London Take Two of 2022

London Take Two of 2022 I was recently invited to attend a charity event in London, so, of course, we turned it into a mini break. The journey there all seemed a bit back to front, but somehow all worked out in the end. On both Merseyrail and Avanti Trains, we weren’t put on at the usual end for the accessible carriage. The Avanti one might’ve been because the help desk at Liverpool Lime Street train station was closed, so we had to ask the Avanti staff to get us on. We got the later afternoon train, which was quieter. We wore our masks throughout. The walk to London Euston train station exit was much shorter than usual due to the carriage change. As our old favourite, the Imperial Hotel, was fully booked, and their charges have increased, so you no longer get a free meal and breakfast, we booked the Premier Inn Holborn. This was quite a walk from Euston, but we may have taken the long route. As you come to the front entrance, there are steps and a lift. The buttons are tactile and in order of up, alarm, down, which is helpful. The only downside of the buttons was, to call the lift when it’s on the wrong floor is so well hidden, even a sighted person, like my mum, couldn’t see it on the camouflage! The only thing that made me feel unsafe was the strong glass gate that led to the lift was clear. If it had a blue tinge, this would help visually impaired guests hugely. It also didn't make a sound when landing.

 Picture of Faye using the lift

Picture of lift buttons

The people on the desk were so helpful and let us swap our room from a shower to a bath. Premier Inn offers disabled guests the choice of both, which is good as many hotels just offer a wet room. Our room was on the ground floor, just two doors in. I was a bit concerned it'd be noisy, but it was silent. As I drove my power chair into the room, I had to be careful to avoid the sharp black shelf that was at chin/shoulder height. Opposite this was the bathroom. It had a sliding door, enough turning room, when doing a 3-point turn. My knees just about fitted in under the sink with the footplates up. There was a silver bar that came down next to the toilet. The low bath had lots of bars to hold onto but was slippery. The only downside of the bathroom was the toilet paper dispenser wasn't well highlighted, and the bath water was lukewarm to cool. 

Picture of bathroom with white suite, showing handrails, bath and toilet.

Picture of bathroom showing the toilet and sink with handrail.

The bedroom was a typical Premier Inn one, with lots of space to turn. The bed was ok, pillows a bit lumpy, but was manageable. 

Picture of Faye in the bedroom, there is a desk and chair, a chair in the corner, curtains and a striped carpet.

On the first night, we arrived late, so just went down for dinner, where I met my friend. The lift to the restaurant had braille buttons, but no voiceover. We were seated at a square shaped table. I had to park at an angle that my driving panel was off the edge. Our waiter was so helpful and accommodated my straw, bowl, spoon requirements. At breakfast the next morning, it was in the same place as the previous night, only, for the next three mornings, we were at a round table that had a bulky stump in the centre, so I was, again on the end. The breakfast choices were ok. You could have either Continental (pancakes, muffins, cereal, fruit, yogurt etc) or you can pay extra for a full English. Unfortunately, unlike the Royal National Hotel, Premier Inn doesn't have smoothies, so on the first morning, we bought one, and after that, I had what tablets I could with apple juice. I’d definitely stay here again, as the customer service was brill. 

Picture of Faye and Mandy in the sunshine outside the British Museum showing the pillars.

The British Museum although I emailed a few times, telephoned and tweeted to enquire about audio description, I didn't receive a reply until I got home. We were told by staff to download an app, however, when we did, there was a charge, so my mum described things. The British Museum is humongous and spans a whole road! It’s very wheelchair accessible. Friendly guards checked our bags and opened the barrier. Across the expanse of the front, you pass an outer door. Massive stone pillars hold the building up, I wondered who built such an imposing and impressive architectural structure. 

As well as steps, there's a lift, similar to the one at the Premier Inn Holborn. The entrance to the building is dome-shaped, and through the dimly lit, cool foyer, you went into a huge, bright, white space. It was dazzling, what with the glass ceiling letting in lots of natural sunlight. As the decor and furniture were also white, it made it hard to distinguish what was where, so my mum pushed me. Like an octopus, it has arms snaking off to different rooms and exhibitions from the main area. We did get lost and seemed to go in circles, seeing the same assistant more than once! 

Image of the dome shaped foyer bathed in light with people walking around and taking pictures.

We explored the Ancient Romans and Egyptians. It was interesting. They had centuries old stone statues of emperors, gods and goddesses, some of them were smashed by early Christians. The goddess Athena just had a stone slab, so I put my head where hers should be. They had beautiful pendants that would be in fashion nowadays. 

Image of mummy

Image of stone head

 

Faye with her head by the goddess of athena so that it appears that Faye is connected to the statue.

After getting lost and exploring the ancient Egyptians, ancient Rome and Ancient Greek, we needed to refuel, so headed to the restaurant. Here, it was busy, but well-spaced out and the tables were round. My wheelchair fitted in well.  I asked for my usual bowl and spoon combo, and interestingly, the starter arrived in a glass trifle bowl. The food was absolutely delicious! The pine nuts gave the ricotta pasta a textured crunch and the rest was thick and creamy. For dessert, my mum and I shared panacotta and a scrumptious rhubarb desert. The tart tang of the rhubarb blended perfectly with sweet, caramel popcorn pieces. Feeling full, we headed back to the hotel to rest before the art exhibition. 

Image of poster promoting the art exhibition and auction held at Gallery Different.

As always, we walked the long route to Gallery Different, but were one of the first to arrive, which was good as it wasn’t too crowded at that point, so we could see the artwork first. There was a high step to get in that my mum had to help with, but otherwise, it was fine. I'd assumed they had a ramp/flat entrance, so I hadn't mentioned my wheelchair, but I’m sure the organisers would've got one. This would be a good idea, for any wheelchair using customers. Inside, the 3-walled space had flat laminate flooring and brightly lit white walls, on which most of the art hung. The pieces represented comedy through art. Some were thought provoking (like the recycled dress), some were emotional as we remembered the lockdowns of the pandemic, others were bright and colourful. It was a great experience, and everyone was lovely. 

The next day, we went back to the British Museum to meet up with a friend from the visually impaired book club I am in. My mum and I found a table on the corner of the outside cafe. When we went to order, despite advertising certain things, they only had one choice available, but it was very nice. Afterwards, I popped to the toilet. Although it was certainly big enough to be a changing places facility, it wasn't. I don't know if there is one, but seeing how huge the building is, I should hope so. I can't remember the layout or colour scheme but do recall it had a bar to balance and was large. After an hour or so resting at the hotel, we headed out to Coal Drops Yard, a gorgeous market near Kings Cross. The wheelchair access here was brilliant. It had two lifts that spoke, a ramp lead down to the canal. It was lovely here with boats docked up along the side of the loch. It had no barrier, so I wouldn’t take small children there unless on reins.

Image of the boats on the water.

Image of beautiful black canal boat with plants on.

We had a lovely walk by the water in the evening sunlight. We then went up the ramp to get dinner. Coal Drops Yard has lots of delicious smelling outdoor street food market places. I had a yummy lentil Japanese curry; my mum had a beef curry. It was a large meal, served in an easy to hold gold thick paper bowl and spoon, the only downside was the cup had no straw and was difficult to drink out of. We headed to the lift and to another floor, where they had a few market stalls of jewellery, fresh food, clothes and bags. It reminded me of Camden Market, before it became so commercialised. We really liked it here. To finish off we went to the shops floor. What struck me here, was the price. In the charity shop, Shelter, a coat cost £150!!!We quickly left as the woman announced it was closing. We walked back to the hotel without purchasing anything. Coal Drops Yard is expensive, but the food was nice and the access is brilliant. The only thing it could have done with, was more dropped kerbs. 

The train home the next morning was packed. As we got nearer to Liverpool, a rowdy, but good-natured bunch of lads began singing, filling the aisles as they entertained us with a rendition of Gerry and the Pacemakers, ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ Ah, I thought, Liverpool must be playing. I really enjoyed this trip and still tell people about how I had Vic Reeves singing ‘We Will Rock You!’ at the art exhibition.

Faye with Vic Reeves at Gallery Different, both holding drinks and smiling.