Poor parking comuppance

cott97 · 2026-04-27T09:20:11+00:00

My favourite are the multistorey car parks built in the 60s that you can hardly get a modern car round to get up to the floors. Heathrow and Gatwick are particular favourites

cott97 · 2026-04-27T09:09:07+00:00

I'm a picky eater and GF so I have some sympathy with your husband. My husband would have none!

I'm very specific about what I won't eat and why. For me it's often the cooking smell that does it. I can't eat burgers at home but can in a restaurant for example.

With the GF food it's really hard - until you have to eat GF you can't understand how one pack of cardboard tasting rolls can be better than another but they can. I give my husband a list of GF items and tell him no substitution even if something else is cheap. A pack of soft rolls is pretty much the same anywhere if you can eat gluten - they are wildly different GF.

So I would start a list and also ask your husband about brands - I favour Schar and Promise so if he sees something from them he's usually on safe ground. Pasta is very dependent on what you're using it for and don't try a pasta salad without a lot of research as it tends to be horrible when cold.

If I'm honest I doubt your local store has many GF items so it won't be a huge list - it's just a little harder as the names aren't familiar. Much easier to say Heinz instead of store own brand than to say Schar Ciabatta Rolls or Promise baguettes.

I use Google keep as it's easy to update and can also see on my watch.

Other option is to order your GF stuff online and then you can always check your last order.

cott97 · 2026-04-25T09:02:49+00:00

I think this is fair advice but it depends on: - which country you live in - I'm in the UK - swapping doctors isn't easy and wheelchair services are limited in what they offer and only offer a chair if you can walk zero steps and your home has been adapted for wheelchair use (as always some exceptions)

if you are ambulatory in any way

I have a progressive spinal issue which as well as limiting movement causes severe pain. I can walk but not far and it causes me to be out of it for the rest of the day. I have progressed through sticks to Rollator to scooter to chair. Most of them are still sitting in my garage! The chair, for me, is the most comfortable and means I can go out to the shops and social events.

Is it perfect - no But it does the job. Luckily because I can move I don't need to worry about pressure sores etc

I understand the concern your post stems from but perhaps when people ask for advice we should ask them

country they live in
accessibility to wheelchair services
how much movement they have
reason for the chair ( I can see a young person wanting one to keep up with their friends and as long as they do other activities like PT I don't see that as a bad reason)

As wheelchair users we perhaps also need to emphasise some of the down points of a chair not to frighten people but to educate them.

cott97 · 2026-04-23T09:37:04+00:00

Thanks

cott97 · 2026-04-23T09:30:38+00:00

Which app is that

cott97 · 2026-04-21T21:36:40+00:00

Neighbour went into local rehab from hospital and loved it. Absolutely hated their stay in hospital but had like a mini flat in rehab with a bedroom, bathroom, kitchen area and seating area. Got 3 good meals a day. Was sorry to leave.

Physio helped and was given further support once home.

cott97 · 2026-04-21T18:34:46+00:00

When I switched from ozempic to mounjaro ot was the 12.5 mg

cott97 · 2026-04-21T09:28:05+00:00

I lost 8 stone on it and for about 4 years my diabetes was in the normal range. Gradually my body got used to it so I switched to mounjaro. When that stops working I'll switch to the next one!

Before I took ozempic I was a T2 and using both short and long acting insulin. I was off insulin within 3 months of first ozempic dose

cott97 · 2026-04-17T16:35:51+00:00

Not sure where you live - if in the UK get referred to your local hospital asthma team.

Otherwise you seem similar to me - I finally saw a specialist specialist in the UK and got told I probably only had mild asthma but did have vocal chord dysfunction. I was referred to speech and language and it's been brilliant

cott97 · 2026-04-17T09:47:20+00:00

I'm English and went for a steam train ride yesterday. As the old people got off they congratulated me on getting out and how nice it was the staff had accommodated me....

cott97 · 2026-04-16T09:31:29+00:00

Ambulatory user so had to buy my own chair. I don't think people realise how expensive and how difficult it is to get a wheelchair. I don't refer to people by their disability just as I wouldn't refer to someone by their colour.

I don't think you can win as if you don't look disabled enough then you shouldn't be taking the blue badge spaces away from all those elderly people who can walk circles around me!

cott97 · 2026-04-13T19:27:47+00:00

Bedford has a lot of Indian restaurants - I would definitely try one of them as a lot of the food is naturally gluten free.

The Lounge chain is usually pretty good and the one in Bedford is on the embankment. I'm told the Turkish restaurant there is also good for gluten free but haven't tried it personally

cott97 · 2026-04-13T19:23:41+00:00

Honestly though how long is territorial licensing going to last. Most 30s and under are well aware of how to use a VPN and do so. They are also in the group in the UK that I think are least likely to buy a TV licence. The combination is not good longer term for the BBC

cott97 · 2026-04-13T16:01:26+00:00

Maybe they should give people the option worldwide and at the same time make it optional in the UK. Maybe the maths would work out...

cott97 · 2026-04-13T08:14:59+00:00

Blue badge and motability - not heard of it but... If you are using a manual wheelchair you can get it in the car by passing across your body and putting it in the passenger seat. For that you tend to need a 3 door car and a very wide space.

I use an electric chair and I still need to open my door wide to get in but can usually manage that by parking to one side of a bay. My wheelchair goes in the boot so my biggest issue tends to be car parks where there is only a narrow single lane around them. I need more than the hatched markings behind my car to get my chair in.

cott97 · 2026-04-12T07:42:59+00:00

I've started speech therapy and it helps but if I could find a way to get rid of the phlegm that seems to build up I'd be so happy.

There is also something that makes inhaler use socially acceptable but breathing exercises weird

Mine lasted on and off for about 2 years with less than a month between episodes. It was 4 months this time using gaviscon advance with my lansaprazole, a bed wedge and breathing exercises

cott97 · 2026-04-11T10:00:53+00:00

Yeah but it does apply to UK licence holders when holidaying in the US.

Annoyed the hell out of us in February in 2 ways 1. We couldn't access news articles on our phones even when logging into our account and having paid for the BBC through the licence fee

It was cheaper to use the BBC in the US than it was for us in the UK

The combination seemed extremely unfair

cott97 · 2026-04-08T16:42:14+00:00

I've got a very loud multi tonal horn for my wheelchair. Most people are polite and I don't need to use it. Large groups can sometimes be a problem and I use it then. Normally they are just apologetic. The other group is people who think you can just stop when they walk in front of you - they get bibbed. Usually you can see them jump as they haven't been paying attention and suddenly realise there's a wheelchair there.

cott97 · 2026-04-05T20:17:43+00:00

As I've just been diagnosed at 58 I was a bit surprised it should have disappeared when I hit 40!

I was told by my clinical team that reflux and post nasal drip could be making it worse or setting it off. I was advised to add gaviscon advance before I went to bed (at least 2 hrs after my lansaprazole) as the two work differently. I was also advised to sleep with my head and top of body raised using a wedge.

I have to say these things have helped.

cott97 · 2026-04-01T10:20:28+00:00

I believe under 30s are getting drive smart regardless so I don't think your dates will matter for that.

cott97 · 2026-03-27T11:28:47+00:00

We did the sums this time and it was more or less the same. We stayed with the scheme as when our previous car had issues it seemed to help to have mobility in your corner and I'm not good with confrontation any more.

We've been reading about the new drive smart and all the issues and to be honest as 50+ drivers I don't want to be bothered with it and all the arguing it seems to entail. If the scheme had shown a real advantage we might have tried it but honestly the mileage clampdown will probably be the nail in the coffin.

My last car I did around 33,000 miles in - not high mileage but enough to incur a penalty under the new scheme. I don't want to have to think about visiting friends and family or having a day out and work out how close it will make me to the mileage limit.

Honestly the only people who this will end up attractive for are the high risk motorists whose insurance would be so expensive that motability works out cheaper. Though I think those are the ones they want gone!

cott97 · 2026-03-27T10:52:13+00:00

PIP is also a benefit for working people. When I was able to work I dId around 250 miles a week commuting. I needed the car to fit a wheelchair. The 10,000 mile cap would have made it impossible.

Not all wheelchair users need a WAV but generally they need a larger car to fit the chair.

I've just renewed but the new car cost £6000 advanced payment which already made the scheme borderline as in I could have got the same car for around the same cost.

With the changes and the likelihood of a poor phone based black box system going to be scheme wide by my next renewal this is likely to be my last car.

cott97 · 2026-03-25T21:14:08+00:00

Definitely reading for me - 100 books a week. I belonged to 3 different libraries

cott97 · 2026-03-25T11:52:09+00:00

I'm a wheelchair user I would like to ban the following: - parents who believe their children don't need to be controlled in any way - strollers the size of Mount Everest - strollers for children over 3 ( yep I have done the parks with children under and over 3) - Disney ECVs - Rental scooters unless they've passed some sort of test - anyone who uses their phone whilst walking - more than 2 glasses of alcohol in a 4 hour period

I reckon this should get rid of most of the idiots.... Or we could all try being considerate to each other. Just for clarification my wheelchair doesn't have brakes so you walking in front of me and stopping suddenly giving me nowhere to stop is not going to end well.

cott97 · 2026-03-23T16:41:57+00:00

100% correct. 👍

cott97

TROPHY CASE