FROM A WHEECHAIR EYE VIEW

I am still in the early stages of recovering from my foot operation. Yes, I was aware of many of the difficulties that disabilities present in daily living, also, I am aware of what measures  can ease the path for many.  Being aware is not quite the same as first hand experience.  Imagine then, my dismay when I was confronted with little or nothing where I would have expected a minimal something.

Sitting in a wheelchair - it needs pushing by an able-bodied person - I am about the height of an average 10 year old. It provides an interesting viewpoint. Now, I cannot see over some sales counters. If an assistant is standing,  I can see the upper torso and head, a speaking head, not always a pleasant one.  It's a similar experience at the store checkout.

I cannot browse in a store from a wheelchair unless whoever is pushing the chair does not mind doing it as well. I am dependent on my driver to place me so I can either reach for something, or, check it, if whatever it is, is within my grasp. Anything else is reliant on being in a position to see what there is and asking for it/them to be selected for me.  Patience is in high demand by all parties.

In one store, which mostly sells household goods and bedding - not too big a store - I attempted to use my alternative crutches with my new foot dressing, (a story for another time).  To save energy and time I asked  directions to my department of interest from an assistant who accidentally came in view. When I specified what I wanted, she left me standing to ask advice from someone shelf-filling and hidden from view.  It was the girl's first day....anyone who knew the stock was elsewhere. The store did not have a chair available for me to sit on while we waited for another member of staff....'sorry', she said.   A sour assistant who eventually turned up directed me to the opposite of what I asked for.  She didn't know much, if anything.  I was fed up and gave voice, very politely, to my thoughts. 

There were plenty of these chairs for sale and plastic ones too.

A fellow patient, who, like me had been fitted with new footwear and crutches that day, told me she had the same experience a bit earlier in the same store.  The store sold chairs, albeit,  picnic seats of all types.  Surely one could have been dedicated for customer use.

This would have been nice to sit on .

A MIDWINTER VISIT TO GRANADA -1

Selected perspectives of Granada in midwinter:
 
A roof line at The Alhambra Palace with a stunningly forceful sky as a backdrop.


The fine detail of design work on a pillar. Wherever you looked there was beautiful pattern work. On walls, in particular, these finishes seem to have been the equivalent of our decorative wallpaper. It is possible to see how the patterned surfaces could be removed and replaced/refreshed with other designs. Undoubtedly, the artisans had a real pride in what they produced.


How timeless this Moorish floor tile pattern in the Alhambra Palace is.


The contrastsof Granada in Winter. The nearby Sierra Nevada Mountains, which are smoothly carpeted in deep snow and bathed in sunshine, provide a winter sports playground. In the town people live and work, visitors explore while enjoying the sun and the midday warmth.


In a courtyard that was a contemplative part of a religious house, there are artisans showing and selling their work.


Inside the house there is a Bélen, one of many finely made nativity scenes that are well supported with visitors, and families with excited children. Perhaps because it is a Mediterranean depiction, the characterisations are more realistic to the Middle East than the religious artistic representations you see in galleries and churches in other parts of Western Europe.


The pomegranate tree in the courtyard is pregnant with ripe and over-ripe fruit. some are dramatically splitting. The miniature fruit tree adds to the delight of this little corner of Granada.