It's been an interesting week, I have been stopped in the street a few times with people wanting to tell me how dangerous my wheekchair trike is, after having seen it on the BBC Watchdog programme!
What;s really bothering me though is that my wheelchair still is not right and it is now well over two weeks since the company assured me they would call me back in 10 minutes! That's customer service for you!
I mean, how difficult is it really to make a wheelchair that will carry someone about town without collapsing?
I saw a fantastic video today, and thought not only were the stunts incredible, the chair must be too ... take a look ...
Kudos to you Aaron, and kudos to Colours Wheelchairs!
Saturday, 22 March 2008
Friday, 21 March 2008
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.
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.
Monday, 3 March 2008
Let sleeping dogs lie!
After a bath and full grooming session there's nothing else for any self respecting assistance dog to do than settle down and catch up on some sleep before the busyness of Crufts later in the week!
Sunday, 2 March 2008
Mixed Messages!
Followers of this blog will know my feelings about shops and other premises displayng "Guide Dogs Only" signs on their doors when in reality UK law allows all Registered Assistance Dogs Access. To be fair, a lot of places do allow all assistance dogs, but the signage is behind the times and doesn't always reflect this.
I was quite surprised recently to find a sign at our local shopping centre entrance, they not only had the "Registered Assistance Dogs Only" sign that is promoted by Assistance Dogs UK (ADUK) but right underneath it the words "NO DOGS except Guide Dogs"... I am still trying to work that one out!
I was quite surprised recently to find a sign at our local shopping centre entrance, they not only had the "Registered Assistance Dogs Only" sign that is promoted by Assistance Dogs UK (ADUK) but right underneath it the words "NO DOGS except Guide Dogs"... I am still trying to work that one out!
Equality for footie fans with disabilities?
Well, I guess the answer to that is not always! I was really surprised when visiting the Madejski Stadium in Reading recently to watch the match with Manchester United, that the Reading fans who are wheelchair users get not only a wheelchair space but that their companion may sit on a seat beside them. No such luxury accorded to visiting fans, I had a place in the wheelchair enclosure, but my companion had to take a seat on the terraces below! Nice one Reading ... NOT!
This sort of provision is not really acceptable in that it endangers some people with disabilities, should their health take a sudden turn, or should they need assistance with feeding or adjusting their position and so on. It was impossible for the companions to get out of the terrace easily to get back to the wheelchair enclosure.
Before the game started there was a quite ironic announcement over the tannoy to please inform a steward of you felt discriminated against whilst at the stadium ...
Other than this blatant second class treatment for visiting supporters, our experience of using public trabnsport to and from the game was second to none, very impressive rail and accible bus services to get us to and from the ground, so thumbs up for that.
Overall and enjoyable day, delightful to see R&R (Rooney & Ronaldo) in great form and both making the scoresheet. Reading 0 - Manchester United 2.
This sort of provision is not really acceptable in that it endangers some people with disabilities, should their health take a sudden turn, or should they need assistance with feeding or adjusting their position and so on. It was impossible for the companions to get out of the terrace easily to get back to the wheelchair enclosure.
Before the game started there was a quite ironic announcement over the tannoy to please inform a steward of you felt discriminated against whilst at the stadium ...
Other than this blatant second class treatment for visiting supporters, our experience of using public trabnsport to and from the game was second to none, very impressive rail and accible bus services to get us to and from the ground, so thumbs up for that.
Overall and enjoyable day, delightful to see R&R (Rooney & Ronaldo) in great form and both making the scoresheet. Reading 0 - Manchester United 2.
Manchester United & Reading limbering up before the match.
Thursday, 28 February 2008
Yet more wheelchair woes!
Well, the wheelchair came back from the manufacturers again, new frame and reinforced fittings on the casters, I wish I could be delighted, but alas! Sadly, there is still something wrong with the folding mechanism which is impeding the efficacy of the backrest ... watch this space!
Tuesday, 19 February 2008
Access Denied!
Why is it that just when things seem to be going along smoothly something always happens to bring one up with a start?
Last week I was asked to leave our local hospital because I was accompanied by my assistance dog. I'd gone there to collect someone who had been in for a days tests.
I was asked to leave as apparently "it is the Trusts policy not to allow dogs in clinical areas" mention of disease and the fact that it wasn't essential for my assistance dog to be there was made. Then the killer blow, "it would be different if you were the patient". Well how on earth would the health risks (their words not mine) from my assistance dog be different on a day when I am the patient as opposed to a day when I am collecting my next of kin from a days treatment? Hmmmm, odd that.
It wouldn;t have been so bad if I had just turned up, but I did present myself at the reception and ask to see the patient concerned, and indeed was shown in! It also begs the question of an exact definition of a clinical area, and who decides it is so ... clearly the member of staff who allowed me in wasn't sure either! Then of course there is the fact thast other patients were allowed to have visitors in the area ... even with noticeable coughs and colds, most probably a far greater risk to everyones health than a well groomed, working assistance dog.
Of course I agreed to leave immediately, but asked to see someone in authority and also to see the "trust policy" that apparently barred my Registered Assistance Dog and thus discriminated against me as a person with a disability. Needless to say, the next member of staff up the supply chain could not produce the policy either ... they just knew that the presence of an assistance dog was a health risk!!
Inevitably, this is very much a watch this space ... I have made a verbal complaint and am taking advice ... in the meantime, I had no option but to cancel my own appointment two days later and have been sent a new one for May!
I've now had two phone calls from the hospital and it now transpires there is no "trust policy" in place and have had an apology ... maybe that policy is way overdue!
Last week I was asked to leave our local hospital because I was accompanied by my assistance dog. I'd gone there to collect someone who had been in for a days tests.
I was asked to leave as apparently "it is the Trusts policy not to allow dogs in clinical areas" mention of disease and the fact that it wasn't essential for my assistance dog to be there was made. Then the killer blow, "it would be different if you were the patient". Well how on earth would the health risks (their words not mine) from my assistance dog be different on a day when I am the patient as opposed to a day when I am collecting my next of kin from a days treatment? Hmmmm, odd that.
It wouldn;t have been so bad if I had just turned up, but I did present myself at the reception and ask to see the patient concerned, and indeed was shown in! It also begs the question of an exact definition of a clinical area, and who decides it is so ... clearly the member of staff who allowed me in wasn't sure either! Then of course there is the fact thast other patients were allowed to have visitors in the area ... even with noticeable coughs and colds, most probably a far greater risk to everyones health than a well groomed, working assistance dog.
Of course I agreed to leave immediately, but asked to see someone in authority and also to see the "trust policy" that apparently barred my Registered Assistance Dog and thus discriminated against me as a person with a disability. Needless to say, the next member of staff up the supply chain could not produce the policy either ... they just knew that the presence of an assistance dog was a health risk!!
Inevitably, this is very much a watch this space ... I have made a verbal complaint and am taking advice ... in the meantime, I had no option but to cancel my own appointment two days later and have been sent a new one for May!
I've now had two phone calls from the hospital and it now transpires there is no "trust policy" in place and have had an apology ... maybe that policy is way overdue!
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