Meet the Students

A London Adventure

By Parity Student Kath Hardie, with Keyworker Faye Worman, Spring 2009.

On the 3rd December, I was invited by Triodos Bank to travel to a reception at St. Martin’s in the Field, Trafalgar Square, to see my photo which had been included in their Social Vision calendar for 2009. (Senior Music Therapist) Jenny’s Dad, Alan had taken the photo of me, and sent it off to see if it would be included in the calendar, and it was!

It was a cold and frosty day, so Julie, Faye and I wrapped up warm and headed for Fleet Railway Station.

We didn’t realise that when travelling in a chair, it’s best to wait near the front of the train where the guard van is, so we had to run the length of the platform where the guard stows a ramp. It was good for Julie and Faye as they need the exercise!

When we arrived at Waterloo, we decided to walk to Trafalgar Square.  Although it was cold, Jenny, my music therapist, had drawn us a great map and as it was a bright sunny day we wanted to see some of the sights.  We saw the London Eye and Big Ben and walked over the Hungerford Bridge, then up Villiers street to Trafalgar Square.

It was still a bit early for the reception, so we looked at the statues of the lions then  went to The Café on the Square to have a hot drink and a cake.  There were lots of people who used wheel-chairs in the Café.  They chatted to me and explained how they were very active in trying to make everywhere accessible for people with disability.  They liked the Café as it was easy access and all on one level.    

Finally, it was time for the Reception.  We went to St Martin’s in the Field which is a lovely church in Trafalgar Square.  It had easy access, a lift which went down to the crypt where the café is situated.  The reception was in a side room and as soon as I entered, they were very pleased to see me, and thanked me for coming.  I had a glass of wine and looked at the 12 photos which were displayed on a wall which were going to go in the calendar.  I had my photo taken with the Managing Director of Triodos Bank who had a long chat with me about Parity, and got my hand kissed several times by some very good looking young men!

After the reception, and the wine (!), we caught the 139 London bus which took us back to Waterloo.  This was another adventure for us and Julie and I had never been on a London bus before, but it was really easy – nearly all London Buses are wheel chair accessible.

At Waterloo, we went to Burger King as we were pretty hungry by then and had chicken nuggets and a magic bag of chips which seemed neverending!

Finally, we caught the train home and arrived back at Fleet Station where Mum and Dad were waiting for me.  I’d had a wonderful day and thoroughly enjoyed it.  Travelling to London was far easier than I expected and I can really recommend it.