Disabled Access to the London Olympics
I am not disabled, although it is probably true to say, that for a time after my stroke, whilst I was in hospital in Hong Kong, I needed to be moved everywhere in a wheel-chair. I do suspect though that if I had been in a top hospital in the UK, like Addenbrookes from the start, they’d have dispensed with one pretty quickly. It’s not to save costs, but there is thinking from the Norwegians, that it is better to get people up and on the move sooner rather than later after a stroke.
But I do think I appreciate the problems of people with disabilities a bit better than I used to. So when Liz put a comment on the post about the London Aquatic Centre, I thought I’d investigate a bit.
I started by typing the title of this post into Google. By the time you try it, you might get better information than I did. The only thing of value was an old political statement from Boris, saying that the access will be the best. He would say that wouldn’t he!
There was also quite a few paid for Google entries trying to sell disabled-friendly accomodation in London for the Olympics.
On the other hand, when I applied for my tickets, I could have applied for wheelchair friendly seats, if I had wanted to. So at least the ticket ballot is disabled friendly. I suspect too, that the venues will have an appropriate number of seats for the disabled, as we have lot of experience of building stadia with them in mind.
Getting to the Olympic Park probably falls into two time periods; before the Olympic Park is completed and after it’s opened.
I’ll deal with the first one now, as why shouldn’t those with limited mobility want to go and view the construction site, as I have in the last couple of weeks? After all lying my hospital bed in Hong Kong, being able to watch the Olympics on television was a hope, rather than something for which my odds of seeing for real,are only a little bit less than say Lord Coe’s.
The Greenway, that I used to access the viewing site is absolutely flat and I think in my current state I could push an average man in a wheelchair from the station at Hackney Wick to the Olympic Park. As with all new London Overground and Docklands Light Railway stations, Hackney Wick has full wheelchair access using lifts. At a weekend, there is quite a bit of free parking in the Victoria Park area, which is not far from the start of the Greenway.
The ViewTube has pretty good disabled access, so you could get a good coffee and a snack.
The problem would come in getting off and on the Greenway at the Pudding Mill Lane end. It is still very much a construction site and although the DLR station has a lift, it might not be easy to negotiate your way through.
Another word of warning is that the best views of the site are at the other end of the Olympic Park to Stratford station.
So don’t go there!
Obviously, once the Olympic Park and the Eastfield Shopping Centre are open, there shouldn’t be too much of a problem.
Applying For London Olympics Tickets
I have just completed my application for tickets for the London Olympics next year.
It was not a complicated process for someone like me , but I could expect people like C to have lost patience with the system, as there are just so many tickets to apply for in the initial ballot. I’ve tended to go for between two and four tickets for a large range of events, going for slightly higher price tickets in events I really want to see. I’ve also put in a bid to see some tennis on the centre court at Wimbledon, as there is no other way, I’ll ever get to see anything in that iconic venue.
It will be interesting to see how many tickets I get! In some ways I’m not bothered too much, as I suspect that the best way to see some events will be to go to the Olympic Park or Victoria Park and watch it on the big screens.
Remember too, that modern stadia such as Wembley and The Emirates don’t have many poor seats, so you can probably expect that even a seat in the Gods in the Olympic Stadium will be a lot better than some I’ve paid a lot of money for in various football grounds this year.
How To Relax Before Football
I took this picture before the match at Ipswich against Crystal Palace yesterday.
Waiting for the Football
Is there a better way to wait for proceedings to start?
It was a good match too, with Josh Carson scoring his first two goals for Ipswich. When did we last have two good seventeen-year-old strikers, who’d come through the Academy?
The Aquatics Centre Is Taking Shape
This picture shows that the London Aquatics Centre now has a complete roof.
The Aquatics Centre at Stratford
Is yet another venue on time and hopefully on budget?
Pinky and Perky in Front of the Olympic Stadium
I took this picture yesterday as the train slowed to pass the Olympic Stadium.
The Sewage Pumping Station at the Olympic Park
Note the two pink cylinders, nicknamed Pinky and Perky, in the pumping station, at the right of the picture. If you enlarge the picture you’ll see that the right cylinder is partly obscured by a graffiti covered signalling cable box. I hope that graffiti isn’t goig to be a problem on the Olympic site!
I Was Overcharged at Liverpool Street Yesterday
Getting the right ticket to go and see Ipswich from London is quite a problem, even at weekends, when everything is Off Peak. As I have a Freedom Pass, I only need to buy a return from the Zone 6 Boundary (Harold Wood) to Ipswich. I usually upgrade to First for the outward journey. The trouble with doing a full upgrade is that often the first and quickest return train is a slow one and I get off these at Stratford and then take the London Overground to Dalston Kingsland.
This type of ticket is not really complicated, but you can’t buy it on-line, so I had to go to the ticket office at Liverpool Street first.
Yesterday the ticket office at Liverpool Street was very crowded and because Ipswich is a gluten-free desert, I wanted to have lunch in Spitalfields first, so I didn’t have much time available.
I asked for the return from the Zone 6 boundary and the outward First upgrade, but felt that it was a bit expensive. I checked with the clerk and she said that was what I’d got. But as they don’t give you your tickets until you’ve paid, I couldn’t check. It was only when I checked outside the ticket office that she’d sold me an unwanted First Class upgrade for the return journey.
after my lunch, I did think of queuing again, but the ticket offce was still busy, as was the one at Ipswich. I’ve now written to National Express East Anglia. Here’s the main part of what I said.
I have a Freedom Pass and a season ticket at Ipswich Town, so when I go to matches, I use the train, as I have had a stroke. I generally travel buy a Standard Class return ticket from the Zone 6 Boundary (Harold Wood) to Ipswich. On a Saturday, I upgrade to First Class outward, as this means I can lay the paper out properly. Coming back, I usually return to Stratford and then take the Overground home to Dalston Kingsland, as if the train is crowded or it is raining it is quicker and more convenient.
Yesterday, the ticket office was very crowded, so after a long queue, I asked for the Standard return and the outward First Class upgrade. Only when I walked away in a bit of a hurry, as I wanted to have lunch before catching the train, did I realise that I had been sold return First Class upgrade, which I hadn’t asked for. I had queried the price, but the girl in the office had said it was right, but as I didn’t get the tickets until after I had paid, there was no way I could check.
So basically, I was overcharged £7.
I did try to complain at the time, but this would have meant going through the long queue again, which would have meant missing my train.
At Ipswich, the ticket office was very busy too.
How do I claim my seven pounds back?
Incidentally, the train I came back on from Ipswich to Stratford didn’t appear to have any First Class accomodation anyway.
I would prefer to be able to buy these tickets on line, but I don’t think I can. So I suppose the only way to get the right ticket is to make a special visit to Liverpool Street earlier in the week.
It will be interesting what the reply is.
The Anonymous Widower 