In retrospect I suppose it was not so much of a big deal, but something happened yesterday afternoon which really annoyed me. I was short of cash, so I popped down to Woolwich to get some. I was in my building society. I’ve been going to that branch for just under a year now, and I think the staff are used to me, so I decided to communicate using my voice rather than my Lightwriter. I love my lightwriter, but sometimes you just feel the urge to vocalise. Sometimes it just feels more comfortable. I also thought it was about time I introduced that particular cashier to my natural voice. So that is what I did: I tried asking for a mini-statement using my natural voice, but rather suddenly the woman serving me told me to use my Lightwriter. It felt like a command – an order. I was quite taken aback, even offended. I was talking quite clearly I thought, but it seemed as though the woman couldn’t be bothered to try to understand me. Granted there was a queue, but surely I have the right to choose how I communicate my requests, and the right not to be ordered so forcefully. After all, I’m not a child. After I got my statement I left as quickly as possible without saying a word,

I suppose looking back it’s hard to say what was right and what was wrong, but I must say in that moment I felt very angry indeed.