As the commuter video shows, blind people are still seen as a problem | Jon Cronshaw

The viral video of a blind man being berated on the tube is a sad indication of what life can be like if you’re visually impaired

When I first saw the footage of a man trying to barge past Kika the guide dog and her handler on a London Underground escalator, I was saddened but not surprised. Last week, I qualified with my second guide dog, Digit. It’s been almost two years since my first dog, Watson, retired. Working with Digit has reminded me just how much I’ve missed having a guide dog to help me get around, yet the footage made me nervous about the potential altercations I may encounter.

Over the years, I’ve faced a number of access issues when trying to go about my life. Before we moved to Morecambe, Lancashire, my wife and I visited for a weekend break and went to a pub that had an upstairs restaurant. We ordered a drink and set off for the dining room, only to be told that we could not take the guide dog into the restaurant without the barman ringing his boss (he was under the impression that his boss would say no on account of other diners’ potential allergies). As an alternative, he told us we could eat in the bar.

Whenever you go out, there is an expectation of some kind of confrontation in relation to access

Related: My guide dog and I have been turned away by taxis 30 times – and it still hurts | Sean Dilley

Continue reading... February 12, 2018 at 07:51PM