My favourite local bar is in danger of closure by Coventry Council and we do not know why.  I am no normal bar propper, I don't really drink apart from the odd whisky - I go to meet people and chat to people in my neighbourhood.

As patron Steve Lucas says in the facebook group I formed againt the closure:

" Having so recently won the Godiva Award for 'Best Bar in the City" it would be a shame if we were to lose this place. Although the patrons are drawn from all around the city it still maintains a community feeling. The eclectic mix of customers means that it's possible to have an interesting conversation on almost any topic, and if peace and quiet is your thing you can curl up with a book or newspaper on the sofa! A great place to wind down after a busy day, and one that really deserves its tagline "A haven of tranquility in a sea of madness"


According to the Coventry Telegraph last week -


"It comes just two months after Warwickshire & Coventry Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) warned that independent retailers in Coventry city centre could become extinct by 2015.

 At a meeting staged at Liquid, a cafe and wine bar which itself is facing the threat of closure on June 23, and  attended by Cllr Jim O'Boyle (Lab, St Michael's), traders told the Telegraph that dwindling sales figures had left them struggling to pay rents and rates.

They also said the road layout around Ikea had not helped attract shoppers to the area."

I think it is a real shame that a multi national like Ikea should come and caused closures of independent traders if that is true. The one thing that I have come to appreciate  Coventry  for is its unique  brand of an English Midlands city which is very cosmopolitan  but has its indoor market  - chav  city as some people might say but  it has its own attitude and I feel safe here.

There is a neighborliness in the City Arcade I have grown to be rely on - Merlins  delivered  my telly  for me and even fix it up for me. I don't  ever expect  Argos  to provide such service. When I first moved here Liquid was where I went to meet local folks and I shall be very upset if the venue is no longer available - along with the poetry evenings, bookcrossing club.

Not in West Orchards, Coventry, certainly. I was there today by chance because the Post Office has moved to WH Smith's in West Orchards. And being peckish, I wandered in to the Terrace food court, decided to avoid the usual KFC's and McDonalds and saw Harpers with its Yorkshire Pudding. I love Yorkshire pudding from what I remember it to be from my days in Harrogate but what I got serve up is not Yorkshire Pudding...



Anybody can tell me where I can get good English grub this neck of the woods?

The Annual General Assembly of the European Disability Forum gathered more than 150 delegates from 29 countries in Ljubljana

 Ljubljana, 24 May 2008 – Three European disability movement leaders, among them the EDF Vice President, were denied to fly to Ljubljana for the Annual General Assembly of the European Disability Forum (EDF) due to discrimination on the ground of disability, announced the President of EDF Yannis Vardakastanis at the opening of the Assembly on 24 May.

They have been refused by the Slovenian national carrier Adria Airlines to board unless providing a medical certificate and traveling accompanied under the pretext of safety implications. As a result one of them was was prevented from attending both the Assembly and the ministerial conferencee "Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities – From Words to Reality?", organized by the Slovenian Presidency of the EU during the previous days.

 “It is unacceptable an EU national carrier not to respect its obligations under the new EU legislation. This is exactly a kind of situation which the EU citizens have to be protected from under the Regulation. We are going to take an action that the Regulation is respected”, stressed Mr. Vardakastanis, referring to the EU Regulation concerning the rights of disabled persons and persons with reduced mobility when traveling by air, being into application since July 2007.

He called the Slovenian government to undertake measures towards the company which did not respect the Regulation and added that “that is why we need to put the UN Convention in practice as soon as possible, so that people with disabilities can enjoy their full citizens’ rights”.

In a message, addressed to the Assembly participants, the Slovenian Minister of Labour, Family and Social Affairs Marjeta Cotman expressed the support of the Slovenian Presidency of the EU for the preparation and adoption of legislation on the basis of Article 13 of the Amsterdam Treaty to prohibit discrimination on the ground of disability.

“The Slovenian Presidency has put this down as an expectation. This directive is very important in our view, in particular linked to the transport problems, encountered by members of the EDF board. This proves the significance of such a legislation to avoid any further discrimination of this and any other kind”, stated the message of the Minister.

The Slovenian Member of the European Parliament Ljudmila Novak, a member of the Disability Intergroup, also expressed her sorrow for the problems with Adria Airlines and assured that EP is on the side of the disability movement.

The human rights and their implementation in the light of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities were the main topic, discussed during the first day of the Assembly. A number of case studies from different EU countries were presented on “Equal Recognition before the Law” of disabled people, one of the key articles in the Convention, soon to be ratified by the European Communities. On the second day the leaders of organisations of disabled people will also debate practical ways to further promote social inclusion of disabled people.

More than 150 delegates from 29 countries arrived in Ljubljana to participate in this key meeting.

 

For more information, please contact: Irina Papancheva, EDF Communication and Press Officer; Tel: (+32 2) 282 46 04; Mobile phone: (+ 32 ) 485 64 39 93; E-mail: irina.papancheva@edf-feph.org    

 

Tonight I went to Artspace for the open studio invite from Laura who is the coordinator. I did an access audit for them and it is really cool to see they have put some of my suggestions to work.

They are busy trying to get funding for a lift to go down to the basement. So we had a few presentations from different artists and exhibitors and I started a conversation with Gaelle Roche who specialises in her artwork on glass. Gaelle is originally from Normandy and she explained her work to me.

Her work is lovely and she puts them to a practical application. They can be incorporated into interiors - such as dividers, bathroom fixtures, splashbacks in kitchens etc.


More of her artwork can be found at her website .

I really like this one of Venice canal - it is with apague glass, she said.


Many thanks to Laura who organised the event -and for inviting me!

In the UK, previous campaigners before me have fought hard and won the Disability Equality Discrimination legislation - it gave us certain rights such as the right not to be refused access ( with " reasonable  accomodation"  thrown in as a loophole) . As someone who arrived in the UK after the battle, so to speak, was won, I am thrilled by it and think what a wonderful right. It is a not perfect as a piece of legislation but it is there - like democracy, enshrined in legislation. And all the other legislations like the Disability Equality Duty, enforceable since December 2006 on public bodies. This means there is a legal duty on all public sector organisations to promote equality of opportunity for disabled people.

But of course, very often, it is the letter of the law and not the spirit of the law which is enforced and too often, this right of access is not challenged by disabled people when their rights are abused - such as where a building or service is ' non compliant' with the DDA. It is not easy, it is up to the individual to fight the case for her/himself very often. Advice lines are available such as the Equality and Human Rights Commission helpline but not many know the process and feel intimidated by the complications and fearful of the expense of a legal case or going to court.

Scott Rains (of Rolling Rains Report) had picked up my blog entry about the Shine Unconference  - he  wrote

I would have expected better of organizer and participants like Ashoka. Clearly, if they do have Fellows or staff with disabilities they are not being put in positions of authority sufficient to represent the community they are part of. If the temporarily able-bodied social entrepreneurial class in London had been onboard with the project of social inclusion and accessibility this post could have been about all the good accomplished at the Shine UnConference.

As it stands, I haven't a clue what was accomplished because "I" couldn't attend.

I understand that these social entreprises (like Ashoka and UnLtd) are not  public bodies so I cannot  expect them to have Disability Equality Schemes and involved disabled people in their  design of programmes and organisation  but  it still leaves me disappointed when I read that  the in the NoLimits the Unltd magazine - the quarterly magazine for Millenium Winners - where the lead is on How to organise and run  successful events, there was no mention of  accessibility  and  not much  more on  health and safety. 

Am I on  sour gapes when I  ask if all these  social entrepreneurs  are  on their shining armours  but they do not think to include disabled people like me? They would say but we did not mean to exclude you - but surely, then they should be more pro active in  the provision of facilities.

I know  UnLtd  have  awarded  grants to  disabled people and they  have been featured  but  who wouldn't  want to  be seen as having benevolent to  ' the disabled'  but  why do I  catch a whiff of  the odour of colonisation?  All  I know is that it stops me from asking  them for  funding for myself, stupid I know but I would feel uneasy about taking their money - yes, I know I should rant and let them know but I am weary and maybe I am not hungry enough....there is a point when you get fed up of saying hey, you forgot me....it might be time for me to go fight different types of battles. Not to spoil it for others who do not see what I am ranting about. Its easier to fight big bad wolves we know than those individuals " with innovative solutions to society’s most pressing social problems. They are ambitious and persistent, tackling major social issues and offering new ideas for wide-scale change."

We should have no fight with them. They are our allies.