This is as much a rant as a question, and could equally have been posted in The Pub.....but here goes
Mrs M has increasingly poor mobility, she uses a stick rather than a wheelchair, and (I'm sure she wouldn't mind me saying) can get very flustered in busy surroundings.
She is labelled as 'Disabled' by officialdom being the recipient of PIP, and a proud displayer of Blue Badge, and has been awarded the Order of the Disabled Bus Pass.
We are increasingly travelling by train - although we can both drive, neither of us enjoy the journey, and with her rail pass, journeys are eminently affordable.
When we are able to plan journeys in advance the rail assistance scheme works like a dream when changing trains (the staff at Sheffield station seem to love showing us their goods lift and overbridge!), but only up to the door of the train. And the scheme is no use if - like yesterday - we were unsure of our travel plans (we left Birmingham much earlier than expected due to the temperature)
This is where our / her problem lies - when on the train, or when boarding the train - there is often a scrum to board, particularly at commuter stations, such as Birmingham & Leicester (an increasingly common journey pair), meaning Mrs M and I are left searching for seats. The assistance people will get you onto the train, but don't want to help to get you to a seat (I gather this may mean that the departure gets delayed). Some trains have 'Priority Seats' - generally occupied by business-folk wanting the extra legroom, or youths with oversized backpacks.
While I accept that most people, most of the time, are mostly OK - is there a way that the gallery can recommend for Mrs M to approach the issue of actually (a) not getting crushed in the scrum to board, and (b) getting a seat without getting at worst abuse, or least 'the look of shame'?