London shrank a bit more for me last night. A few days ago, my parents invited me to a meal out with them, my brother Luke and his wife Yan in Hammersmith. It’s part of the city I had never visited before and looked rather complicated to get to, so although I said yes I was a bit hesitant about the idea: the western part of London is still pretty much unknown territory for me. However, when I came to look at it yesterday morning, I found, to my relief, that Hammersmith is only two tube lines away with a change at Westminster, all of which were marked as accessible.

I needn’t have worried: getting there was remarkably easy. I use London public transport with more and more ease and confidence these days as it’s gradually becoming more and more accessible. I got there a few hours early to fond that Hammersmith is one of those jaw-dropping parts of London which has obviously had millions spent on it, with a pedestrianised central square surrounded by expensive-looking shops and bars. The tube station itself is obviously quite new: it’s more like it’s own fully-formed shopping arcade, where, conveniently enough (and thanks to WiFi) I found Mum and Dad waiting for me in the Costa.

The rest of the afternoon was spent with them. They were, of course, in full on parent mode, buying things like aprons and socks for me. Then, at around five, it was time to go to the restaurant to meet up with Luke and Yan. What followed was a lovely family evening, being fed some absolutely delicious meatballs while being updated on all the family news. It was great to see them and certainly felt long overdue, although I think you’ll understand if I don’t go into too much detail.

I must say, though, how awed I was by Hammersmith. It was modern, pedestrian, hip, and colossal amounts of money had obviously been spent on updating the area. I now want to go back there soon to explore it under my own steam. But then, it’s a similar story all over London: new buildings are being built and areas are being renovated and gentrified all over the place. For example, I went to check out the new-look Battersea Power Station a few days ago: on the one hand, it was all very sleek and modern; I found I could get around the power-station made shopping mall in my powerchair very easily. Again I was in awe of what London seems to now be capable of: you could once tell it was once a very different, brutal, industrial place, but had been completely transformed into somewhere commercial, accessible and bright. To be honest the emergence of such unique, quirky places almost makes it feel like I’m living in one vast amusement park. On the other hand, it was obscenely bourgeois: all the shops were high end, ultra-expensive, jewellery and perfume stores, of absolutely no interest to me but catering for the kind of rich urban snob with too much money and no grasp of reality who seems to now make up a large proportion of London’s population these days. If I’m honest if felt slightly sickening when you remember that so much money needs to be invested in other parts of the country.

Yet it’s the same story all over London. It’s as if the city has more money than it knows what to do with. Vast amounts are clearly being ploughed into updating and gentrifying areas of the city, from Hammersmith to Battersea to Kidbrooke, and I can’t help but worry other parts of the country are being left behind. Yesterday I had dinner with my family in one of many such suburbs in this modern, sleek bourgeois metropolis, travelling on an ultra-expensive tube network unique in the country. As fast as London is hurtling into the future, I can’t help worrying it’s leaving the rest of the country in the dust.