THERE BUT FOR THE GRACE....

I enjoyed myself at East Of England today. Met with people I like. John was with me as this is local to us and it is Saturday. This enabled me to hire a mobility chair and thus see the stalls and get around a lot easier. I normally just stay sitting in my chair until time for me to go in the ring.

It didn't start off too well. I was waiting for the disabled loo to become free only to discover once the man using it vacated that it was also the shower for the caravanners and thus the floor was completely wet. Dangerous. There was no way I was stepping in, my sticks would have slipped and I could have broken something. I hate to think what could have happened to an older more infirm person. I went to the showground manager to let him know, politely, how dangerous this was. (I did not say 'which moron thought this was a good idea?')

His first words were 'in the ten years I have been showground manager you are the first person who has complained.'

I kept my cool. I know that when I am answered with that, that the person I am talking with doesn't give a toss.

He went on to tell that there were other toilets I could use-hundreds of yards away. I then discovered these doubled as baby changing units. Another idiotic arrangement.

I told him that the disabled facilities were completely unacceptable and he responded that he had a difference of opinion and that no one else thought they were bad. I told him that as he was able bodied, he would find it difficult to understand and besides it was the opinion of my self and other users of facilities supposedly for the disabled that counted.

He was an arrogant a'hole and I left him to it and went and hired the mobility chair(at £20!!!)

The trouble. We Brits have been brought up to accept our lot and not complain and people like me who do are classed as troublemakers or demented.

You know, it is supposed to be here as it is in the USA as regards facilities and access for the disabled. No way! The reason I spend as little time as possible in my London flat is because I am housebound when there! There is nowhere for my car, even if it were safe to park it. I cannot get to public transport and if I could I couldn't use it. I cannot drive into Central London because I could not park. Unlike other EU countries, they restrict even BLUE BADGE holders and charge us exorbitantly. So my capital city is out of bounds to me and the politicos certainly don't care, nor do the general public. If they did, the situation would be different.

Anyway, back to the dog show. Whitney wasn't best bitch but Jill and David did and I was pleased for them. It was Jill's first and at least she reacted with a big grin (unlike me who swore and then shut down when Whitney got her first!) Gordon and Angie's boy was Best Puppy and Lee and John's First Edition was Best Boy and Best of Breed. (BTW I use Best Bitch and Best Boy because I am aware readers here are not dog show people on the whole. We actually call them the Bitch Challenge Certificate and the Dog Challenge Certificate or CC's. The reserve we call an Reserve CC.)

The rain stayed off until Judging was completed.

I have much more to say but was interrupted by a phone call and it is now too late. I'll complete my thoughts tomorrow.