Mishaps!

Breakdown
I have had many misadventures along the way, for instance when we as a family (and Tysa the family dog) went out on a day trip to Westonbirt Arboretum, a local, very large and beautiful park. At that time  my youngest son had broken his leg quite badly and it was in plaster. Therefore he was using a mobility scooter, alongside me in my wheel chair.

We had travelled roughly six miles, doing lots of 'off roading' and climbing steep banks (something that wheelchairs and scooters aren't designed for) when my wheelchair ran out of steam! Unfortunately we had been out so long the charge had run out on the chair. It could be pushed manually, but was incredibly heavy. Luckily my husband had a great idea to tow me home. He used the dog lead as a tow rope and tied me to the back of the mobility scooter my son was riding. Even with a broken leg he was still able to get me back to the car. Can you imagine the sight?????? mobility scooter,  dog lead, wheelchair. Some convoy!!!! :)

Bomb?
Another time while on a lovely nearby beach, I was having a snooze as it was very quiet. My husband decided to take a stroll over the rocks for some exploring. He came back with some photos he had taken of something strange in the mud, luckily he always carries his GPS with him so was able to get the exact co-ordinates. When we got home he put the photos onto the computer and we didn't think any more of it.

Land mine?

Later that evening we were at a neighbours BBQ. One of the men, an ex-parachute regiment officer, came over to the house to look at the photos. He took one look and said it appeared to be a land mine and that we were to contact the police. It just so happened that this stretch of beach (Woospring Bay) is ex-ordinatance and it is where bombs have until recently been  blown up by the navy. The police came to visit us, said they didn't know anything about the situation and that we should contact the Coast Guard.

The Coast Guard came out the following day while we were on the beach waiting for them. It was a beautiful sunny day and my husband was there in a pair of shorts, sun hat and bare footed with his official life jacket on. ( Gok Wan would have had a field day) When the coast guard arrived they were wearing hard hats, boiler suits and Wellington boots (and of course life jackets [don't forget that the water is very shallow here ]) so they were fully prepared. The Coast Guard looked rather silly and said that they felt very stupid. They were a nice bunch and very chatty.My carer had a video and recorded everything.

Waiting for the Coast Guard

My husband then took the coast guard over to where he knew he had found the land mine. Luckily he had his GPS on him at the time. They found another close by and said if the tide wasn't coming in they would have had to close the tow path and evacuate the area a kilometre round the site. They did not like the look of what they had found so they called out the Royal Navy who came out from Plymouth the next day.

My husband had to return to work the next day (he had already taken one day off because of a suspected bomb :) The coast guard informed him that they would contact him as soon as the Navy arrived. He wanted to be there to see what they did. When they Navy came they said it looked like a bomb but it wasn't it was a very large fishing weight!!!!!!!!!!! Apparently we took the correct action when we thought it might be a bomb.
We have the fishing weight at home to prove it !!!!!!!!!!!

Travellers
Years ago we had an old caravan, and used to go to a site nearby taking bicycles in the caravan. Whilst there my husband and children went cycling, leaving me and my father in law in the caravan. We had a loo, and could boil up tea. One day at this SSI site we were visited by a local councillor, who was convinced we were travellers, even though my father in law was an elderly gentleman in a suit and tie. I had limited mobility but wasn't in a wheelchair. The man wouldn't leave us alone and was totally convinced we were travellers. But the offer of a cup of tea made him leave.

Dress
Another time, when on holiday with my family in Lanzarote, a very windy island, I (in my wheelchair) was exploring the hotel with my husband. I was wearing a very pretty boob-tube dress. This was of lightweight, long material, and luckily I was wearing a pair of co-ordinating cut-offs. A gust of wind caught my dress and blew it into the wheels of the chair, where it caught and pulled off,  leaving me topless! Luckily, there were lots of topless sunbathers there so I didn't look to strange (just felt it) I won't wear that dress again!

The offending dress!