A New Home, a New World for Jack On Friday July 15th 1960, Jack and Sheila were transferred to the new unit. Just the two of them from that hospital were chosen, and Jack was a little disturbed that his fellow patients had not been accepted. In fact both he and his sister were asked by the authorities to delay the move until the new home agreed to take all of them, but he had waited for such a chance so long that, despite many guilty feelings, he dared not refuse what could be his only opportunity. Therefore, Jack and Sheila were required formally to discharge themselves from the hospital. This new home represented a different concept in accommodation for severely disabled people, and when Jack and his sister arrived, they were delighted with everything. Eleven double bedrooms and eight single were arranged around three sides of a courtyard, while the sitting-room, dining-room and kitchen completed the rectangle. It was sheer luxury to have separate rooms for each function. Being got up for breakfast and allowed to remain out of bed until late evening were just two long forgotten privileges. Rules and regulations in the hostel were almost negligible. Residents and friends were free to come and go at will. "Fancy!" I reported to my mother, "Fancy! They even have electric wheelchairs at that new place!" Jack had been allowed to borrow such a powered chair, and it made all the difference in the world to him. His whole outlook changed. He had never been able to propel himself in an ordinary wheelchair, as I was able to do with difficulty in those days. Now, the ability to move freely at the touch of a switch immediately broadened his horizons. He was able at liberty to pass from one room to the next; to wonder into the courtyard for catching the sun; to go and socialise with a new resident. Mobility in itself was sheer enjoyment. Never before had Jack been so punctual for his meals, despite jolting the table, often violently, in the process! He was more then a little scared when first put in control of his powered chair, and needed all the wide corridors and spaciousness if the hostel for practising. Hitherto there had always been someone behind him to guide his push-chair, and to stop it as necessary. Now he must do these things himself. Learning angles of approach, and gauging widths of clearance and braking distances, are skills normally acquired from childhood. For Jack, at the age of thirty, the discovery was far more exciting! No wonder he began to develop that air of confidence which I loved to see in him. He enjoyed gazing out of the windows and observing signs of everyday life. He watched the comings and goings of the tradesmen, housewives hanging out their washing, the children playing in the street, men returning home from work in the evening. He got to know and speak to many of them, as he sat outside. He now felt a part of the community. In a central part of the city, more opportunities present themselves. Jack's outings increased. He became even more of a familiar face at the football ground, when Trevor's brother-in-law Mike took on the job of pushing him the shorter distance. More concerts and cinema trips became available. "It's like being introduced to society!" he laughingly said. In all, Jack had spent ten years on hospital geriatric wards, and now needed time to take stock of his new life. At first he did little else except letter-writing. Getting used to his chair and to new people and surroundings was quite enough. But inevitably he was soon to start forming his own disciplines and hobbies. His new venture was assembling costume jewellery. This craft proved to be his most successful enterprise in every way. It involved mail-order purchasing of the component parts, and setting the polished stones into the readymade mounts. Both natural gems and ordinary chatons were used, and a clear adhesive made the work easy for Jack to handle. Satisfaction and creativity came in the colours and pattern chosen, and brooches, bracelets, pendants and ear-rings made a fine display for prospective customers. Alec had acquired an old school desk for Jack to work on, and set it up in his corner of the hobbies room. Jack was busy once more. Every morning after breakfast he would drive his chair from the table, through the television lounge, to take up his position in the hobbies room. There he would work until lunch-time. In the afternoons he allowed himself a break, either sitting outside or watching the world go by from the window. Jack relied on his own salesmanship for disposing of his jewellery, with an occasional sale organised by the visiting handicrafts teacher. Jack's settled state had a good effect on me. If he was happy, then so was I. We still took each day as it came, not daring to look too far ahead. But best of all, transport permitting, I could arrange to spend a whole day at a time with Jack. And many Saturdays saw my brothers, sixteen year old Michael and David now fifteen, pushing me almost three miles to the hostel. There was no fun in it for them, and their willingness to help could never have been accounted for by the small payments I offered. But the arrangement sufficed for quite a long time. My own home routine was quietly organised. It still suited me to remain in my high bed for most days. I enjoyed an early start to my day, when I would gaze out of the window to the woods bordering on our back garden. Once Dad had attended to my needs, and sat me up in a well-balanced position, I could get on with my tasks. The bed itself presented an ideal work surface, with space enough to spread my things around. My writing materials, books, socks to darn, and other mending jobs all found a place. Even the sewing machine was often accommodated on my bed! I preferred to be organised for the whole day, and planned everything accordingly. Usually, my brothers would fetch me the necessary things before dashing off to school. I learned to use Mum's electric sewing machine by depressing the foot-pad with my elbow. Besides coping with a good deal of family mending. I started to produce a few aprons for sale, as well as making myself a blouse or two. Utilising the surface of my bed even further, there seemed scope enough to attempt anything. Plaster moulds were very messy, and not at all successful. I enjoyed painting the finished articles, but was often disappointed when peeling away the rubber mould to find disfiguring flaws. However, I did succeed in launching a new project when I began to make model ships. Assembling plastic kits of many famous old sea-going craft, I delighted in painting them to the smallest detail, and completed the models with intricate cotton rigging. The Santa Maria was the most popular with my customers, selling at 25p and making me all of 10p profit! These hobbies were self-taught. But there was soon to be another, which turned out to be my favourite – patchwork. Our needlework teacher was very strict, but I always found hand-sewing relaxing and rewarding. Sheila was also in the needlework class, formed from the teacher's best pupils, and we all worked together on a huge patchwork quilt. We received 4p an hour for our labours!