hilary lister
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Even from the shore you can hear her
delighted shouts, carried by the wind
over the rippled surface of Westbere
Lake, near Canterbury. A puff of windfills the 16-footWayfarers mainsail and
the boat surges forward. Hilary Lister, a
wheelchair-bound quadriplegic who can
move only her head, is thrilled to feel
the boat pitch and roll beneath her. The
Wayfarer catches another gust of wind
IN THE FACE OF A BRUTAL
ILLNESS, HILARY LISTER SET
HER HEART ON ONE DARINGACT OF INDEPENDENCE
B Y R O B E R T K I E N E R
NotWithoutAFight
PHOTOGRAPHED BY BARRY MARSDEN 63
LIVING LIFE
TO THE FULLHilary with husband
Clifford near their
home in Kent
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Wallace & Gromit with Clifford the
other day, she says. The ticket guy
said: Does it want to sit at the front?
She adds: Im often referred to as it.When I see people staring at me I try
to smile at them and they smile back;
this breaks down that wall. It makes
them see you as a person.
Hilary Lister knows that she has
limited time left; the disease that has
paralysed her is affecting her breathing
now and will likely take her life one
day soon. But she is not afraid. I hada near-death experience once and it
left me feeling as if a part of me was
missing. I know that I will be whole
again once I am reunited with that bit.
The only way that will happen is when
I die. So I have no fear. And it will be
the end of my pain.
Recently the wheel of Hilarys life
turned full circle when she began tak-ing disabled kids out on Westbere Lake.
One was an autistic boy. The next day
his grandmother called me and said
the night after our sail he had looked
his mother straight in the eyes and
given her a huge cuddle and a kiss. She
had waited six years, his entire life, for
him to do that.
Hilary pauses, then adds: It was hisway of saying, Im flying.
Hilary Lister now plans to sail
solo around the British Isles.
See www.hilarylister.co.uk.
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R D I P E O P L E A P R I L 2 0 0 6
G E T T I N G T O K N O W O N E
As the Queen celebrates her eightieth birthday, here
are the facts about her lifereported in the press
over the yearsthat might not quite make it on to
one of those glitzy tribute programmes.
She was an obsessively tidy child whowould get back out of bed if she had
forgotten to cover her used underwear with
a silk scarf. During one French lesson, however,
she tipped a bottle of ink over her own head.
As a teenager, she did her Christmas shopping in Woolworths.
Prince Philip once threatened to throw her out of his MG when shecomplained about his driving.
Her hobbies include jigsaws and watching television. Seventiesdetective seriesKojak was a particular favourite.
She hates teabags and gardening. Not afraid to meet her lowliest subjects, she personally removes thefleas from her dogs.
Once, while looking for duck eggs, she fell into the BuckinghamPalace lake.
When she is very angry, she drums her fingers.