'Talking The Talk'.

Last week was a really busy one for me in my other role as a public speaker. It kicked off on Wednesday when I had to get up at the unearthly hour of 5am so I could travel to Bishop's Stortford High School to speak at a London 2012 Breakfast Seminar organised by 'Hertfordshire Is Ready For Winners'. It was a very well attended event with lots of local businesses represented to discuss the question,'What can the Olympics do for my business'? I spoke about my experience of sport and was well received. I met a lot of very interesting people. Afterwards I spoke to the students of the school about setting goals, having dreams and being the best we can. I really enjoyed the session and was delighted at the challenging questions the students asked me at the end. It all made for a great start to the day, which I ended with a gruelling 10 mile push along the cycle tracks of Harlow followed quickly by a relaxing bath.

On Friday it was off to Leisurezone in Harlow for an Olympic/Paralympic Presentation organised by Harlow MP Robert Halfon in conjunction with Essex Legacy 2012. There were a lot of guest speakers, including myself and Noel Thatcher MBE to represent the Paralympic viewpoint. This is a very important year and wouldn't it be great if public attitudes towards disability was changed and the excellence of Paralympic sport celebrated and enshrined from the very outset that the two games are equally valued. The motto may well be,'Faster!Higher!Stronger! It was a good occasion and it was really nice to hear so many positive views about what we can expect. I only hope the people in power can live up to their fine words. Again, I finished the day with a hard training session concentrating on my speed work then home to another relaxing bath to ease my aching muscles.

On Saturday I went out for a long push then came home and really enjoyed watching the IAAF Indoor Championships on TV. I was really inspired by Yamile Aldama, 39, winning Gold in the Triple Jump, and it was great to see Harlow man, Andrew Osagie winning Bronze in the 800m. I remember training with him when I was first starting out as a wheelchair racer on the old Harlow track. I was also delighted at the successes of Dwayne Chambers and Christine Ohuruoga. All in all it just goes to show how exciting athletics is and I can't wait for the Games to begin.

It was back to public speaking again on Sunday when I was a guest at a dinner organised by Integration Support Services to celebrate International Women's Day. The dinner was raising funds for this fantastic group who help refugees, asylum seekers and migrants to integrate into the community(www.iss.org.uk ). It was great to see women from all backgrounds let their hair down and boogie to all the tunes. It was a humbling experience to speak to these amazing and beautiful women. I didn't know what to say to them so I based my talk on women taking control of their own lives. I am a woman who has been set free from restrictions but it is only relatively recently that I have come to realise that gender equality is only the first step. If we are to succeed as women we have to stop seeing other successful women as a threat - we have to network, plot and co-operate better than men. 'Take no heroes, only inspiration.'

Finally,training has been going well but yesterday I had to 'limp' home after a road session because my tyre got punctured. Not to worry because I had to back the chair up and send it to its makers, Bromakin, for a much needed service. Until I get it back I'll be sweating in the gym

Educating Essex 2

On Monday morning I was invited to speak to a group of media students at Harlow College. I was the first guest speaker to use the new lecture theatre and I was a bit nervous. I had prepared a powerpoint presentation and used a piece of music by Des'ree, 'You Gotta Be', as an introduction. There were about eighty students present as well as a couple of lecturers. I spoke about my life but more importantly about the way education can empower people. I had a good response and the students asked a lot of interesting questions. I spoke to quite a few students afterwards and they seemed to think it had been a positive experience so it was well worth taking the time to do.

Next it was off to Harlow Leisurezone for a photocall arranged by Harlow Council. It was to accompany the news that Harlow has been chosen for the London 2012 Olympic Torch Relay Route. This is great news for everyone in the town and will give people the opportunity to feel closer to the Games and be a part of history. I'll be there on July 7th to see the torch passing through. I'm really looking forward to it!

In the evening it was back to the track in the cold drizzly weather but as usual Ken soon had me sweating, sniffling, and working hard. By the end of an hour and forty five minutes I felt so proud because the session had been completed. Then it was home to cook dinner.

Educating Essex.

Training has been going on well, despite the cold and gloomy weather. I'm really grateful to my coach, Ken Day, for turning out to help me 6 days a week. He is so dedicated and I appreciate him. In these increasingly cold evenings I have been finding that my toes and fingertips have been freezing during training. However, I have discovered some excellent inner gloves made by Karrimor so I have solved the fingertip problem. Working on the toe problem.

Yesterday I went to Harlow Leisurezone to do my strength and conditioning work and it was great to work with John Campbell again. John is one of those instructors who pushes you to your limits, which is exactly what I need. Put it this way, after a session with John you know you have worked!

I have been watching 'Educating Essex' on Channel 4 with great interest because Passmores School is literally just around the corner from my house. A few years ago I was invited to the school to present awards to the children and I found everyone involved really friendly. There was a real family atmosphere to the school that I liked and the Head, Mr Goddard, went out of his way to support me. As a trained teacher myself, albeit one who has only ever taught in Kenya, I found the behaviour of the staff and students very interesting to observe. In Kenya there was nothing like detentions and counselling when a student makes a mistake, it was just a matter of how many strokes of the cane were dished out! In Kenya everyone believes in; 'Spare the rod, spoil the child'. If you were thrashed at school you would be thrashed again at home by your parents for disrespecting the teacher. How different things are here. I really admired the way Mr Drew dealt with the students. To me he is an excellent teacher who really cares about the students he teaches and there didn't seem to be any problem he couldn't deal with. He was just so calm and never seemed to lose his temper even when provoked. Mr Goddard, the Head, was equally impressive in the way he went about his work and who could imagine seeing such a powerful man crying on national television. I really admired that because he showed a very positive side of his character in that incident and he should be seen as a role model by other professional people. The students who featured in the series, in spite of all their problems, will look back at themselves and it will make them better people.