Darren DOES it! Darren DOES it!

HUGE congratulations to Darren Edwards, the 32-year-old wheelchair adventurer who has just completed seven marathons on seven continents in seven days.

As reported last autumn in All Together NOW!, ex-army reservist

Darren’s remarkable handbike journeys started in Antarctica and finished in Miami

The World Marathon Challenge also saw him take in Africa, Australia, the Middle East, Europe and South America

He said it had been a “truly unique whirlwind of a week”

After finishing his first event in arctic conditions, he said it was the most challenging five hours and 50 minutes of his life, battling high winds, freezing temperatures, 500m uphill sections, and snow drifts

That was followed by hot and windy conditions in Cape Town – where he finished first with a time of two hours and 48 minutes – and then the blazing afternoon heat of Perth

His challenge has so far raised £52,000 to pay for injured and wounded veterans to enjoy alpine activities with the Armed Forces Para-Snowsport Team

Darren was left paralysed from the waist after a climbing accident in North Wales in 2016, but said he refused to let disability stop him from dreaming big and taking on tough challenges

Two years ago, he kayaked from Land’s End to John O’ Groats with a team of disabled veterans

MEET Pete Wellings, one of our all-important drivers who make sure all our 50,000 copies of All Together NOW! get to you!

Pete joined us two years ago and says he loves meeting readers who pick up our free paper

“So many people say they don’t use the internet and the paper is a lifeline to them,” he says.

“I retired quite a while ago and I never thought I’d be a newspaper boy in my 70s! But it’s a real labour of love ”

Brightening up

your bus ride

I LOVE this paper! I pick up loads of copies every time I’m in Sainsbury’s (Woolton store) and enjoy placing them on top of the Metros on the bus I use. All Together NOW! is a much better read than all the other papers put together!

– Happy ATN reader

Now the team at the Spinal Unit Action Group (SUAG) are planning a celebration night at Southport and Birkdale Cricket Club on April 15

Nicola Ivanovic said: “Many local businesses have helped us to provide lots of help to patients and families

“But our biggest pride is buying a large house in Birkdale where individuals who have sustained high tetraplegic injuries can live and be supported in an environment they call home – in Weld Road ” n Nicola Ivanovic: Tel 07522 445283

Are you a mastermind?

BBC TV’s Mastermind is scouring the UK to find contenders for the next series which will be filmed in Belfast. Although applications close at midnight, Monday April 24, the word is act now. The application takes just 10 minutes to complete.

n email mastermind hth@hattrick com

Sight ’n’ sound makes sense

THIS year ’s Sight Village events, which give people with sight loss the chance to find out about the latest technology, will also include services and products for deaf people

Nikki Morris, CEO at Deafblind UK, the charity sponsoring the free events, said: “Having information and equipment for sight loss and hearing loss all under one roof makes these events truly unique and a welcome addition to these already fantastic exhibitions ”

April 18: All Nations Centre, Cardiff n Deafblind UK: Tel 0800 132320

THE GRIM effects of Covid is thought to have played a significant part in the big drop in the disabled population of England and Wales.

A sharp drop occurred between 2011 and 2021, possibly caused by the disproportionate number of disabled people who died during the pandemic, say the Office for National Statistics.

The fall was particularly marked in those disabled people whose activities were “limited a lot” by their impairment or health condition, with a reduction from 9.2% of females in England to 7.8%, and an even sharper fall from 9% to 7.1% of males in England over the 10 years.

Action over trains

THE equality watchdog has taken action under against both the Department for Transport and the rail regulator over concerns that cuts and reforms to train services are making the network ever more inaccessible

So far, the Equality and Human Rights Commission has only written a letter to DfT and the Office of Rail and Road, but it has warned them both that it “will not hesitate to use its enforcement powers.” l See Page 8

Meters: Extend the ban

But they have called on the Government to go further and introduce a permanent ban.

Svetlana Kotova, a leading member, said: “Relying on judicial moratorium of the Disability Poverty Campaign Group or the goodwill of energy providers is not good enough

“The Government must bring in new laws to permanently ban forcing people onto pre-payment schemes ”

Sort our pavements

FIXING uneven pavements and ending pavement parking are among the calls made in the Disabled Citizens’ Inquiry report

Other demands in the report, led by walking and cycling charity Sustrans and Transport for All, include walking and wheeling crossing points across roads and cycle paths, and improved access to off-road routes

The report found more than half of people with mobility impairments, learning difficulties or sight loss often experience problems reaching their destination