Tried three places for lunch today and none cater for women

There is a big difference with being wheelchair friendly and mobility scooter friendly. They are huge. How are cafes meant to waste such huge amounts of space to accommodate them. That will be so many places couldn’t fit you in. Nothing to do with being disabled.

And you shouldn’t be riding them on the road, it’s dangerous and could cause a crash.

You think u have been clear but yet no one else does!

Most people, or at least lots of us plan in advance or need to. Its not unusual or strange. Its not onerous either.

My daughter uses a wheelchair and if we go anywhere new I ring ahead to make sure it's accessible. Other daughter is vegan so likewise if they don't have an online menu I/she has to ring ahead. Also some restaurants require bookings so I ring ahead for that too. Sometimes if the whole family go out I ring ahead to make sure they can accommodate 10 people as one group. Also I have to ring and ask if children are allowed in a restaurant and if so do they have high chairs.
Is there enough room between tables to accommodate a pram for a baby or would that be a pain in the bum? Do they have outside dining? Can they cater for gluten free? Are dogs allowed? I'm sure other people could add to that.

I have a local tea shop that couldn’t afford to have toilet facilities that would be suitable for all so they don’t have one at all. They are near a large shopping centre so everyone uses the loos there.

Sorry that happened to you. I will never not stand up for you.

If it was as simple as "out of the box" thinking and open mindedness the business owner would have done it. Perhaps he could just use "the force". You are talking absolute nonesense. This is a labyrinth of a listed building with twisting old stone steps and corridors everywhere. The place would have to be essentially re-built with 2 specialist lifts fitted to the outside of the building. This isn't a case of installing a few portable ramps and putting handrails in the toilets. Besides, you can't just put in some "make shift" arrangements. Accessible facilities have to meet strict criteria and safety standards. Not everywhere can accommodate wheelchair users and I don't see the value to anyone in those places closing down. The disabled still wouldn't be able to use the venue if it ceased to exist!

There are more than 400 comments. Maybe read some of them.

This makes no sense whatsoever.

OP seems to have triggered the 50% rule 😀

😂😂

I’m sorry you’ve been disappointed. I’m pretty sure this is illegal-or were they all places that for whatever reason could not offer reasonable adaptations? The mediaeval market town near me has a couple of places that are exempt.

I am ignoring the tedious non-analogy because I think you are making a very relevant point.

Disabled access is a real problem, as others have stated above - it's not at all straightforward to provide in many cases.

I have coeliac disease, I have to ring places up before going to check if it'll be safe for me. It's irritating to have to plan my life so much, I can never be spontaneous and just decide to try a new place because it looks nice, and I always have to think about meals and whether I need to bring food with me. It's not reasonable to expect all venues to cater for me though, because it's an almighty faff making a dedicated gluten free zone.

Sorry OP, it sucks, and it's not fair.

No they were only serving men so she didn't even have a chance to get drunk!

Of all places that you think are just after money Wetherspoons is actually quite good.

Obviously no where can be 'fully accessible' and any company that says it is is lying but they have a minimum distance between chairs to leave a 'run' for people with mobility issues.

I only found this out when I went to one and someone moved a chair and was politely asked to leave space by the staff.

True. I thought this was going to be about being vegan!

I'm vegan, my kids are autistic with limited palates, and my DD is disabled physically as well, so I would always check places out in advance and not assume they will work for us. It's a faff but that's how life is.

I'm sorry though OP that you had such a difficult time today, it's frustrating and you would think everywhere would try harder to be accessible, but they just don't.

I understand that, and it's probably a pragmatic way of managing. But it sounds as if what OP experienced was a complete lack of entry? Which does feel different

For goodness sake! What is having a penis got to do with not having a disabled toilet?
very confusing post 🧐

No, disabled and using an analogy to make a fair point it is all clear on the first flipping page

😂😂😂

I think the point was to get people’s attention by trying to put the majority of people on here ie: women, in her shoes. It got people’s attention and if you take time to think about it made a powerful point. Wonder how many people would have replied if the op had just “said what actually happened”. Are we really going to berate the op for trying to raise awareness of a what must’ve been a really disappointing situation.

I'd just buy a dildo from Ann summers. It will get you into all the best places and be handy for poking lost cheese sandwiches out from behind the fridge.

The issue is that there are an dozens, maybe hundreds of possible disabilities, and it's not actually possible to arrange the world so people never have to experience the effects of those disabilities.

I have an intermittent issue that when it flares up, means I need to stay fairly close to a toilet, and I really much prefer a private one. There really isn't much anyone can do about that, they could make all toilets individual rooms, but I still don't really find that works because I don't like being out and taking up a public toilet for a long time and frankly it not being my own makes things worse.

The only reasonable approach is to stay home at those times. Some other disabilities are more easily accommodated, but lots just aren't. Sometimes it's frustrating - I don't travel a lot anymore as a result, but I really am not going to blame the world for not being able to change the nature of reality.

I agree. I later realised the op was using that as an analogy but it certainly wasn't obvious, or comparable.

Disabled people check beforehand if a particular place has suitable facilities, that is normal. Large venues almost always have them, smaller ones may not so it makes sense to know. I wish everywhere catered for the disabled, as long as non-disabled could use those facilities if needed, but we don't live in an ideal world and have a way to go in that regard.

There are very few single sex venues.

@EatingSleeping. But other places established older and listed buildings may only have certain tables that are accessible, I can think of two local restaurants that have multiple levels, the building is 19th century. At that restaurant you need to book an accessible table, if you just turn up those may be full