[nagdu] Blind man Dr Tom Pey may sue Eurostar after beingleftontrain in Brussels

Sun Feb 20 18:31:46 UTC 2011

My Internet is working at the moment - hopefully a permanent fix tomorrow 
when the COX man comes!

I've had fairly good luck flying.  Yes, the bulkhead seats are smaller!  I 
avoid the bulkhead and use the regular seating where I put Landon's butt 
under the seat ahead of me and try to have him lie between my feet.

Landon "unloaded" in COSCO around when I first had him home and it was his 
first visit to that store!  My friend and I still laugh about it.  This 
happened bwecause I didn't realise he still had more to do when I relieved 
him just before going into the store.

Lyn and Landon
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Lisa Irving" <lirving1234 at cox.net>
To: "NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users" 
<nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Friday, February 18, 2011 2:46 PM
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Blind man Dr Tom Pey may sue Eurostar after 
beingleftontrain in Brussels

> Hi Lisa,
>
> I share your sentiments about leaving the aircraft if it's cutting into 
> another connection, or sitting for a prolonged period of time. I don't 
> quite get the parental attitudes I've been met with when I determine I 
> need to get off the plane and go where I need to go. In some of the 
> airports where you don't have to take multiple trams to connect with 
> another flight, it is doable. Yeah, I've followed thoughtful passengers to 
> baggage. That was the case when Bernie and I landed in San Diego. I knew 
> my newly graduated pup needed to "get busy". At baggage, I was chided by 
> an airport employee for coming alone to baggage claims.  He ended up 
> walking us through the very crowded airport for  what seemed like miles; 
> it really wasn't. No sooner had we walked out the door to passenger 
> loading and unloading, Bernie "unloaded." Imagine, if I had been passive 
> and waited for an airport employee. Bad, bad news.
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Lisa belville" <missktlab1217 at frontier.com>
> To: "NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users" 
> <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Friday, February 18, 2011 6:40 AM
> Subject: Re: [nagdu] Blind man Dr Tom Pey may sue Eurostar after being 
> leftontrain in Brussels
>
>
>> Well, it's easy for all of us to judge and be the proverbial Monday 
>> Morning quarterback with situations like this.  The info given is only as 
>> accurate as the reporter's research.
>>
>> I do wonder, though, why he chose to leave his dog at home.  Taking the 
>> dog and then having a cabby refuse to transport would have been a perfect 
>> example of the discrimination he was afraid of.
>>
>> Also, did this person not at least flag down another passenger or a 
>> conductor and request help?  I doubt if it was a language barrier, and 
>> this would have been the easiest way to obtain the help.
>>
>> Just sitting waiting on a train while it's being emptied out is not a 
>> place I'd want to be, especially if I needed to be someplace on time.
>>
>> It's one reason why I hate asking for help when flying; they expect me to 
>> wait until someone has come to the gate, and to the flight attendants, 
>> this means I need to sit in my seat like a good little girl rather than 
>> exiting the plane with everyone else.  I almost missed a connection once 
>> due to this attitude, so I just grab my carry-on stuff and head out with 
>> everyone else.
>>
>> But, the person in this article didn't have their dog or a cane, they 
>> didn't have as much autonomy.
>>
>> And before anyone says I should navigate airports alone. . . I only fly 
>> once every three years or so.  I don't do it often enough to be good at 
>> it, so I don't learn the layouts of airports and I'd prefer to get 
>> assistance when possible so I can get where I need to be on time..
>>
>> IF THE HOUSEWORK IS DONE - THEN THE COMPUTER IS Broken!
>> Lisa Belville
>> missktlab1217 at frontier.com
>>
>> ----- Original Message ----- 
>> From: "Ginger Kutsch" <gingerKutsch at yahoo.com>
>> To: "NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users" 
>> <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
>> Sent: Friday, February 18, 2011 5:35 AM
>> Subject: [nagdu] Blind man Dr Tom Pey may sue Eurostar after being left 
>> ontrain in Brussels
>>
>>
>>> Blind man Dr Tom Pey may sue Eurostar after being left on train
>>> in Brussels
>>>
>>> LEFT ALONE: Tom Pey, pictured here with his guide dogBy emma
>>> curry reporters at sevenoaks-chronicle.co.uk
>>> http://www.thisiskent.co.uk/news/Blind-man-train-ordeal/article-3
>>> 231003-detail/article.html
>>>
>>> A BLIND man is threatening to sue Eurostar after he was abandoned
>>> on a train in Brussels.
>>>
>>> Dr Tom Pey, chief executive of the Royal London Society for the
>>> Blind (RSLB) and Dorton House in Seal, has accused the travel
>>> firm of disability discrimination.
>>>
>>> He was travelling to the European Parliament to press for
>>> improved rights for guide dog owners at a meeting of the European
>>> Guide Dog Federation, of which he is president, on Wednesday,
>>> February 2.
>>>
>>> He had left his guide dog in Seal, worried that Belgian taxi
>>> drivers may not want to take him, and was taken to the station by
>>> his secretary Alison Nield.
>>>
>>> Unable to get through the barriers, she asked a Eurostar employee
>>> to help Dr Pey on to the train and the train conductor to guide
>>> Mr Pey off the train in Brussels.
>>>
>>> But when they arrived, Mr Pey was left alone. He waited for half
>>> an hour before struggling out of the station himself.
>>>
>>> Dr Pey said: "It's really difficult to make your way around in a
>>> foreign country at the best of times, quite apart from being
>>> visually impaired.
>>>
>>> "I was also at a real loss without my guide dog.
>>>
>>> "I eventually managed to stumble off the train and remembered
>>> that the taxi rank was near a pizza restaurant. Only problem is
>>> there are two pizza eateries at Brussels station. It was most
>>> distressing."
>>>
>>> Ms Nield said: "I usually travel with him. Tom's quite brilliant
>>> but this situation was unacceptable.
>>>
>>> "It was luck rather than judgement that got him off that train.
>>>
>>> "At this end, Eurostar knew perfectly well he needed assistance.
>>> It's ridiculous."
>>>
>>> Tim Arnold, communications manager of the RLSB, said: "Eurostar
>>> are re-defining the word 'shameful'. They have a clear
>>> responsibility under the Equalities Act to make a reasonable
>>> adjustment for disabled people.
>>>
>>> "Tom's lawyers say he has a good case for disability
>>> discrimination."
>>>
>>> A Eurostar spokesman said: "This was obviously a distressing
>>> experience for Dr Pey and we have called him to apologise
>>> unreservedly.
>>>
>>> "Situations like these are thankfully rare, but are taken
>>> extremely seriously and therefore, together with our SNCB
>>> colleagues at Brussels Midi, we are investigating why this
>>> happened as a matter of urgency."
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
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>>
>>
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>
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