Gadget review - food grabber
17/July/2010 01:32 PM Filed in: Independent
living
Here is another gadget - this time from Japan.
If you can't grip things (like grabbing crisps from a bowl or picking popcorn etc) because of weakness in you hands, joint mobility etc then you may be missing out on getting obese like the rest of the nation..
In the interests of equality (I have the right to eat tons of popcorn at the cinema and put on weight like everyone else, right?) this Japanese gizmo might work for you if you can operate it.
If you can't see it - think six inch stick with two pincers at one end and three at the other that pinch together when a slider button is pushed in bright yellow and black. I'd want a small electronic version of course for the complete cyber look.
The video clip commentary is in jest - but crank up the price and show it at Naidex.... sell out.
If you can't grip things (like grabbing crisps from a bowl or picking popcorn etc) because of weakness in you hands, joint mobility etc then you may be missing out on getting obese like the rest of the nation..
In the interests of equality (I have the right to eat tons of popcorn at the cinema and put on weight like everyone else, right?) this Japanese gizmo might work for you if you can operate it.
If you can't see it - think six inch stick with two pincers at one end and three at the other that pinch together when a slider button is pushed in bright yellow and black. I'd want a small electronic version of course for the complete cyber look.
The video clip commentary is in jest - but crank up the price and show it at Naidex.... sell out.
Gadget review - grab a lolly
15/July/2010 05:38 PM Filed in: Independent
living
I came across this today
Basically, you put the box in the freezer and once removed you have about 30 minutes to make your own ice lollies.
Now, I don't know about you, but I find holding a conventional ice lolly virtually impossible because of the small stick to grab onto that is flat and difficult to grasp. Result - your Magnum drips all over you or you drop the whole thing on your lap. Cue the Cornetto as the solution or one of those ice lollies in a paper tube that freezes your fingers off or shoots out of the packet as you squeeze it....
Anyway, this appealed to me because the sturdy unit means you just pour in your mix (i.e. water and juice or a recipe to make frozen yogurt or frozen smoothies) and drop one of the inserts (sticks) which has a reasonable area to grasp and is a nice round shape to make holding it a lot easier. Away with the mess of the 80's and in with some tech! Your lolly is ready in 7-9 minutes and making them yourself of course helps if you have particular dietary requirements.
It's available from firefox and Lakeland and costs around £39.99 (I never said accessible lollies were going to be cheap!)
Basically, you put the box in the freezer and once removed you have about 30 minutes to make your own ice lollies.
Now, I don't know about you, but I find holding a conventional ice lolly virtually impossible because of the small stick to grab onto that is flat and difficult to grasp. Result - your Magnum drips all over you or you drop the whole thing on your lap. Cue the Cornetto as the solution or one of those ice lollies in a paper tube that freezes your fingers off or shoots out of the packet as you squeeze it....
Anyway, this appealed to me because the sturdy unit means you just pour in your mix (i.e. water and juice or a recipe to make frozen yogurt or frozen smoothies) and drop one of the inserts (sticks) which has a reasonable area to grasp and is a nice round shape to make holding it a lot easier. Away with the mess of the 80's and in with some tech! Your lolly is ready in 7-9 minutes and making them yourself of course helps if you have particular dietary requirements.
It's available from firefox and Lakeland and costs around £39.99 (I never said accessible lollies were going to be cheap!)
Holland to Harwich by ferry
05/July/2010 07:33 PM Filed in: Travel
Journey: Hook of Holland to Harwich
via Stena Lines - Hollandica Superferry
This ferry was launched in
April this year and will join another Superferry
in Autumn. These cost £375 million pounds. Shame
they didn't spend much on thinking about the
overall experience for disabled people. Granted
the ship had some nice touches but compared to our
first crossing, the staff support was very poor.
Cabins.
Again, we pre booked a cabin
with wheelchair access. We had our tickets printed
at the car booth which they told us also acts as
your room key. This was the same as our first
journey.
On locating the cabin (which had us wandering the isles of cabins to work out the number system) we found the door had a small low touch pad with a slot to insert the room key card. It also had a normal handle on the door. I believe the door was supposed to open automatically. I say supposed, because it didn't work.
My husband tried several times and the light flashed but nothing opened. Eventually a member of staff said we had to have a normal key to put in the door. What use is that! The automated door was not working and when we got in we could see why - the opening door arm was not fitted but the electronics were there.
On entering you can see the
cabin above (the lighting made the picture a bit
orange). The bathroom featured a level entry (roll
in) shower area with seat and lots of grab rails.
The toilet had two grab rails either side and room
to side transfer to one side. I'm not that fat but
due to scoliosis, lean to the right side. When the
grab rails come down they basically wedged me onto
the toilet and are closer than what you would find
in your average UK accessible toilet. The floor
surface is very soft, with good grip but like the
previous ferry, the sink is not suitable for hair
washing and difficult to reach for me personally.
The bathroom is rather nice but the flat push panel to open the bathroom automatic door is situated above the side unit of the bed on the left of the cabin. So if you have to sleep on the right bed (which I do because of my spine) you can't press the button from bed. However, if you are a wheelchair user, how someone could sit on the bed, press the button, transfer into their chair and then get through the door before it closed again in about 10 seconds is beyond me anyway! The bathroom door swings back and because it is wide, there is only a few set places your wheelchair can go or it hits you and closes again. If you are standing in the way of the door the force would knock you off your feet - my wheelchair would rock with the force and it's a weighty machine. The location of the switch hasn't really been thought through in the overall design I felt and the close mechanism is rather violent (but possibly needed to close a large heavy door).
The cabins were nice though putting these problems to the side even if they did vibrate something chronic.
Customer service.
I was a bit miffed that the free wifi was only for 3 hours and the 'reception all over the boat' meant one bar if you're lucky. We also got an incredibly poor service when purchasing food as what we wanted from the menu wasn't actually available and my husband ended up with a microwave meal and I ended up with a chicken burger that makes McDonalds look like a 5 star restaurant. The guy who 'cooked' our meal was more interested in the football on the plasma tv installed in the food court than customer service. We had no offer of help to carry the tray and no 'quiet area' as in my previous blog. Too much money spent on umpteen plasma screen tvs and bars than on customer care I think.
Cabins.
On locating the cabin (which had us wandering the isles of cabins to work out the number system) we found the door had a small low touch pad with a slot to insert the room key card. It also had a normal handle on the door. I believe the door was supposed to open automatically. I say supposed, because it didn't work.
My husband tried several times and the light flashed but nothing opened. Eventually a member of staff said we had to have a normal key to put in the door. What use is that! The automated door was not working and when we got in we could see why - the opening door arm was not fitted but the electronics were there.
The bathroom is rather nice but the flat push panel to open the bathroom automatic door is situated above the side unit of the bed on the left of the cabin. So if you have to sleep on the right bed (which I do because of my spine) you can't press the button from bed. However, if you are a wheelchair user, how someone could sit on the bed, press the button, transfer into their chair and then get through the door before it closed again in about 10 seconds is beyond me anyway! The bathroom door swings back and because it is wide, there is only a few set places your wheelchair can go or it hits you and closes again. If you are standing in the way of the door the force would knock you off your feet - my wheelchair would rock with the force and it's a weighty machine. The location of the switch hasn't really been thought through in the overall design I felt and the close mechanism is rather violent (but possibly needed to close a large heavy door).
The cabins were nice though putting these problems to the side even if they did vibrate something chronic.
Customer service.
I was a bit miffed that the free wifi was only for 3 hours and the 'reception all over the boat' meant one bar if you're lucky. We also got an incredibly poor service when purchasing food as what we wanted from the menu wasn't actually available and my husband ended up with a microwave meal and I ended up with a chicken burger that makes McDonalds look like a 5 star restaurant. The guy who 'cooked' our meal was more interested in the football on the plasma tv installed in the food court than customer service. We had no offer of help to carry the tray and no 'quiet area' as in my previous blog. Too much money spent on umpteen plasma screen tvs and bars than on customer care I think.
Harwich to Hook of Holland
05/July/2010 06:51 PM Filed in: Travel
Journey: Harwich to Hook of Holland +
Overnight stay at Premier Inn
Premier Inn is situated at the
port next to Lidle and adjoining a Brewers Fayre.
One night cost £61 at the time we booked in
January. We had to stay overnight because it meant
getting to the ferry 45 mins before we sailed at
about 9 am. Much less than 8 hours sleep and my
body falls apart. We had a roll in shower, plenty
of space and the sink was at a good height to wash
my hair in. Lacking in personality like all of
these sorts of rooms - it did the job for the
night and we were relatively comfy with little
noise outside.
Stena Line - to Hook of Holland on board Britannica (older ferry).
This slightly older ship was refurbished in 2007 and was fantastic.
We selected a disabled cabin for one person as a space to chill out and appeared to be the only wheelchair user on the boat getting a large disabled cabin with tables for 1-2 disabled people.
You can see a 360 of that cabin (with roll in shower) on their web-site here.
The only difficulty was the sink is quite high and basin is inset a way from the edge as opposed to the usual type of sinks in say a Premier Inn. It was airy, clean and the beds were firm with a soft mattress topper which even I found comfy having scoliosis.
On board we had free wifi for
the duration available on the decks which suited
me and my iPhone!
Top Class Service
We were met just outside the lifts by a steward who said they had a reserved area for wheelchair users on board away from the crowds of people and closely packed tables. So, just to the side of everyone else were 3 tables by a window, with a rope barrier and larger access space clearly signed 'reserved for our wheelchair accessible guests' which made me giggle as perhaps the intention got lost in translation now everything was Dutch/English bilingual. Either way, our steward said just to ask if anyone took our spot and he would 'hoof them out'. Sounds good. Not a single person or child tripped over us in our lovely corner and it was away from the hustle and bustle which was lovely. Some people might see it as segregation but there are times and situations you really need your own spot - not just wheelchair users but other people with impairments too. Our steward watched out spot as we went to get some lunch, went to get our cutlery whist my husband carried the tray and basically got us anything we needed. We felt like royalty,
Our meal was lovely and the journey didn't last long at all. Right from pulling up in the car, to boarding near the lift through our journey and off the other side it was very good. The ship was clean and tidy and not many people onboard in general. 10/10.
Stena Line - to Hook of Holland on board Britannica (older ferry).
This slightly older ship was refurbished in 2007 and was fantastic.
We selected a disabled cabin for one person as a space to chill out and appeared to be the only wheelchair user on the boat getting a large disabled cabin with tables for 1-2 disabled people.
You can see a 360 of that cabin (with roll in shower) on their web-site here.
The only difficulty was the sink is quite high and basin is inset a way from the edge as opposed to the usual type of sinks in say a Premier Inn. It was airy, clean and the beds were firm with a soft mattress topper which even I found comfy having scoliosis.
Top Class Service
We were met just outside the lifts by a steward who said they had a reserved area for wheelchair users on board away from the crowds of people and closely packed tables. So, just to the side of everyone else were 3 tables by a window, with a rope barrier and larger access space clearly signed 'reserved for our wheelchair accessible guests' which made me giggle as perhaps the intention got lost in translation now everything was Dutch/English bilingual. Either way, our steward said just to ask if anyone took our spot and he would 'hoof them out'. Sounds good. Not a single person or child tripped over us in our lovely corner and it was away from the hustle and bustle which was lovely. Some people might see it as segregation but there are times and situations you really need your own spot - not just wheelchair users but other people with impairments too. Our steward watched out spot as we went to get some lunch, went to get our cutlery whist my husband carried the tray and basically got us anything we needed. We felt like royalty,
Our meal was lovely and the journey didn't last long at all. Right from pulling up in the car, to boarding near the lift through our journey and off the other side it was very good. The ship was clean and tidy and not many people onboard in general. 10/10.
