Monday 14 October 2024

Access All Areas? Exploring Accessibility at The Trafford Centre

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Welcome back

Today, I have an Accessible Adventures post where I review a venue/place I have visited and let you know about my experience as an ambulatory wheelchair user and a full-time mobility aid user. 

The Trafford Centre is a go-to spot for shopping, dining, and some entertainment in Manchester, but how does it fare regarding accessibility? I recently visited to see how easy it is for those of us with different mobility needs to get around.

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The Trafford Centre ( Image Source - Google)

If you haven't read my initial post about this series, you can find it HERE, in that post, I explain more about my needs and a bit more about me and this series. 

A Little Bit Of Info:

Due to suffering from serious and incurable medical conditions and the side effects of those,  I am an ambulatory wheelchair user, which means I can walk but only very short distances. I use a crutch full-time, and as well as carers, I have adaptations and equipment in my home to help me. When I am out and about, my daughter or my partner pushes my wheelchair for me. My wheelchair is the self-propelled type, but unfortunately, I cannot self-propel, when I saw Wheelchair Services regarding which was best, they explained that the self-propelled style of wheelchair is much easier for the person pushing to push. 

Despite living in the Manchester area, the Trafford Centre isn't somewhere I have visited too often, but over the last couple of years, I have been a handful of times. When I do visit, it is purely to go to the shops,  and if I have something to eat, it will be within one of the shop's cafe areas or maybe a coffee shop, so I cannot comment on the food court or entertainment areas in regards to accessibility I'm afraid.  

My Visit:

My daughter Alicia and I were visiting the Trafford Centre on a Sunday, we got there at 11.30am, the Trafford Centre shopping times on Sundays are 12pm - 6.00pm, but you can browse for an hour or so beforehand. I have visited the Trafford Centre before, but this post is based on that visit. We always make a list and plan our visit when we're going out, especially to a shopping centre we've been to, so Alicia can plan a route, as she is pushing my chair. 

Parking:

We parked at M&S as we needed to pick some bits up from the food hall there and knew we'd do that last, so it would be the best place to park. Considering the size of the car park in that area, there aren't enough disabled car parking spaces, possibly 12 at most when considering the car park is huge, it really is poor. We couldn't get a disabled parking space and had to park 4 rows back from the disabled spaces which was really inconvenient, luckily the space at the side of us was free so Alicia was able to bring my wheelchair to the door but this would have been impossible, should that space have been taken. 

The Shops:  

When we go to the Trafford Centre, we have a route planned. We look around the bottom-floor shops first, usually having lunch at John Lewis, and then we go to Primark, which is in another part of the centre. Then, we go to the upstairs shops. 

As always, we went to the shops we wanted to go to on the bottom floor. It was very busy as it was a Sunday, and something I have learned since being a wheelchair user is that the general public can be extremely rude with no regard for anyone other than themselves. Alicia and I spend most of our time shouting, "Excuse me". 

Most of the shops on the bottom floor are accessible enough for Alicia to push me around without much of an issue. Some are a little snug but still ok, to be honest, the main issue is other people and having no manners. 

Fitting Rooms:

On our visit, we used the fitting rooms in 3 shops, Marks and Spencer, River Island and Primark, only Primark had an accessible fitting room free (more on Primark later) in both River Island and M&S, they were taken. We were only waiting for a minute, and then the lady using the fitting room in River Island had finished, so it wasn't too bad however, for a disabled/accessible fitting room, it was on the small side, and Alicia struggled to navigate me getting in and out and whilst inside to allow room for trying on the clothes. 

In M&S, the disabled fitting room was taken. There is only one disabled fitting room, but there are a lot of non-disabled ones which are bigger than standard fitting rooms but not huge by any means. I was frustrated as every single time we have needed to use the fitting room in M&S, the disabled one is taken. This time there were 3 ladies, all friends wanting to try on together, the gentleman at the entrance to the fitting room explained that the disabled one was taken and he wasn't able to stop people using it who weren't using a wheelchair. One of the ladies heard and opened the door of the fitting room and said, rather snarkily "Do you want us to step outside for a minute so you can use it"? I wanted to retort with "No thank you, I'd like you to take 3 fitting rooms next to each other and come out and show each other your items" but I didn't, I just said "No thank you"  

Why she needed to be snarky, I'll never know, they were the ones using facilities they clearly didn't need. I didn't want them to "step outside for a minute" so we would feel we had to rush, I honestly couldn't understand why they didn't move into 3 separate fitting rooms. We used one of the others, and whilst Alicia did get my chair into the fitting room, it was a struggle, and we were left with very little room, there was no room to turn round, just look in the small side mirror. Luckily, we only had a couple of jackets each, and Alicia had a pair of jeans, so it wasn't too bad, but it would have been so much easier using the disabled fitting room. 

Lifts:

There are quite a few shops with lifts and there are also lifts in the Trafford Centre too, so the lift access is quite good and we didn't have any issues. 

Dining:

As I said, usually we go to John Lewis for our lunch, the store is quite easy for Alicia to push me around in and they have lift access too and disabled toilets. The cafe is on the upper floor, and the lifts are towards the back of the shop which they often are in shops but it wasn't an issue, we found the lifts and then made our way to the cafe. When we got there, there was a member of staff at the entrance of the cafe and she explained that the cafe was closed due to them having no water. 

She said the toilets were available to use, but then told us the nearest toilets were in Starbucks just down the way on the right-hand side of the centre, strange, but never mind. We had a look around the Christmas decorations, well we tried, there wasn't much room at all between the aisles so we couldn't look at 80% of the decorations so we left. 

Since we were upstairs now, we decided to stay upstairs and we chose Starbucks to have some lunch.

Starbucks:

Starbucks was extremely busy, at first we thought we wouldn't get a table, but luckily there was a table for 2 available. Starbucks had the tables and chairs quite close together but easy enough for Alicia to wheel me to the table. I waited whilst Alicia went to the counter for our lunch, the queue was huge but it did go down quite quickly and Alicia wasn't too long at all. 

We had our drinks and sandwiches and we left, I would go to Starbucks again, we have been in before for a drink a couple of times, it is accessible and there isn't a bad selection to choose from for lunch. 

Primark: 

Fitting Rooms:

I didn't intend to write about certain shops in particular, but in terms of accessibility, Primark really is the star of the show in this post and in the Trafford Centre. Their large lifts aren't right at the back of the shop,  they are big, and there are 2 of them to take you up and down the two floors. 

The shop is laid out fairly well, and Alicia could navigate my wheelchair around with ease, when we visited the fitting room, we were surprised to find the disabled fitting rooms are locked, and a member of staff gave us a plastic thing that you get when entering most fitting rooms, and then they told us which room number to go in. The fitting room was bright, the red cord was down and not high up wrapped around anything. There were ample grab rails and a seat, plus a call button. Alicia tried on some jeans, I had nothing to try, but we had plenty of room for Alicia to check the jeans from all angles with plenty of space, unlike the disabled fitting room in River Island. 

When we had finished, we gave the assistant back the plastic thing, and we left, then the room was locked again. We thought it was good that not just anybody can use the disabled fitting room, and only those who need it can use it, if you need it and aren't a wheelchair user, you mention it when they hand you the plastic thing, and the staff will unlock them, yes I said them as there is more than one disabled fitting room. 

Paying:

Regarding paying in Primark, they have a designated queuing area split into two halves, one on the right and one on the left. Each side has several tills, all numbered, and staff press a button to let you know which till is free. The first till on both sides has a wheelchair symbol above it, this is for disabled customers, to access these, so you do not need to queue. 

If you go to the middle of both queues towards the front, a member of staff will ask you to go to the till once it is free, if you use a mobility aid, it is more obvious you need to use this till, but I have researched, and apparently, if you have an invisible illness, you can speak to a member of staff who will serve you. 

The desk and card machine are lower at the till, making it easier to pay if you are a wheelchair user. I think with the disabled fitting rooms and the fact you don't need to queue to pay, cause let's face it, Primark queues can be extremely long, it is brilliant and can make such a difference to someone's shopping experience. We were really impressed with both of these features and the size of the lifts. 

Overall Thoughts & Star Rating:

Shops:

The majority of the shops we visited were accessible, but some could do better. The issue in most places is promotions or sales, meaning there is stock put in areas it wouldn't usually be. 

Fitting rooms are an issue, there need to be more disabled fitting rooms or some sort of monitoring could be used. 

Primark has it right in terms of accessibility, we were really impressed with Primark, their queueing-to-pay system, its lifts, and its fitting rooms, everything is brilliant and is something other stores could take note of. 

Dining: 

As I said, we went to Starbucks for some lunch. There is a large food court at the Trafford Centre, but I haven't visited for many years or in my wheelchair, so I cannot comment on that. Starbucks, however, was fine, and I have previously visited the John Lewis cafe and Marks and Spencer cafe, and both were absolutely fine. 

Parking:

There aren't nearly enough disabled parking spaces at the Trafford Centre in any of their car parks,  the ratio of parking spaces to disabled parking spaces is ridiculous. 

Lifts:

We didn't have any issues at all in terms of using lifts. 

Overall:

We found the Trafford Centre fine to go for a shopping trip, the parking let it down, but overall it was ok and we will return.  The main issue is the general public and rudeness, but that isn't the fault of the Trafford Centre, and we did visit on a Sunday.  

One thing I feel is worth mentioning, which isn't an accessibility issue, is that the 4/5g signal in the Trafford Centre is appalling.  We wanted to use my daughter's student discount code in Kiko, but due to the signal, we couldn't get on the website, in turn, we lost out on a 15% discount, which made a difference and was disappointing, to say the least. 

My advice would be, for any shops you are likely to go to that take student discounts, get the codes before you leave and screenshot them so you can use them when you're in the shops. 

Our star rating for the Trafford Centre's overall experience is:

★★★★★★☆☆☆☆ 6 out of 10 and we will definitely visit again. 


Have you visited the Trafford Centre as a disabled person or with a disabled person? What did you think? 

Also, please let me know if there are any areas in particular you'd like me to include in these posts, and I will happily include them. 

Thank you for reading

Zoƫ x

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Tuesday 1 October 2024

Do Veet Pure Inspirations Cold Wax Strips Really Work? My Honest Review

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 Welcome back

For many years, I enjoyed the convenience and results of professional leg waxing at my local salon where I have been a customer for over 27 years. However, when my health deteriorated, the symptoms and disabilities that came with it, meant I had to step away from that routine.

I began looking for at-home alternatives, I was determined to find something that could offer similar results without going to a salon. I decided to try Veet Pure Inspirations Cold Wax Strips legs and body. They claim to give you 28 days of smooth skin, which is similar to salon waxing, but I was sceptical that the strips could be as good as and replace my salon visits. 

Today I am sharing my honest review of the wax strips, did they give me smooth legs or leave me in a sticky mess? 

I do feel I should give some kind of warning here as this post contains photographs of my extremely hairy leg, so apologies in advance. 

The legs and body wax strips come in packs of 20 or 40, and each pack comes with Perfect Finish Wipes to remove any residue off the skin after waxing. The 40 pack comes with 4 wipes, which was plenty, and the 20 pack comes with 2 wipes. Also in the Pure Inspirations range are wax strips for the underarm, top lip and bikini line. 

The instructions for use are: 

• Slowly peel the strips apart using the outwards rounded tabs.

• Apply one strip to your skin in the direction of hair growth. Rub a few times in the direction your hair grows to make sure the wax adheres well.

• Hold tab.

• Hold skin taut.

• Pull the strip back on itself (AS FAST AS YOU CAN!) in one swift motion, close to the skin as you pull.

• After waxing, clean away any wax left on your skin with a Perfect Finish Wipe.


What The Wax Strips Look Like:

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Before using the wax strips the skin must be completely dry, it says on the box that you can apply talc to your skin beforehand to ensure the skin is dry, I didn't do that but you can if you prefer. 

I unfortunately cannot do my own waxing, so my daughter Alicia did it for me. She followed the instructions, pulled the strip apart, and placed it on my leg towards my hair growth. 

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Peeling the wax strip apart.

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The wax strip applied to my (very hairy) leg. 


I suffer from PCOS or Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, and a side effect of this is that I lose my hair from my head, my hair is extremely thin, and I have to strategically place it to hide the baldness. Although I only lose the hair from my head, my body hair does not grow or grows very slowly, for example, my underarm hair does not really grow at all, and I honestly cannot remember the last time I had that area waxed, and my leg hair grows very slowly, so I can go 4 to 6 months in between waxing and I have to let my leg hair grow a lot before having the waxing done. 

Using The Wax Strips:

As I said, my daughter, Alicia, did my waxing for me as I'm unable to do it. She made sure the skin was dry and then took a wax strip, pulled it apart and placed it on my leg in the direction of the hair growth. The strip can be used a few times in different areas until it loses its stickiness. 

The strips removed the hair well, and the pain was minimal, the strips don't need to be warmed between your hands before use which is great, they can be used straight from the box. Once Alicia had waxed an area of my leg, she went on to another area until she had finished. Once she had finished, she checked to make sure she hadn't missed any patches and then used the wipes to wipe over my leg.

The wipes were excellent and removed any little bits of wax from my legs and made my legs feel lovely especially as they were so smooth. 

The Results:

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As you can see from the photograph above, the difference is amazing, my leg is smooth and silky. The wax strips did a brilliant job. The only negative is that you use quite a few of the wax strips, but that might improve the more you use them and get used to it. 

Overall:

I am really impressed with the wax strips, the results are fantastic and exactly like I would get from visiting the salon. The wipes with the wax strips were brilliant, leaving my legs free from any wax residue and feeling lovely but not greasy. 

Alicia has also used the Veet Pure Inspirations Cold Wax Strips in the bikini and underarm ranges, and she is really happy with those, she said they are also simple to use and give excellent results. 

I recommend the wax strips, they performed really well, the process was only slightly painful, nothing too bad at all, and the results were the same as if I'd gone to a salon for professional leg waxing. It was so much better for me to be able to have my legs waxed at home due to my health/disabilities making it impossible to have them done at the salon. Another benefit to a home waxing is it costs less than a salon would, so that's a definite bonus. I'm still getting my salon visits, too as I still go for manicures and pedicures there with my daughter Alicia. 

Both Alicia and I recommend the Veet Pure Inspirations Cold Wax Strips, and we will continue to use them, Alicia will also continue to use the underarm and bikini strips too as she is very impressed with those. 

If you usually go to a salon for leg waxing or if you haven't tried waxing before, the strips are brilliant, and both Alicia and I highly recommend them. My legs stayed smooth for much longer than the 28 days, and I get quite a few weeks before any kind of regrowth, but as I said, my PCOS probably helps in that department. Alicia had good results though too, and her legs stayed smooth for much longer than if she'd shaved them, which was her previous method of hair removal. She is much happier with the results she gets from the strips. 

If you would like to try the Veet Pure Inspirations Cold Wax Strips, you will find them on the Superdrug website HERE  priced at  £12.99 for the 40 pack however, at the time of posting this, the packs of 20 strips are on offer, and instead of the usual price of £7.55 per pack of 20,  at the moment they are on offer for 2 packs of 20 for £9.00 HERE saving you £9.10 when you buy 2 packs.   

Have you tried the Veet Pure Inspirations Cold Wax Strips? Let me know your thoughts, or if you do pick some up, let me know how you get on with them. 

Thank you for reading,

Zoƫ x


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