I know I’ve written about this before but Christmas is a particularly difficult time to be a wheelchair user. From mid-November, I begin to notice the aisles in shops starting to narrow as retailers seek to cram as much as they can in to attract festive shoppers. It becomes almost impossible to get around without bumping into stuff or embarrassingly, knocking something over.

Worse still, is the crowds of people who have little or no awareness of people around them because they are so focused on their own to-do list. As well as watching out for those festive displays, you suddenly need eyes in the back of your head to ensure nobody’s toes get squashed or worse!  Going out becomes unnecessarily stressful and uncomfortable. I don’t think it’s surprising that I try to do as much as I can online these days.

I don’t want to be a grinch – I LOVE Christmas. This is just a plea to retailers to remember that access should not be compromised because of Christmas. And festive shoppers – watch your toes!