Ordinary Hopes

When you want to go out for lunch what is the main thing that you look for?

Cost? Menu options? Toilet facilities?

Really??? You have never even thought about the last one?

Of course there will be toilet facilities! Won’t there?

Not necessarily.

Certainly not if you use a wheelchair and can’t stand up by yourself.

Not for Adam and not for hundreds of thousands of other disabled people either.

Disabled by facilities!

If Adam can’t “go” then neither do the rest of us. That same thing is true for hundreds of thousands of families across the UK. ‘Family time’ is very precious, yet ours is interrupted, constantly limited and made even harder than I wish to describe here.

Going out is really hard. We do our best to take Adam to the toilet at the last moment before we go out but hoisting takes time. Getting in the car and securing the wheelchair takes extra time. Finding a suitable parking space when you arrive takes time. Quite often there are lots of spaces marked with a wheelchair logo but many wheelchair adapted vehicles are longer than the spaces.Our vehicle overhangs most spaces.

 

Cars can come too close for comfort, hence the concerned look!

This was at a local supermarket.

Having a drink and something to eat inevitably leads to needing to “go”. With children, that often occurs during the meal!

One of the few places we can go to for lunch, safe in the knowledge that all of us can use the toilet facilities if we need to, is Cornwall Services.
Just a 27 mile drive for lunch!

Does it seem a bit far? Ask yourself if you would go out to eat somewhere if they had no toilets? Especially if you were taking children?

With art on the ceiling and fish on the tiles, Cornwall Services are rightly proud of their Changing Places toilet facility.

Adam was so pleased to show his grandparents “his” toilet.

Well worth travelling 27 miles for a spot of lunch!

If you are passing, or maybe you just want to spend your money somewhere where you know they value all people, do drop in at Cornwall Services.

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The story of why Adam calls this “my  special toilet” can be found HERE.