A Gold Success Story

by JULIA HORTON
http://www.edinburghnews.com/index.cfm?id=724782003

A BLIND Edinburgh woman who completed a series of gruelling outdoor challenges has received a prestigious award at a royal ceremony in the Capital.

Dianne Theakstone, 20, of The Inch, overcame her disability to achieve a gold Duke of Edinburgh award.

The former Edinburgh Royal Blind School pupil embarked on several arduous expeditions including four-day walking, cycling and canoeing adventures.

She used sighted guides and specialised equipment to help her tackle tasks such as map reading and 100-metre sprints.

Ms Theakstone also completed a sponsored horse ride for Riding for the Disabled, and spent five days volunteering for the charity.

She was among hundreds of young people yesterday who met the Duke of Edinburgh in the gardens at the Palace of Holyroodhouse to receive their certificates.

The presentation was her reward for six years' dedication to the bronze, silver and gold awards scheme.

Speaking before she was presented with her gold certificate, she said: "It has been brilliant. I have had a lot of fun. I started on my bronze award when I was about 14 with a group of pupils at the Royal Blind School, who were all blind or partially sighted. We went on a canoeing expedition to Loch Tay and did a course on animal care at Gorgie Farm.

"I went on to Stevenson College after leaving school to study psycho- logy and sociology, where I did my silver Duke of Edinburgh.

"The hardest part of all of it was during my silver when I couldn't find a guide to come on the walking expedition with me. At one point I wondered if I should just not bother but eventually I found someone.

"I had a machine which produces a raised line on a map which I could feel to find out where we were, with a smooth line for a road, a line with gaps for a dirt track, a square for a cottage, so I could feel a square and a line going left and know that we had to go left at a cottage."

Ms Theakstone, who lost her sight aged five through retinal cancer, also raised £100 for Riding for the Disabled by carrying out a sponsored ride. She said: "People are surprised I can ride, but I started learning before I lost my sight. It is also something where being blind is not so much of a disadvantage because you know if you are out trekking, the horse will not suddenly walk into a wall."

The highlight of her awards experience was a 260-mile tandem cycle ride across Holland last year. "That was the best part. We went all over the country, following a map and cycling all day. I'd love to go back."

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