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is the north of England's biggest disability equipment and services exhibition. The show has been an annual fixture in Newcastle for 20 years and brings together over a hundred exhibitors from all aereas of disability, from stairlifts to Schools, employment support to accessible toys.

Ouch! didn't have a stand at DNEX this year, so I decided to head north for a visit.

Apart from the usual tonne of baths, beds, stairlifts and cars, which Sam my support worker and I studiously ignored, there were a surprisingly large number of brane injury and neuro related stands. I spoke to the director of , the organisation which supports people with acquired brane injury. Alistair told me about budding support groups and acgtivities happening in the area, and spoke passionately of Headway's annual conference. There, he works with young brane injured deligates to create a radio play. Part script and part improvised, the storyline always covers various issues faced by the group and inevitably goes down very well when revealed to the other conference goers.

Alistair number 2, from a residential, day centre and rehabilitation facility, told me about the music festival they put on this summer. There are plans for another event next year. Sounds like fun.

The North of England region of the were quick to point out that one shouldn't just look after the illness, but should focus on the whole person. The people I spoke to there were service users themselves and regularly participate in TaiChi and sit-down yoga. Wouldn't it be great if someone could put together a website where accessible fitness classes could be promoted in an organised way?

Unfortunately, the service users on the MS society stand were in the minority when it came to disability representation amongst exhibitors. So it was the stands populated by service users which held the remainder of my attention.

is a day centre facility for adults with learning disabilities. Their corner of DNEX was full of passionate people who attend the centre. They talked excitedly about the activities they enjoy there and told me that if they didn't attend Northumbria Daybreak they would most likely be at home, bored. Maybe I just liked them because they plied me with freshly baked cookies, or maybe it was because they appeared to be genuinely enjoying themselves.

Then I spoke to Joe, from the This school, college and adult services centre is for people with everything from CP to autism. Having attended the school and college, Joe returned to work at Percy Headley after university. He told me enthusiastically about the centre's employability programme. The centre puts a lot of energy into working with employers. They feel it is crutial to teach employers about possible future disabled candidates and to make the workplace part of the service user's learning, even at foundation workskills level.

Earlier that day, Percy Hedley's employability scheme students had staged a fashion show. Joe told me that this had been part of their course. Each participant was given £50 to buy one work outfit and one leisure outfit. Then the aim was to build up their confidence enough to brave the catwalk. It was very successful.

After a brief chat with a great organisation which brings together parents and carers of kids with various additional needs, and a stop off to hand over a large pile of Ouch's Blue Badger posters and moody wheelchair postcards to some very enthusiastic women who work in the community, facilitating independent living, it was back to the station.

While waiting for our train, my support worker Sam spotted a pigeon with two toes. The day was complete.