Dusty Wentworth

It’s the 28th of August already—can you believe it? Where did the summer go? One moment I was bracing myself for six weeks of school holidays, and the next I’m sitting in the garden, basking in the sunshine, kids playing in the background, reflecting on how fast it’s all flown by. Now, to be clear, I wasn’t worried about the usual summer holiday challenges—you know, keeping the kids entertained without requiring a bank balance that rivals Elon Musk’s. No, my real anticipation came from the fact that this was my first summer as a dad in a wheelchair. If you’ve read my earlier holiday blog (Wheelchairs, Lovebirds, and Little White Eggs: A Summer’s Day in the Garden Jungle), you’ll know I had more than a few doubts about how this would play out. Would I keep up? Would the kids adapt? Would I spend most of the summer watching from the sidelines while they ran rings around me? Well, let me tell you—none of that happened. Game Changers and Wheelchair Bandits Early on, my new Quic...

I woke to the sound of the alarm. Through my half-closed eyes I could just about make out 06:30 glowing on the clock. Bloody rude, I thought — it’s the school holidays! But reality bites: these days, it can take me as long to get from bed into my wheelchair as it once took me to shower, dress, and be ready to leave the house. I need a head start on life now. Breakfast was the usual 14 tablets washed down with fresh coffee. Then another coffee. And another. Look, one helps me wake up and the other is just because I love coffee, alright? Don’t judge me. By 8am the car was loaded: wheelchair, pushchair, cool bags, three children, and two emotionally drained adults just trying to survive the summer holidays. Destination: Africa Alive in Kessingland, Suffolk. Now, as a Norfolk lad, any foray into Suffolk has to be treated as a covert operation. Football fans will understand — it’s not just about Norwich City (the mighty Canaries) versus Ipswich Town (the Tractor Boys). The rival...