It’s not every day that one of our design gurus decides to put away the luxmeter and look for a new career elsewhere, but that’s exactly what Mark Ridler (now ex-head of lighting design at BDP) has done.
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There are a few interesting conversations rattling around the industry among some of the older stagers; talk of ‘planning succession’ and ‘bowing out gracefully’. That kind of thing. But I had a feeling that this wasn’t what Mark was setting out to do, so when the email dropped into the inbox asking that we sponsor Mark’ Swimming with Sharks’ I thought . . . I need to find out more about this.
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A day trip to The Blue Planet Aquarium in Ellesmere Port isn’t the usual way that I spend an afternoon, but I guess you’re obliged to go where the sharks are, if you don’t want them coming after you. And even though I had no intention of wrestling with a wet suit to get up close and personal with the beautiful Sand Tiger sharks, I did sit through the induction session, just so that I knew what I’d be missing.
Still – nothing that I couldn’t live without, to tell the truth.
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You are going to need a MUCH bigger boat to get me in there.
Anyway – safely back in Dorset and far enough away from the sea, I spoke to Mark to find out what was behind his decision to move on to become Director of Programmes at the Spinal Injuries Association. Its a great interview; Mark as open and candid as you would ever expect from one of the world’s truly Good Guys.
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Here’s a bit of background to the Spinal Injuries Association.
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The Spinal Injuries Association (SIA) was founded in 1974 by Susan Cunliffe-Lister, Baroness Masham of Ilton with two defined aims: to provide access to care for newly-injured people and to counter the lack of information and advice available to SCI (Spinal Cord Injury) people upon their leaving hospital.
The baroness was injured in a riding accident on 1958 and was an active member of the House of Lords, focusing on health and disability, especially spinal injury. She was also a medallist at several Paralympic Games, winning gold and silver in swimming events and table tennis, between 1960 and 1968.
The aim of the SIA is to be the go-to place for everyone affected by spinal cord injury, to connect them quickly to a comprehensive network of people, organisations and whatever services that they need. The statistics are harrowing; someone sustains a spinal cord injury every four hours, yet figures suggest that only one in three newly injured people will get access to the best possible care in an NHS spinal cord injury centre.
Dr. Rupert Earl, Chair of SIA says: “It makes no moral or economic sense that every year around 1700 people have their potential stunted, their recovery delayed, and their lives put at risk by inadequate care in a non-specialist setting, often at many times the cost.”
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If you’d like to make a donation to the Spinal Injuries Association, follow this link:
https://www.spinal.co.uk/get-involved/donate-and-fundraise/donate/
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