More Crazy & Fun Times

We went to leave home yesterday and my footplate on my wheelchair dropped, luckily my brother fixed it and we set off for take two.

   We left Bournemouth and headed for London Waterloo, I had booked all the ramps for on and off the train the night before, and so far things were going good.

Now before going on more, I did look into travel around London and we could not use the underground because shepherds bush tube station has no disabled access, so we planned on taking the bus as we thought  it would be so simple, oh how wrong we were.

Here’s what went down

We arrived at Waterloo and headed outside for a bus, there was a bus outside not going where we needed to go but my mum spoke to the driver to ask how we/where we needed to go. Turns out it was far and it was 2 buses, but in London you can no longer buy a ticket to use the buses, everything now is done by the oyster card. We go and buy one, then we speak to a man and ask were to we go to get a bus to shepherds bush; he reply’s with you’ll be better off getting the train to Clapham junction and then the over train to shepherds bush. We go and get tickets to do that, coasting more money but if it’s the easier option.

We make it Clapham junction and waiting for the next train down to shepherds bush. The train comes and we get on, on our way to shepherds bush, on arriving at shepherds bush the guys at Clapham junction put me on the wrong carriage not in the disabled part and random people and the station just started pulling me off the train, and I had my mum’s overnight bag on my lap and because of the people pulling me, I let my grip off the bag and it slipped off my lap and fell down the side of the train and the train hit it when it took off. After waiting about 20minuets they got my mum’s bag of the tracks.

After all that we finally made it too our hotel

The k west hotel we made it finally, and after checking we headed to our too room. We got in there and it wasn’t up to my mum’s expectations, the bath was filthy, so my mum to tell them and a cleaner came to clean it. Then later on a man knocked at the door and was on about moving us and stuff, because when my mum booked the hotel she got told that the there was a shower and bath would be separate, and they were not. I just looked at the man and said don’t worry I won’t be using it, and he left. My mum looked at me and said “if I was closer to I would have bloody kicked you” but come on I am a guy, I don’t care for that stuff a hotel to me is just a place to get my head down for the night.

We make it to the O2 shepherds bush empire and we need to pick up the tickets and the free one for my mum. (That’s right ladies I get 2 for the price of 1 on gigs, cinema and the zoo oh yes I know how much you ladies love pandas and penguin o2 shepherds bush empire s) right back to the story, we get the tickets and then the man says we can go in. On getting in the disabled space things wasn’t great as you can see belowHarper Simon; it was like being on the set of Inside Llewyn Davis but it was nice music.

, and then they removed the plank so I could see. The first band up was

Then came on Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros then band we had came to see, and all the troubles and the nightmare journey just floated away. They were amazing, they got the crowed involved and so pumped up, everybody were having a good time and it was rammed packed sold out.  Hearing Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros sing songs and play music live is something you just got to see and hear if you get the chance, just simple Amazing.

On leaving the gig I rolled to where I came in and this staff lady said do you want the toilet? And I said no I want to get out, this is the way out right yes she said but you got to wait for the ramp. Silliest thing in the world, why if you got wheelchair users at a gig would you put the ramp away and this was a 4peace ramp. Anyway I got out of the gig, in no way is the O2 shepherds bush empire disabled access or disabled friendly, I would say they have done their best to make it disabled adapted, it’s most likely a listed building so they can’t do anything about it. 

Still I got to meet a member of Cage The Elephant  as they were staying in the same hotel, and the gig was amazing too.  Even with all the journey nightmares and bag on train track and other problems, there were goods parts too. Next time we plan it better, but hey ho it’s a learning curve right :-)