2016
The Blesma News for 2016 covering news, activities and fundraising events for limbless veterans.
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Kenneth and Barbara Pickard: "70-year marriage is a walk and (sit!) in the park"
18 April 2016
Kenneth and Barbara Pickard, who first met in Trowbridge Park in Wiltshire on VE Day in 1945, now have a spot to call their very own after the Friends of Trowbridge Park unveiled a new bench and floral border to honour them. Kenneth, 92, (who became an above-knee amputee in Normandy in 1944) and Barbara, 89, attended the opening ceremony with Mayor Roger Andrews. Everyone was so happy all those years ago because of the end of the war and I spoke to Kenneth because we both went to the celebrations on our own
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Blesma is supporting a hard-hitting play that’s due to open in London’s West End.
8 April 2016
Blesma is supporting a hard-hitting play that’s due to open in London’s West End and a Member has the starring role... Darren 'Swifty' Swift is about to star in Blue on Blue, a play about a double amputee written by Chips Hardy, the dad of Hollywood star Tom Hardy, and funded mainly by The Skullcap Collective. Blesma spoke to those involved about why this is a production every Blesma Member should see… DARREN SWIFT PLAYS THE PART OF MOSS
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Blesma Community programme
29 March 2016
Read how we're getting injured veterans into schools giving talks about overcoming adversity. The stage is silent then Andy Reid’s steady voice cuts through the tension to set the scene of a stark hospital room filled with doctors and distressed relatives. “I wake up. I look down and at the end of the bed I can see that there is nothing where my legs should be,” he says. “I walk my fingers slowly down my thigh not wanting to find the end, not wanting to know. “I stop. I turn to Claire, my partner, and say. You are the love of my life but I will understand if y
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Thundercats Project
22 March 2016
Stuart Croxford, an amputee, Blesma Member, and Project Manager of Team Endeavour Racing, is leading the charge into ThunderCat racing for those who’ve been hurt in combat. “The only real negative is getting in and out of the boat, which can be tricky with one leg,” says Stuart, who is adamant that this is the perfect pastime for amputees. “But once I’m in the boat, there’s absolutely no difference between me and any other competitor. It’s great, because it’s a physical sport that demands good fitness levels, but an amputee can compete with everyone else on a level playing field.”
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