An afternoon in the pub

“An afternoon in the pub”: there was a time when that phrase would have sounded perfectly ordinary. Yesterday it was the height of luxury. I spent a delightful few hours with some old friends from Bristol, drinking a little bit too much beer and enjoying some great conversation.

Going to the pub has not been an option for anyone during lockdown of course, but for me it had a special significance. With MND, when you stop doing something for a while you start to assume you will never be able to do it again, because unfortunately for anything that is reliant on physical capability, once that capability is gone it does not come back. Without being totally aware of it, you start to imagine barriers even to the most banal activities that most take for granted.

My friends helped me overcome the barriers to managing an afternoon in the pub, and made me feel like it was actually more an adventure for them than a burden. They got me into the back of my WAV, drove it the short distance to where we were going and got me comfortable in the pub.

The one part that was always going to be particularly interesting was going for a wee. The bar I chose, Palmer Street bottle, seemed ideal in many respects: small, buzzy without being too busy, lovely staff and really good beer. Also, no step to get in. However, the toilet is up a few stairs. Really quite impossible for me now!

I did have the offer of being carried by 3 slightly inebriated gents to go and use the gents, but I felt that plan was bound to go wrong in some way. So instead we opted for a solution based on a bottle and a blanket! In the middle of the bar… I must admit that at first, self-consciousness got the better of me and I struggled to let go, but with some comedy staring from the 3 mates I soon got over it and all went down without a hitch. The barman was also extremely nice about it (we did ask first!).

Thank you so much Ed, Mark and Jonathan for making the trip and helping me to feel normal in very abnormal circumstances. Also to Palmer Street bottle for hosting us and making us feel very welcome. Most important of all, thanks to my wife Laura for coming to pick me up and dealing with the aftermath!