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CLAIRE HICKINBOTHAM: Hello and
welcome to the National Trust

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Podcast. I'm Claire Hickinbotham
and today we're visiting the

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South Shields coast in the north
east of England. Once known for

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its coal mining and shipbuilding
industries, Sand Haven Beach has

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been described as one of
Britain's best beaches.

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But it's not just the scenery
that makes this place special,

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it's also the adventure and
adrenaline fuelled experiences

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on offer that's turned one
family's pipe dream of surfing

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together into a reality.

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KAREN HALTON: Melissa and my
husband and son were racing in.

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You know, Nick would drag
Melissa out and ride the waves

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out. And then they'll all just
take a turn riding the same wave

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back in.

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She was giggling. We were
laughing, and I just can't tell

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you, I can't explain the feeling
and how much it meant to us as a

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family to have an experience
that we could all do at the same

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time.

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CLAIRE HICKINBOTHAM: Just 13
miles from Newcastle city

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centre, with the mouth of the
River Tyne to the north and the

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National Trust's Souter
Lighthouse to the south, Sand

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Haven Beach is a beautiful
stretch of coastline.

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Evidence of the area's
coalmining past is still visible

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at times, and pieces of coal
still wash up on Sand Haven

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Beach from the former West Ho
Colliery, but a clean up of the

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coastline after the colliery
shut in 1993 has resulted in the

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beach now having won awards.

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NICK JONES: We had the coal mine
and then there's the quarry at

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the end, which the pier was
built out of. That was actually

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the old landfill. The mine used
to go out a mile undersea, so

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you get lots of coal popping up
and you can still collect it.

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CLAIRE HICKINBOTHAM: Nick Jones
spends his life on the beach.

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He's from South Shields Surf.

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NICK JONES: Now you've got this-
just this fabulous mile of

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golden sands. You got waves, you
got rock pools. You've got

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glorious like little nooks and
crannies down through the cliffs

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to go exploring, and it's all
accessible to everybody.

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CLAIRE HICKINBOTHAM: The beach
and coastline are now at the

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heart of the local community.

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NICK JONES: We celebrate it
ourselves. We have an annual

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beach festival, and we get as
many local organizations who are

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involved in the beach and the
coast down here. And we get them

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down and we just have- Yeah, a
good time.

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CLAIRE HICKINBOTHAM: But Nick
believes it's the sea that

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brings the biggest benefit to
people.

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NICK JONES: The sea’s kind of
special because it's immersive

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and so you're fully in it and it
is restorative on multiple

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levels. You physically
refreshed, and that helps you be

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mentally refreshed. Just the
North Sea is cold you know like

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that element of it too.

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But then it's like an enforced
state of meditation, and state

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of flow that you fall into when
you're surfing because you’re

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concentrating on waves, you’re
concentrating conditions, you're

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concentrating on seeking out
that good feeling from catching

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a wave.

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When surfers get good waves and
then they've had a good session,

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they often say, I feel stoked.

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CLAIRE HICKINBOTHAM: When Nick
first set up, he offered

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standard surf lessons. But after
lots of requests from community

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groups and with the help of some
funding, South Shields Surf

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School started offering surfing
lessons to more people,

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including children with learning
disabilities, wheelchair users,

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veterans groups and adults who
struggle with their mental

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health.

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NICK JONES: So I think everyone
should be able to access the

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good feelings of being in the
ocean. The only reason people

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can't access it, if they've got
a physical disability, is that

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access hasn't been provided.

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It's really important that we
take away those barriers that

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are imposed on people.

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CLAIRE HICKINBOTHAM: One family
who knows only too well the

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challenges of getting onto the
beach are the Haltons.

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Karen and Alan run a farm in
Bolton where they live with

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their three children. Their
daughters, Danielle and Melissa,

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who are in their 20s, and
teenager Thomas.

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Melissa is a wheelchair user
following complications in the

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days and weeks after her birth.

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And it means holidays and family
days at the beach can be

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challenging.

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KAREN HALTON: A day at the beach
was just it wasn't going to

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happen for us as a family.

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We couldn't get Melissa's
wheelchair onto the sand because

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it sinks in the sand.

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So what tended to happen was my
husband and son or my daughter,

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my oldest daughter as well,
would go off on the beach and

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have a bit of beach time and
climb the rocks and go into the

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sea paddling, while me and
Melissa would just have to go

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along the front.

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The fronts are geared up lovely
these days. They are, they’re

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nice and flat and we can stroll
along, but we're always

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separated.

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We can't do a beach day as a
family. It's awful, really,

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because I want to be on the
beach just as much as Melissa

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wants to be on the beach, and my
children and my husband want us

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all to be together. But the
areas just aren't geared up.

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CLAIRE HICKINBOTHAM: Like all
parents, Karen and her husband

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want to give their kids fun and
memorable experiences. And a

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highlight each year is their
family holiday away from running

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the farm. But organizing their
holiday isn't as simple as

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hopping online or visiting a
travel agent. It's a big

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undertaking.

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KAREN HALTON: When we're trying
to book a holiday, it becomes a

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real issue from the get go. For
Melissa, we need to book months

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and months and months in
advance, if not a year prior.

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There's no such thing as a
spontaneous holiday when you've

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got a wheelchair user, because
everything books up so quickly

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and facilities are so limited.

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CLAIRE HICKINBOTHAM: But when
Karen was booking a recent

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annual holiday, a post on social
media caught her eye.

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KAREN HALTON: We were lucky when
we was going on holiday last

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year. We've got a Facebook group
that does holidays and

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suggestions for people with
disabilities.

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So we went on that Facebook
group and tell them where I was

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going, up the Durham area, and
asked if anybody knew of

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anything that was there.

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And one of the suggestions was
the surf school.

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So I contacted Nick and he was
fantastic from start to finish.

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He explained the whole process.
He also suggested that we could

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get the rest of the family in as
well at the same time as Melissa

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doing the surfing.

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CLAIRE HICKINBOTHAM: So
successful was this first trip

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that Melissa, mum Karen and dad
Allen have made the journey from

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Bolton to South Shields again
with one of their other children

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for another rare chance of
surfing as a family.

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KAREN HALTON: Hi Nick!

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NICK JONES: Hi guys! It's lovely
to see you again. Yeah, Hi

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Melissa, how are you?

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MELISSA HALTON: Alright

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KAREN HALTON: Good, aren’t you?

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NICK JONES: You glad you came
back?

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KAREN HALTON: Excited, aren’t
you?

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NICK JONES: Remember we dunked
you last time?

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KAREN HALTON: She doesn’t mind
being dunked. You loved it

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didn’t you? It’s half the fun!

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NICK JONES: Oh, yeah! Well it’s
a little less exciting the last

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time, isn't it?

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KAREN HALTON: Yeah. The waves
aren't quite as good this time,

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but I'm sure we'll still have a
blast.

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NICK JONES: Yeah, we're still
going to get in and have a bit

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of a giggle out of the board.
Right. Brilliant. Let's go get

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your wetsuits on.

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KAREN HALTON: Perfect, come on
off we go!

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CLAIRE HICKINBOTHAM: At the
water's edge, Nick gets the

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family into position supporting
Melissa on the surfboard.

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NICK JONES: And in case Melissa
does, a little tippy-flippy! You

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know, if you want to do a
tippy-flippy We'll, do

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tippy-flippy all day long!
Right, Melissa, let's get you

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out there!

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CLAIRE HICKINBOTHAM: For Melissa
to even be in the water, let

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alone enjoying a surf lesson,
was previously a pipe dream for

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the family. Unimaginable in the
days and weeks after she was

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born.

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KAREN HALTON: So Melissa was
born in 2002. She was noted to

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have breathing difficulties on
feeding within the first 24

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hours. We then went obviously to
neonatal.

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It was only when she was in
neonatal that we realized that

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she actually had a heart
condition, but we wasn't sure of

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the severity of it.

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CLAIRE HICKINBOTHAM: Melissa has
been classed as having a left

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hemiplegia cerebral palsy. It
was shortly after her birth that

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it was discovered she had a
condition called aortic

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stenosis, a narrowing of the
aortic valve in the heart.

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It was a critical condition, and
Melissa was operated on when she

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was just a couple of weeks old.
But there were difficulties in

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restarting her heart. A team was
brought from Great Ormond Street

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Hospital and they placed Melissa
on ECMO a form of life support.

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KAREN HALTON: She was then on
ECMO for a further six days.

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Unfortunately, on the last day
they did a scan of her brain and

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realized that they've been a
bleed to the brain and that

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there was some brain damage.

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Now, she literally only has the
use of her right hand, so it

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affects every element of her
life. She can't walk, we need a

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hoist to get her in and out of
the bath. We have a turner to

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get her onto the toilet, so that
makes a lot days out very

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difficult.

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We have to make sure that she's
living a full life so Melissa

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comes first. Yeah. Quality of
life is what really matters. And

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we make sure that every step of
the way we can do that.

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Melissa is very into active
things.

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She loves anything with speed.
She's like her Dad on that one!

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Anything that's fast, Roller
coasters, a fast car, whatever,

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she loves going and watching
motor racing.

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She’s a crackers character,
she's brilliant to be around.

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She's an absolute love. She'll
brighten anybody's day up. She

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does attract people because
she's just such a lovely

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personality!

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CLAIRE HICKINBOTHAM: Finding
Nick's surf school and getting

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Melissa surfing with the whole
family that very first time was

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a dream come true for mum Karen.

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KAREN HALTON: When we got to
Nick's surf school and

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everything started going into
plan, it was like, this is

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amazing. So we got Melissa into
one of the beach wheelchairs to

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transfer down to the seafront.

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We got to the front, we all was
changed into our wetsuits

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because Nick said he wanted us
all in as a family, which has

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not happened since she was
probably two years old.

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You know, there was no
standerbys, you know, I was and

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Melissa was in the whole family
was, and it was perfect.

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She ended up being ditched
completely into the water. She

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came up bobbing cause obviously
she had a life jacket and

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everything else on.

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She came a smiling her head off,
laughing like there was no

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tomorrow. Because it was just
she'd done something that surfer

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dudes do!

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She'd wiped out.!

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It was lovely, you know, and she
thought that was fantastic!

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So Alan and Nick just got her
back in the board he asked if

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she was alright, she was like
“yes, let's go again! ”

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Well, at the time she was
absolutely buzzing and she said

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she's had the best day ever. She
said, “Mum, it's my 21st soon

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can I go again? ” [

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Montage of surfing] Keep
paddling amazing well done! [

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GENERIC: Montage of surfing]

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CLAIRE HICKINBOTHAM: Nick's
halfway through his surf lesson

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with Melissa and can see she's
having fun and feeling confident

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and is enjoying finding the
bigger waves. He believes

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everyone should be given the
chance to take risks if they

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want to.

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NICK JONES: Dignity of risk is a
really lovely phrase about risk

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taking fair for everybody. We
don't question often, able

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bodied people having a go at
surfing.

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So why would we question if
somebody with additional needs,

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you can understand the risks
involved and we can moderate

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those risks. Why can't we get
them in?

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We love wiping people out like
it's a big part of surfing. If

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you're getting in the sea and
you're going surfing, wiping out

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is part of it.

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So long as we can wipe out
safely, then there's no reason

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why we shouldn't wipe out
safely.

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CLAIRE HICKINBOTHAM: There's
another team of people on the

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beach today who, when training
surfers, include techniques to

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help overcome nerves and fear in
the water. So yeah, we've got

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Team England para surfing here
today.

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NICK JONES: They train with,
best para surfing athletes in

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the country. And they came forth
last year and the world champs.

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They do incredible things and
part of their training is

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getting people out into the surf
and pushing their comfort zones,

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making them feel less nervous.
So they'll be negotiating those

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sort of situations.

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They're finding out where
somebody is super comfortable

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and then where can we start if
they want to- I mean, want to

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push it further, maybe get
bigger waves or more potentially

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hazardous conditions and more
risky maneuvers out in the surf

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about looking at how can we make
that risk taking feel more

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comfortable and then building
their skills up with that So

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that becomes part of their
comfort zone.

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CLAIRE HICKINBOTHAM: Suzanne
Edwards is a beach lover and is

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hanging out near where Melissa
is having her surf lesson.

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SUZANNE EDWARDS: I learned to
surf when I was quite young. My

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family- We spent a lot of our
summers in Cornwall and then I

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went to university in Exeter.

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So you spend a lot of time at
the coast surfing. So it became

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quite a big part of my life. And
then when I was 22, I was in

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Morocco, I was working in a surf
camp and, had an accident where

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I was standing on a balcony, the
railing, gave way, and I fell

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30ft and broke my back.

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So my whole world kind of
changed in an instant. I became,

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paralyzed from the waist down, a
full time wheelchair user.

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Suddenly realized that the
things that I loved most in

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life, which were, surfing and
travel, suddenly weren't really

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possible anymore.

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CLAIRE HICKINBOTHAM: But Suzanne
did get back in the water and is

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now a para surfer and represents
England. But there are still

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times when she is apprehensive.
So how does she overcome her

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nervousness?

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SUZANNE EDWARDS: I think
practice is a is a big thing of,

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you know, sort of gradually
building up. Always got great

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instructors and coaches with me
who I feel, you know, 1,000%

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safe with.

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Give surfing I go. You may not
love it, it may not be for you,

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but you're not going to know
unless you try it. The ocean is

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incredible. What it does for
you, how it makes you feel. I

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think the power of it is so
amazing.

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CLAIRE HICKINBOTHAM: Melissa,
surfing lesson has come to an

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end and she comes out of the sea
tired but happy.

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NICK JONES: I'm going to do the
same in reverse into the chair.

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GENERIC: I’ll go grab the chair.

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KAREN HALTON: Was that not the
best time ever?

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MELISSA HALTON: Yeah it is!

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KAREN HALTON: I thought it was!

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ALAN HALTON: You’ve enjoyed it
and not drowned or anything?

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MELISSA HALTON: No, no! Sorry!

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KAREN HALTON: Daddy’s wet as
well!

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NICK JONES: I started this and
it was a regular surf school and

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my aim was to have a fabulous
time by the sea.

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I had a Tupperware box for cash
and I had a written- handwritten

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diary, and I was very happy.

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But then you start working with
different community groups and

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you find out different needs and
you find that you can work with

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them. And then you slowly grow
and build into something which

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you didn't know that you were
meaning to.

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CLAIRE HICKINBOTHAM: Melissa and
her family are now warm and dry

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and ready to head back home.
Nick's been able to give

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sessions like this because he
originally partnered with the

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National Trust Blue Scapes
project, offering activities on,

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in and beside the water,
including yoga, walking, cycling

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and paddle sports, including
surfing.

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It was set up by Sarah Campbell,
who, alongside Nick, initially

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offered surf lessons for
children with autism and special

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needs, but it was feedback from
those taking part that gave them

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the idea to open up sessions
that would allow whole families

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to do activities together.

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SARAH CAMPBELL: The response has
been overwhelmingly positive.

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It's that time in the water, the
social time as a family, and

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that feeling of real, positive
time in nature. When I see,

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participants coming out with the
water, I see absolute joy and

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pleasure and also that reflected
in the faces of the family

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around them as well.

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Something that that you might
take for granted on a daily

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basis. Seeing this in action is
really powerful.

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NICK JONES: How was that
Melissa?

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MELISSA HALTON: Really fun!

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NICK JONES: Okay. I'm pleased.

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KAREN HALTON: Yeah the best
time.

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MELISSA HALTON: Yeah.

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KAREN HALTON: You can stop
smiling at any time you like,

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you know!

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We've had an amazing time as a
family in the water together and

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it's just been a wonderful
opportunity. It's going to make

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memories that are going to last
a lifetime.

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NICK JONES: When we get people
like Melissa into the water and

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her family- tell you what was
really exciting is just to

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normalize access in the water.

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Just going for a surf with the
family. Having a nice time in

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the sea with the family. That's
what it's about. And that's a

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real privilege to then be part
of that experience.

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KAREN HALTON: We'll be back.
We’ll be back!

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MELISSA HALTON: When?

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KAREN HALTON: As soon as we can.

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CLAIRE HICKINBOTHAM: Thank you
for listening to this episode of

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the National Trust Podcast.

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If you'd like to learn more
about adaptive surfing, please

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00:17:39,662 --> 00:17:42,003
check out the links in our
episode show notes.

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00:17:42,471 --> 00:17:45,473
To make sure you get new
episodes of this podcast, follow

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00:17:45,593 --> 00:17:50,337
or subscribe on Spotify, Apple
Podcasts, or YouTube. We'll be

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00:17:50,377 --> 00:17:54,339
back soon, but for now from me,
Claire Hickinbotham, Goodbye.