Poland, Health and Big Impact Projects

In the past 2 months I’ve moved to a more accessible bungalow, driven to Poland and back for Christmas/New Year, battled a nasty virus, and delivered multiple client projects. Somehow.

When I look back it seems impossible. With each baby step, big challenges can be overcome. Apparently.

Regarding the bungalow, I’m going to write a whole post on how I made it accessible for my needs. So watch this space for my recent accessible housing news.

The trip to Poland in December was very enjoyable. The drive is getting more tiring every time Kasia and I go there. I suppose novelty is a type of fuel. However having the car and hoist is so helpful once in Miedzyrzecz, where we stay. We always have a great time, despite the hundreds of miles we cover.

I’d never spent Christmas in another country before. It was really interesting too. In Poland (and many other European countries) the main celebration is on the 24th December. We ate the 12 traditional Polish dishes including Pierogi, delicious soups, and carp. We sang Polish carols and shared great gifts.

Whilst enjoying a different cultural experience, I naturally missed my family and the British food I’m accustomed to. So Kasia’s family decided to cook turkey, stuffing, vegetables and roast potatoes with gravy on their second day of Christmas. The 25th December.

I munched through this with a big smile 🙂

We did a little tourism there too. However it was very cold for me. Meaning the forest and lake walks we do there in the summer were less of an option. Still, we visited Poznan for a day trip, and generally we enjoyed games of cards and quality time with Kasia’s family.

Since being in England everyone’s been fighting nasty viruses. I had a bad cough in November, fought through the bugs going around in Poland, almost avoided the lurgy back round here recently, and was the last one to catch it.

Having a weaker cough means flu type viruses really hit me hard. However with rest, good food, lots of water and vitamin supplements; I can beat it better these days. ‘Touch wood’ I’ve not had antibiotics in a few years. Which was the norm for most of my life.

Work wise I’ve been doing some interesting regular support for Open Inclusion on accessibility and inclusion for big business. Plus I’ve continued my work on the Adult Insight Group for the SMA Trust and SMA Support UK. It’s been good having regular work on topics I really enjoy doing.

I’ve also been working on a one off project for VisitEngland. This is to help accessible tourism providers with marketing advice. It’s been great to pour my recent travel experiences, contacts and knowledge into a large impact project. I’m really enjoying the collaboration with Access New Business.

I hope you are surviving the winter months ok? With February comes a short month and it feels like you can almost touch spring. I’m looking forward to launching some new projects and travelling somewhere exotic once spring kicks in. What are your plans?

See you soon,

Martyn