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Airports:

I have been through a lot of airports. I’ve never met anyone who  likes them. Add in the extra challenges of negotiating the various frustrations with of a Visual Disability and it can be a nightmare – it shouldn’t be.

Whilst I accept that my experiences might be different to other users, I am beginning to store up quite a collection of negative anecdotes. Here are some highlights.

The worst airport in America?:

I’ve had the misfortune to pass through a number of American airports. Two spring to mind as candidates for this award – San Francisco International and Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International.

The problem in San Francisco was primarily one of ‘lack of resources’. Susan and I waited for over two hours for assistance resulting in a very stressful last minute dash to the departure gate – I was told the wait would be half an hour. When I complained I was told that it wasn’t the airline’s fault that the airport was under resourced. I’m not sure I find this a convincing argument as it is the airline’s business model to contract-out the assistance. We always tip the person who pushes Susan through these airports (sometimes it involves more than one tip) and it feels like we are actually paying for a poor service!

Atlanta was a series of difficult encounters (it is a huge airport). The person who was assisting us clearly found it amusing to ‘play’ with my limited vision. He seemed to be entertained by the fact that sometimes I saw that he was handing me back my passport/ticket and would ‘test’ me by holding them at different distances and angles. I get this quite a lot – passport control officers (clearly aware my white cane) will hand me back my passport in a manner that forces Susan to intervene. American border control are the worst; a British official at London’s Heathrow (realising her error) actually apologised for expecting me to know she was handing me back my passport.

Washington’s Ronald Reagan International airport excelled itself (not!) when the person assisting us grabbed the end of my white cane a couple of times in an attempt to ‘point’ me in the right direction!

It’s a tricky one this. I think I can point to a negative experience for every airport I’ve passed through recently. But I’m going to give the honours to … Atlanta. The airport is vast, the people assisting us were rude (they changed the departure gate three times and made us feel like it was our fault), and there is very little sign that they have made any effort to help people with disabilities..

Illustrative anecdote:

BA Check-in person (JFK, New York): ‘How many bags are you checking in?’

Me: ‘Two’

JFK person: ‘Please put them on the conveyor.’

Susan: ‘My husband doesn’t see. You need to take this into account’

JFK person: ‘Oh, I wondered about that. I was thinking how can a blind man managing to hand passports to me, and put the bags up.’

Susan: ‘He IS registered blind. Legally blind you know!’

Me: ‘I have a little bit of vision left.’

JFK person: ‘Oh, so your partially sighted.’

Susan: ‘No! He is legally, and technically, blind’

By this stage Susan is getting a bit annoyed. And the BA check-in person is starting to realise she may not have been as tactful as she would have wished.

JFK person: ‘I’ve called for assistance. Oh, here she comes now. I wouldn’t be able to see her coming if it wasn’t for my glasses …’

Me: ‘Yes, wonderful things, glasses.’

JFK person: ‘So, how did you become blind, what is it, erm, when did you start losing your sight. I mean is it getting worse? I just want to learn, you know.’

Me: ‘It’s genetic, and degenerative.’

The check-in lady continued to babble as she continued to dig her self into a hole and we tried to get our journey through the airport under way.

I did actually feel quite sorry for her. She clearly realised that she had said the wrong thing, and didn’t know how to recover. But she was trying to make up for her initial clumsiness.

I find that the encounters I have in these situations are so random that it is clear there is no training involved. Most people don’t know how to deal with disability. I’m quite sure that this person will think before she opens her mouth next time, and our little encounter will have taught her that there are degrees of disability.

Is Heathrow getting better?:

I accept that some British airports are starting to take this issue seriously. Because we live in Scotland and like to fly British Airways (if we can) we go through London’s Heathrow International airport quite often. It is, in my opinion, getting better. However, it is still unnecessarily stressful.

Airlines:

When you travel by plane you can’t avoid airports and airports are the main problem. But all airlines aren’t created equal. The crews on British Airways flights get my vote as the best trained. On some airlines you are ignored, on others they make too much of a fuss, but BA crew are calm, polite, and discreet.

I’m beginning to realise why I don’t see many other people with disabilities on aeroplanes, or in airports. I see lots of elderly folk who require assistance, but I don’t see a lot of white canes (or dogs – are guide dogs allowed?). I’m of the strong opinion that most of the barriers are socioeconomic. I feel another Post coming up – I will have a think, and return with a Post about the barriers to access, sometime soon.

Meanwhile, don’t give up, be quick to explain and slow to complain.

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Airports:

I have been through a lot of airports. No one in their right mind likes modern air travel, but doing it with the limitations of a Visual Disability is a nightmare – but it shouldn’t be this way. In fact, I have had so many difficult encounters that I am going to put this in a separate Post.

Museums:

Whilst I accept that the average museum is not designed for visually disabled visitors, there are some that have made more of an effort than others.

The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville is not one of them. As I am now learning, a bit of pre-planning is a good idea. I had been before (in 2015) and felt I would remember the lay-out of the building but I checked to see if they did Audio Described tours, they said they did. Well, perhaps it’s a matter of definition but, in my opinion, they don’t!

The museum usually has a feature exhibition on the top floor, and this was what I was most interested in (it was all about Emmylou Harris). When I managed to find this section I asked anyone who would listen to me if they could tell me what number to press on the audio device I had picked up in the lobby (by the ticket booths). No-one knew what I was talking about, ‘You know,’ I pleaded, ‘the number printed on the display cabinets to tell me what to enter into my audio guide.’ It turns out that the featured exhibition doesn’t have audio description. I couldn’t find any staff member to seek assistance from so I went to the main (permanent) part of the museum – it’s a very big museum. The display cases in this (very dark and confusing) section had Audio Guide numbers on them, however the content was so general that I can’t imagine any country music fans that don’t know this stuff already.

I soon gave up and attempted to find my way back to the front desk where I had left Susan sitting reading her Kindle – it is too big a museum for her. It took me ages to find my way out – the lighting was dreadful, signage totally inadequate, and there was no-one around to ask for help.

It was a very dispiriting experience – which had started with an encounter with a very rude server in the café. I don’t normally complain but thought they might appreciate some constructive feedback, so I went to the main desk in the lobby. I was told that they don’t do Audio descriptions for temporary displays (bear in mind that these featured exhibitions are in place for years and that the Queens Gallery in Edinburgh, which changes it’s exhibition four times a year, does provide an audio guide). I was also informed that most of their ‘guests’ don’t demand detail in the audio guide content. All this with a big smile and a ‘have a nice day’ – I hold out little hope that my feedback will make it a better experience for future visitors.
Should I give up on museums?

Visitor attractions:

When you travel to different cities most of them provide experiences that are designed to give you an insight into the history or culture of the place – or are visitor attractions just designed as cash generating systems, cynically whisking the lazy tourist round the main sights!

I like to think that I have learned much from museums and other attractions, things it would have taken me much longer to find out on my own. However, I now have different challenges and I’m not alone.

…

I’m beginning to see why I don’t spot many other people with disabilities at these venues.

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Washington DC:

I had never been to the capital before. So, we decided to do the Hop-on, Hop-off Big bus as a way of checking the general layout. The main attractions are museums and monumental statues – I will express my views on the VI museum experience elsewhere. These famous attractions (The White House, Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial etcetera) are very spread out and, well, monumental.

I’m sorry to say that we gave up.

I’m sure they were better staffed and adapted than elsewhere as this is a showcase city and there is money around and if I were to come back I would select one of the main attractions and give it a go; but not this time.

We liked the Georgetown area as it was easier to get about (more European in scale), the taxis were easy to hail and the drivers all had interesting views on their adopted country and weren’t slow to express them!

An illustrative incident:

I found myself tapping my way round a fountain by a collection of restaurants and cafes on the Potomac riverside. A gentleman asked me if I needed help, I said I was fine and thanked him for his concern. But he persisted,

‘Are you looking for somewhere to eat?’ he asked.

‘No,’ I replied. ‘I can see you have plenty of choices. I was just out for a walk.’

‘Oh!’ he said, ‘I thought you were blind.’

By the time I had thought of a suitable repost (one that might educate him and amuse me) he had gone.

New York:

This was my 4th visit to this amazing city. I already knew what a challenge Midtown would present to both of us, so we were based in (low rise) Greenwich Village, beside Washington Square.

What can I say about this place that will help you, dear reader? Don’t go … bring plenty of money (especially smaller bills) … stay away from the main tourist attractions …

None of this is either encouraging or helpful (two of my reasons for this Blog – the third is to demonstrate useful ways we can make the world a less challenging place for me).

The New York streets are merciless, everyone is very tense, it’s very busy. But, dig down and you will find quiet streets, warm hearted people, and lots to keep you entertained.

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