The Fortunate Dyslexic

For the first time, in a long time my husband and I went away for the night 'kid free'. We took the 2 hour trip to York and stayed at a lovely spa on  the outskirts. Our experience was lovely, and the reason I write this short blog is simple.

In the evening we opted to indulge in some of the spectacular cocktails on offer in the Titanic Spa's 1911 Bar. The menu was so tempting I sampled most of them!! What stood out for me was the passion behind all of the cocktail creators, 2 guys and 1 lady all with smiles and a cheeky bit of competitiveness put together some beautiful works of art that looked too good to drink.

The place had a buzzing atmosphere, we sat at the bar so we could ogle over the cocktails being made (some made to order, not on the menu!) and chat to the staff. Which is what we did.

The one bar tender we started to chat to just loved the art of cocktail making, he didn't need to tell us that, we could just tell. So I asked him if he was trained or was he self taught? To my horror, before he even started to tell the story of how he learnt his trade, he said;
"well, you see, unfortunately I'm dyslexic"
I quickly jumped in and asked him why he thought being dyslexic was 'unfortunate'?

At the establishment where he trained to making such masterpieces they had to learn all 50 odd cocktails and all the ingredients off by heart. He did that easily, because he is fortunate to be dyslexic and his memory is superb. However, this had to be proven by a written exam, in which you had to gain 93% or more to even step foot behind the bar. He couldn't do it, he simply couldn't write them down, he wasn't given the option of an oral exam... I was horrified. Needless to say, he soon left.

Luckily for The Titanic Spa - 1911 Bar, they didn't have such narrow minded acceptance policy, and they now have an exceptional cocktail creator and master of rum!!! 

Why did this strike such a nerve with me? Well, my late Dad was massively dyslexic and so is my Brother, In our family dyslexia was never a 'diagnosis' it was, and always will be something at sets these people apart from others, more of an 'identification'. People need to realise it is not a disease or an imperfection that we strive to find a cure for, there is no cure and never will be. It is purely a characteristic that gives some people more opportunity and drive than what they may have had otherwise.

An adult or child with dyslexia shouldn't be labelled or made to feel they are lesser of a person than anyone else on this planet, there are many pitfalls that people push them into by uneducated comments. These need to be abolished. It's a lot more simple than people think, find a way the dyslexic likes to and is able to learn and go with it. If they are practical, make learning practical, if they are musical, learn through the medium of music, if they excel in maths or have a flair for art use it... These people who are labelled as stupid are our next engineers, artists, designers, inventors and entrepreneurs, just ask these successful dyslexics:  

• Albert Einstein
• Richard Branson
• Tom Cruise
• Walt Disney
• Leonardo De Vinci
• Kiera Knightley
• Steven Spielberg
• Whoopi Goldberg
• John F Kennedy, George Washington & George W Bush
• John Lennon
• Jamie Oliver
• John Davies (my Dad, remarkable carpenter, engineer & sailor)

To name but a few.... I hope one day to this list can be added the hugely talented cocktail maker at the Titanic Spa - 1911 Bar (Sorry I didn't get his name!!)

So, if you or your child have the dyslexia characteristic, please don't hang your head and say "unfortunately I'm / they're dyslexic". On the contrary, hold your head up high and boast about your / their skills and talents and say:
"I / they outshine at this because I am fortunate enough to have dyslexia"

If you are dyslexic, please comment and let us all know how you use this fortunate trait to our advantage. 

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