My name is Kevan and sadly in later life, I am now travelling everywhere in an electric wheelchair alongside carrying bottles of oxygen. BUT, I can still do stuff, and therefore sometime previously I ordered tickets to the Chelsea Flower show.
About the only good thing about disability is a reduction in prices, and I was able to book a couple of tickets through my RHS membership for the price of one on the first day for members, which was today. I also discovered that I could also get a reduction in rail travel with Greater Anglia of 50% if I wanted to travel early in the day. I get a third off travel as an oldie after about 9.30.
So, I booked travel, and also asked for help onto the train, i.e. a ramp at 6.52 in the morning. I have already thanked Greater Anglia via a survey for their brilliant response to this. The staff were brilliant at helping me on a train towards Liverpool street.
I do not think that TFL knew I was coming. I travelled to the Old Liverpool street station, and attempted to get on to the Circle line, heading for Victoria station. For whatever the reason was, the Circle line was completely closed, and there was some young member of staff helping people in redirecting their trip. He first suggested the Central line, but that is not accessible,so suggested we get the Elizabeth Line to Bond Street and a one stop to Green Park station, which is very accessible for wheelchairs. Good idea, he was helping everyone .
The Elizabeth Line is brilliant, and we have travelled via Green Park many times on the way to the Royal Brompton hospital for treatments. Today was not so good. The trip to Bond street was great, and then we joined the Jubilee line. The driver, or whoever the moron was, could see my wife struggling with my wheelchair onto the train whilst I struggled on carrying a ten litre oxygen cylinder, and kept trying to close the doors on us, scumbag.
We got off of the Jubilee line at Green Park, and a member of TFL staff was on the platform. He listened to our complaint, and then pointed out the lifts were out of order for at least six months at Green Park, and we needed to rethink our route! He was brilliant, and suggested we travelled to Victoria station about two stations along, which we did, and happy days.
At Victoria, we had the choice of finding a bus, or get a black cab, and this was £12 to the Chelsea Flower show, and it was a good choice. We arrived at Chelsea Flower show at about 8.30 am. Hallelujah.
The Chelsea Flower show looked brilliant. It was.
The people who were also visiting were also amazing, and I felt welcome the whole time, and countless people invited me in to their space at the front of an exhibit and I revelled in learning from the professionals about what a great garden couuld look like.
I will add lots of pictures to this post, but it’s getting late now.