Legless in America: The San Francisco Downtown Hostel

The San Francisco Downtown Hostel
312 Mason Street, San Francisco, CA 94102
sfhostels.org/downtown


The big thing you need to mention about San Francisco is that it is hilly. Once you get over that fact, you'll realise that most of the buildings are pretty accessible. If you can get there.

The San Francisco Downtown Hostel is very San Fran. The staff will invite you on walking ukelele tours and they are very much about hostel involvement. Just smile, ignore them and indulge in the free bagels. It's a lovely hostel in a very handy location in the middle of the city so it's easy to plan your day from there.


What has it got?

Rooms: They have a couple of American Disability Act certified rooms which are spacious. The beds are bunk beds and you are given the bottom bunk.

Bathrooms: The bathroom was massive. However, they had no handrails and the shower was actually a bath. They provided a stool to put in when you are showering but it was a little dodgy. Keep your wits about you here.

Doors:  The doors are quite heavy and I needed a hand with them a couple of times.

Stairs: The entrance is flat and they have a lift that goes to all floors. Give yourself some time with this lift as it is quite temperamental and you can only press the button for one floor at a time. We lost half a day in here.



Helpfulness of Staff: I didn't require much help from them but it is San Fran and they will probably sell their liver in order to help you.

Parking: There is street parking available.


Rating: 8/10
Why did it lose points? It is a very nice hostel and we got what we needed from it; a bed and a free breakfast. The fact that the wheelchair room didn't come with any actual handrails or a specific wheelchair shower was a bit of an issue and would be a bigger problem for other people in wheelchairs. The lift was an almighty pain in the hole but they have posters everywhere apologising for that. 

Legless At Electric Picnic 2014

Electric Picnic is the mother of Irish music festivals. It gets the biggest names and the biggest crowds but why does it feel like they gave access very little thought?

I had a brilliant weekend at Electric Picnic. Portishead, Kelis, Outkast and Pet Shop Boys blew my little mind away but if there is one way to describe their access service, the words pain and ass aren't too far from each other.

For the first time ever, I camped in the accessible campsite at Electric Picnic. The advantages to this are that you can park your car right beside your tent, tents are spread out so you can get in and out of your own easily and they have large wheelchair accessible portaloos. In the other campsites, there are no wheelchair portaloos available so if you're wheeling, you're not peeing (easily).


We arrived late on Friday night so our usual coveted spot in the Oscar Wilde site was gone. For the last three years, we camped on the edge of that campsite because it was a stone's throw away from the main arena. Unfortunately, the accessible campsite was one of the furthest sites away from all of the action; approximately 2-3km. Tucked right in where all of the campervans played house for the weekend, those who need the easiest path in were given the furthest route to take.

On the Electric Picnic website, you can contact access@festivalrepublic.com to book a spot in the access site. I had emailed them before the festival to ask if the access site would be as far away as previous years. They said the reason it was the furthest away was because it was the closest spot for drivers to go in. While parking beside your tent is incredibly handy when you are arriving and leaving, it's the time in between (i.e. the festival that you bought your ticket for) that you need to be close to the action.

The access officers at the campsite were incredibly helpful and couldn't believe that that was the best Electric Picnic could do in terms of access. One officer mentioned how they had tried for three hours to get a golf buggy to help one camper who had MS to get around but there was no service available.

At Body and Soul earlier this summer, their access officer had a huge presence and gave out her mobile number to everyone just in case. The accessible campsite was also right beside the main arena and they had a shuttle service to bring people back and forth if they needed it.

For the entire weekend at EP, I had to rely on my friends to help me get around.  Luckily, my friends are a great bunch but it meant that I couldn't get to my tent on my own. At festivals, you need to nip back to the tent to get layers or for the very important disco naps so I felt like a nag to my friends when I needed their help. The paths leading from all the campsites are rough with stones and when it was wet, mud was a big issue. The fact that the access campsite was so far away meant that we had more tough ground to cover than the rest of the campers.

Inside the main arena, they had plenty of wheelchair portaloos and viewing platforms if you needed them. The access guards did everything within their means to help but the facilities that they were given just weren't enough.

This year was my eighth Picnic and as the Big One they need to up their access game if I will make next year's my ninth. The music and the fun inside will always be a huge draw but it's the stress and the struggle to get in that aren't worth it.

Legless On The Ray D'Arcy Show (But With The Lovely Alison Curtis)

Last week, I was on The Ray D'Arcy Show along with the wonderful Declan Groeger discussing wheelchairs, access and life.

It was a very easy-going and lighthearted morning spent mulling over serious and sometimes emotional topics. I've often found that when I am brought on to be a 'talking head' for disability, a very negative angle or tone is used by the interviewer so, for once, it was an absolute delight to have a normal discussion about life in a wheelchair.

Thanks to everyone at Today FM that made it such a pleasant experience!

You can listen to the podcast Here or just down below.

Two Fifty Square

A very happy Two Fifty Square customer

UPDATED: 10 November 2014

Two Fifty Square
Williams Park, Lower Rathmines Road, Dublin 6
twofiftysquare.ie


Two Fifty Square is the latest addition to Dublin 6. Neighbouring my gym (the very accessible Swan Leisure Centre) and favourite bar, Blackbird, this coffee shop couldn't have picked a handier location for me anyway. They roast their own coffee beans out back and one of the lads sat down with us as we pored over their coffee menu to explain the very specfic Aeropress and V60 serving options. While my pal went for the more adventurous Aeropress option, I went for the very safe yet very tasty flat white.
Other than coffees, they have a selection of Wall and Keogh teas, hot chocolate and an incredible new brunch menu. With a new chef in the kitchen, their menu includes a baked potato with chilli con carne, baked eggs with chorizo and chicken and two pea sandwich with basil aioli amongst many other mouth-watering things. I plan to elope with the potato and chilli. Sorry men of the world. I am taken.


What has it got?


Seating:  All of the tables have moveable chairs but not all of them have arm rests.

Doors:  The doors are wide and easy to open.

Ground:  It appears to be a non-slip lino surface so even if it's wet outside, you'll be grand inside.

Stairs: It's all flat inside. There is a slight raise at the front door - about an inch and a half - but I got in and out independently.

Bathrooms: They have a big wheelchair bathroom which should fit all types of chairs and they have all the correct bars in place. There is no mirror in the wheelchair bathroom but take it from me, you look lovely today.

Spaciousness: There is room to move between all of the tables even if it's busy.

Helpfulness of Staff: The staff are very sound and will give you an education on the coffee bean as well as a helping hand.

Parking: There is plenty of on street parking around Williams Park but there are two wheelchair parking spots outside.


Rating: 10/10
Why did it lose points? It didn't! Hurrah! Two Fifty Square is brand spanking new and because they totally renovated the place, it ticks off all the boxes for accessibility. It's very spacious and bright and it has a very laid back atmosphere. When I told them that they did well RE: access, they were delighted as it is something that they kept very much in mind as they were doing up the place. They have a great pride in Two Fifty and rightly so. 

The Ginger Man

The Ginger Man
39-40 Fenian Street, Dublin 2
facebook.com/pages/Gingerman/168539229827554



I popped in here one Sunday evening for some dinner and it ticked many boxes. The food was fairly solid pub grub - highly recommend the fish and chips - and it wasn't massively expensive. As soon as we sat down, a bus full of American tourists came in so it was very busy but I'm sure they enjoyed its twee old country pub thing and eavesdropping on our conversation.


What has it got?

Seating:  They have high stools and low stools for tables of all heights and sizes. A few of the tables have benches with arm rests and some are tucked away in snugs.

Doors:  The doors are wide and easy to open.

Ground:  The floors are wooden which could make them a bit slippy when it's wet.

Stairs: There is an upstairs but everything you need is on the ground level.

Bathrooms: They have a wheelchair bathroom - rejoice! It's very spacious and in an easy-to-get-to location. The mirror is up way too high but everything else is in check.

Spaciousness: If a bus full of American tourists pulls up, it is definitely tight for space but the tables aren't piled on top of each other.

Helpfulness of Staff: Incredibly sound bunch. Chatty, friendly and helpful but not in your face.

Parking: There is plenty of on street parking around here. I couldn't suss out a particular wheelchair parking spot right beside it but there are spaces available on Merrion Square which is just down the road.


Rating: 10/10
Why did it lose points? It didn't. I didn't expect this pub to have the proper facilities but it did.  I'm glad I finally got to visit one of Dublin's famous pubs that actually has proper wheelchair access. Fair play. 

This Is What Poor Access Means To Me

Normally, this blog takes a very optimistic view on access. I try to portray a "by hook or by crook, I WILL get in there" attitude but unfortunately, that's not always the case. On a regular night out, if stairs are a problem, my friends and I take the Cleopatra option, which involves 2 or 3 lads lifting me up, or we simply go on to another venue.

Over the weekend, it was a mate of mine's 30th. He had the upstairs of Solas on Wexford Street booked and it was packed with mates and had the promise to be a bit of a wild one. Two of the guys were ready to lift me up when the bouncers intervened and said they strictly had a no wheelchair policy upstairs. We explained that we've done this many times before and it would be fine. No. We bartered. One friend offered the option of just carrying me up and leaving the chair downstairs. No. If there was an "incident" that night, I would be at risk. The incident perhaps being a fire. Another friend said if there was to be a fire, all the drunk people upstairs wouldn't be too great at getting themselves down either. No.

This went on for a while but the bottom line was a big, fat no. My friends couldn't leave so I just went home. This is what poor access means to me. I miss out on important nights.

I missed out on a friend's 30th because a bouncer wouldn't let me go upstairs. My wheelchair was a hazard. The drunk people weren't a hazard. The stoned people weren't a hazard. The girls in heels too high weren't a hazard and neither was the guy whose shoelaces were undone. I was the hazard.

Initially, I was fine with the outcome. This happens all the time, I reassured my mates, and it's grand. It's just something that happens. The next day, as I mulled it over, I came to the conclusion that I am going to be missing out on so many more 30ths, engagements, surprise parties, EP launches, friends playing obscure DJ sets, weddings, going away parties, retirement parties and parties just for the sake of a party parties.

My mind then went to darker places thinking of all the events maybe I haven't been invited to for that very same reason. Along with that comes the stunning paranoia where I then start to think 'maybe it's me and not the chair'. Ah, paranoia. One of the biggest downsides to having a disability. You can't shake that feeling for all of the 10/10 Legless ratings in the world.

My friends are steely when it comes to getting me in places where I shouldn't be but we can't always argue with the bottom line. Sure, some people will probably suggest that if they're real friends, they would book an accessible venue. Well, you can't ask that of anyone. Firstly, you try book an accessible venue that suits the many weird and wonderful interests all of my friends have that is also within our budget. But secondly, not every single person that is in your life is a "real" friend. I cannot expect friends of friends or people that I just sort of know to always think of access. Some friends are just casual friends or people I talk shite to at festivals and I cannot throw that expectation on them to cater for my own needs. In this wonderful non-committal age of ours, I may not even show up to an event that I say I would and then it will all be for nothing.

My bottom line here is that because of a building's poor access or their bouncers policies, I am either missing out an important celebration of someone's life  or I am testing the loyalty of people to a point where it shouldn't be tested.

This isn't a piece about forcing all building to be accessible and it isn't a piece telling the people I know to always think about access. This is a piece that simply highlights the daily inconvenience being in a wheelchair brings. It's crap. No one should have to face this sort of thing but it happens.

Blackbird Rathmines

Blackbird
Rathmines Road Lower, Dublin 6
twitter.com/BlackbirdRath

I am pushing hard for Blackbird to become my local. I have never taken claim over a pub before but today, I put my first one forward. Run by the same folk that look after P Mac's and Cassidy's, there's a serious selection of craft beers here and even though I end up guzzling more Brooklyn Lager than I should, I will explore their full collection eventually. The style is kitsch and when they have a bed as a table, you have to ask if it's one kitsch too far. I will forgive them for that though. Their pizzas are pretty decent and the music goes from brilliant to "Did I fall into a 2007 indie vortex?" but maybe the best thing here is the staff. Straight up pack of sounders.


What has it got?

Seating:  The seats are all different here but at least they are moveable. They are all different heights, weights and sizes so, like Goldilocks, you should find one that's just right.

Doors:  They have double doors that are generally kept open but they are light to push open.

Ground:  They have ridged wooden panels throughout the bar and the bathrooms are tiled.

Stairs: There is one small step at the main door but it is easy to tip the chair up to it.  The ladies bathroom is up a few steps and the gents is down a few but the wheelchair bathroom is on ground level.

Bathrooms: They have a wheelchair bathroom! Huzzah! And it is big! However, the mirror is up way too high so if you're in a wheelchair, you'll just have to assume that you look great. Which you always do, you ride.

Spaciousness: When the place is packed, it is difficult to meander your way through but there are a couple of tables that are in direct vicinity of the bar and bathroom so if you land those tables, you will have no problems.

Helpfulness of Staff: The staff here are ridiculously sound. Before I had even found a table, one of the barmen came over to me to say that I could get access to the beer garden through their kitchen. It is near impossible to find an accessible beer garden so this is great news. We had a little bit of trouble finding an easy-to-get-to table that had view of a telly for the World Cup so without a flicker hesitation, they set up a table for us that fulfilled all our needs.

Parking: There is plenty of on street parking across the road on Military Road.


Rating: 9/10
Why did it lose points? It lost one point because of the step at the front door. I will need help with it every time so it means that I have to have someone with me to get in or phone a mate to come out and help. Other than that, it really is a great spot and adds a lot to the Rathmines area. Fair play.