No, he doesn’t have wings on his wheelchair, but Frank Gardner’s article is well written
Frank Gardner’s pretty amazing, isn’t he? But being a high profile journo and having an employer that backs you to the hilt must both help. I’m guessing the Beeb bent over backwards to keep him in his job, because they felt responsible for what happened. Wonder if the outcome would have been quite so positive if he’d lost use of his legs for reasons unconnected with work - e.g. MS?
T.
Nice article and Frank Gardner is always worth listening to on the BBC. I think the BBC must have a good policy towards disabled people, as Alistair Hignell was a fine rugby commentator for years, before MS finally got the better of him.
Unfortunately I personally do not have much interest in what the man say’s. Since his stance on Disabled Bays saying they should only be used by people in wheelchairs.
Sorry he’s probably a very good journalist but this was a very self centred attitude. In fact I would say it is far more essential for someone who has difficulty walking to get a more convenient parking space.
Sorry Lolli.
Gx
Yes, I agree with George - (actully with both of you!) I was surprised at his attitude towards disabled bays. Many, who are able to walk short distances, appreciate/need the close proximity of a parking space to where they are going. There are fewer people who use wheelchairs, and if the spaces are underused they may be in danger of being turned back into ‘ordinary’ spaces. But for other issues for example the article about flying with a wheelchair, I think he makes very good points and of course raises awareness of the practical problems.
B x
And how embarrased must the airline be that they managed to mislay his walker when there must have been at least one cameraman trailing around with him capturing their every move?!
Since they’re effectively publicly funded, one would hope so. But one would also hope they carry insurance to cover staff posted to danger areas. Come to think of it, do we actually WANT to pay for them to put people’s lives at risk so that we can find out what’s going on in danger areas?
Hmm, yes, well, of course, I do well remember the time we arrived in a cinema car park and all the disabled bays were taken. You pragmatically allowed me to drop you off at the kerbside so that you could wheel yourself into the cinema, while I got to park over the far side of the car park. Hmmmmm.
Yep, he made some good points, but I found myself a little irritated by his narrow views, e.g. “wheelchair users can’t see out of the window” and “nowhere to plug the kettle in” because (a) we weren’t shown the whole picture and (b) these were hardly defects in a hotel room. The last hotel I stayed in, you wouldn’t have WANTED to see out of the window but it let perfectly good light in, job done, and the cleaner moved the kettle to a different inaccessible spot miles from a plug every day, which I concluded was to minimise its use, sigh.
This weekend’s Guardian also has an article on holidays for disabled people. No idea whether it’s any good, cos I’ve been too busy reading up about the wonderful forthcoming Paralympics:
Lolli xx