A friend was
leaving London to work abroad, so a group of four people decided to take her to
a Thai restaurant in Soho (China Town) named Thai Tho Soho (42 Rupert Street)
since her favourite food is Thai. I personally never tried it before; it seemed
like the perfect choice. Another friend who was booking the table is a close
friend of mine, so she is very aware of all the usual difficulties that I
encounter when dining out or just going out for that matter. She phoned the
restaurant, and asked twice 'is the place fully accessible?' Then, for fear of
not defining full access properly, she furthermore asked if there are any steps
or high kerbs. Their reply was a clear-'no, it is fully accessible with low
height table.' My friend was still worried and asked, "are you
sure?", sceptical. But, alas, she got a firm yes! I decided to call again,
as often I get different people with different replies. I called the restaurant
after my friend informed me that she had booked, and asked the same questions,
then specifically said, "there is not any steps at all to get into the
restaurant?" I was assured that there is none at all. I could not believe
my luck! It's the first place we try, and it's accessible!
I then began to worry about getting there... Will my carer
arrive on time? Will the booked taxi turn up? And if I hail one, would it stop?
Then if it did, will it have ramps? These are just some of the usual issues
that I regularly encounter and have to consider every time I go out.
The actual day arrived and everything was running smoothly-
the carer was punctual, the taxi came at
the requested time, and my friend and I set off to meet the others at the
restaurant. Again, I could not believe my luck! Well... I should not have
really, as the dream date turned into a cold nightmare. The taxi dropped us off
near the restaurant, and that's when our luck changed. As we finally arrived to
the restaurant entrance, right out their door, was a huge step of about 4
inches in length at least. Woe. Is. Me. My
friend and I thought "ok, maybe there is another entrance or they might
have a mobile ramp." I waited outside as my friend went to speak to the
waiters, only to be told, nonchalantly, "no problem we will get you a
place upstairs! Yes, it is about 14 steps but we can carry the
wheelchair!!!!" My wheelchair is electric and is quite heavy. There is NO
way that anyone can carry it 14 steps or even up the front door step. It is
degrading for me, dangerous for all parties involved and, above all, why lie
and say you are accessible?! I refused their offer and stated that we phoned
three times and asked clearly whether or not the place is accessible. So why
mislead us?! Why spoil my night out? Surely 14 steps are hard to miss! Even if
the person who answered the phone was new to the place, then go and make sure
it is accessible. I am not asking for the place to become accessible... I just
want to know if it is!!!!
It is here that my mother's words echoed in my head. There was obviously no point in arguing, as all I got was an
apology and the offer of a 'lift' up the stairs. Irritated, we were running out
of time. I had to get back by certain hour for my carer's next call, plus the
other girls were on their way to the restaurant. We phoned them and said to
wait for our call while we search for another place even if it is not Thai
food; just a restaurant to escape the cold and eat.
This may sound hard to believe, but we spent nearly 40
minutes searching for a restaurant. Surprisingly (not!), the whole of China
town, did not have a single place that offered full access. I did not even want
much, just some place step free and low height tables... God help people who
need toilets or ear loops etc...Every restaurant we saw either had a high step
or a very narrow door. Disgruntled and disheartened, I was freezing and
desperate to just go anywhere. Even Burger King, the apparent mass market
franchise eatery, had a step!
Excitedly, we finally thought we found a place. It had two
steps, but on the side there was a slope for wheelchairs. What a relief! We
went inside, called the girls, and gave them the name and address. We then
opened the inside door to go in only to see 3 massive steps which you need to
pass to get into the lift that will take you downstairs to the restaurant! :|
What is the point?! Why start something and not finish it? why give hope, and
cruelly cut it short? Why don't people use common sense and realise that having
a lift with 3 steps to get to it is not my idea of accessible building!
Not one to give up easily, we carried on searching, finally
finding a Lebanese restaurant in Piccadilly. Yes... it is that far away from
the Thai restaurant, but wheelchair users can not be choosers, so we had to
take whatever came our way. Even this place had two steps, but it also had a
side door. Again, they offered to lift the wheelchair, but we insisted on using
the side door, which we did. I wonder why everyone is obsessed with lifting me
and the wheelchair? Is it kindness,
guilt, laziness, or (hopefully) chivalry in the 21st century? Whatever the
reason, I don't want to be lifted. I don't want special treatment, I just want
the same rights as everyone else!
I end this blog with one final thought- how can a very
touristy area lack basic facilities for disabled people? If I, a Londoner, face
that much difficulties in dining out, how welcome must foreign visitors with
physical impairments feel?
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