This all happened pre-COVID-19 self-isolation and social distancing advice.
As expected, the dreaded letter arrived on the doormat on Tuesday 25 February 2020. This was after having to wait 2.5 weeks to see my GP because he had been sent my form and needed to go through it with me.
Initially, the letter summoned me to a an assessment meeting in Wembley at 9am on Wednesday 4 March 2020. Really? Wembley at 9am on a weekday from south-east London? On public transport? Not a hope pal, not a hope. Those of you who know London know that trying to get from SE London to NW London for 9am on a weekday would probably mean me having to leave the house well before 6.30am to stand any chance of getting there. Also, those of you who have worked in London are well aware of what a nightmare public transport is in our beloved City during rush hour (well rush three hours). Factor in that me and public transport have a very chequered history of late in regards to panic attacks, 9am at Wembley was not going to work.
That meant phoning them up and changing the venue. Oh, that was fun. Because you really don’t get much notice for these meetings, I phoned the same day that I received the letter. The chap on the end of the phone was very nice but clearly had absolutely no idea about the geography of trying to get around London and the South East in general.
Firstly, he wanted to know why I wouldn’t go to Wembley, as it is (in mileage terms) the closest venue. Once I’d convinced him that getting across town on public transport really just wasn’t an option, I requested to be booked into the assessment centre at Chatham. Chatham is 30 miles away from me but it means that either my Mum or Jill can drive down there and it goes against the flow of traffic. It would only take an hour tops to get there if the meeting was first thing in the morning. I always take Mum or Jill with me to these assessments because they are so stressful and I get very upset in the assessments talking about anything.
Well, the chap at the end of the phone dismissed Chatham initially and said that I should go to Croydon or Romford. Immediately not even considering trying to get to either of those on public transport (which would mean going into London and back out again), I think of the driving options. Let me tell you about Croydon. That would involve either the South Circular or the M25. Nope. Romford involves crossing the Thames which would be either the Blackwall Tunnel or Dartford Tunnel. Either of those going northbound of a morning are their own personal corner of hell and totally out of the question.
For the last time my dear boy, Chatham please. He reluctantly agreed. I finally got my appointment at Chatham on Friday 13 March 2020 (what a great day) at 10am. Well, at least it will be over with by lunchtime – hopefully. I’m normally in there for well over an hour. It all just depends on how long I’m kept waiting before going in.
I had a week to read through my paperwork again and prepare myself for the assessment. There will be a separate post about the assessment itself.
Living The BPD Life 