In Croydon on Thursday, popping out of the Whitgift Centre for a smoke, I noticed a father and son. the son was between seven and ten, in a wheelchair. They were at the bus stop, waiting, probably for a bus, possibly for a lift.
I noticed a sticker on the entrance to the Whitgift, celebrating that it participates in Croydon Council's Disability scheme - whatever that is. On the bus Friday morning, I noticed that the bus is designed to accommodate one wheelchair user. I reflected that I have never seen a wheelchair user on a bus in Britain. Unlike in New York and Washington, where it seemed that every bus I was on 'knelt' to admit a wheelchair user. Basically, wheelchair users are not visible in Britain. I personally know two people - both of whom can, and choose to, walk short distances. I also know of one who campaigns tirelessly - and fruitlessly - for disabled access to Streatham Hill. Perhaps the wheelchair users I saw in the States were all men of a certain age - men who were old enough to have gone to Vietnam. Or am I being silly?
On Friday, just across the road from the Whitgift, I saw a man propelling himself down into the subway. Perhaps Croydon, for all its faults, is Disability Aware. On the way home waiting for a bus. I saw a couple emerge from a sandwich shop on Streatham Hill. She was about four foot, clearly a 'dwarf' - there is a medical name for the condition, I forget it. He was in a wheelchair and appeared from the back also to be a 'dwarf'. I wondered how they get around - the buses are not really accessible, and, as I say, Streatham Hill is a nightmare for anybody with any mobility issue (including buggies or luggage).
