On Thursday 1^st October, Aspire held an Evening with Lord Norman Tebbit at the Getty Images Gallery in London, as a thank you to some of its loyal supporters.  100 people attended the event, ranging from the youngest fundraisers to corporate sponsors and Trusts.

The guest speaker was Lord Tebbit, a long-term supporter of Aspire, who gave a fascinating talk about his political career, from when he was first elected in 1970 as part of Edward Heath’s government.  He talked about his working relationship with Margaret Thatcher, both before she was elected and during her time as Prime Minister, until he decided to resign in 1987 so he could look after his wife Margaret.  Margaret was paralysed by a spinal cord injury in the IRA bombing of the Conservative Party conference at the Grand Hotel in Brighton in 1984.   

Lord Tebbit then talked about how it was after the bombing that he first came into contact with spinal cord injury and Aspire, through Margaret’s injuries when she was a patient at the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital in Stanmore. 

Speaking at the event, Lord Tebbit said: “Aspire is a great concept and does a great deal for those who have sustained a severe spinal injury.  One day a cure may be found.  Until then, we need Aspire and Aspire’s supporters.”

Brian Carlin, CEO of Aspire, commented: “I was delighted to see so many of Aspire’s supporters at our Evening with Lord Tebbit event and to be able to express our gratitude personally.  We rely on our supporters to enable us to provide practical help to people who have been paralysed by Spinal Cord Injury.  I would like to thank Lord Tebbit for taking time out of his busy schedule to attend, and for his support of Aspire over the years.”