Travelling the World on Wheels.

Friday, July 13, 2012

Chester, my lucky short trip.

It was the 25^th, time to leave for Chester. I had already booked two nights at the Holiday Inn Express, a wheelchair accessible room for £150. Trains straight from Euston London go to Chester, an open return train ticket for £62, I had my disabled rail card so it costed me I think £50.

Well I was no on the train to Chester with all my luggage that was a bag hanging at the back of my wheelchair. It was two hour beautiful train ride, passing by huge fields and meadows, animals grazing, endless colours of green and yellow. It was all magnificent, you hardly get to see such beauty while living in London.

At around three we reached, well there was nothing great about the rail station but the town centre was close by so we just walked it. Well by the streets I could tell it’s a gorgeous city and it was. The cobbled streets ad alley ways, the architecture of the building it was a heritage city. Chester was founded as a "castrum" or Roman fort with the name Deva Victrix in the year 79 by the Roman Legio II Adiutrix during the reign of the Emperor Vespasian. Chester's four main roads, Eastgate, Northgate, Watergate and Bridge, follow routes laid out at this time – almost 2,000 years ago. One of the three main Roman army bases, Deva later became a major settlement in the Roman province of Britannia. After the Romans left in the 5th century, the Saxons fortified the town against the Danes and gave Chester its name. The patron saint of Chester, Werburgh, is buried in Chester Cathedral.

It has a number of medieval buildings (which I took pictures of and I’ll put themup), and some of the black-and-white buildings within the city centre are actually Victorian restorations. OMG! its all amazing. I shall upload all the pictures its lovely and worth visiting. It is also very much wheelchair accessible.

Thursday, July 5, 2012

Chester, my lucky short trip.

I then waited and waited, although I was pretty much sure it wont get approved but I did have doubts (because people who read it said that the whole idea of slow-motion and disability is very creative). Lets say I was anxious! And in the very beginning of June I received ad email congratulating me and inviting me to Chester on the 26^th and 27^th of June to present my paper. OMG!, OMG!, OMG!

I was excited as it was my first ever paper abstract I wrote and it got approve but at the same time was very nervous, as I had no back-up paper or no research! That day the whole day I couldn’t do any work I was just worried, I also emailed my supervisor, told her the whole story and literally in the end wrote ‘now what should I do?’ Well soon I received an email congratulating me, the she gave me a pat on my back by saying how very courageous of you for involving film and Einstein, that means a lot of research. In the end she did say if you want to back out you can. Well backing out is not my cuppa tea, so I asked for permission just for this month if I could work on this and put something together for the presentation. Permission was granted and for the next few weeks I was engrossed in reading Foucault and film a lot. My colleagues helped me with putting together a presentation…I love them. One of my colleague told me that a paper presentation does not mean literally presenting a paper (although some do do that reading out a paper, very boring!) , make a power point slide presentation, which was a life saver.

Although I did write a paper as it helped gather my ideas together, but having a slide presentation helped a lot. Because when there is a will, there is always a way!

Wednesday, July 4, 2012

Chester, my lucky short trip.

Hi,

Have not been updating my blog since a very long time (sorry about that) which is good and bad both. Well bad because I’ve been completely out of touch with you, even my ‘travelling the world on wheels’ facebook group has not been updated for a very long time. In fact people are posting adverts in other languages which I do not understand. And yes the reason I say it is a good thing because many dont like the blog, which is absolutely fine because everyones different but this blog is my writing for pleasure and yes they are many grammar and language mistakes but I am writing for fun not for a newspaper article.

So on a rainy day in May I was board of reading papers on feminism (because I have to write this paper on feminism and disability), researching. I stopped and started googling for call for papers on disability. I don’t know why was I doing this I was in no mood of writing and already had loads of work to do. I googled anyways and came across this invite for call for papers for an international conference organized by University of Chester in association with Critical Disability Studies (Manchester Metropolitan University) (MMU) and the Disability Research Forum (Sheffield Hallam University) I Chester. Well I read through the event and the submission for call for papers. The topics for paper presentation were all very exciting (if I was a super cripple! I would have done them all. But reality bites I cannot!). One topic that really intrigued me was ‘celebrating deviancies’ aha! I am going to write about this. But what am I gonna write? Aaa will figure something out. So I signed myself up (by the way the conference event was free for students). I had to submit a 150 word abstract by the end of May which was just 15 days left.

So then I began, an idea popped into my head aha how about if I use the concept of slow-motion and time and disability…so slow-motion all depends on time, like when involved in an accident the person would feel everything around them is happening slowly. So time is perceived differently by everyone, for example for me getting up from my wheelchair for me it takes 7 minutes and I feel ok, for me its normal but for an able-bodied person looking at me feels I take too long to get up as it is a slow, struggling process.

But I had to further mould my idea. Aaa lets see! I think I kind of got it: slow-motion used ins art becomes a creative technique, but when it happens in reality (like me) it becomes a disability. Eureka! And now I have to elaborate my idea through my abstract. At the same time I wanted to keep it academic but not too boring. It had to be exciting as well and easy to understand. So I in a sentence spoke about slow-motion in time, peoples’ perception and then how such a normal idea becomes a disability in real life. I took a chance and used Einstein’s theory relativity of time where he says: When a man sits with a pretty girl for an hour, it seems like a minute. But let him sit on a hot stove for a minute -- then it's longer than any hour. That's relativity!

I also use Foucault as my saviour where he talks about how inclusion is necessary (a bit of boring philosophy) I had to use him because I am writing for academics. And then to create adventure I wrote about slow-motion being used in famous Hollywood film like Matrix.

I then put it neatly all together, fluffed it a bit with famous quotes and academic jargon and then emailed it just in time, an hour before the deadline. Gosh it wasn’t easy writing this abstract. And I had complete faith its never going to get approve which was kind of good because I had no paper.

Oh yeh, by the way I called it ‘When the deviant becomes the norm!’

Let’s see what happens next!

Thursday, May 3, 2012

NHS Three Core Principles

"We know u r on a wheelchair, we know ure carer comes in at 9 in the morning to help u wash and dress...but we can only give you an appointment to see the doctor at 9 am", says the hospital people.

3^rd of May 2012 at 3:00 pm, I received a call on my mobile from the Royal London Hospital. “Good afternoon! Am I speaking with Nadia Ahmed? I’m calling from the hospital in regard to your appointment.”

“Ok”, I said. “Its regarding the rescheduling of your appoint,” “aha”, I said. “Well, is it possible for you to come at 9 in the morning…oh, but it says here that you wanted to change the time of you appointment, earlier, as you are unable to come at 9”, “Well yes”, I said.

“Miss Ahmed, unfortunately we can only book you in for 9 am as all the new patient our neurologist sees at 9, and all are old patients after 11…blah,, blah, blah…its our policy…blah, blah, blah…”

I was just wondering, Gosh, how inflexible the NHS is…its amazing. Although they know my entire situation but still they are so persistent, …But I just cant make it, sorry!”, I explained politely, “I have not seen a specialist for 3 years and I don’t want to see one now as well, but my GP is after me to see one…sorry, but I cannot come at 9 in the morning”.

“I understand your situation Madame, leave this case with me, and I’ll get back to you soon. Thank you, bye!”.

The NHS was created out of the ideal that good healthcare should be available to all, regardless of wealth (NHS Core Principles). When it was launched by the then minister of health, Aneurin Bevan, on the 5^th of July 1948, it was based on three core principles:

•that it meet the needs of everyone (are they flexible enough, especially for people who actually need it)

•that it be free at the point of delivery (Well they why do people prefer to pay for private health care!)

•that it be based on clinical need, not ability to pay (do they investigate enough about what clinical need is required? Or we find it easier to pay privately and get the right medical assistance?)

These three principles have guided the development of the NHS over more than 60 years and remain at its core.

“OK!”

Monday, April 23, 2012

My awesome first day in Berlin.

We woke up at around 9am, Good Morning- Maria would say, I love it. Anyways we got dressed and all, it was around 11am when we left. First by metro and the bus and a lot of walking we went to Maria’s friend’s place where her husband was staying, Oh he is lovely! Then lots of conversing at around 12:30 pm we left for lunch. We went to an Argentinian Steak House where the boys had beef steaks and Maria and me had veggie pasta.

We finished around 2 pm. Maria had an appointment at 3 pm, hence I had to hang out with Thomas (Maria’s husband) lovely he is. We went around all by foot to Potsdamer Platz the Berliner Philharmonie, it is a concert hall home to the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. The building is acclaimed for both its acoustics and its architecture.

The Philharmonie lies on the south edge of the city's Tiergarten and just west of the former Berlin Wall, an area that for decades suffered from isolation and drabness but that today offers ideal centrality, greenness, and accessibility. And yes we did also check out the Berlin Wall. Two small pieces are also in Potsdamer Platz and in its neighbourhood at the corner between Ebertstraße and Bellevuestraße. On our way Thomas also pointed out the area where Hitler killed himself in a underground bunker.

Now we were at the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, very impressive. It was made in 2005, this gigantic abstract artwork covering an entire block near the Brandenburg Gate, The blocks start out at ground level on the outer edges of the memorial, and then grow taller towards the middle, where the ground also slopes downwards. 3.5 million visitors in the first year make it one of the most visited memorials in Berlin - and it's worth it, as it's one of the most impressive memorials in Berlin.

Then Maria called to ask where we were, Thomas told her and soon she was with us. We were now heading to the Brandenburg Gate (pictures of these places visited are not with me) but we went to the magnificent Berlin Domthz that is the biggest and most impressive church in Berlin, built at the turn of the century (19th/20th) as an expression of imperial power. Located next to the museum island. Entrance is €7, and you can climb on top of the dome for a beautiful view over the Berlin center.

The Twintowers of the Deutscher Dom (German Cathedral) and the Französischer Dom (French Cathedral) face each other at the Gendarmenmarkt in Central Berlin, flanking the Konzerthaus.

Kaiser Wilhelm Gedächtniskirche— Highly symbolic church, dating back to 1891-95, with two modern buildings designed by Egon Eiermann in 1961, a hexagonal bell tower and an octagonal worship hall, aside the ruins from World War II.

Marienkirche— Located near Alexanderplatz, this is not only the highest church tower in Berlin (90 m), but also one of the oldest churches left in the historical center of Berlin (which is totally torn down in this area). Entrance is free and inside are many treasures from the old days.

Nikolaikirche— The oldest church in Berlin, dating back to the beginning of 13th century (at least the stones next to the ground). Does not serve as a church. Changing exhibitions inside, entrance free.

St. Hedwigs Kathedrale— Domed Church located at Bebelplatz/Unter den Linden, the oldest (mid 18th century) and one of the biggest Catholic churches in Berlin, interior was redesigned in a modern style in the 1950s - but still many treasure chambers in the basement.

Friedrichswerdersche Kirche— Nice church located near Unter den Linden/Museum Island, finished in 1830 by Schinkel - English Neogothic style. Nice exhibition inside (neoclassical statues and an exhibition about Schinkel's life and work upstairs), entry is free.

Synagoge Oranienburger Straße – Today the building houses the Centrum Judaicum foundation which opened in 1995, an institution for the preservation of Jewish memory and tradition, a community congregation centre for study and teaching. Until the infamous Kristallnacht pogrom of November 1938 when the Synagogue was attacked by Nazi thugs and heavily damaged, Jewish citizens had enjoyed full equality and civic rights, enshrined in the 1850 Prussian constitution.River Spree,

It was late evening now, we were all tired and exhausted and had no energy to take any pictures. Hence I have no pictorial evidence! We all had dinner a small Thai restaurant and then off to our hostel.

Maria, I so enjoyed today. Thank you and good night.

Maria, ich bin so genossen heute. Vielen Dank und gute Nacht.

Berlin Wall

Berlin Gates

Jewish Memorial

Argentinian Steak House

Finally…hello, hello Berlin.

The plane landed at 8:30 pm, German time. I switched on my mobile and texted Maria that I have landed. I then received a text back confirming that I’ll be waiting for you out side. I had to wait for half an hour in the plane for everyone to leave, then my turn to come. In the mean while I made friends with this lawyer, soon it was my turn. We exchanged ‘good byes’ and promised to meet-up in London.

At around half nine I was making my way to the airport exit. There, my lovely Maria was waiting. We hugged and kissed and made our way to the O-Bahn (train). The train and station was so spacious. OMG they are so generous! I thought. Anyway Maria and me talked and talk the whole journey, then we got the U-Bah(underground/metro), wow huge they were and all wheelchair accessible. Maria also told me about the ticket system. Its just 6 Euros and is the same for all (no zone system like London), after 8 pm on one ticket you could take a friend for free and that’s what Maria did, took me for free.

We had now arrived Frankfurter Tor Station (our hostel stop) we now took the lift up to the ground and had to walk a bit. Wow I was astonished to see the roads and pavements they were all so wide and everywhere and I mean EVERYWHERE they were cycle tracks. I instantly fell in love with Berlin.

Soon we reached our hostel accommodation it was not bad for 45 Euros per night. The room was nice and clean but the accessible toilet was outside the room which was alright, I guess. As I was the only wheelchair user on the floor, hence the toilet was only used by me. J Maria also stayed with me and as soon as we hit the bed, both of us were fast asleep.

endlich ... hallo, hallo Berlin

Sunday, April 22, 2012

A day to remember.

Wednesday, the 18^th of April 2012 at 5:40 am. I had now reached London Gatwick and was at the check-in counter, everything went smoothly and was now a bit relaxed waiting to board the Easy Jet plane in the waiting lounge. My next and last stop Berlin, good I thought. I was exhausted as I hardly got any sleep and was determined to take a nap when I’m on board. All relaxed I messaged Maria on facebook that I’ll be reaching Berlin at around half nine in the morning.

However this was not at all what happened. It was now 6 am and someone one from passenger assistance came up to me. Madame, did anyone speak to you about Easy Jet’s disabled passenger requirements, they asked. No I said. Well then we’ll have to take you to the Easy Jet Office which is located downstairs. OMG, but I’ll miss my plane, just 20 minutes left. Unfortunately, you will but Easy Jet already has been in trouble before and now they did a mistake again. But I’m sorry Madam without this check we can’t allow you to travel. But don’t worry Easy Jet will figure something out. Oh no but what to do and yes I did miss the plane and guess what the next Easy Jet flight was at 5 pm, wow! I text Maria the whole story, even she was disappointed.

For the whole story (if interested please check http://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=10151506779160005&id=678685004&notif_t=feed_comment)

Well as compensation they gave me a £15 voucher for refreshments and changed my return flight to Saturday from Friday but missing my two meetings o Friday as well as paying my accommodation in Berlin 45 Euros for the extra night. After all this drama I went to one of the cafes to have breakfast (used one of the vouchers). After breakfast just roamed around shops and bought my friend Maria a gift.

The best part was when at around 2 pm the fire alarm rang, what good fortune for me I thought. We were all guided to safer part of the airport. Thank god we didn’t have to go downstairs! After an hour we were then allowed to go back to the waiting lounge where I charged my phone and called up friends to talk to, time was not moving, it seemed.

Finally it was 5pm but, yes another but! The flight was delayed to 6:30, what a delight! My entire day was wasted at London-Gatwick, but they put me on the plane at around 6 pm. I was in the air at 6:35 pm and in Berlin at 8:30 pm (Berlin time).

Ein Tag zu erinnern!