The last couple of weeks have been manic with people waking up from hibernation and needing everything yesterday. So I missed last week’s wrap but here’s what’s been happening:

In our last wrap I mentioned I was going to Arsenal to see Man Utd and I’d arranged to go for a pre-match meal. It was here that I had a curious incident!! On arrival at the restaurant there was a great kerfuffle as I didn’t tell them I was in a wheelchair. I’d completely forgotten to mention it! They more or less told me off for not warning them …….Now is this ok?? Should someone obese or someone with a facial disfigurement mention it before they go to a restaurant?? I was shocked and in the end bemused….they didn’t get a tip! Let us know what you think, was the restauranteur right?

Moving on, the next event I attended was a conference by the City Women’s Network ( they’re not gender exclusive & men were allowed). I was asked to sit on a panel discussion on “creative disruption” and Martyn Lewis, Newscaster, interviewed me on the concept of Blue Badge Style, which we all know is to create a community ‘where style & disability are not mutually exclusive’. To start things off and to create a bit of humour I showed 2 slides – one was a ‘ludicrous loo’ and one a ‘ridiculous ramp’.

Instead of a laugh there was an immediate gasp in the audience followed by relief when I said it was meant to be funny. The audience were all able bodied and were amazed at the stories I told about living with disability and trying to maintain a sense of style. I made my point, that although there’s legislation to provide facilities they’re not always well thought out. As a result members of the audience came up to me and said how there were problems in their own workplaces & to a woman, they were all shocked & surprised. Let’s hope I can sell some PADs (Pictorial Access Descriptions) to their building managers??!

Finally a more genial tale was my visit to The Brown Dog with a brown dog (known as Harvey).

This is an old pub that’s been refurbished but has not lost any of it’s pub feel. It’s got charm and style and is very welcoming. It mixes modern large copper lampshades over the bar with old style beer pumps and a leather banquette ‘snug’.

The food is good as well as the beer (according to the Relative Lieutenant) and I can recommend the crab gratin. However although they say “We are a dog and child friendly pub” there’s no mention of accessibility so I’ll mention it for them. There’s a small step at the entrance and there are no disabled toilets but it’s not going to stop me going back.

Without the disabled toilet they get a max allowed 2 out of 3 BBS Ticks.

So there you have it another Wrap, see you next week….

Blue Badge Style

We Re-Define Disability With Style

Brown Dog, The

Brown Dog, The

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