Wanstead teenager Grace Wolstenholme invites you to watch her YouTube channel for an insight into life with cerebral palsy. In the 10th of a series of articles, Grace has nothing but praise for the people of Colchester
Hello everyone. I’m back. Did you miss me? I’m so sorry I have been quiet lately. With TikTok, it’s literally a full-time job and I’ve also been on holiday for a while.
A lot has happened. I went to see Olly Murs in Colchester, which I was expecting to be really good like any other concert, but it was even better! You’re probably thinking, how can it be even better? Well, let me tell you. First of all, the access area was right next to the stage, fenced off from the crowd, so it didn’t feel like a ‘disabled’ area because we were the same level as the able-bodied people, and still next to them. The only difference: we weren’t all crammed together like everyone else, so that was brilliant. Not only that, the people in the access area were lovely. When I go to concerts in London, people on the access platforms are always trying to get the best spot, so they push in front of me and then I get angry! The people in Colchester couldn’t have been nicer.
When we got there, I found a spot, but it meant that I’d have to bend my neck up to see, so straight away, someone said: “That doesn’t look comfortable. Tell you what, we’ll move along and you can sit here because the view is much better here.” And when Mum left me, everyone made sure I was OK. Olly has a song that always makes me cry. He sang it, so I burst out crying, and then people were giving me tissues. So yeah, they were amazing.
Earlier that day, I spotted a photographer taking pictures. I saw him in front of me so I obviously posed. I’m not going to turn down a photo when I’m all done up! A few days later, a guy we know messages Mum, saying there were two pictures of me in the Colchester Gazette, which then made the Clacton Gazette. So that was so cool.
Over the summer, we were staying in different places in the Clacton area. One week, we stayed on Lee Wick Farm for a few nights with one of my friends, Syd, which was so lovely. Syd is non verbal, but she’s exactly like me: fully there and understands everything. But because she can’t talk, people don’t talk to her. We went to a restaurant and the waitress was lovely. She spoke to Syd and she took her time to understand her, which made Syd so happy: someone took their time to speak to her and not to her assistant.
When we went back to where we were staying in Frinton, I got to know a guy who was there. Frinton is a very quiet place; well, let’s just say we caused mayhem! We went up to the shops with Aitch blaring out (he’s a rapper). Then we went to a cocktail bar. I didn’t drink. I was still hung-over from the night before!
To watch Grace’s videos about life with cerebral palsy, visit wnstd.com/grace
To follow Grace on TikTok, visit wnstd.com/gracetiktok
