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The UK has, in absolute terms, rather poor accessibility. Maybe better then many places, and the law is allegedly on the right side, but in practice you don't w

The UK has, in absolute terms, rather poor accessibility. Maybe better then many places, and the law is allegedly on the right side, but in practice you don't want to rely on anything in particular being accessible without scoping it out first. I used a wheelchair for one day, and after nearly killing myself trying to get over kerb on a slope (from the hospital car park to the hospital), resolved to use under-armpit crutches instead. It's a rare thing that makes you feel privileged to be able to use those painful things! Trains are a good recent example. Most trains are extremely inaccessible, with a foot or two of steps up into the carriage and a large, famously announced, gap. There are wheelchair ramps on platforms but you need to find staff to unlock and use them, or telephone ahead. They're about to remove thousands of ticket offices, so there may soon be no one there. Then when you get onto the station, if the lifts don't work, you'll be stuck on the platform. Assuming they have lifts. My local station doesn't have them at all. If I was in a wheelchair, I'd consider trains a complete no-go zone. Most buses near me are able to "kneel" and have wheelchair ramps, thankfully. Many commercial buildings in cities and suburbs are haphazardly shoved into old housing stock, so it's quite likely that at many places you will have several flights of stairs to deal with. If I'd been in a wheelchair, I'd have been unable to access the office at my first job, for example: four flights of stairs and a step at the door. I sometimes wonder if we as a society will end up actually curing all disabilities before making public things universally accessible.

bowsamic 3y ago
> The UK has, in absolute terms, rather poor accessibility. It is certainly far better than here in Germany, as is the awareness. I was shocked visiting the UK just how many disabled people were on TV. Presenters of shows, in almost a half of adverts, etc. were in wheelchairs or had severe physical disability. Here in Germany disabled people are still considered to be undesirables and are hidden from public sight. For whatever reason, I do not even see disabled people in public here, whereas in the UK I see a lot of people moving around with mobility issues. So while it is bad, do not get the impression that it is far better in the European countries that one might expect it to be better in. Certainly the awareness and tolerance is significantly better in the UK.
- WWLink 3y ago
  > I was shocked visiting the UK just how many disabled people were on TV. Presenters of shows, in almost a half of adverts, etc. were in wheelchairs or had severe physical disability. In the US, I have NEVER seen such a thing. Except maybe in commercials for medicine. or retirement-related things. That would be pretty cool to see.
  - bowsamic 3y ago
    Yeah I was pretty shocked. The first one I pointed out my wife was like "yeah? so what?" but on the fourth TV show we saw hosted by someone in a wheelchair it was undeniable
  - defrost 3y ago
    If you poke about on torrents, streaming, using a geo proxy etc. you can likely watch The Last Leg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Last_Leg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Last_Leg a British late-night television humorous talk/sketch show that originally ran alongside the 2012 Summer Paralympics every night following the main coverage on Channel 4. Anchored by Australian comedian Adam Hills and co-hosted by Josh Widdicombe and Alex Brooker, it gives a review of the week's events. Featuring a mix of comedy, guests and Paralympics highlights, the show received strong reviews and regularly pulled in more than a million viewers each night of the Paralympic Games. It has since become a weekly show giving a humorous alternative look back at the week's events. Outside of the UK, the show is broadcast in Hills' native Australia by the ABC ... described by main presenter Adam Hills as "Three guys with four legs talking about the week" https://www.channel4.com/programmes/the-last-leg https://www.channel4.com/programmes/the-last-leg

bowsamic 3y ago

> The UK has, in absolute terms, rather poor accessibility. It is certainly far better than here in Germany, as is the awareness. I was shocked visiting the UK just how many disabled people were on TV. Presenters of shows, in almost a half of adverts, etc. were in wheelchairs or had severe physical disability. Here in Germany disabled people are still considered to be undesirables and are hidden from public sight. For whatever reason, I do not even see disabled people in public here, whereas in the UK I see a lot of people moving around with mobility issues. So while it is bad, do not get the impression that it is far better in the European countries that one might expect it to be better in. Certainly the awareness and tolerance is significantly better in the UK.

WWLink 3y ago
> I was shocked visiting the UK just how many disabled people were on TV. Presenters of shows, in almost a half of adverts, etc. were in wheelchairs or had severe physical disability. In the US, I have NEVER seen such a thing. Except maybe in commercials for medicine. or retirement-related things. That would be pretty cool to see.
- bowsamic 3y ago
  Yeah I was pretty shocked. The first one I pointed out my wife was like "yeah? so what?" but on the fourth TV show we saw hosted by someone in a wheelchair it was undeniable
- defrost 3y ago
  If you poke about on torrents, streaming, using a geo proxy etc. you can likely watch The Last Leg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Last_Leg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Last_Leg a British late-night television humorous talk/sketch show that originally ran alongside the 2012 Summer Paralympics every night following the main coverage on Channel 4. Anchored by Australian comedian Adam Hills and co-hosted by Josh Widdicombe and Alex Brooker, it gives a review of the week's events. Featuring a mix of comedy, guests and Paralympics highlights, the show received strong reviews and regularly pulled in more than a million viewers each night of the Paralympic Games. It has since become a weekly show giving a humorous alternative look back at the week's events. Outside of the UK, the show is broadcast in Hills' native Australia by the ABC ... described by main presenter Adam Hills as "Three guys with four legs talking about the week" https://www.channel4.com/programmes/the-last-leg https://www.channel4.com/programmes/the-last-leg