I went to Brixton last night… to a gig.
I arranged to meet Roo before for a drink… at the Department Store.
Except when I got there ( and she did ) it was ‘shut for refurbishment’.
Doh!
Brixton really doesn’t have many/ any overtly accessible bars … but we tried the Wetherspoons.
Who doesn’t like a Spoons after all?
A small single step isn’t a problem for the All Wheel Triride… and in I went.
As they always are, it was crowded… but as always with Spoons clientele, people are obliging and helpful.
As it was Brixton after all, most of the drinkers were black… and as I have mentioned before, black people ( particularly the fellas ) are incredibly friendly and helpful to me, which of course makes everything easier.
As I’d had a bit of a bladder sensitivity issue… I avoided wine … and for the first time in ages had a pint or 2.
Brixton Academy had been closed down for a year or two following a crowd crush outside the venue that actually killed 2 staff members… but has been open again for about a year, with changes to crowd management.
Basically that means lots of metal fencing to channel people in a controlled manner.
The front has about 10 steps so it’s not immediately accessible, but they do have a ramp.
The incline of the ramp definitely isn’t ‘legal ‘ as it’s a big elevation and a relatively short ramp , but hey, with All Wheel drive I shoot up it and then practically take off at the top – a bit alarming to watch..
Inside, I go through a bar area and into the music space. It’s very large, accommodating about 3,000 people I think, and at the side there’s a raised area where they put the cabbages.
Now clearly they are ( now ) focused on health and safety when it comes to crowd management.
So they have 3000 people in one sloped standing area, and about 20 people with disabilities in the raised area at the side.
Where are all the uniformed crowd management staff? In the wheelchair area of course, telling people to move around here and there to maintain a very wide channel down the middle.
So you have say 10 people in wheelchairs, other people with crutches etc, a couple of really fat people ( of course ) and the same number of ‘ companions ‘ for the Unfortunates.
Well if they think herding your regular able bodied people is difficult, try a load of cabbages.. all of whom want a position where they can actually see.
Well for a starter, the people who are in chairs should be at the front…. and the companions ( who can stand up ) should be behind them… right?
Well that’s not how it is. The companions that get there first are always very territorial about being at the front ( I mean you’d think that of ALL people, they’d ‘ get it ‘ but usually they don’t ).
Roo and I didn’t get there early enough ( because of Spooning ) to claim a ‘ front row’ position… so we were set back a yard.
Except of course, we were then in the designated ‘ no go ‘ channel down the middle.
Well … all sorts weren’t happy, and I was asked to move to a position where I couldn’t really see the band … so there was general cabbage dissent.
Often the companions seem to be the partners of the Spazzers and they don’t like being separated from each other.
What they need is a far larger area ( impossible ) and less Nazis patrolling. As soon as the crowd control staff disappeared, all sorts were moving around, like a game of Wheelchair Scalextrics.
Of course, once the band strikes up, some apparently immobile people jump to their feet and start dancing ( and don’t stop until the end ).
One lady ( 45(?), black, shaven head and a single crutch ) could have given Michael Jackson a run for his money.
I did of course point out to the Chief Crowd person that it wasn’t fair that only the Cabbages were marshalled so much, and the regular people were left alone. Why aren’t you insisting on wide open channels down the main standing area, I asked ( because I can’t imagine it was a crush of wheelchairs that had killed people 3 years ago, or anyone slipping on dribble ) … and shouldn’t the standy uppy companions give way ( positionally ) to the people who can’t stand up?
To be fair, the fella listened and asked companions to give way – result !
Franz Ferdinand were really, really great, as always and we got away at the end safely.
I then ‘ drove’ my Tri the 7 miles home.
Why does going south of the river seem to take far longer than going north of the river? I seemed to be going through Clapham/ Wandsworth/ Putney etc for hours. Maybe it’s the wider roads and less traffic? The pot holes are worse though, so I have to go slower than I’d like.
At one point a police car with flashing lights pulled alongside me … and the officer waved (?!) which was nice …
By midnight I was safely home
Obvs I do wonder what I’d do if I broke down… but that doesn’t seem to happen to me nowadays. I’m onto the maintenance of my ride (!) which helps my good fortune.
Tonight it’s a play in town.
Kerry tapped me up for the wheelchair companion angle for herself and we have the hot ticket – Dracula ( played by Cynthia off Wicked- that I’ve not seen ).
Hopefully it’s worth the hype.
Cynth plays all 27 parts apparently.
How does she suck her own blood?
I’ll report back.
