley Heights is a restored military lookout and gun battery. Fantastic views over English and Falmouth Harbours. Once again great loos - what has this blog become?

Nelson's Dockyard

Nelson's Dockyard is the poshest bit of English Harbour. It is also by far the most charming

As with all the marinas it is gated but there are shops and restaurants so everyone who looks like they gonna spend money are welcome

The area is a large inlet capable of sheltering many boats and surrounded by mangroves. Nelson chose this area as the main hub for the British during there "exploit the Carrabean" phase

This LINK should show you a map of the area

This is where all the beautiful people are - great loos though :-)

Antigua

4:30 am start and a taxi to the airport for the 7:00 flight. On time landing at Gatwick -2 degrees and they had transferred my wheels to the connecting flight. That was not the plan so I refused to leave the assistance trolley till I got Genny back. It finally arrived but with both my carefully crafted taillights smashed off. They would be retrievable but later with the aid of hot glue and a soldering iron

I was now running late for my flight to Antigua so set to max speed I scorched the north terminal, security and gate 568 at full speed. It is such a contradiction seeing the disabled guy burning rubber in a pedestrian area. Yesterday in a rush to catch a bus I overtook a cyclist in lycra going up a steep hill - so cool, bet he was secretly raging.

8 hours 20 mins on the Antigua flight- I took advantage of all the free alcohol and watched the Johnny Worricker trilogy with Bill Nighy, Rachel Weisz, Ralph Fiennes, Helena Bonham Carter, Winnable Ryder and Michael Gambon on my tablet.

It is tiresome looking at that tiny seat-back screen watching the progress map - Love the way the auto-correct changed Winola to Winnable makes her sound like a prise.

This flight is freezing. I left home in the dark to a frosty start wearing thermals, an old thick Tk-Max wool jumper with holes in it, a summer jacket and thermal long John's. The plan was to ditch the surplus in Gatwick for the exotic trip as there is no room in my tiny luggage to keep it for the return. I'm still in the thermals and jumper having only jettisoned the wooly hat. We are about ½ way there now on the tiny map travelling at 807km/h and -56c degrees outside temperature time for episode 3 “Salting the Battlefield”

Hurray - just arrrived at last with Emily to collect me in style eh?

Genny has a new home in the sunshine

More tomorrow after supper with Emily, rum and "ting" and a long overdue sleep xxx

Grand opening

Today I happened on the opening of the new accessible ramp from the car park at Red Houses. I have been watching the progress of this for the last few weeks and was delighted to see them removing the traffic cones to open it. Never one to miss an opportunity I offered my services as the celebrity at the inaugural opening – had to supply my own fanfare though

London

Day out in London just mooching and seeing where I can go

 Genny had always fancied the wobbley bridge

Next adventure is Antigua in January

Genny goes home and meets some friends

Today I met the UK distributation team for Genny Mobility products at there offices in Regus House, Dartford. It was great to see a number of Gennys, some with big wheels fitted, and others in a range of colours and styles

We fixed a small issue with my wheels in that my chair would slowly rotate counter clockwise and I got an new wheel fitted as one of mine had bent after falling off whilst loading it into the car

I was impressed in the UK distributation team, they were professional and able to help with the issues and queries I had. I discovered they sold quite a lot of chairs in the UK and I'm happy I went with the make and model I aquired

I spent the rest of the day in the Bluewater shopping centre which was mobbed. It was fantastic to be able to explore at my leisure and listen to Christmas carols sung by a school choir. I also found one of those fantastic sweet shops that sell from sweetie jars and got some hard Barratt's licorice that I love

Tomorrow is home

Genny takes to the skies

Apart from the temporary loss of my tablet through airport security all is going well

With plenty of warning and printed instructions BA have been great. They are obviously worried about the safety of the batteries and how to secure this odd shaped machine on wheels. It was a great relief to see it going up the conveyor belt into the belly of the plane

Reunited with my wheels at the aircraft door and off through the airport to the Gatwick Express. Delays then through London Bridge and on to Dartford

Lunch in an Italian cafe of chicken, bacon and avocado on ciabatta I made my way East for about 3 miles, over the M25 and to my hotel

I seemed to have picked the most remote part of London as there is nothing but warehouses and roads. I am here to visit the UK supplier of Genny Mobility wheelchairs and to try out traveling with my new wheels. I have chosen the coldest bit of autumn with clear sky and sun.

There is a huge 24 hour ASDA down the road so I'm out to look for a hot water bottle and some food

Sunday outing

Genny goes to town

My first trip to town was eventful. All busses in Jersey have ramp access. The one I took was faulty and didn't work so with the help of the driver we lifted Genny in. Changing the setting to 4 mph I cruised the pavement and accessed many shops.

Generally I found it easier to park Genny outside if you are looking for things but Genny is also perfectly able to negotiate the aisles and displays. I feel cautious in a crowd and am aware that anyone leaning on me or pushing could send me off. In practice this is unlikely though as people make a bit of distance but with Genny so quiet, it is possible to surprise people. People trudging about town generally keep heads down and where I can be the centre of attention in the countryside or on the prom, it is easy to just fit in.

 

I have avoided the difficulties of town for about 5 years. Although I can do targeted bits like the optician the general concept of browsing and window shopping has defeated me. Maybe its a man thing but I now have to consider Christmas shopping again - is this progress?

Lovely to be in our beautiful Victorian central market again
 

The journey begins

Hi – Welcome to my site

I made this site to share my experience with my Genny Mobility, 2 wheeled, self-balancing wheelchair. I want to share the good and the more difficult experiences I am having. These chairs are a big investment and it was hard for me to envisage how Genny would fit into my life and how it would work for me

What I'm showing in my posts are things I wouldn't have done without my wheels

Postings on this blog may well be intermittent so if you are interested and don't want to miss things please sign up and "follow"

David xx