I mentioned Community Link in a previous post and now that I've used them several times I thought I should write a post singing their praises and urge any wheelchair user in the Stafford area to use them.
Community Link has been a real game changer for me.
In my previous post I mentioned a few services that are available to us wheelchair folk. As I was writing it I was racking my brains as to how I go about using these services rather than just writing about them. It's been painfully obvious that I need to upgrade from my manual wheelchair to a motorised wheelchair for a while now, but to transport a motorised wheelchair, I'd need to use a wheelchair taxi. I can't self propel very well, in fact just getting to the end of my uneven drive is a chore. It has an ever so slight camber that causes the wheelchair to roll backwards, so the moment I release the wheel it starts to move backwards.
Being in a wheelchair means it's costly for organisations to provide for our needs. Understandably some just avoid it all together, some make a limited service but for a premium cost. Community Link is a fabulous charity and one that does actually earn money per fare. Granted, it needs funding to get off the ground, but it's a charity that is almost guaranteed to be profitable, as there are no shortage of wheelchair users all over the UK. Community Link do rely on the kindness of volunteers like Les. He is retired, but enjoys driving and likes to meet different people and help them. He is a great help to me. For example, now I can get a taxi to Specsavers to get my frames tightened...erm...I could get a lift into town...Er, sit in the middle of market square and feed the pigeons... I could even go to Stone, and, feed some more pigeons.
The possibilities are endless.
Since 2002 we have been a registered charity, with a mission to help anyone who has difficulty using public transport get out and about. Our 5 wheelchair accessible vehicles provide community transport services in the Stafford area and beyond.
So, it's a service that has been around for a long time, but isn't something I was aware of. Granted I didn't look very hard - a simple Google search "wheelchair taxi service in stafford" - yields a search result which tells you about Community Link. But if you're lazy like me, let me save you that effort.
They assume the role of carer from the moment they pick you up and do whatever you're incapable of doing yourself. As you're probably aware I am just one person, so I only need a smaller taxi, but there are other vehicles available as well.
A winch is attached to the front of the chair which gently pulls me on board. It then locks, holding me in position. Anchors are attached to the back wheels which are bolted in place. A seatbelt is then put around me which is also secured in place. Just for added peace of mind, I put my brakes on.
I'm secured in position, which is a good thing as Les is a nutter! I didn't realise you could pull wheelies in a car. I'm joking of course...you can't.
You need to be a member to use the service, but it's a simple form that takes three minutes to complete and asks un-complicated question like "Are you registered disabled?" "Do you have difficulty getting on an ordinary bus?" And "Do you require us to transport any additional medical equipment?"
Seriously any dummy could do it. And I did!
Now that I've got a taxi service I can use, I immediately booked a taxi to visit my local mobility store - Easy Living Mobility - a store I didn't even know was there. Check out their website. They seem to have as many stores as Tesco (this may be a slight exaggeration), so have a look and see which is closest to you.
I am now in possession of a motorised wheelchair to test, with a view to purchasing it. I thought it would be a doddle, as you can see from the video it isn't, I haven't been in charge of anything other than a manual wheelchair for quite some time. Maybe, that's for the best.
Keep posted for an update on my motorised wheelchair worries. in the mean time you could volunteer to be a Community Link driver.
I came across this video on YouTube about social prescribing. I'd never heard of social prescribing and thought you only went to the doctors for illness. But it reminded me that many years ago when I was younger and stupider (not much stupider, but I did bump into things more often), I thought "with all this free time, instead of just sitting in front of the telly, why don't I spend it getting in shape.
I'll look like Arnold Schwarzenegger in no time." So I went to the doctors to see if there was a limit to how much I could exercise now that my situation was different. "Nope. Just take it easy, you haven't done any exercise in a long time. Oh and shelve your ambitions of looking like a former Mr Universe, you numpty." I can't be sure that's exactly how the conversation went, but I'm sure it's along those lines.
The doctor prescribed me exercise and handed me a prescription. Exercise on prescription allowed me to attend participating gyms for free. A new gym had just opened by me and was completely wheelchair accessible. As it turned out some of the exercise bikes had high backed seats, I would be able to cycle as much as I wanted. Unfortunately the bike was stationed directly in front of the telly, and my aspirations of becoming a mini Arnie hit a snag. At least my legs weren't completely immobile while I watched this television, but then I would get home and watch T.V while eating a pack of biscuits.
According to the video, every doctor's surgery has access to a social prescriber. "Well I bet mine doesn't" It did.
A social prescriber does exactly what it says on the tin, they prescribe social needs to people. I struggle first of all to get into social situations as it's difficult to get around. I am limited by what I can do and I've isolated myself because of my communication issues. Since I've been attending Andy's Man Club I've realised that my communication issues are largely in my head.
I made an appointment to see Michelle Cotterill, something that I recommend anybody in Stafford to do, and if you're not in Stafford then - as the video says - every doctor's surgery has access to it. She asked me what I wanted to get out of our appointment.
"I want to put myself in social situations again".
I seemed to exist to the NHS when my brain tumour was fairly recent. They had got me into rehab at Cannock Chase Hospital, rehab at Moor Green, Headway brain injury charity, but as time has gone on offers had dried up. I explained "I find it particularly difficult in groups where there's atmospheric noise, especially large groups or a room where there are several conversations and I have to raise my voice to be heard."
I liked the idea of using this blog as a reason to travel around. The best way to talk about accessibility is to experience it, but I didn't know how to do it without spending a fortune.
Disabled Persons Railcard
As I said previously, being in a wheelchair has its perks. One third off rail travel for twenty pounds for a year, or fifty-four pounds for three years sounds like a pretty good deal to me. Just make sure you have it with you when you travel. Describing where it is in your bedside table drawer isn't proof enough.You have to be able to prove you are in receipt of at least one of; Personal Independence Payments (PIP), Adult Disability Payment (ADP), Disability Living Allowance (DLA), Child Disability Payment (CDP), have a visual impairment, have a hearing impairment, have epilepsy, receive Attendance Allowance, Severe Disablement Allowance or Pension Age Disability Payment (PADP), receive War Pensioner's Mobility Supplement, receive War or Service Disablement Pension for 80% or more disability or, buy or lease a vehicle through the Motability scheme. If you need to be accompanied by somebody they will also receive the saving. There is always assistance on board if you require it, or you can book assistance. They can help you with a number of things, including:
offering a helping hand to navigate the station
help getting on or off the train
meeting you from your train and taking you to your next train or the exit
arranging a ramp on or off your train
assistance relating to a non-visible impairment
carrying your bag(s) – up to 3 items of luggage
You can't just fake a limp or show your friends Access Card with your thumb conveniently covering the photo ID though.
Access Card Oh, that reminds me, you should get an access card. This is so you can attend any participating venue and just show your card or quote your ID number when booking tickets online, and they will know what assistance you need. As you can see from the example - there are nine boxes at the bottom of the card. Three of the boxes are filled in signifying that I need level access, I have difficulty moving myself more than short distances
Clockwise from top left: Level access, Essential Companions, Distance, Standing and queuing, Urgent Toilet Needs, Assistance Dogs, Audible Information, Visual information, Miscellaneous
and it would be significantly difficult to access services without support from another person. There are also six other disabilities you can declare. I had to get mine when booking tickets to see Roger Waters at The Utilita Arena in 2023. I needed it to prove I had a disability - again, a fake limp wasn't proof enough. They wanted proof I needed the chair for transport and didn't want to just be pushed around while sitting in a comfy seat.
Okay, full transparency, this is only for travelling anywhere in the West Midlands. But it's cheaper than the railcard, in fact it's the best kind of cheap. Free! There is a restriction though - it's only free if you travel off peak (09:30 - 23:59), you're going to have to fork out £1.50 if you're an early riser. You can't just turn up to any bus though and demand free travel. You need to book on their website.
Just because you are disabled, doesn't mean you can't travel around the country. In fact you can do it for free.
Have I mentioned perks before?
You can apply for a disabled bus pass from your local council. Disabled bus passes are free although you will have to prove you have the disability you're claiming for. You might be asked to provide a copy of your motability rating from your PIP letter. You may be asked for confirmation by a medical expert. Your council should have a page on their website listing the requirements - For example visit the Stafford Council 'What categories of disability qualify for a disabled pass?'.
The length of time you can hold a pass without having to re-apply depends on your reason for applying. Some people are awarded it on a temporary basis, others permanently meaning you won't have to re-apply for four to five years. All public local bus services in England must be DDA compliant which means they must be wheelchair accessible. The capacity for having wheelchair passengers depends on the model of the bus and the model of the wheelchair(s).
For more information on bus passes in the Stafford area go to the website
Wheelchair taxis
These are an absolute pain to arrange. If you can get out of your chair and sit in the car and your wheelchair will fold up, you will be able to use a taxi service. I would recommend Westside Taxis if you are in the Stafford area. They have an app which has a notes section. This allows you to book the taxi without human interference. For anywhere else there's Uber. Both apps are similar in that you can choose the car size I.E 6 seater, 8 seater, saloon etc and leave notes for the driver I.E "I am a wheelchair user but can travel in the passenger seat. There must be room in the boot for my collapsible wheelchair." Alternatively if you have to stay in your wheelchair then a taxi service isn't for you. I have only found one taxi service that had a wheelchair taxi but you couldn't book it in advance. You had to phone on the day you required it, to check its availability. Not ideal if you've got a hospital appointment in a few days.
Community Link
You might be starting to spot a pattern here, but this is available in Stafford. They will go further afield into mid-staffordshire, but if you need to attend a doctors appointment and public transport is difficult for you, try this service. They provide a wheelchair-friendly transport service for people with mobility difficulties. They're a friendly bunch and there are vehicles specially equipped to help passengers with mobility needs, and if you need a carer to accompany you, they can join you free of charge. There is a small fee for each trip but it's certainly cheaper than a taxi. You must be a member, the membership form is very simple and quick to fill out. Once you've completed that you can book a wheelchair taxi to your heart's content.
They are always on the lookout for volunteer drivers and passenger assistants. If this is something you're interested in then click here.
Airport assistance
You can read about my experience with airport assistance here. It was brilliant and completely took the stress out of catching a plane. Once we had checked in, we went to a desk and were given a small electronic device that would bleep when we needed to come back to the desk ready to board. We were free to do what we wanted until then. We went and got breakfast and we were able to go in the empty special assistance lounge rather than the packed Weatherspoon's. When it was close to departure time, our electronic device beeped, and we were taken to the gate.
There was one problem here. The transport wasn't wheelchair friendly. People who had mobility issues got a lift. We walked behind, with my Dad pushing the wheelchair in the slip stream of the transport.
We were delivered to the gate, passed through security and were then taken to what looked like a mobile storage unit. A scissor lift lifted me up and I and the other special assistance customers had a small ride to the plane. The mobile storage unit got as close to the plane as possible so I could just wheel aboard.
For more information go to the CAA (Civil Aviation Authority) website.
Bond Hotel, Blackpool
Hotel's sometimes declare a room as disable friendly to fulfill a legal responsibility, but the room is in no way appropriate. Take my experience in France for example. It was a lovely hotel, but it had clearly been designed for able bodied people. They thought that all they needed to do was put a couple of grab rails in and remove the shower screen to make it disabled friendly.
The Bond Hotel has been designed with the sole intention of making most rooms fully accessible. Most rooms have an en-suite wet room, widened doors, grab rails, lots of floor space, hoists, a wide range of mobility equipment available on request (and free of charge) and a 24-hour manned emergency call system. Their rooms are spread across three with a choice of single.
Their is a restaurant, bar and cabaret area inside the hotel - all fully accessible. They'll even help arrange your travel and pick you up from your house. As the hotel is in Blackpool there is plenty to see and do and pretty much all public transport is wheelchair accessible.
RADAR key I hate having to a use a toilet in a publicly used bathroom. Men are... sorry men can be, disgusting creatures. Having to sit on a toilet seat that men have tried to miss while aiming for the large hole in the middle, fills me with dread. All over the UK there are 10,000+ disabled toilets behind a locked door. You can only get an officially authorised RADAR key from here. The key is only available to National Disability and Carers Card holders which you can purchase from the site. This will to skip queues to use facilities that may not be clean or adapted to your needs. Some accessible countryside gates require a RADAR Key for access. They often feature an "H" frame with a rectangular enclosure for use by mobility scooters and wheelchair users.
I have been on Facebook since 2007. I've boosted the odd post in that time. Boosting a post is when you pay money to Facebook, choose a series of options to target specific people E.G women, 40+, living in the UK and Facebook will guarantee you a minimum number of views depending on how much you spend. It's a handy tool. Considering the amount of users on their platform, It's a powerful way of advertising or promoting a product. As long as you don't need their support...July 2024 I boosted a post in July and immediately had three pounds taken from my account. I had used this 'boost' feature before, but couldn't remember when they took their money. I assumed I'd already had some hits and they were taking a portion of the budget I'd set. Ten minutes later another three pounds came out. "They're eager" I thought. It was for the same amount, so I wasn't suspicious. A minute went by and another three pounds came out. I was getting suspicious now. Another ten minutes went by and four pounds was taken out, and then immediately again as if a hacker wasn't sure a transaction had gone through and refreshed the page.I headed for support to alert them to this and stop it before it became costly, but I couldn't see how I could contact them immediately. All I could do was send them an email and wait for a reply. I Googled and after finding numerous pages about how they are uncontactable and even their FAQs are wrong because Facebook seem to make changes regularly but don't update the FAQs at the same time. I found out that if you go through the Meta Business Suite, you can talk to someone on live chat.
I opened the Meta Business Suite and clicked on help. This just pointed me at several recommended articles, but I found that if I clicked the drop down arrow next to my name, there was an option to open My Account in Ads Manager. On the next screen, I clicked the question mark and on the right side of the page a chat section opened.
However, as I'm writing this, I'm following the same steps I took back in July, but I'm no longer able to start a chat. This option was removed back in August and has remained unavailable. Remember how I said Facebook are constantly changing things? Either they are guilty of this again, or I have started so many chats that are unresolved, the system won't let me start anymore.
I spoke to Alpha (a bot), who took a few minutes "while I check this". They then went silent for a few minutes and upon returning to the conversation simply said "your concern has been forwarded to our internal review team. I had no more contact with this bot, I was asked if they could help with anything else, I asked if they could disable the account to prevent any more money being stolen. They didn't answer. They then contacted me to say my account hadn't been hacked, the charge was them temporarily holding the card while I verified my payment method. I had no means of reply as they ended the chat. I then completed a survey to say that my issue was not fixed. I sent them screenshots of transactions between my account and Facebook. They didn't reply on this matter again.
I then spoke to Jhie. I asked him to call me, which he did and the rest of this support request was done over the phone. I installed WebEx on my computer so that I could share access with him. I logged into my ads account and let him have a look around. He concluded that I had been hacked, he would forward my case and guaranteed that I would receive all of the money back. I asked him to repeat that again so that I can record him saying "I guarantee it". He told me I'm not allowed to record it. Something about their system detecting that I'm recording, but I would be emailed a transcript of the conversation.
I also asked him to disable the account so no more money would come out, he said something like "there's no need because any money that is taken will be returned to you." I can't be sure about this though and - unsurprisingly - I didn't receive the transcript.
Whatever the reason was for not disabling my account, more money was taken - £246 over 26 transactions - so I decided to ignore Jhie's assurances and cut the hackers off at source. I phoned Chase bank, explained my situation and they gave a brand new virtual card there and then. The hacker(s) weren't going to be able to add to my woes at least, but I was still owed over two-hundred pounds.
I headed back to Meta Business Suite and started another chat. Within a minute or so I was connected with an actual person. She called me on the phone as I requested and as I was fairly sure I wouldn't get a transcript of this conversation either, I recorded it. This conversation lasted for about twenty-five minutes, I've edited it down as I want you to hear for yourself that (eventually) she confirmed I had been hacked and I would have the money returned. My case had been passed onto her team and they had already started work on it (this was the twenty-ninth of July and they needed twenty-four to forty-eight hours).
August
About a week went by and with no sign of any money, I returned to the Meta Business Suite. I went back into the chat and was able to connect with another support agent.
It was now August 5th, my last contact was about a week earlier. I had been told on that occasion, that I would be waiting for a maximum of forty-eight hours. I asked what was happening, as this was supposed to a maximum of forty-eight hours. I was told we were awaiting the results of the investigation, but it is being investigated by the best team possible.
I didn't receive a reply again on chat. The same support operative entered the chat a few times but never said anything and left again. As I stated above, my ability to create a new chat had been removed. Any message I posted to an existing chat only received an auto response from a bot. Over the next several days I attempted to contact them on the existing chats, but they wouldn't respond.
So I resorted to using the only means available to me of getting support from them. The support inbox. They do respond within twenty-four hours though, so I didn't have to wait long for an answer. I emailed them several times and more often than not they would close the ticket (they had no idea if my issue was resolved). It was always the same auto respond with a link to a vaguely relevant article in the FAQ on their website. As they had removed my ability to reply and the support ticket was closed, I had to start a new support ticket about my increasingly old issue. As far as they were concerned - or whatever AI/bot technology they use - this case had no history and wasn't given the priority it should have.
I tried repeatedly to contact them contacting them via email and chat for about a week.
BREAKING NEWS
It has taken a few days of writing to get to this point in my tale. I've just logged into Business Suite Manager to take some screenshots of my other attempts aat getting hold of them and I can no longer get to my previous chats. They have removed my account. Once again, remember when I said Facebook are constantly making changes? Although, I don't know if you can count this as making a change, or just removing any evidence that they owe me money.
Please see before and after image of my Meta Business Suite access below.
I gave up. They weren't even reading my messages, they're uncontactable and they were going to keep my money that had been stolen from me. They appeared to be helpful, but I think it's clear in the phone call above (5:52 the follow up call) I was being told what I wanted to hear. Her whole attitude changed. I don't think I was ever going to get the money back.
October By the middle of October enough time had passed, so I had temporary optimism and decided to try resolving this again. Maybe now I may get a different result. Or I should just say a result, a simple response would go a long way.
There was no point using the pointless Facebook Support Centre and I hadn't got the ability to start another chat. I searched around Google again and immediately found lots of forum posts about people not being able to contact them. I tried a different plan, there was a web chat available for Meta Quest.
"Meta own Facebook" I thought, "I'll see if they can help".
Predictably the woman I spoke to said Facebook was nothing to do with her, but she'll try and point me in the right direction. She sent me an email address...
I had no other option, so I started another mail chain that I was sure would get me nowhere. I sent a short summary of the issue and to my pleasant surprise, I got an email back from Darren quite quickly. He asked me for some more info and I replied as best I could. He asked for the account ID - which I provided but that account didn't exist anymore. It did until Jhie looked at it, but I had got proof of the transactions at least.
He asked for times he could call me and did on the 18th October. We had a call over WebEx. He had a root around and found the transactions and even gave me the transaction ID for each one. He then sent me via email exactly what I should enter and where to enter it, when reporting the fraud.
This was starting to look frighteningly like I might actually get my money back. Nothing was happening after I'd sent them my report that Darren had draughted for me. He was telling me to be patient, and that they had received my report, I just needed to wait for them to get round to it.
I waited another three days and emailed Darren again. I wrote; "As I predicted, when I spoke to you on Friday - nothing was going to happen. Indeed nothing has happened but I see that the job status is completed?"
Darren then replied and said;
" I am positive that once the review is completed, an update will be sent on your Support Inbox. You will be glad to know that you will have direct access to. So I would really recommend to have your Support Inbox monitored for you not to miss any updates from us."
I did check the support inbox and I did get a reply, it wasn't the reply I wanted though.
"We were unable to verify your payment method.
Eh? Payment method? I had selected 'Unrecognized charges on own account' as I was instructed. Under problem description I had entered 'my Ad Account was hacked and was charge through my account. I need help on this to be refunded since July 24' as instructed. I had said nothing about a payment method.
"To protect our users, we can't confidently re-enable your payments account at this time. Please note, we take many factors into consideration when disabling payments, including spend history, ad characteristics and contradictory account information."
Once again, I have no idea how they can see all of these transactions - now with the transaction ID with them - and decide my account hasn't been hacked.
Darren then started to distance himself from having anything more to do with the issue. I think he had done what he intended. Fair play to him, he had responded quickly and had helped me... get back to the position I was in three months ago. They had the transaction IDs this time though, so how could they possibly deny this money was stolen?
After four months of wasting many hours trying to get my stolen money back, I sent them an email telling them I was going to take them to court. I issued a court claim for money through www.moneyclaims.service.gov.uk/. It would cost thirty-five pounds, that could be claimed back if I win, and I thought there was no way I wouldn't win. I just needed to find some way to make this multi-billion dollar machine look down the back of the sofa for the pocket change needed to pay my two-hundred-and-forty-six pounds.
I received a letter from their lawyers. I was wrongfully suing Facebook who had nothing to do with this claim apparently. My issue was with Meta.
Please note that Facebook UK is the wrong defendant for the purpose of your Claim.
For Facebook users residing in the United Kingdom, the Facebook service is operated and controlled
by Meta Platforms, Inc. (“Meta Platforms Inc”), a company incorporated under the laws of Delaware
in the United States of America.
I could only use this money claim service to claim money from a UK based company. It goes on to name eleven cases between 2019-2023 that have tried to bring a similar case to the crown court against Facebook UK and failed. If I cancelled my claim with money claim service and contacted these lawyers to confirm the case had been dropped they wouldn't take the matter further and it wouldn't cost ME any further money.
So that is the position I'm in now. I don't expect to ever see my stolen money again. Facebook are another example of a company that offer terrible customer support. Everybody seems to nowadays. I'm convinced their ineptitude is a means to make money. How many people are going to kick up so much fuss over such a small amount? Not many. My two-hundred-and-forty-six pounds will stay in their bank account containing millions upon millions and contribute to the mammoth interest they receive. They are worth billions, but have bots and computers rather than humans on Customer Service because it's cheaper. Even though this means that customer service is impenetrable. You waste hours trying to answer its stupid questions in a way it understands. Usually it points you to an FAQ which has nothing to do with what you asked, but because you wrote a word that ties in with a word in the FAQ.
My money is lost because of their inability to offer support. Facebook have over a billion users. How many of their users do they treat this way. How much of this multi-billion dollar wealth isn't theirs? They say you have to make money to earn money, it obviously doesn't matter how you make that money.
I got tickets for Mike Oldfield's Tubular Bells Live in Concert. I'm a huge fan of Mike Oldfield, but I don't think he makes public appearances anymore. It must be twenty odd years since I last saw him on telly. I thought I'd never get to see him, so I snapped up some tickets straight away. I've been to the Alexandra Theatre in Birmingham a few times. Whenever there's something on I always look to see if it's on here. It is a bit of a journey, but it's close enough to be a good backup if there isn't anything more local. It is in the middle of Birmingham though and I wouldn't advise travelling by car. It is afterall a city that is famous for its Spaghetti Junction, and it's the second biggest city, so it will come as no surprise the road system here is confusing. Parking isn't brilliant, although there are a few NCP car parks close by or you could even park at Birmingham New Street, which I would recommend and then get a taxi from the station. If you are going to drive leave at least half an hour to park and get to the theatre. Oh, and if you need disabled parking, forget it! It's abysmal. There are disabled spaces in the multi-storey NCP car parks, but a disabled space on one of the upper levels is pointless if the lifts aren't next to the disabled parking as I found out a few months earlier.
I went to see Roger Waters at the Utilita Arena in Birmingham. It's a similar set up to the Alexandra Theatre - a nightmare to get to, but very accessible when we got in. We parked in a nearby NCP car park, but couldn't find the lifts. There were several people heading the same way, so we assumed they were here for the same reason and followed. They were taking advantage of having functioning legs though and were exiting via the stairs. We turned around to look for some lifts, but were in a rush to get to the venue so it's possible we missed them. We ended up back at the stairs and a group of lads offered to carry me in the wheelchair up the stairs. Two of them immediately grabbed the front and lifted, tipping the wheelchair, unaware that there was important cargo that would flop out onto the concrete. Fortunately my Dad was still behind the chair and stopped it from tipping.
We emerged from the stairwell, they put me down and marched on at pace to the venue. I thought they'd raise me above their heads, each of them by a wheel and carry me like a king. Alas they did not.
The car park was right next to the Utilita Arena and it was a short downhill walk. We were in no doubt as to where to go as there was a large queue outside. There are certain perks to being in a wheelchair and skipping queues is one of them. It's a perk that baffles me somewhat, I'm not quite why the person sitting in a comfy seat should take priority over those standing, but it's not one I'm going to question.
I was waved to the front and passed the queue waving as if I was the King.
Inside is vast. There were thousands of people back-stage with us, looking for the arena, but it was so big I couldn't tell you how wide because I couldn't see the walls. We got into the arena and directly in front of us was a viewing platform, slightly above and directly 'behind' the stage but it was a stage that didn't have a conceivable front or back as Waters performed to all four corners of the arena.
Sorry, I got sidetracked.
We lucked out and there happened to be an empty parking space in one of the streets. Probably left empty because there was barely enough room to park. Not wanting to get a bank loan to pay for an NCP parking space, we squeezed the car in. We went to the front entrance and there was a long queue so we went to the queue free disabled entrance. Remember I told you about perks?
As The Alexandra doesn't have lifts, this entrance brings us about ten yards from the ground floor seats in what is a lovely, large theatre. It's got to be over a thousand capacity spread amongst three levels. If you need to stay sat in your wheelchair, you can sit on the side of the front row. There is ample room as there is plenty of floor space between the stage and the front row and there is a wide walkway to the side of the seats. I got out of my chair and sat in the seats and my chair could be parked to the side of the stage. There is a roomy disabled toilet back where we came in, far away from the general toilets so the queue isn't too long. Most of the people queing for it were actually disabled too! Although a sheepish man did emerge and had to pass two people with walking sticks and me in a wheelchair. I'm sure he devoloped a limp when he saw us.
The gig was brilliant, it was part of the fiftieth anniversary tour. I had jumped and booked the tickets when I saw the name Mike Oldfield's Tubular Bells Live in Concert. If I'd read on I would have seen it said;
The Tubular Bells UK Autumn tour will feature an expansive live group, conducted and arranged by Oldfield’s long-term collaborator Robin Smith
I'm glad I rushed and didn't read on though because I might not have bought the tickets otherwise. They were outstanding, it wasn't noticeable Mike Oldfield wasn't there. One guy was a real Mike Oldfield in waiting, playing about four hundred instruments, brilliantly.
I may have exaggerated a bit there. Okay, it wasn't four hundred but it was a lot. There is a great video on YouTube when Mike Oldfield did the first performance live on the BBC. In the BBC video from about 19:00 minutes to 24:10 there is a constant bass riff which Mike Oldfield plays continuously. I don't know hard it is to play the same complicated riff for five minutes without missing a note or two or speeding up or slowing down. I would just played it once, put it on loop and sat there with my arms folded for five minutes. The bass guitarist at the concert also did it for five minutes. I think there were probably less musicians on stage than when Mike Oldfield played it, largely because - as previously stated - new Mike Oldfield played about four hundred instruments. Old Mike Oldfield only played the bass, booooring.
They were phenomenal. They didn't miss a beat and played other Mike Oldfield tunes like Moonlight Shadow. If they are playing at a venue I would highly recommend. They are the best band I've ever seen.
Back in November, I thought, it's been quite a long time since my tumour, I should probably show my face and remind people I'm still alive. My insecurities and desire to avoid people, had just been a way to avoid life. But getting back into life isn't so easy after a long period of dodging it. I'm forty-two now, so I think that's mission accomplished, time for this old dog to learn some old (but new to him) tricks. Fortuitously, I received a text from my GP surgery. Their annual Community Mental Health Event was being held at Stafford Rangers Social Club. I'd been there a few times and knew it had excellent access. My main worry had already been dealt with, I knew it had wide corridors, smooth floors, a big function room and everything was on one floor.
As I had only been thinking about doing something like this for many minutes, had I manifested it? Or was it just pure coincidence? Probably the latter. If I were you, I wouldn't cancel those tickets for Paul McKenna's next tour. I think there's more to manifesting than just having a bit of a think.
I stuck to the idea of attending rather than making up some reason why I should take the easy way out and not go. I booked a taxi and then cancelled it immediately as my Dad said he could take me. We got to Stafford Rangers and Dad got out to get the chair and assumed I would expect him to push me around in there. "No thanks, I'd rather go in on my own". I said. I'd got my big boy pants on today! 💪
I wheeled myself in, self conscious of the fact that other people in wheelchairs seem to just glide along, giving the wheels a little push every few metres. I however, constantly correct my direction and stop the start like an old spluttering car.
Two women at the door greeted me and held the door open, told me to go along the corridor and turn right at the end. There was no issue of access. As I remembered, the floors were flat and smooth and the corridors were wide. I could just glide to the end of the corridor.
Could... but didn't.
Another woman greeted me at the door and told me there was a bar with refreshments to the left. I thanked her and went forth...before doubling back and asking her what do I do. I thought this was going to be a room of people all sitting in rows watching a talk/presentation or two. It wasn't. About fifteen charities had tables around the room with one or two people sat at them. You would talk to a charity that took your interest to get some further information.
I spoke to a few charities, but they wanted me to go for an interview and then wait to see if I'd been selected. Like I'd just applied to college. I didn't like how formal this was, I didn't like that I had to audition and if they deemed me worthy of help, I could attend. Katherine House Hospice were here as well. It was one of the first tables I encountered on my circuit. I was reading the information on the table, just being nosey, when I was approached. "Can I help you?" I knew what table I was at and fortunately, had no need for it. I didn't tell him that straight away though and had a chat, I didn't feel comfortable telling him "no thanks" . I thought Katherine House was a small charity that offered end of life care to a select few. It's actually a large charity that has two-hundred employees and six-hundred volunteers. They have a therapy and wellbeing clinic, a lymphoedema clinic, end of life care. It costs them about four million pounds a year, a lot of which is from donations. They rent space in many shops around Staffordshire where you can donate furniture. It's a big machine and a very worthwhile cause. Katherine House Hospice.
One of the first tables I came across was Andy's Man Club. The design of their station caught my attention. It was black with a hand in white making the ok sign. I stopped and a guy came out to talk to me. They are a group of men that meet up every Monday at Stafford Rugby Club for a couple of hours and gives you the chance to chat to a group of people who are all there for the same reason - to talk. I asked how many people go and he said it varies week by week but it could be as many as sixty. Whoah, that's quite a lot I thought. Straight away I was thinking about what it would be like to enter a room where sixty people all turn and look as I slowly wheel into the room, my wheelchair stopping and starting, constantly changing direction. My imagination was was running riot. I started trying to make my excuses for not going. "I don't think people will be able to understand me, I said" "We're chatting now and I have no difficulty in understanding you," he replied "I don't know if I feel comfortable talking in front of that many people." "There is no obligation to talk, you can just listen and socialise in the breaks. Some weeks I don't say anything, but last week I had a lot to get off my chest and you couldn't shut me up."
So he was a volunteer who attends these meetings himself? He handed me a flyer and I said I'd go.
And I intended too. And I did.
The first rule of fight club is you don't talk about fight club. Oops sorry.
Same first rule, different club.
The first rule of Andy's Man Club is you don't talk about Andy's Man Club.
I shocked us both and kept to my word. Stafford Rugby Club kindly allow us the use of their facilities. There is loads of parking. There's even lots of disabled spaces which a lot of the time are left free, although there is rugby practice as well and obviously all the disabled spaces get used first. There's always people on the door to open the door for me on arrival, but I have to ask somebody to let me out as the doors aren't automatic. We meet on the first floor, but there is a lift for us mobility challenged folk.
The first time I went the guy I met at the Mental Health Event was there as well, so I wasn't in a room full of strangers. Which I am very appreciative of because I can guarantee I wouldn't have gone again the following weeks otherwise. About fifty people attend. We all sit in a big group, introduce ourselves and then get split up into smaller groups with at least one (but usually two or three) volunteers to head up the group. Oh and gallons of tea, biscuits and one of the members of our group brings a sack of pastries.
I've been going for a few months now and take advantage of the chance to talk to a captive audience. It's right what people say, it really does help to talk. We are always much harder on ourselves when left with just our own imagination. Talking to others gives me the true perspective of other people's opinion of me - which is always different to my own negative view. It's taken me a while to realise that I just try to deflect by attempting to be funny and never really speaking seriously. Andy's Man Club is a great start to my week, there's always somebody who can offer you advice, or quite often they don't offer any thoughts, you just feel better having spoken your thoughts to other people, rather than just thinking them.
I enjoy going, it's a change of scenery and a good chance to socialise and get things off my chest. I don't think I'm too good at the socialising in breaks. Everybody's talking in a big echoey hall, which makes it hard to be heard.
My eyesight is pretty poor and my eyes don't stay still, which in general isn't too much of a problem. This is only an issue when they're trying to focus on something. Then my eyes flick side to side and up and down. Fortunately, subtitles are easy to see, and I always have subtitles on. Oh except when I watch football. I'm too busy trying to follow the ball, which is rather small and constantly in motion.
The Gentlemen (2019)
They do a decent job of making television accessible for us partially sighted folk nowadays. We have the option of putting subtitles on for most programs or films. We can change the size, the font, background or no background, font colour and background colour. All televisions, streaming services etc allow this level of customisation. Mostly. Netflix, Apple and Disney seem to make it mandatory that anything that appears on their platform has subtitles. Amazon don't. Although to be fair to them, they do when it's Amazon original content. A lot of the content on Amazon is content that hasn't been distributed by Amazon; meaning the availability of subtitles depends on the licensing agreements with the original content owners.
I don't know about you but I always check if there's subtitles available, it's non availability can be a deal breaker.
Closed captioning is a legal requirement for all nationally broadcast media in the UK, including satellite television, cable companies, movie theaters, and DVDs. The Media Act 2024 also established minimum quotas for subtitles and signing on on-demand services.
So subtitles are a legal requirement. Interesting. Shouldn't text that is displayed on screen in any form - text message, note, letter - follow the same rules? It would appear not. The mobile phone appears in just about every program/film nowadays, which is fair enough, they are barely out of our hands and we are constantly interacting with them. So it's realistic that people are always reading things on them. Surely that should mean the director /editor /producer /tea boy? (I'm not sure how these things work), are aware of how something is displayed on screen.
My basic knowledge comes from documentaries or 'the making of..." docs. The director always seems to be watching what's happening in front of him, on a TV screen. I accept this is the equivalent of watching Instagram to keep up with what's happening in the news though. Mr Spielberg & co may not be responsible... But somebody is
Ironically old Nokia's used to have the perfect display. Before technology advanced to allow colour, Our choice was very limited. There were a few different fonts to choose from, but the level of customisation was so basic, virtually every set up we could choose ticked all the boxes. Then technology started to get better and Blackberry's started to take over. Mobile phone's still weren't a must-have item until the dawn of smartphones. With smartphones came colour screens. Smartphones were still compliant and each phone could be customised to help with any visibility issues. But, the smartphone doesn't ship with these settings by default and as most of us have the same setup, this is how it looks when it's shown on the television. The option is there to have your text large etc, but it doesn't look very appealing on camera, so the default more appealing setup is used. None of the boxes are ticked, but that's ok if steps are taken, meaning we're not constantly having to rewind and pause to read these tiny messages for the brief moment they're on screen.
Steps aren't always taken though.
Based On A True Story S2 ep 5
A good example - In Based On A True Story S2 ep 5, Ava's phone buzzes several times. Her phone screen is filled with alerts but they're too difficult to read without pausing. however, she is with her husband - who also wants to know. She turns on the news to show him and we see the story she was alerted to. From the dialogue they have, the viewer is under no illusion as to what is happening. The briefly and barely visible phone screen wasn't the only way of getting this information.
Based On A True Story S2 ep 3
However, the same show also has a bad example. Earlier in episode three Ava is in an apartment she shouldn't be, when a cop comes in. Ava's phone vibrates and the noise it makes alerts the cop who goes to investigate. The cop finds nothing and leaves. Ava checks her phone to see why it vibrated, and we the viewer see the text message as if we are looking through her eyes and it's too small to read. Ava stares forwards as if she's just had a realisation. Unfortunately I had to rewind and pause to get the chance to have the same realisation.
Carry On
There was nobody else in the room for Ava to explain what she's just seen. We, the viewer, have to rewind and pause to read the message. The NetFlix film Carry On is a good example of what to do here. Ethan receives a text and as he reads it the message is blown up on screen so we can see it. Simple.
Why couldn't they do something similar on Based On A True Story? Instead of viewing the message through Ava's eyes, the camera could have been in front of her, the message is blown up and then she stares into the distance in realisation. Seriously, Mr Spielberg & Co, I'm available.
Another example of a show that doesn't have any consistency, is shrinking. I have put a few of the examples I found whilst watching it. There are a couple of good examples. The whole screen is taken up by a closeup of the phone screen. The message is large and easy to read. Then there is a post on Twitter, the post is flashed up on screen but is too small to read, fortunately, Liz reads it out. It doesn't matter that we couldn't read it because it was read out to us. Then there are three examples of hard to read text. They are readable if you pause on the screen. We have to see the characters face and that they are typing/reading a message. Therefore the phone is at an angle. Again, couldn't we use the Carry On approach and have the display of the phone blown up next to them? We could read the text conversation and see their reaction. Finally we have Alice sending a text to Paul. Paul's phone is momentarily flashed up on screen at an angle that is difficult to read. Paul is visibly peeved at whatever the message says and writes a reply while muttering his reply. His mutter is inaudible and the camera switches back to his phone at an angle so the message can't be read. The phone is the only thing on the screen though, so why couldn't just be at a readable angle? I had to rewind and pause, take a picture because it was still unreadable and zoom in. Again, couldn't we use the Carry On approach? (For the older readers I mean the 2024 film, I don't mean reading the message and then grimacing cheekily at the camera and saying "Ooh! Matron")
A Quiet Place: Day One
These aren't the only options and neither might fit it in with a project, take A Quiet Place: Day One for example. The solution here was, "sod it, it's not my problem". I should say I don't know for sure if that's what they thought, but for the purpose of this post I'll pretend they did. A Quiet Place: Day One is the third installment in the A Quiet Place franchise. The premise is, you can't make a noise because you will alert the aliens who have ultra sensitive hearing, to your presence. The humans communicate by writing messages, but they can't read them out loud or even whisper them, so the viewer has no choice but to read them. As you can see from the picture, no effort has been made to make this message readable. It says "what meds do you need?" What follows is an intense scene where he's gone to another building to look for medication, something you would be none the wiser to if you didn't read the message.
The rewind button on my controller is looking worn as it's called into action again. The message is still very hard to see however, so I had to take a picture on my phone and zoom in on my picture to read it. What a faff! A faff that could have been saved if they'd inserted a few extra frames, showing a closeup view of the notepad.
As well as Carry On, Sprint is another good example. Is it a coincidence that this and Carry On are Netflix shows? Or is it just because they are the type of shows this look is appropriate for? (That's not rhetorical, it's a genuine question). From the first episode of season one, a lot of social media posts are displayed like this, so that they are clear and easy to read for ALL viewers.
Sherlock
I think the best example of a show being accessible is the BBC show Sherlock. It's fifteen years old now having first aired in 2010. It was the first show I'd noticed that integrated the reading of text messages or notes into the drama on-screen. It was seamless and the design of it was brilliant. This was a show where Mr Spielberg & Co were joined by Mr or Mrs make-things-look-good-but-also-practical-so-that-all-can-enjoy-it.
As there would be written clues that Sherlock and Watson would get
Sherlock
throughout and text messages and notes, it would need to illustrate how Sherlock's mind works differently from ours. There was a consistent design throughout. Texts would always be white. Subject headings would be bold, while the body of the text would be smaller. The text would appear next to the person receiving it. Illustrations of how Sherlock was thinking was more free form, but would appear around an image of him thinking.
So you have three options. There is the *shrugs shoulders* not my problem approach. The get it right some of the time, but also shrug your shoulders when you can't be bothered. Or smash it outta the park every time. There needs to be some rules in place, similar to subtitles meaning all forms of text on screen have to be readable or audible for all viewers. We call that doing the Sherlock.
