Access Champion

The train from Huddersfield to Manchester didn't have a voiceover and on the northern train, we were sat by the toilet.  I don't remember Manchester Oxford Road station other than there being a hill to get out. Something the charity I founded, Leigh Network, does is bring families affected by the life limiting, debilitating and terminal illness, mitochondrial disease, together. In August 2022, we held our very first weekend for adults! I found the Brooklyn Manchester Hotel on the CHUC (Ceiling Hoist Users Club) website and chose it for that reason. Many with Mito require accessible rooms, including a hoist and a profile bed. Fortunately, the Brooklyn provides all three. Although, there’s only one profile bed and two hoist rooms. Throughout the organising of such a monumental weekend, for our charity, the staff were brilliant and put my frazzled mind at ease. When we arrived at the hotel we went into a beautifully decorated foyer. With dim lighting, a checked floor and artistic ...

  Bright yellow sunflower bathed in sunlight -all images the same. Recently, it was a good friends life celebration service. She died to a similar condition that I have. Sunflowers were her favourite💛💚 When my mum phoned up the assistance, I think we confused him, because we had three trips on different days to book.  The first was Liverpool to Huddersfield. I think this was a TransPennine train. The journey was fine, they had a voice over to announce each stop, and a bell alerted passengers to the approach of a station. Huddersfield station was a new one to us. It’s quite a nice, small station, from what I saw of it, like Liverpool Lime Street train station. It had a lift to get you up to the concourse from the platform. To exit the station there’s a stairway and a ramp. To get from the platform to exit, we had to go up and down in a lift. As we didn't know the area, we decided to get a taxi. We saw a Hackney, the only accessible cab, but as we went over, it was empty....

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 ar...

As my confidence to get out has grown, so has both my loneliness and restlessness. Many of my friends are vulnerable and shielding, so not keen to mix. This is fine, we’re all on our own path and re-emerging into a new world at our own pace. I love art and find such joy in painting, so when I heard about the 5 week all abilities painting course, costing £90, I worked out how to save up for it, planned travel arrangements and got quite excited. Then my p.a phoned the tutor at the West Kirby Arts Centre. He said, 'we’d love to have you join us, but there’s no wheelchair access.' Apparently, the Victorians who built the church didn’t think disabled people worthy of God’s love... And those who converted the church, don't think us worthy either as there are 8 steps leading up to the entrance, internal steps and no disabled toilet! How a place like this is open in the 21st century, I do not know! Disappointed, angry and upset that they were effectively excluding me because I am d...

Whey-aye-pet! Disabled traveller in Newcastle.       My rare condition means that I have to travel to one of the three Mitochondrial centres in England. My nearest is three hours away by train in Newcastle.    We usually stay two nights, but because TransPennine Express were on strike every Sunday for months, possibly even years, we had to stay for one night.  The only good thing was we were able to book the assistance the night before.  In the past, TransPennine Express stuck its disabled passengers  by the toilet, but now, we are allowed in with the other passengers and even get a desk!    We were bumped up to First Class, which was nice.  Each stop was announced through a voiceover, but my mum didn't see it visually. As it's a long journey, a food cart came along.    Newcastle train station doesn't have a lift that I know of, but does have ramped bridges and stairs. The stair gaps are marked by lined...

  Influencing Access.  I feel it's important to highlight how using your voice can have positive change. Many may ignore, but some will listen and they deserve praise.   When I was an Access Champion for the disability charity, Leonard Cheshire, I'd assess access into buildings and write to the company with my feedback. I really enjoyed it as I feel I made a real difference.      Some I remember are:  The Oxfam shop on Bold Street, Liverpool.  I noticed the entrance in was up a diagonal angled step, making it awkward for a wheelchair user to get in. I suggested that they put in a bell so that those with mobility issues can use to call for assistance... and they did! However, after vandals kept knocking the bells off, it seems this accessibility feature is not viable and I have been asked to look into other ideas. It's great that Oxfam want to become more accessible in their shops! I founded a very small charity, and when we had a meeting at Cadbur...

Rejection hurts, whether it's from a person, a health treatment not working or not achieving a goal.  In August 2021, I applied for a role surveying disabled access. The company scopes out and is targeted towards disabled people. The website is good to use, the video promoting the role is repetitive in the phrasing, but is very positive, saying how they actively seek out disabled people.   I made enquiries and filled out the application form.   I waited with excitement to hear back, and waited.  I am not a patient woman, so after a few weeks, I asked if they had received my application.   I was told, with such flat enthusiasm, that they'd have a look in a week or so and be in touch.      Over a month passed and still no news. Perhaps I should've taken the modern-day hint, no news is bad news.   I didn't.  I enquired.  The woman said they hired those who were 'highly influential', but I can contact her when I am 'more establishe...