Rob, he is just a Ginger in a Wheelchair!

Tonight I met up with William, we were going to the Junction to see the Naked & Famous.

Now, this is only a small venue, so they have no designated disabled area, so you just have to pick a spot and go with it. Because we were both in our electric chairs, we went right for the front, so we could get good views, this proved to be a good choice, at the beginning.

The support act came on an hour later, the view was good, no problems, just like every time we go there. But when the main act came on, many behind us started pushing around, surging forwards. We kept getting pushed into too, it was quite weird to start with. Then it got more and more aggressive, this one bloke kept standing on the back of our chairs, it was really worrying for us, we were raised up, chairs swaying, not good. I decided to lower my seat, then Will followed.

Security came to us, told us to give them a nod if the bloke kept standing on our chairs. 5 minutes later, I gave the nod, he kept doing it, he was also pushing others. I think he was chucked out at the same time as a large group, this large group were also responsible for holding up the whole show. Half hour in, as one song finished, they started chanting a sexist comment, so the band asked them to stop and said they wouldn’t play until they had gone. So there was a10 minute delay and they all left, band returned, fun evening in the end.

Got a guitar pick and the end too, as did William. No one the crew with the band noted how we “got beat up” and said we deserved them, I admit, we took a few blows to the back and head, ouch.

Steering with my left hand, throttle and brake with my right. Indicators, lights, horn etc are on the thing I steer with

(don’t read anything into the post title, couldn’t think of anything else)

Had a good weekend, drove over 200 miles. Went to help at a disabled sports club for kids on Saturday, that was good, hope to go again next month. In the evening, Dad took us into Cambridge to meet William, we went for dinner at Strada then went to see Omid Djalili, great evening. On Sunday I went into town (Cambridge), bought a few things (socks). After that, went to Boccia, I was crap, but still learning.

Thank you for reading.

Today started badly for me. When I got to work, went to the department as normal, went to leave when needed to about half hour later and noticed a problem. The site managers had fitted the new platform, so I could get out of the building, something which was an issue since having that pin fitted to my chair. On my way out, pleased the platform had been fitted, I hit a problem, on my way out, I hit the pin on the lip of the door, the platform was not high enough.

The pin had been bent a little, big problem. I went out to the car, to see if I could still dock with the car. I could, but when I switched the engine on, the alarm went off that says my chair is not connected.

Basically the next hour was spent me raging that work had let me down, how they didn’t value me or respect my needs. I went to one of the deputy heads, told her of my problem, she said go get my chair fixed, I could leave work until it was sorted. I called Chris Elliot, asked if they thought they could sort it, they said yes, bring the chair to them asap. So I went to Peterborough, where the pin was put back into place. But it is a once only fix, they can not do such a fix again, it weakens the pin if you keep bending it, next time it will need replacing.

So when I got back to work, it was agreed I would not go back to my department until access has been sorted. To me it feels like I’m being punished for having a disability, I gave them a months warning of this change, I was told they were more than happy to sort access.

On a lighter note, the car is great. Except for the fact the fuel indicator doesn’t work, says I’m empty after 150-180 miles. The tank can hold 66litres, 180 miles is only 20 litres, so I have to guess when I will run out, fun!

Here is a video