I think both Lyn and I prefer to save up and go private for our equipment. I know it doesn’t do my left-wing credentials any good, but, when it comes to things like wheelchairs an communication aids, going through the state can be more trouble than it’s worth. Thus we recently bought our new manual chairs from the internet; and L got her new Ipad stand the same way. It would seem that our instincts were right about this: on the lunchtime news, we learned that wheelchair services are failing across england. It’s always been bad, of course, but now it is horrific. People wait years for a chair, and when they get one, it often isn’t suitable. Fortunately, we were told, Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson is trying to do something about it, but I wouldn’t hold my breath. Mind you, dominik, who was watching the news with us, commented that we are lucky, and that in many other countries there is no wheelchair provision at all. True enough, I suppose.