Pushing Peramiters

As an Ambassador for Euan’s Guide and a powerchair user, I love to explore the world around me and try out new things; Euan's Guide helps me to do this by providing a platform to share information about access and experiences for disabled people their friends and families.  I became involved with Euan’s Guide after meeting another Ambassador at a Muscular Dystrophy U.K. conference; he described Euan's Guide as a great community and network to be a part of’ and explained how reviews help to make a positive change in the wider world for disabled people.  Having always been interested in disability rights and making the world more accessible, this sounded a brilliant community to be involved with.

I've gained so much as an Ambassador for Euan's Guide; I've made some lovely friends and there was so much support from them during the pandemic in the way of regular virtual meetings.They really understood how isolating disability could be and provided lots of help, advice and online cultural recommendations such as virtual tours, online concerts, films, sports events etc.We now also have an online book club and last week I participated in a hybridvisit to The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh in real time.  Some of the group were there in person, some were online and the staff even managed to make this visit interactive by supplying all visitors with seed and bulb growing kits which we planted together. We also recently had an exclusive V.I.P. tour of Dynamic Earth in Edinburgh to review their new Planetarium and Discover The Deep gallery, we visited the RSPB’s new facilities at Loch Leven too and we were invited to review the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and the Edinburgh International Book Festival. I reviewed two plays at the Fringe both of which I really enjoyed. 

I feel that a good review can make a difference to the quality of life for people with disabilities by highlighting what works and what doesn't work for them before they make a visit to a venue, event or performance. For me, the more detailed a review is the better, for example, It's useful to know if you can park on- site, if the transport links are manageable, if ramps or alternative access is available, if the lifts are big enough for a powerchair, if you feel safe in the crowd in performances or if a venue has taken enough Covid precautions Euan's Guide also reminds me of the wider spectrum of disability so when visiting somewhere new, I might also be thinking about the acoustics and the visuals; I also think it helps to include photos or videos as it gives a clearer picture overall of the facilities that are available.

I do wish that more people would review outdoor spaces where events, festivals and arts in general are often held as this has been an ongoing struggle for me. There are lots of accessible outdoor spaces where events could be held but access isn't always embedded or considered when certain outdoor events are created and they are inaccessible as a consequence of thisPersonally, I feel really strongly that access should be viewed as an opportunity for creators rather than a challenge; I'd go further and say that as a young disabled artist myself, I view access as a right.

I think it's important to encourage the venues, events, or organisations who have tried to be inclusive to feel appreciated and conversely, to encourage those who haven't made as much effort to actually want to be inclusive.  The opportunity to make suggestions often presents itself when I ask questions about the availability of disabled toilets etc.; it also gives me an opportunity to tell them about Euan's Guide and all that it does as well as forging a positive relationship with them.

Reviewing can even make event creators and venues consider possibilities they haven't explored or experienced before; my hope is that they will recognise the value of being inclusive within their own spheres and by extension, to society as a whole. Recently, myself and another Euan’s Guide Ambassador Tina Hodgkinson composed blogs about accessibility in the town of Glastonbury for Euan's Guide. Tina made suggestions to Glastonbury Information Centre about access information and as a result, there is now a dedicated Guide to Accessibility page on their website; they just hadn't thought about disabled access before. This illustrates that small changes can add up to greater change within society for disabled people and non disabled people perhaps even changing peoples' perceptions around the parameters of disability itself and how we define it; just being part of Euan’s Guide can make this happen.

Tags: reviewer's story, Euan's Guide, glastonbury