Saturday, November 07, 2009

foot fetish .... no

I'm in love with elephant feet. Not kinky love, so the prudish amongst you (of which I think there are truly few) may read on without fear of some purient and tittilating confessional blog. Part of me are wondering how many of you know what elepheant feet are and how they are used. So please share.

I encountered them a couple of nights ago when we checked into a hotel and found that the accessible room was lovely and large, its bathroom wonderfully organized with plenty of room for showering, sitting and shaving. But the bed, my goodness gracious me, it looked like it was made for someone of very limited height. I could easily get in but I could never get out. We weren't quite sure what to do.

At the front desk we explained what the problem was and the woman said, 'Oh, no problem we've got elephant feet.' As she said so, I pushed my little togs under my wheelchair, they were badly swollen and I wasn't sure if I had been included in her 'we'.

Turns out that elephant feet are these huge things that raise furnature like beds. They are round and grey (thus the name) and the legs of the beds fit snugly in and as a result of their addition a low bed becomes a high bed.

But I'm in love with something even rarer than grey, round elephant feet. I'm in love with a hotel that would bother to stock them, that would willingly use them and that thought nothing of the extra work that made me comfortable.

A little bit of heart, a little bit of thought, makes a whole lot of diference.

3 comments:

Gary Miller said...

Dave,

You are now a member of one of the UK's most useful clubs: "The Grey Feet Club".

These feet are quite common over here. I've got them fitted to my bed at the moment. The extra height they give make it easier to get in and out of bed with my current hip problems.

I knew that most hospitals and councils stock them for people who need them either temporarily or permanently.

But a hotel? Now that is attention to detail! Full marks to whoever advised the hotel on their obligations and requirements to provide accessible facilities; they should also get extra praise for going that extra mile.

Glad you're enjoying your trip over here so far.

Cheers!

Heather said...

It's that attitude of 'it's no bother'. The little things that make all the difference definitely.

I'm very impressed with the way you seem to manage to find good accessible accomodation. Do you ring around yourself or use an agency?

Can you let us in on the secret?

Heather

Kristin said...

Glad you ended up in a hotel that actually gives a damn.