Well, it's been on the drawing board for some time now but a feature that's been top of visitors and advertisers wish lists is finally here…
As the numbers of businesses on Good Access Guide has been increasing it's become more and more apparent that simply breaking down a category (say Hotels) by region just wasn't working. This gave the visitor far too many results to choose from especially if they were only interested in a particular county.
So now, when you choose a category on GAG, you'll still see all the original regions but these are now broken down further into individual counties.
This will make it easier for visitors to find exactly what they want. And advertisers will feel that their listing is being found more quickly and by visitors who are looking for their type of business in a much narrower geographic area.
As always, we'd love to hear your thoughts on this enhancement to the website and any ideas you may have for future upgrades.
The next logical step for us is to break down the counties into towns, based on the post town of each business. Hopefully we can get this underway in the not too distant future…
It's been well over thirty years since I last holidayed in the beautiful Peak District - which reminds me that I can't keep telling people I'm only 29 years old!
Karen (that's the present Mrs. C) and I spent a few days at the delightful Wheeldon Trees Farm, just to the south of Buxton. The welcome from Deborah and Martin was both warm and sincere and was complemented by their well-appointed disabled-friendly accommodation, Sheldon Cottage.
Stunning views greeted us from whichever window you found yourself gazing out of. The dramatic scenery changes by the minute as the sun and clouds bring out the full splendour of the scenery - even the odd shower of rain couldn't dampen the atmosphere of such a relaxing spot.
We visited Chatsworth House and Gardens with me getting a complete workout from pushing Karen up some of the paths. But the views made up for me gasping for breath, with the journey back down to the house truly testing the grip on my shoes.
Chatsworth House is now accessible to wheelchair users in all the areas the general public can use. It's best to phone ahead and book a slot for viewing the house as, for safety reasons, they do limit the number of wheelchairs on any one floor at a time.
The staff were friendly and helpful but not pushy and helped to make the visit really enjoyable.
And I must also congratulate High Peak District Council on the Pavilion Gardens and Restaurant in Buxton. It's not often that I praise local authorities but in this case they'd got things just right.
The service in the restaurant was fast, efficient and, above all, friendly. The food is all prepared to your order (not just blitzed in a microwave) and was so good we went back again the following day. And for someone who likes his food that is truly praise indeed!
All too soon our break at Wheeldon Trees Farm was over. We headed home to the flatlands of East Anglia, travelling on what has turned out to be one of the hottest days of the year.
I'll not be leaving it another thirty years before I revisit the Peak District…
The Equality Act 2010 ('the Act') replaces the existing anti-discrimination laws with a single Act and comes into effect on 1st October 2010. It simplifies the law, removing inconsistencies and making it easier for people to understand and comply with it. It also strengthens the law in important ways to help tackle discrimination and inequality.
People who access your goods, facilities or services are protected from direct discrimination on the basis of a 'protected
characteristic'.
These characteristics are:
Prior to The Equality Act the legislation covering disability was the Disability Discrimination Acts (DDA) of 1995 and 2005.
The most significant part of the DDA covered businesses and public sector organisations needing to be accessible to disabled people. This meant that disabled people must be able to access goods and services as easily as a non-disabled person. So, this covers getting into and out of premises, access within the premises and treating a disabled person in a manner that does not discriminate against them.
The DDA was split into three parts:
The DDA was amended in 2005 to cover, from point of diagnosis, people with HIV infection, cancer and multiple sclerosis.
All of this is enshrined in the new legislation with more protection added against three new forms of disability discrimination:
Our online disability awareness training programme gives more information about the Equality Act.
Find out more about our online disability awareness training »
We're really pleased at the level of interest our online disability awareness training is generating.
This highly flexible and cost-effective training package is suited to all businesses and organisations, giving employees a good introduction to disability and how to better serve their disabled customers.
Learn more about our online disability awareness training »
We're gradually getting to grips with all this social media stuff!
We now have a Facebook page where you can catch-up with everything that's happening here at GAG HQ.
Don't worry... We're not planning on using the page as an out and out sales pitch. Yes, there'll be some gentle persuasion about using one of our fantastic services but most of it will be just everyday things that we're up to, news stories, things that have made us laugh and hopefully more besides.
And while we're getting sociable, why not follow us on Twitter?
It's a great way to keep up to date with all that's happening here at GAG and Equo.
There are now over 700 hotels listed on the Good Access Guide.
We would really like to make that a grand though... So, if you know of a hotel that's local to you or one you've stayed at that is accessible, please drop us a line. With your help we can grow the accommodation section of GAG and get those hotels up to over 1000…
Sticking with numbers... There are now over 4100 businesses in all sorts of industries listed on the Good Access Guide - accommodation, independent living suppliers and leisure providers.
Can you help us to get that figure up to 5000?
If there's any business that you think should be listed on GAG, please just drop us a line.
You may be receiving this newsletter because your business is listed on GAG.
This should bring a smile to your face.
After a long absence I've finally been persuaded to get back into acting. Yes, there's nothing to beat the roar of the greasepaint and the smell of the crowd (well something like that!).
I'll soon be performing in the hit musical The Full Monty at the Marina Theatre, Lowestoft. With no pun intended, I have a sizeable part in the show, being one of the six guys that does the 'Full Monty'!
It all seemed such a good idea at the time but with under three weeks to go, I'm not so sure now! What could possibly go wrong? In front of an audience of 700, mainly women, there are endless possibilities...
And, if whipping your trousers off in public once isn't enough, we're doing it for six performances!
You can keep up to date with the show by 'liking us' on Facebook. There may even be a few pics on there too… These will have to pass a decency test first though!
Ian