My wife recently booked tickets for a visit to a local stately home that has gardens and a small zoo. She applied for a concession for me as disabled, which normally entitles her either a free or reduced cost entry as my carer; because she is that also. A part of my disability allowance includes a carer’s element and the fact is that without her help there would be many things that I would not be able to do, including visiting these kind of attractions with my grandson. However, when we arrived at the ticket office they wanted to see confirmation that I was entitled to a carer! What was not in doubt was the fact that I am disabled; that did not concern them at all. It was the status of my wife as carer that was at question!

The amount of money involved in having a free carer was not the issue, the fact that they did not state any requirement of proof beyond me being disabled with impaired mobility at the time of purchasing the tickets on their website was, however; at least for me. We have been to great many events and venues where I have taken advantage of the offer to buy tickets as a disabled person. Unfortunately, there is not a universal means of proving my qualification for these preferential tickets; each venue and each event appear to have their own criteria. Once or twice this has proven contentious and led to instances that were both embarrassing and unnecessary. For example, we once went to a large open air concert after securing tickets for the disabled spectators viewing platform. When we arrived at the platform I asked for a chair and was met with a bemused ‘where’s your wheelchair?’! I informed the steward that not all disabled people use them. After a lengthy discussion about this revelation, held in front of an audience of other disabled people, some chairs were eventually provided, but only reluctantly. To balance this out, my local football club, who I used to go and see with my son every other week, provide a free carer’s ticket for every disabled fan whether they are in a wheelchair or not.

Although I have a higher level of disability allowance this is not accepted as proof of entitlement to concessionary tickets by everyone. Even applying for a Blue Badge for parking, or a disabled person’s bus pass, requires me to prove time and again that I am in fact disabled. I might appear in front of someone in my orthotic boots, leaning on my walking stick, having walked in with a pronounced limp, but that is not sufficient proof in every instance; the regulations state as much!

When I eventually qualified for my disability benefit, it only took 30 years, we both presumed that this would lead to further entitlements, which it does but they are not all obvious and no one tells you about any of them. Also, as mentioned above, every time you discover one and apply for it you begin from square one; the presumption is that you are not actually disabled and must prove otherwise. It occurs to me that it would be very useful if, when I qualified for my disability benefit, I was issued with a card stating that fact and also confirming my level of disability and any extra components, such as the carers allowance, that is included. Such a card could have a serial number, which might dissuade people from trying to cheat their way into cheaper tickets and admission prices as it could be recorded with every purchase. It would also avoid people like me having to repeatedly prove what is patently obvious to everyone when they meet me; that I am indeed disabled!