Crufts

Our trip to Crufts was pretty much hassle free with regard to access problems!!! Three exclaimation marks, as that really is something of a record!

Our train journey was fine, the Cross Country staff very helpful the Virgin staff at Birmingham International Station are always very welcoming and helpful, a minor grumble from the taxi driver followed but nothing we couldn't handle ;o)

The first hicccup was that our fully accessible hotel room wasn't fully accessible! Having phoned them several times to check and booked months ahead we were extremely disappointed to discover no roll in shower and a high sided bath! Hmmm. We deftly negotiated a hefty discount for the misinformation that secured our booking, as there was no possible way we could find accommodation elsewhere at that late stage.

As far as the N.E.C. goes, things are so much better than there were a few years ago, the revamp has meant that there are now so many toilets that normals don't even have to occupy the accessible loos to avoid queues anymore. There are adequate lifts and ramps at strategic points, and ringside seating to watch the show was ample for the number of wheelies who required space.

We had another slight hiccup on the Friday morning when we needed to use a lift to access the railway station as we were due at a press briefing and photocall, only to discover the lift out of order! Thankfully a nearby member of staff called for further assistance and we were shown to an alternative lift (which we never would have found on our own) and made it to the station with a couple of minutes to spare! Pheeeew! Of course a lift going out of commission is unforseeable, but it brought home exactly how inaccessible a place can become in a moment when one thing goes wrong!

The N.E.C. certainly botched up the ticketing for the Best in Show event. They handle te ticket sales for The Kennel Club. Ours were booked back last autumn but about a month before the show they wrote and asked for them back ... the paper was tacky, poorly photocopied and not even signed. It looked like a fake so I phoned the N.E.C. to check its validity, they didn't know what was happeneing so I hung on to the tickets and waited for what came next ... they sent new tickets. When we arrived at The Best in Show event, we discovered that I had been given a ticket in one place and my two companions were to be seated some distance away (possibly 50 seats between us). Hardly a good advert for equality and inclusion N.E.C.!

Thankfully, the ladies who were charged with showing us to our seats had more sense and seated us together, but that was nowhere near the seats that we had booked and paid for last September!

It was brilliant to see and meet so many assistance dog partnerships at the show, to share experiences, and chat over common ground.

We took part in a couple of press briefings and photoshoots, one to promote the launch of The Year of the Assistance Dog and one which involved Virgin Trains being awarded a Dog Star Award for their helpful service to all assistance dog partnerships. We also received a very generous cheque from Samsung on behalf of Dogs for the Disabled and chatted to many people our role in the upcoming Olympic Torch Relay.