Dragon Boat Delight!

Yesterday was the local Sailability Club Dragon Boat Race on our local lake in Rudyard. It was the most brilliant fun and we had a wonderful day racing in the sunshine.

The lake was mainly visited by locals and a little bit run down and unused up until the last five years. The events down at the lake over the past few years contain a modern morality tale so unbelievable that you would think it has been made up.

There has always been a Sailing club on the lake, a while ago they applied for lottery funding to make the club fully accessible. Having acquired the money and spent it on improving the club they promptly forgot to set the club up to include any members with a disability.

Meanwhile at the other end of the lake in a quiet unused corner with a dirty old run down shed, Dennis Priebe, set up Sailabilty, a centre of excellence for anyone to be able to enjoy sailing on the lake.

You would imagine that this vibrant and positive enterprise would be a source of immense pride to the locals and everyone would support the venture wholeheartedly. Hundreds of children each year enjoy the experience and freedom of getting out onto the water, and the joy and confidence it brings is wonderful.

On applying to develop the old boat store into a more suitable purpose built location the club was met with a barrage of objection. After the second planning application refusal they had to fight through another two refusals, an enforcement notice and finally a five day enquiry before they were granted the permission they require to build their new store.

The mood seemed to be-we all think the Sailabilty is a wonderful thing but we don't actually want it here thank you. How can such fear and discrimination of disability be so common in this day and age?

Thankfully due to the tireless efforts of some brilliant locals the club now is able to look forward to a great future and continue their magnificent work.

The Dragon Boat Race is their main fundraising event of the year and much splashing and fun was had by everyone. Rackety's entered a team this year, and after an appalling start where we zig zaged uncontrollably down the lake and came in last in the first heat,which was all my fault ( I thought it was the easy option to steer!) We changed the team around and stormed down the lake to win a place the Plate final. After a nerve racking enquiry because two other boats crashed into each other, Team Rackety's were upgraded from second to First place and are now the proud owners of the Rudyard Lake Dragon Boat Race Plate 2010!

The lake has become a mecca for Disabled families, schools, and individual to enjoy a wonderful experience, I understand that many people just don't have any experience or knowledge of disability but I do find it astonishing to find such vehement objection as we have experienced locally.

If you would like more information on Sailability the address is www.rudyardsailability.org.uk.

Rackety's adventures in cyber space.

Over the past few months we have jumped into the world of social networking and are now enjoying rampaging around in cyber space with all the others who are brave enough to try.
One thing that quickly became clear to us here at Rackety's HQ, is that many families and individuals who live with a disability are very keen internet users.
Finding out more about other families who share a similar disability, how they cope, where they find the help and support they need or the products that help them to enjoy an improved lifestyle, is very important in reducing the isolation often felt by families and individuals who live with disability.
The internet is a powerful and wonderful way of joining up communities of people all over the world with similar interests and challenges.
Rackety's have customers in over 22 different countries, thanks to the internet,the needs of our customers remain the same what ever country they live in.
This is an e-mail we received from a customer in America.

Once you have changed the bed from a larger child who got in her pants & has finger painted poo all over, you thank the Lord (& Rackety's) every time you snap the onesie (vests) in place. I thank Rackety's daily for making quality clothing that really makes our lives easier on a daily basis. I thought it would be a big deal to order internationally, but it was amazingly easy!
My daughter's bathroom is her bed, so the snap bottom PJ's make it a ton easier to change a nearly 70 lb child!
My girl has to wear a tucked in white colored top to school. Keeping it tucked in took divine intervention until we ordered the polo shirt vests! I'm amazed at how clothing blesses my life every single day. Thank you for doing what I couldn't do myself. I tried to make these or have them made, but they always came apart or didn't hold up. The quality adds to their benefits!
Sincerely,
Allison Moore (mother of Abby age 9 chromosome 18q-mosaic)

I have met some wonderful families locally through Rackety's, and now we are "meeting" families all over the globe thanks to the social network we are building up.

Looking forward to hearing from you soon.