On Monday 06 Jan 2003 7:14 am, you wrote:
> Gary,
> and Billy too,
> My parents and I went to Europe in 1974 after I graduated High School. We
> spent 3 months in Europe, during which time I got to observe the way
> different countries took care of their citizens with disabilities. I was
> most impressed by Sweden, followed by Denmark, and Norway. They had
> wonderful accessibility, and I saw elderly people treated with much
> dignity. The museums were all wonderfully accessible.  Then we went to
> France and Italy, and things changed for the worse.

Hi Mags,

I went to France in '72 (aged 18), it was a "school exchange" to a disabled
school. Amazing 10 days, the Headmaster asked us if we wanted a member of
staff to go with us, I said 'no' and persuaded the other 3. So we had 3 days
in Paris on our  own before going to the French School (huge, 900 all boys,
ex TB asylum in the middle of nowhere!!!).

The Parisians did not know what hit them - one wheelchair quad, one crutches
and two ambulant CPers. We went everywhere on the Metro with 2 in the one
Wheelchair with me and Gary bumping it up and down hundreds of steps.
Attitudes changed once it got dark, bars that served us at lunchtime would
refuse us in the evening when they had their "regular" clientele. I argued
with one (rather fine looking) French girl about this who said "You are
disabled due to the sins of your parents" my repost of "fine - don't serve my
parents then" didn't succeed. (Interestingly the then England Soccer Manager
got "sacked" 4 years ago for espousing the same sentiments in a magazine
article (cynics may argue the sacking had more to do with FA seeing a cheap
way of getting out of a 3 year contract with a manager with a 3-15 record,
rather than disability rights!!)).

Cheers

Deri

PS I used to have a Danish Girlfriend, excellent disabled accessibility. ;-)