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1940 BEFORE MY WORLD BEGAN
Guess I had a fragile start. My parents were married in 1934. Around Christmas 1935, they went up to Blackpool where twins were borne but died within 24 hours. Dad had to return to Wolverhampton leaving Mum to bear the burden or lose his job at a time of mass-unemployment. In January 1937 my elder…
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My Dad ON the BBC
Well, no. That’s a complete lie. He has been dead for over sixty years but, when he was alive, i never got round to thanking him for the wonderful encouragement he always gave during the first nineteen years of my life. Death is so sudden and final and suddenly, his things were still all around…
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How School For the Blind Used To Be
this black and white film was made in 1961 at Dorton House School, Kent.Its amazingly Dickensian. Hymns to start and end the film. When I took over the headship some 23 years later, things had moved on but I took over from the same Head. Only now seeing the film do I better understand his…
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TWO-FACED SNEAKY OR WHAT
Surely this has nothing to do with disability, with being a disabled person or having an impairment; but has it? For years I could read for a short while with an ever- strengthening powerful magnifying glass with its own light. Great. I used to boast that I could see to read cheques but not bills.…
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An Older Man
This is about Testosterone DEFICIENCY AND SELF IMAGE There is plenty of information on the web about the effects of low testosterone in older men. I am 73 and had pretty bad bowel cancer some 14 years ago and have experienced low T progressively and gradually since that time. This is not the time to…
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LOW VISION FATIGUE
Through most of my life I have experienced huge fatigue when looking/reading for any length of time over two or three minutes. Low vision friends tell of similar experience. Even with the latest and best electronic magnifiers, this fatigue does not go away although it is lessened to some extent. You quickly get to the…
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In Defence Of Braille
: Paul Gough Hopkins Happy Birthday Louis Braille! Why write all the following down when someone has already said it way better than I could have without sitting for a couple of hours to think it through. I’m so thankful that I was taught Braille at school. I did protest at first and they let…
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A Care Home Perspective
I was moved to hear about an old school friend, now in a home, having to wait fifteen minutes before being cleaned up after a bad bout of sickness. Distressing, of course and we all dread not being able to take care of our own needs. But one of my first jobs after graduation was…
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Zooming In To Christmas Week
Of course, there is stuff to learn but the Zoom thing works well with our screenreader technology and, as often happens, I see more of a face on screen and hear more of a conversation in my headphones than round a table where taking turns to speak can be not so disciplined. On Zoom, we…
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A Beautiful Tapestry
I don’t know about you, but sometimes I miss out on a good thing just because of its title or a write-up. But don’t be put off by the title, A Beautiful Tapestry, a Christian book, or even blindness and deafness. This one is way above all that. If you are held back by things…
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Ready To Go And Got No Takers
Well, after a couple of weeks of work on this site and a bit of writing over the years, I am all set to go and looking forward to the first person who responds to me. It’s a cold night here but maybe some one is browsing and comes across screenreader. I would love to…
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Adam Morse
Adam Morse is a blind chap and makes films out of his dreams and imagination. A very refreshing attitude to sigt loss and being oneself. Go to BBC Radio 4 Four thought Saturday 7 November 2020 and enjoy. You will need to subscribe to In Your Pocket smartphone or BBC Sounds.
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Out And About Without Sight
I yesterday joined a webinar on navigation for blind and low vision people. Lots of words and many of them I did not understand. But for nearly 80 years I have navigated hugely round the world as a nearly blind person. I am rightly excited about the future of outdoor, indoor and unstructured environment navigation…
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Personal Space
Particularly at this time of the virus, the lockdown and the need to keep our distance, personal space has jumped up the agenda. I grew up never even thinking it was an issue. As well as having very little sight, I am also short-sighted. This means I have to put my nose to it…
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HELLO HELLO HELLO IS ANYONE THERE?
I think I am one of the mad visually and hearing challenged persons who seems to say hello to everyone I meet – at least round about where I live. Mad or eccentric? Possibly both but there is method in my mad eccentricity despite the embarrassment caused to my children and others. In the first…
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Embarrassment
The other morning, I was almost home and met a lady with a little dog. We chatted mostly about me and how I was. Then she crossed the road and went into her own house. Yes, she was the daughter of our closest neighbour and I did not recognise her, not seeing her face or…
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AM I REALLY DEAFBLIND?
Yes, I guess I am. But I see colours and shapes and I can still hear some birds. I can’t see to read and I mis-hear so much it is becoming embarrassing. The issue is, however, that it is not about me. Deafblind is about millions of individuals , each with his or her own…
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Dual Sensory Loss
Getting used to poor hearing and poor seeing is not as straightforward as might be imagined. As in many human new situations, time is needed to get used to the new. The reality of the new is not what one might expect. Hearing less is not just a matter of amplifying sounds, spending time…
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George For…Or Something
I get to hear less and less of the news. But there is an item that is dear to my heart. I hear the name George ‘foi’’ a lot and understand this man is black and was murdered on camera by a white policeman. I don’t hear His last name but feel for him, HIS…
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Deafblind Pride
Recently on the radio, I heard the voice of Helen Keller, the most famous and influential deafblind person ever. I was filled with emotion and admiration all over again. One of the fears some of us have is that we will acquire a deaf persons’ voice and feel embarrassed about it. Apparently, Helen Keller herself…
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Holding Back
I often wonder why some people just like me, hold back and others just can’t keep out of the limelight. So I have been thinking about some of the things that might hold us back which could be related to our seeing and hearing challenges. Of course, we know we should not be holding back.…
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