Access Some Areas

Hello dear readers!

Starting the job I probably should stop referring to as ‘new’ has led to some sizeable changes to life at Seated Perspective Towers.

It has meant an end to even the most modest of lie-ins; a need to rise early, deal with the animals, grab a bite of brekkie and enough coffee to function as something resembling a human being, and then gird my loins (look it up, it’s fascinating), for the horrors of the morning commute.

It’s also meant a reintroduction to breakfast TV.

News At When?
I’m not the kind of man who yearns for that extra fifteen minutes in bed. Instead I opt for the seemingly slightly controversial routine of getting out of bed when the alarm goes off, (yes, the first time it goes off! No snooze button! I know, I’m probably some kind of bizarre sleep hating degenerate freak), and have a reasonably leisurely breakfast before leaving the house. I despise rushing.

But of course it does pay to keep an eye on the time whilst sitting in my pants, sipping that first big mug of wake up juice. Workplaces being quite keen, in my experience, on their staff turning up on time, preferably with trousers in place. This is where the breakfast news shows come in.

It seems to be, that it is these shows in particular that come pre-packaged with a handy little clock in the bottom of the screen. Not being a watch wearer, having one of these little clocks right there in front of me saves me having to refer to my phone or, and I have found this to be particularly hazardous to leaving the house even remotely on time, switching on the laptop.
 

Purple Is The New Orange (Is The New Black)

Now, I can’t claim to give the programme in question my complete and undivided attention, but every now and then an item will crop up that does make me mentally sit up and listen, Anything regarding a certain Mr Trump (Touched on here), will definitely do the trick. The whole Trump phenomenon for me is like watching a car crash in slow motion, only one of the vehcles is one of those incredibly small clown cars that holds an unfeasibly large amount of said entertainers, and who’s engine keeps exploding in a shower of confetti. I’m reasonably sure the whole thing will end with one last, sad honk and a wha-whaa-whaaaa.

However, to get back to the point in hand. (for point there is.) Outside of political buffoonery there is one other subject guaranteed to grab my attention and that, of course, is the subject of disability.

This Thursday saw the BBC breakfast programme devote a section to just this topic.

The article in question was around disabled access and facilities in the shops and stores of Great Britain. This in turn was linked to the power of what I believe is known as ‘The Purple Pound’.

As the spending potential of the older generation has been captured in the term ‘The Grey Pound’ and that of the gay community in ‘The Pink Pound’ so the ability of disabled people to affect the economy has been captured in ‘The Purple Pound’. I’m not quite sure why purple. Although I am quite fond of the colour, I’m pretty sure it has nothing to do with my own preferences. (wouldn’t that be weird?) If it were I’d probably prefer orange like the old style parking badges I used to own (see here), but then we're back to echoes of a certain politician, so, yeah, perhaps not.

Damn Statistics

Wherever it came from, the Purple Pound has become an identifiable and coveted source of income for Britain’s retailers. Which make the reason they make it so hard for disabled people to spend their money.a bit of a mystery
 

Here’s some statistics.

• 23% of high street retailers do not have access for wheelchair users (BBC, 2017
• Only 38% give staff disability awareness training (BBC, 2017)
• Only 10% have a hearing loop available for shoppers with hearing aids (BBC, 2017
• A third of department stores do not have an accessible toilet (Telegraph, 2014)
• Two in five food outlets have no accessible toilet (Telegraph, 2014)

Shocking reading I’m sure you’ll agree. Even if a couple of those stats are from 2014, the most recent information does not exactly paint a picture of progress.

Oh, and here’s another statistic.

• The latest figures from the Department for Work and Pensions show the collective spending power of disabled people, often referred to as the "purple pound", has risen to £249bn.

Wait For it

Frustrating isn’t it? There are people out there with money in their pocket, ready and willing to spend, spend, spend; but facing barriers and obstacles to do so. There are retailers losing out on valuable revenue in a time when the high street is facing it’s own challenges. Surely it doesn’t take a huge amount of intelligence and imagination to put these two things together?

The fact is that, personally, those dry statistics are all too real. The amount of shops that are a nightmare to get in or around, that don’t have lifts or loos, that have tiny little avenues in between their jam packed shelves which almost guarantee a collision and resultant pile of fallen clothes followed by a speedy and shamefaced retreat, is astounding. It seems that almost universally the men’s department is upstairs too, which I’ve always found a little odd. To be fair I have had staff offer to bring me down anything I wanted... which is nice. Knowing what’s up there in the first place would be just a little bit nicer.

Clothes shops are the worst by far. Locating my wife, Tina, in these is about as enjoyable as naked piranha fishing and possibly about as hazardous. It might help if the words ‘wait right there’ had any measurable effect, but if I’m honest from the moment we enter one of these temples of Mammon my patience is running out faster than the Countdown music played on 78rpm.
 

Touching Cloth

Of course there is online shopping, and yes, I would much prefer to take advantage of that. The ability to touch the cloth (so to speak), to gauge sizes and fits and, dare we dream, to try things on, is something of a bonus though. That last point is reliant on accessible changing rooms however, which are about as rare as rocking horse…Well, you know.

Campaigns are afoot and the fact that this story has made the national news, if only the breakfast variety, is at least something. I’m not going to hold my breath, but perhaps the winds of change are starting to stir. Until that day though, and, if I'm honest, probably even past it, shopping will remain anathema to this seated person.

Until next time...

Thoughts? Suggestions? Any comments are more than welcome below. Thanks for reading,