Janet’s torch-bearing experience

A Shining Light – Janet’s Experience

As Olympic fever grips the country for Paris 2024, Sandwood Care Home resident Janet McCulley, 84, recalls her experience of participating in the torch relay for the London 2012 Games, and the inspiring story of how she was selected as a torchbearer.

"I was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease around 18 years ago. I lived with my husband in Nottingham, and there were some nearby exercise classes designed for people with Parkinson’s and other mobility issues, which I found very helpful.

"I would also volunteer on a help desk for Parkinson’s UK, the national organisation supporting people with the disorder and their carers, as I was still very able at the time. I have always enjoyed volunteering, and I used to run youth clubs when my children were little.

"When my husband and I retired to Bude in 2009, I was dismayed to find that no mobility classes for people like me existed there – so I thought, why not start them up myself! I applied to the Big Lottery Fund and was awarded £5,000. I established a charity in January 2010, and named it Exercising for Mobility.

"We started with just seven members and four volunteers, and I was the Chair of Trustees. However, word about us spread and the numbers grew rapidly, and within weeks we had over 100 people attending the free sessions. I then managed to apply for an £80,000 grant, which kept us going for five years. We won four Volunteer Cornwall awards, which helped us to apply for a subsequent five-year grant of £205,000, and the sessions had a good reputation, so were regularly recommended by healthcare professionals to people with mobility issues.

"Although I don’t run Exercising for Mobility anymore, I do keep in touch with people there and I’m proud to say it is still going strong. We have around 270 members now, attending five classes per week. We still receive regular awards from the Lottery and other grant-awarding bodies, we run other activities including coach trips and days out, and we even give out our own awards to people who attend a lot of our classes.

"I was nominated as a Torchbearer for London 2012 by Parkinson’s UK because of Exercising for Mobility, and also my fundraising efforts, which totalled over £1 million."

"The Olympic Committee chose me as one of the 8,000 people to take part in the relay, of which 2,000 had done charitable work (the other 6,000 were from sports clubs or were athletes)."

"The letter arrived in the post, and it was a complete surprise, as they hadn’t told me I had been nominated. The Committee sent me a white tracksuit which I had to wear, and we were asked to buy a pair of white shoes. I found out that the relay would begin at Land’s End, so I would be one of the first people to carry the torch in the UK, on the very first day!

"They took a few of us out on a minibus and dropped us off at various points along the route – I was based near the Eden Project. We were told we would light our torch from the previous person’s torch, and then pass on the flame to the next person. They were a little concerned for me because I had Parkinson’s and the torch was quite heavy. I don’t remember the exact distance, it was quite a walk, but I managed not to drop it!

"There was a lot of support along the route. Two coachloads of people from Exercising for Mobility came to cheer me on and my family all came too. There were also a lot of news cameras, probably because it was the first leg.  It was a very exciting day, and we all had a meal at a nearby restaurant afterwards. I was allowed to keep my torch – though I had to pay £200 for it – and it’s displayed on a stand in my son’s office at the moment.

"My husband was diagnosed with vascular dementia in 2018. We moved back to Nottingham to be near my son, but I was my husband’s main carer for a few years. However, I found it difficult to cope as both his dementia and my Parkinson’s got worse, and my doctor said it was not right that someone in my condition was caring for him, so we moved into a home. We had been married for 63 years when he sadly passed away.

"I came to live at Sandwood nearly two years ago and I try to get involved in a few of the activities here. They recently started a playgroup where children from the local community come along to (and which you can read more about on page X). It is absolutely my cup of tea, given my teaching background, and I even ran something similar at Exercising for Mobility, called ‘Bridging the Gap’.

"I think it’s important to join in with the exercise classes and keep mobile as much as I can. I enjoy sitting out in the garden when the weather allows, and it’s a good alternative to my room when my three children and their families come to visit. I am also keenly following the Olympics on TV and cheering on Team GB from my armchair!"

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