Wednesday 20 July 2011

The Wheels On the Bus Go Round And round

Going to have a bit of a rant on behalf of a fellow Pulmonary Hypertension suffer.

This lady was refused access to a coach trip because the small oxygen cylinder she carries was considered to be 'a danger to other passengers'. How? What possible danger could this be to other passengers on a bus? OK there is the danger that a spark from a smoker striking a match could cause an explosion but surely all coaches are now smoke free zones. So unless she stood right next to a smoker when they lit up during a break (an unlikely thing for someone with breathing problems to do) I don't see the problem. Then there could be a trip hazard if this lady was inconsiderate enough to leave the thing in the aisle, I am sure she doesn't do this and either places it in front of her or on her lap. Those drag along shopping bags and suitcases are far more of a hazard and no one has been thrown off a bus for having on of them. The there is the hazard of injury by dropping it on someone's foot but again there is more danger from other passengers stepping on your foot. The most likely explanation is that the coach company just didn't want the hassle of transporting someone who might need extra attention or 'God forbid' might fall ill during the trip. After her appalling treatment the lady in question rang around six other coach and bus companies in her area and none of them had a problem with her oxygen. Thankfully this lady is not going to just sit back and accept her treatment by this company and has made a complaint, good for her. Now I don't know if there is some law or ruling about oxygen on public transport, I suspect not if the other companies were OK with it. I don't use oxygen, so I've never had to ask the question. If there is then how are people reliant on oxygen meant to get around? Not everyone has access to a car. And what about those who enjoy coaching trips both here and abroad, are they now to be denied their holidays? I don't think so.To be fair I don't know what the circumstances of her refusal were but the point is there shouldn't have been a refusal at all.  I think this is one company, or maybe one individual in the company, that got it all terribly wrong. Hopefully this lady will let us know the outcome of her complaint. If she does I'll post it here.

Talking of complaints I have yet to hear back from IKEA after passing on the information they asked for. If I haven't heard by Friday I'll be giving them a little nudge.

No problems with my line last night, everything went perfectly, still have not been able to work out where I went wrong but everything is OK now and that is all that matters.

Andrew has been offered a job for the summer holidays and to celebrate he made muffins, which saved me a job as I'd planned to bake today. They were OK if you ignored the burnt bits and the rather heavy use of orange essence.

Laurence still hasn't heard anything back from the estate agent so the sellers must still be considering the offer. No news is good news.

Sitting in the study this morning we heard a thump on the window, looking out we spotted a bird lying on it's back on the patio. We rushed downstairs fearing the worst. It was a young thrush and at first I thought it had broken it's neck but then it blinked. I picked it up gently and turned it over examining it for injury. I put it down on the pation and it half hopped and half fluttered in a rather drunken way under the nearest bush. I couldn't find anything wrong with it and think it was just stunned. Checking the garden later I could find no trace of it so can only assume it recovered and flew off. Birds are always flying into our windows, I don't know why, maybe we are on some sort of bird flight path. Having said that there are a lot of trees and bushes around the house, perfect nesting places, so I'm more likely to think they might be young birds just getting it wrong. Whatever the reason I wish they wouldn't do it, I hate that sick feeling when you think you might have a seriously injured bird on your hands.

It didn't rain today but it was damp, cold and miserable, Getting fed up with it now, come back sun, it is supposed to be summer after all.

2 comments:

  1. Did you see that remarkable picture of an owl imprint on a window in Kendal?
    www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cumbria-14111152

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  2. Yes, that was brilliant, nothing like that with my bird strike though.

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