Madam, - I use a wheelchair. One day some time ago I carelessly left my car in Dawson Street and went off to browse for far too long in the nearby bookstores. I got back to my car to find to my dismay that it was gone. It had been spirited away by the clampers.
I realised that I fully deserved whatever it was that I had coming to me, but I had no idea what to do, having never before been thus caught. A helpful local businesswoman rang the aforementioned clampers for me and was told that my car was around the corner in Molesworth Street. And indeed it was there, snugly parked in a designated wheelchair spot. My day was made.
More recently, I took a ride on the No. 3 bus from Sandymount to Clonliffe Road. I was on my way to a game in Croke Park. It was a particularly busy bus route on a rainy Sunday afternoon. I hadn't used Dublin Bus for all of 34 years, since I started to use a wheelchair; buses in Dublin have only relatively recently started to become wheelchair-friendly.
It was great to be using the bus again, but I didn't know what to expect in terms of assistance, not having had previous experience. In fact, on my return journey the wheelchair lift refused to work and I thought I had a problem. Not so - it didn't matter at all: the bus driver's cheerful, courteous and competent help in getting me off the bus again made my day.
I thought it only fair that these incidents be related, to give credit where credit is due. - Yours, etc.,
ANNE O'SULLIVAN, St Catheryn's Court, Newgrove Avenue, Sandymount, Dublin 4.