Monday 23 February 2015

basket maker to the queen

Image result for dog and ATM cartoonImage result for guide dog and cash machine
Mark this date in your diary to turn to when your jaded soul needs a little tomato soup therapy (i know it's supposed to be chicken but creamy  tomato is a much more satisfactory comfort food).

After what seems like an eternity of bad bank news RBS/NatWest have turned their not insubstantial nous to making this a better  universe for the less able sighted.

They have launched "accessible" bank cards that they say will be much easier to use by the partially sighted and blind.   the card features "tactile markings", a notch to indicate which way to insert it into an ATM, the telephone number moved to the front, and a font 50% larger than usual.

The Royal National Institute of Blind People have accredited it.

I had an uncle who was totally blind from childhood, measles i think.   he and his guide dog, several different ones over the course of his long life, were known in all the pubs within walking distance of his home.   at each stop he would have a pint and the dog a saucer of beer.   it was difficult to know who was the squiffiest by the time the evening was over.   

My pride and respect for him was magnified beyond imagining when he was appointed to make laundry baskets for Buckingham Palace.   M Y  UNCLE  made the baskets that queenie's knicks and knacks landed in at the end of a long day dubbing, shaking, waving and queening.   i bet you can't claim that!   

He was blessed to have an incredibly supportive family network so he could work and live to the fullest in an age before support services were the norm.   but still, it must have been frustrating to have to rely on others in order to manage his finances and banking transactions.   i can imagine him being the first in the queue for one of these cards had they been available during his lifetime.

Despite the cynic who whispers constantly behind my Pollyanna facade muttering "yeah right, damage limitation", i can't help feeling it's a step in the right direction.   

Maybe they could put all that creativity into action making it easier to use an ATM from a wheelchair.

 Image result for guide dog and ATM

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