My First foray into Ambassadorship with the Bobath Centre

14th March 2024 was a red-letter day for me in more ways than one. I have recently accepted the honor of becoming the first ambassador to the Bobath Cerebral Palsy Center, which is based in Watford. This is an organization that takes children as young as one up to the age of 19. Right from the start, the Bobath physiotherapists, speech therapists, and those dealing with rehabilitation will work on a child, helping to improve posture, movement, and social rehabilitation. I have had an association with the Bobath since 1954 until 1969. Quite frankly, I owe my life to the Bobath Centre. They helped me in all kinds of ways, and they were there after surgery to improve my walking, which stood me in good stead for my future life. Fortunately, even though I have Cerebral Palsy Quadriplegia, which affects both arms and both legs, it did not affect my speech, for which I am eternally grateful. My mother, Alma, worked tirelessly, following out the Bobath's instructions to the letter. I had to have two and a half hours of physiotherapy every day, and my mother never faltered in providing it unless she or I was ill. Nancy Finnie was my physiotherapist; indeed, she would often take me on demonstrations on how to work with the Bobath method. My mother worked tirelessly planting the idea of normal movement until eventually, my brain could take over, and I was able to complete tasks on my own. My mother used to turn the wheels of my tricycle by hand up and down the hallway and lounge until 6 months later of daily effort my brain suddenly got the idea of pushing the pedals, then I was off to pastures new. Going out, playing with the other children, riding a larger fixed-wheel, three wheeled tricycles, made for me by the NHS. This was wonderful, and my father took part by walking with me every day (providing it wasn't raining) so that my back and legs were exercised. I have always had a curvature of my spine which is very pronounced but now I am able to sit quite comfortably in a bespoke wheelchair. As you know, my great love is writing; I learned my craft by listening to Radio 4, listening extremely carefully to the way sentences were constructed and how the announcers put their sentences together; they were always very clear and very precise, (unfortunately this doesn't seem to apply so much today) and I have always tried to emulate how they did this. As someone who has appeared on television 63 times and done more than 400 radio broadcasts, there will be my latest one which is being put out on RNIB Connect Radio, sometime in April. I will let you all know the date when I have it. I have now completed five books, and joys of joys, there is another one coming towards the end of the year, probably around September or October. I will let you know the release date of "God and Our Dirty Socks" when I have it. I hope you will be amused by the title. There are some 40 chapters, quite small in length, so don't be alarmed, which covers the whole miss-mash of family life. and I hope you will find something for everyone within the book. I see it really as a bedside book that you can dip into and flick through whenever you need help or inspiration. Again, I will let you know when the book is ready to purchase. At the moment I have no idea of cost, back to the Bobath Centre. I chatted on all kinds of issues and I talked about receiving my doctorate and then my MBE. As well as my appearance as this subject of 'This is your life', back in 1977. With the presenter Eamonn Andrews, I believe you can still get this up. It will either be 14th December 1977 or the day of transmission which was the 21st December 1977. I am still in touch with one of the researchers of that program today, and we are still very good friends. Hopefully, the Bobath Centre will be producing my talk so if that happens, I will put it on social media for those who require to listen. The talk had 32 members listening in on the day. May I take this opportunity to wish all of you a very happy Easter and may you know the love of Christ within it. For me, Easter is a very special time, even more important than Christmas, because the church has not ruined the meaning of it. The suffering of Christ is central but for all of us who battle with disability on a day-to-day basis, our one certain hope is the resurrection, so I send you all my love and prayers and obvious blessing.

Yours Sincerely Dr. Lin Berwick MBE.

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