In that building the Copernicus conference took place. It was approached from without by means of a long flight of steps. Another long flight of steps led down inside the building from the foyer to the conference area. Each morning, Stephen’s student Bernard Carr and I would carry Stephen to the top of the steps, sit him down on a chair and then bring up the wheelchair. Inside, for want of a lift, we would then take the wheelchair down the corresponding inner flight of stairs before carrying Stephen down to it. This process was repeated in reverse sequence at the end of the day, possibly also several times during the course of the day, subject to variations in the programme and the venue. Those steps did not impress us with Stalin’s generosity to the Polish people: they impressed us only with his megalomania.
— Travelling to Infinity (Jane Hawking), Loc. 2564–9