Back in Time at Bristol

This is a photo of Melissa sitting in my wheelchair
by the SS Great Britain

Last week we had a very enjoyable half term visit to Bristol. We returned to the SS Great Britain which we had visited in the summer holidays but did not have time to explore fully. The tickets allowed unlimited entry to the SS Great Britain for the following twelve months which makes this excellent value.

The ship is surprisingly accessible for something so old, with through floor lifts, ramped access everywhere and audio description of the ship using walkie talkies which you can request at the ticket desk. I did get a little confused with navigating through the audio description but it is a brilliant idea, especially for something that is so detailed but due to it being quite dark in places, it is hard to see when you have a visual impairment. The ship is very atmospheric, you really feel as though you have travelled back in time. There are very realistic smells (I think they are stronger if you visit in the morning) - it was not pleasant walking past the laundry in the steerage area! In the cargo area you could smell the animals and they had life size models of people and animals throughout the ship. Sometimes you have to look twice to work out if the person is a visitor or a model! The contrast between first class steerage is huge - it was fascinating to see how much life on board the ship differed depending on your wealth.

This is a photo of Melissa lying in one of the beds in the
First Class cabins

It took us nearly two hours to explore the museum and the ship. I recommend visiting in the morning, we arrived shortly after it opened and it was really quiet which was great for moving around freely in my wheelchair. When we visited during the summer in the afternoon it was really busy and on several occasions it was difficult moving through the corridors with other visitors around. The SS Great Britain is thoroughly enjoyable for adults and children, and I definitely recommend it for accessibility.


We discovered a lovely pub in Queen Square called The Hole in The Wall while we were on our way to the Bristol Aquarium. We had a delicious lunch, served very quickly, with friendly service. It is great for wheelchair access too with a spacious disabled toilet and plenty of space for maneuvering around the pub.

This is a photo of a sea horse at the Bristol Aquarium

Bristol Aquarium was an fascinating conclusion to our day. We particularly enjoyed the talk about sea horses and feeding the rays. It is all completely accessible, with lifts and ramps and several disabled toilets, one operated by a Radar key. The aquarium is a bit different to others that we have visited because it has outside areas that replicated a tropical forest with trees and ponds. It is another place that I recommend visiting.

#Laceupforbones in Bath!

This is a photo of my shoes with orange laces
beside my manual wheelchair.

Last Tuesday (20th October) I took part in a 'flash mob' style tai chi session in support of World Osteoporosis Day and the National Osteoporosis Society (NOS) Lace Up for Bones campaign. The charity has designed orange laces which supporters can purchase, put on their shoes and spread the word about the campaign through social media. The laces also act as encouragement to take part in exercise which helps keep bones healthy and strong. The Lace Up For Bones campaign was organised by my friend Emma Butler, from Emma Butler PR.

This is a photo of the beautiful autumnal scene for our tai chi session.

We arrived in Bath quite early, with autumn sunshine shining down on the beautiful multi coloured leaves scattered around Queen Square. It was a bit chilly, but the tai chi would soon warm us up. Paddy, a Bath tai chi instructor, led the session and it was a perfect way to spend the morning. It was very relaxing, and peaceful (apart from the ambulances that passed by on a few occasions!) and reminded me of the benefits of taking time out from a hectic life. I used to practice chi kung but life has become more busy since then and it's hard to make time for it, but it is important and something I've set a goal to do.

This is a photo of the back of us performing tai chi.

As you can see from the photos, there was a variety of people taking part, including staff from The Francis Hotel in Queen Square who were incredibly supportive and let us use their toilets. I was able to adapt the exercises to my ability while sitting in my wheelchair and Paddy was great at giving discreet guidance ensuring I was fully included throughout the session.

This is a photo of the tai chi session at Queen Square.

This is a photo of Bath Abbey

After the tai chi session we enjoyed exploring the sights and shops in Bath. We had a delicious lunch outside at the Roman Baths Kitchen with a picturesque view looking out to the Abbey and the Roman Baths and music played by the buskers. Whilst the streets of Bath itself are not the most wheelchair friendly at times - the pavements are cobbled in places, quite narrow and a lot are rather uneven with few drop kerbs, all the staff of the places we visited were incredibly helpful. The Francis Hotel assisted us into the hotel with a portable ramp and the toilets have doors that open by pressing a button which makes it very easy when you use a wheelchair. The Roman Baths Kitchen has a through floor lift leading downstairs to the toilets which made it fully accessible. I was surprised to see the lift because the buildings are so old. Thank you everyone in Bath for making us feel so welcome.

If you would like more information about the campaign, the NOS has set up the Lace Up For Bones website where people can share their laces photos and win prizes. The money raised from selling the laces will go towards helping the three million people in the UK affected by osteoporosis. Check out the website, share your photos and Lace Up for Bones!

Dogs For Good - the rebranding of Dogs for the Disabled

Today is a special day as the assistance dog charity Dogs for the Disabled is rebranded to Dogs for Good. Dogs for Good is an amazing charity, it has trained over 750 dogs in the last twenty seven years and these have helped enrich the lives of many people with disabilities. They have changed their name because the dogs are trained for more varied roles. As well as training assistance dogs to help people with disabilities and children with autism, they provide advice and support to people on how their pet dog could benefit the whole family. They also train activity and therapy dogs to work in the community and schools.

This is a photo of my assistance dog Rowan at Center Parcs in November 2007.

I have benefited from Dogs for Good in the past (when they were Dogs for the Disabled), I had an assistance dog called Rowan between October 2002 and July 2009. He was a friendly, lively golden retriever, who helped me in many different ways including help with practical tasks such as picking items up and carrying them, to pulling off my wellies and pulling open doors. He also gave me the confidence to get out and about more independently, I didn't feel like people were staring at me because of my wheelchair and long cane, I believed that they were looking at me because I had a very clever, gorgeous dog!

We had many amazing adventures as a result of our partnership, one time we went on a London Eye photo shoot to promote the charity, and in February 2008 Rowan was selected  to be one of the dogs for Royal Mail's Working Dogs stamp issue. He was on the 1st class stamp! It was amazing, especially because in the auditions he was so over excited that I thought he was running too quickly with the letter that he had to give to me. It was like being with an overexcited child!

Rowan was brilliant, I have many fond memories of him and he will always have a special place in my heart.

Dogs for Good welcome any support you can give them, they receive no government funding so are entirely reliant on donations, fundraising and volunteers. It costs £12,000 to fund a puppy to being a fully trained adult and £20,000 to fund a dog for its entire working life. If you would like to find out more about Dogs for Good, you can visit their website: www.dogsforgood.org

An Outing with the Owls....

Our daughter had an invitation to a birthday party at the Hawk Conservancy Trust, Andover, Hampshire. I accompanied her and we both had an amazing time. It is a place I have been to once before, many years ago as a child. My main memory is being in a field, with no seating, watching the birds flying. The site has now changed completely but I could still imagine where I watched the birds all those years ago.

This is a photo of Melissa holding Whisper the Beebok Owl

The Hawk Conservancy Trust is an award winning visitor attraction and a registered charity. It began life as Weyhill Wildlife Park in 1965, founded by Reg and Hilary Smith. It evolved over the years and in 1980 The Hawk Conservancy was created. The site is huge, twenty two acres of woodland and wildflower meadow, and there are over 150 birds of prey that you can see. It's the perfect way to spend a relaxing day with nature.

When we arrived I was given a large print version of the welcome sheet which was a lovely touch - it felt really inclusive. I was really impressed at how accessible the outdoor based areas are, all paths are tarmaced and the slopes are gentle. The viewing areas has designated areas for wheelchairs and all the staff were incredibly helpful throughout the day.

I particularly enjoyed the shows, we watched two of the three shows, and as it was a party, we were all able to hold a Beebok owl called Whisper. He wasn't scared of my wheelchair at all and it was a wonderful experience.

This is a photo of our birthday party group sitting on the tractor.

The food in the Feathers Restaurant looked enticing and my homemade soup was delicious. . Following the party, I looked at the Hawk Conservancy website and read that they also offer a large print menu which is a really useful resource.

We all enjoyed a ride on the tractor around Reg's Meadow, unfortunately it wasn't in flower because it was October, but it was still a beautiful sunny day and we were able to appreciate all the other wildlife.

I would highly recommend the Hawk Conservancy as an enjoyable day out for anyone and I would love to return in the future.

For more information visit: www.hawkconservancy,org

Riding in Tandem - an unusual sight!

Whilst we were enjoying a lovely family day at Avon Beach in Mudeford, I saw something I have never seen before and it made me look twice - a tandem mobility scooter. It made me think of the amazing broom with seats in Julia Donaldson's book 'Room on the Broom'. It then led me to think about using a tandem scooter, I don't think it's something I would want because I do like to be driving my wheelchair, as would Matthew if he ever needed one! I found a photo of one online .....

This is an image of a tandem mobility scooter.

It was quite big, as you'd imagine, but useful if you don't need to take it into shops and use it to get around in fairly open spaces.  It might be a problem if you need to cross the road from the pavement due to the length of it.

Avon Beach is very accessible, we visit each summer, and we can get my manual wheelchair close to the water because there is a concrete walkway along the length of the entrance to the beach. There is ramped access everywhere and radar operated toilets. It is highly recommended day out, and look out for the tandem scooter!

Traffic and training

It was a big day today because I worked with Wiltshire Sight to present Looking Out for Sight training to staff at a local care home. It was the first time I had done this and it is an exciting new part of my disability consultancy.

The journey to the care home was interesting, I caught my usual bus, however I got off at a different, slightly later stop. This was rather scary because of the unfamiliar surroundings and possible mobility access problems. Once I was on the bus, the driver said that there were steps at the stop that I wanted to use which was a bit concerning! The bus driver was helpful and parked just after the bus stop so that it was feasible for me to get off the bus. The only problem was that to cross the road to the care home, I needed a drop kerb for my wheelchair and this forced me to come off the end of the pavement, onto the road. It was very busy, the bus had caused the traffic to become congested and there was a large lorry too which was causing similar problems. There was so much traffic and it rather unnerving and worrying, I wasn't sure how to get across safely in case a car appeared from an unexpected place. However, one positive result from the congestion was that the cars weren't really moving and one car driver gestured that I could cross so I was able do this safely and arrived at the care home feeling rather relieved.

We delivered two training sessions, both were varied slightly because the participants asked different questions. It was really enjoyable and also very rewarding to know I am helping other visually people through informing their carers about the difficulties their sight loss can cause and how they may be able to assist them.

The journey back home was easier, I had to go from the care home to the high street where I would catch a bus back home. For some unknown reason there was not a bus back home from the bus stop by the care home.It did mean I was again travelling down an unknown road, but it was less eventful than earlier and it was easy to find my way to the high street.

Today's training gave me a confidence boost, I was in completely unfamiliar surroundings with uncertainty about visual and mobility access but I got there independently and I was able to carry out my role effectively. It felt so rewarding and I look forward to future training.

Cash Point Conundrum

I had a real problem when out in town today. There are about three particular cash point machines in the high street that I like to use because many are positioned too high for me to see from my wheelchair or the screen is at the wrong angle causing a lot of glare and reflection. Unfortunately that number has now been reduced to two! One of the most accessible machines, positioned by the market, has been changed and the screen is positioned far too high for me to reach it which proved very frustrating as I then had to travel much further down the high street to get money out.

It is difficult to know what can be done to resolve the problem but it is getting worse not easier and it is really inconvenient!

Update: At the time of writing this post, I was using my old electric wheelchair because my regular electric wheelchair had a broken bearing. My old wheelchair has a lower seat which is why I had problems accessing the cash machine. It was only when my regular electric wheelchair was repaired that I realised it is much higher and that meant I could reach the cash point that I was referring to in my post. However, it is still an important point there were will be many wheelchair users, especially those using manual wheelchairs who would not be able to access the cash point.