Wednesday Wrap – Accessibility In Shoreditch, 3D App For The Disabled & Virtues Of The Maxi In A Wheelchair

I applied to speak at Digital Shoreditch, and surprisingly I got a slot under the banner “What Tech City?” . Digital Shoreditch is a festival over 10 days where you can,

“Discover and explore the latest trends & successes in using digital in : branding, content, funding, games, design, social, mobile, emerging tech & greater good.”

What they don’t mention is there are lots of parties and movers & shakers within the events. So I felt I should attend & sacrifice my time to report back on a major ‘happening’ in London! They want Shoreditch to be the equivalent of SXSW in the USA and create Shoreditch as the centre for the digital economy. My talk is on the subject of ‘Why London Should Be Accessible’, so if anyone out there has something you think I should include, get in contact.

Anyhow, I and The American Lieutenant and Lieutenant, Amanda The Commanda’ (no picture in the gallery yet) attended the briefing session for speakers. To my surprise it’s a big deal being a speaker and I’m now nervous about being entertaining & informative – not to mention I’ll have to negotiate Shoreditch Town Hall in a wheelchair. Wish me luck!

 

After the briefing we went to John Torode’s (he of Master Chef fame), bar/restaurant called Luxe (see previous review about his empire). It’s on the edge of Spitalfields Market and was really accessible with great facilities (read toilets) and a lift to all floors , unfortunately the food wasn’t that great. I got the feeling that people go there for the bar and the DJ/music on the ground floor. I can only give them 2 BBS Ticks as a result.

The market however is well worth a visit and on scant inspection appears to be quite accessible with some interesting independent shops.

Knowing I was going to have to talk digitally at Digital Shoreditch I was on the look out for interesting Apps and found one on a website where our BBS App was mentioned. The site is Travelers Today and the App I found interesting won an award from Google. It’s the Accessibility View Project and,

” aims to use Google Maps and Street View to assist disabled people in finding the most accessible routes through Sao Paulo in Brazil.”

I think this is a great idea and we at BBS HQ along with UCL are looking to see if we can’t add something similar to the BBS App. Good or bad idea , let me know!?!

Finally a word on fashion. I’ve been looking for loose but not too full skirted, dresses for my holiday in N. Cyprus which at the beginning of June should be really hot. I know my ankles will swell and to hide the ‘lumps of meat’ I want a maxi dress. I’m so glad to see they’re still in fashion and here’s a selection of some that I think will look good in a wheelchair but not get caught in my wheels:

 

 

Well that sums up what’s been happening this week it only leaves me to say that love or hate what Magaret Thatcher did for the UK , you can admire what she did for women in Politics & Business. I particularly like this quote from her:

 “I’ve got a woman’s ability to stick to a job and get on with it…………….”

So she inspired me to ‘get on with it’ whatever the physical obstacles and perceptions of disability.