The big smoke is undoubtedly a great place to live but sometimes I have to be honest it gets on my wick. Today without doubt was one of those days. I woke slightly excited as I was heading up to the Emirates Stadium, the new home of Arsenal FC, for a work event. If you are a wheelchair user the best way to get to the Emirates is on the over ground via the newly extended East London line to Highbury and Islington and then it is about a ten minute push to the ground. This would have been ok had it not been pouring with rain.

Once I got to the ground I had to make my way to the Royal Oak Suite. The problem is the signage at the Emirates is terrible and after doing two full circuits of the ground, still in the rain, I was none the wiser where to go. So thinking I was taking a sensible approach I decided to find someone who worked at the ground and ask them for directions. It just so happens that the first person I asked was a security guard in the club shop, this was going quite well until he took me into the shop and up to the confectionary counter. It then dawned on me he was trying to find some Royal Oak wood sweets not the Royal Oak Suite. Seriously why employ people if this is the best they can do.

The thing is the worst was yet to come. Eventually I found the place I was meant to be and this is where I encountered the next problem in the form of an even more useless security guard. It turned out that the room was on the next level up from the entrance I was at and that the nearest lift was a bit of a walk away. The issue was the friendly security guard wasn’t up for walking. So instead he suggested he put me on an escalator and assured me that he would hold on tight. Naturally I declined his kind offer so he radioed a mate to escort me to the lift as he couldn’t be arsed. This is where the next problem came in as it turned out he didn’t know the English word for wheelchair and a tad embarrassingly I had to overhear the following exchange; “Colin come to the Royal Oak Suite reception I have someone in a, in a, in a…look just come to the reception.” Wonderful skills.

Fortunately I made it to the lift, the event was actually alright and the day picked up. That was until I got back to the station and realised that there was a step from the platform up to the departing train. Queue the next problem as the member of staff I asked for help had never helped anyone in a wheelchair onto a train, didn’t know there was a step, didn’t know if there was a ramp, didn’t even know what door was best to get on at and had to ask the driver what to do before succumbing and asking me how I thought I should get on the train. Ridiculous. I mean how hard is it to just buy a few ramps and have these located on station platforms. Top marks TfL.