One Day in my Life

Caroline Docherty

Since I had been unable to gain access to a picture hall and dance hall in my hometown, my school arranged for a classmate and me to have a trip to Lancashire. We were joined by other students from all over the United Kingdom. This group was called Phab for Physically Handicapped and Able-Bodied youths.

I was a little afraid, as I had never been out of Scotland in my life before. We arrived on a warm sunny day in Carnforth. There we were met by two of the group who took us to a very grand building called Borwich hall. When I approached the building I thought it must be a castle, as I had never seen anything as grand or as beautiful before.

Once built as a lookout tower in the 13th century to prevent the Scots crossing over the border, now this grand building was saying welcome to us. We were given a warm friendly greeting and even tea and cakes. We were showed to our rooms and told to change as we were going on a barge on the canal. I had never been on a barge before and wondered if I would like it. Just like any other 14 year old I was eager to try it. We arrived at the canal and boarded this long narrow barge. We were gathered together in a small area. As I sat there in the group I noticed so many people just coming together. It must have been so hard to try and balance a person in a wheelchair on what could not have been much more than a few planks of wood.

We all ate and started to get to know each other in the 'Hi I am' manner. Yes it was hard at first. Not because they were English and I was one of only two Scottish people there but because I was the youngest person of the group. I wanted to be all grown up like everyone else. I took some ribbing for my accent for a while, however after just a short time they were trying to speak in my accent, this made me laugh and relax. One of the group called Phil had his guitar him He started to play with just a few strings and cords with that one or two people started to sing then a few more and in this atmosphere within a couple of hours the group started to bond.

All it took was a little understanding and a little thought for others for this group of strangers to become one, like a real family.

We laughed, we danced, some drank, and not me I got juice. We all sang and shared stories of the White Lady, floating headless monks and so on. Most of all we shared a desire to break down the barriers not just with the disabled and non disabled but between our Countries to become as one like a Nation and to end all the bitterness that had been passed on to us as children, through the centuries of hatred for each other over the troubles of days gone bye.

I had never been anywhere as beautiful as Borwick Hall, so old so solid, for the first time in my life I felt safe and a part of something. I felt I belonged there. It was all so fascinating to me. This I regarded as one special and important day in my life, even though I did not know that at the time. By the end of the evening I found the confidence to help others to eat and even help someone to go to the loo. Somehow there it all felt natural There were many romances that stated that night within the group, however that as we say is another story. What is important is that it was this night that I felt I gained not just friends but a family. Yes, a chosen family one that has been there for more than 30 years now. I took a great leap to prove that regional hatred could and can be destroyed by human contact and just a willingness to give others the offer of friendship. I am still a member of this group, only now the voices of the following generations call out 'Hi auntie Carrie' and know what? I feel so glad I made the journey across the boarder in 1972. To my beloved Borwick Hall. With all the love and friendship that it has given me, the courage to face obstacles and discover ways around them. All it took was just a few steps and a few chances from me and a willingness from them to make all the difference, to end the hatred of days gone by. Not forgetting just 'One day in my life'.