Last week I had a number of meetings in London to raise funds for BBS……………Has anyone got any?? I digress, the problem I had was getting around, so I opted for black cabs as per usual. I rarely wait on the street as I prefer the cab driver to come and get me from the entrance of a building but this time I thought it’s a lovely day I’ll wait on the pavement.
All went well and I could see the cab I’d ordered in the distance (using the really efficient Hailo black cab service), he drew up alongside me and from nowhere an able bodied woman came up and tried to take my cab. Fortunately the cab driver was a good guy and said I was his customer……the woman turned and then asked if this was really my cab?? As if I didn’t look able enough to use it. What a cheek, not exactly ‘disability hate crime’ more a case of ‘you don’t look capable so I’m taking your cab crime’!! Seeing the look on my face she didn’t argue and even the cab driver looked a little scared and didn’t speak for at least 10 minutes into the journey, unusual for a cabbie.
I didn’t let this upset me too much as I was headed for lunch at The Ivy, somewhere I’d been when able bodied but not in a wheelchair. I was pleasantly surprised as they were really helpful and there were no issues getting in, it’s all completely flat. There’s also a disabled toilet on the ground floor but it’s in the dining room and there wasn’t a table nearby (you have to warn them when booking that you’re disabled) so I felt too conspicuous to use it as all the diners would see me enter and exit…….maybe I’m too sensitive?? Nevertheless it was a great meal and I can recommend the cod encrusted with crab and the strawberry dessert was a beautiful mix of strawberries with homemade ice cream and a concentrated strawberry dust on top. As a result I can confirm The Ivy gets a fully audited 2.5 BBS Ticks.
My next adventure was a visit to the Olympic Studios in Barnes, (see my previous review), once home to recording artists such as The Eagles, Jimi Hendrix, Queen, The Stones etc. (see the full Wiki history here it’s impressive). Now it’s a cinema, a private members club and a restaurant/cafe. I and Lieutenant No.1 went to see The Grand Budapest Hotel which I thoroughly enjoyed especially the performance by Ralph Fiennes as a gigolo concierge/manager of the hotel. There was maybe one too many guest appearances – if you blinked you missed one – from the likes of Harvey Keitel, Bill Murray, Owen Wilson et al.
We didn’t eat there but the menu looks good and not too expensive, with dishes such as Pork Belly, The Olympic Dog and Seabass En Papillotte for 2. It’s open all day serving from breakfast to dinner and already appears to be a hangout for the Barnes Yummy Mummies. The woollen tea cosy on the pot of tea was maybe a step to far in trying to be ‘trendy’.
They have room for wheelchair seating in the cinema but it’s at the front. As the screen wasn’t too large I could see everything, but a longer film may have given me a stiff neck. It’s privately owned and has been refurbished to a high standard with reclining seats and tables for your drinks and nibbles. But I was most impressed by the fact that they had bothered to put in a platform lift to enable full accessibility. They also have good disabled toilets and the service was excellent. So the Olympic Studios get a fully audited 3 BBSTicks… Well done for not asking the local authority for an ‘exemption’ re the access issues.
So from a bad start with an attempted cab theft I ended up feeling good that a privately owned cinema had gone to great lengths to be fully inclusive, see you next week.