Fine Print 28-09-2002

Wheelchair wonder

Toronto, Sept. 27 (Reuters): Canadian paralympian Jeff Adams climbed the 1,776 stairs of the world largest tower in a wheelchair yesterday to show the disabled world some of the biggest obstacles can be overcome.

Adams, a four-time competitor at the Paralympics, believes stairs are among the biggest barriers to people in wheelchairs. “The best part of living is standing up to a barrier,” Adams told reporters. Adams, 31, is the first person to attempt and complete climbing Toronto’s CN Tower in a wheelchair. It took some five hours to climb, moving backwards in a specially made wheelchair, the inside staircase of the tower that dominates the skyline of Canada’s most populous city. “It’s so outside the box and also something you never thought was possible in a wheelchair,” he said.

Crude bits from Bligh’s Bounty

London (Reuters): Crude but vital artefacts Captain William Bligh used to save his loyal crew in an epic open boat voyage after the 1789 mutiny on the Bounty were sold at auction on Thursday. They give a poignant insight into the trials of the captain and his 18 starving and parched crew on their 43-day voyage across the Pacific. Several of the key relics, owned by Bligh’s descendants living in New Zealand, were bought by Britain’s National Maritime Museum and will be seen in public for the first time.