The wheelchair has made my life infinitely easier, but I have noticed a few things along the way. On a one-way trip to work, I can be driven insane by the pedestrians that I share the pavement with. However, the more I think about it, the funnier it seems. Maybe I am going insane!

I leave the house, rain or shine, at 7:30am to make the often troubled journey to work. It is quiet where I live; a dead end so less foot traffic. I gloriously glide across the pavement, avoiding the usual bumps and holes, enjoying the freedom of this journey.

Then I hit a main street. There are suddenly a large number of people making the same journey as myself, but in their own worlds. My journey slows, where I once glided, I now trundle behind distracted people who seem to have all the time in the world!

I am patiently waiting behind a particularly sluggish human who is making their way somewhere, I am sure of it. They straddle the pavement. I weave left, I weave right but there is no space for me to squeeze through. It’s ok, I think. There is a crossing coming up, I will take over them crossing the road. I suddenly realise the reason that this pavement hogger is so slow – they have their head buried in their mobile phone! This happens in the rain too. Most people are trying to keep dry, others are in their phone trying to keep in touch!

This angers me – I am going to be running, or rolling late because this person cannot wait to reach their destination before finding out what some distant acquaintance had for breakfast! We reach the crossing, I virtually fly past this person, who is still in their phone, and whizz to catch the tram that takes me to work.

There are occasions when people hear me behind them, the subtle cough that I have made to make my presence known. They step out of the way and I blissfully continue on my journey. However one day, I encountered an unusual individual. He had his face in his phone and he was wearing headphones! He had blocked out 2 of the major senses so my usual tactics would not work in this particular case.

I had to stop myself for opting for another sense, touch, and ramming into this pavement hogger’s legs! Normally I am incredibly patient but on this occasion, I really needed the loo and I was so close to home. I weaved, I went over every bump in the pavement to create a loud enough noise but it was no use. Thankfully, the gentleman turned the corner and I could continue home undisturbed.

Mobile phones are a huge distraction but even without one, people can be unpredictable. There are the people that just stop suddenly causing me to brake . Then there are those who stop without warning and bend over to examine something, presenting an irresistible target. I stop suddenly, rising slightly out  on my seat. I then have to reverse, turn to move around them when they stand up straight and move away!

I have a lot of positive words for how much I love a beautiful breeze but when the seasons change and the wind is more powerful, everyone needs a coat.

It was on one of these days that I started my journey to work. My hair was everywhere, causing me to wonder why I bothered brushing it before leaving the house. I was peering through my hair when I spotted a woman in front of me so I moved to the right to avoid colliding. As I was pushing past her, a gust of wind blew causing her jacket to slap me across the face! Wounded and in shock, I stopped, clutching my face, trying to work out what had happened.

I am used to being nudged by handbags, but this was new. The tears in my eyes dried up and I crossed the road so I did not have to meet this evil jacket again! I kid you not, this happened 4 times that day – there are a lot of mischievous jackets in Edinburgh! I have learned my lesson though, if it is windy, I now hang back- the jackets have won!

If you find yourself relying on the wheelchair a bit more, remember my tales. My advice is this: avoid people with flapping jackets and watch out for pedestrians – they are a menace to society!