The Royal National College for the Blind has sold its southern campus to Herefordshire Council. Peter asks why did it have to be sold, and why did the council want to buy it? After 25 years of providing services to visually-impaired people in Merseyside, Henshaws Society for the Blind is moving out of Liverpool. Henshaws' director of community services tells us why. Jo Parsons used to be a chef before retiring to Devon a few years ago. She has not stopped cooking though, setting up a pudding clu...
Mar 12, 2019•19 min
Dr Damion Corrigan wanted to be a medical doctor and when that seemed out of his reach, he took another route to working to improve medical testing. He says the field of science is opening up for prospective visually impaired scientists. Comedian Chris McCausland and actor Chloe Clarke debate whether it's a realistic assertion that all visually impaired roles on TV, in film and on stage should be played by partially sighted actors. Presenter: Peter White Producer: Lee Kumutat
Mar 05, 2019•19 min
Virgin Trains offers customers a new way of booking assistance during travel on its routes. It has developed a skill for Amazon Alexa-enabled devices. Emma Tracey tries it out for us and Vic Whitehouse from Virgin Trains explains why they've developed it. Hester, an eleven-year-old visually-impaired student from Bath, is going on a fund-raising journey to Ethiopia. She'll be visiting other visually-impaired schoolchildren and doing a 5km run to raise money for the school. Hester says she's nervo...
Feb 27, 2019•19 min
Peter White talks to Cathy Yelf, the chief executive of the Macular Society, about the first treatment to target the underlying genetic cause of age-related macular degeneration (AMD). We feature feedback from last week’s programme in which we heard from Emily Brothers, whose guide dog was attacked by another dog. Guide dog owner Sandra Drewell, has had a similar experience. And Peter talks to Charmian Cvek about her experience of caring for her mother who was losing her sight. Charmian tells us...
Feb 19, 2019•19 min
In November of last year, Emily Brothers’ guide dog, Truffle, was attacked by two dogs in Sutton, South London. As a result of her injuries, Truffle was out of action for six weeks. Emily was unhappy with the support she received from Guide Dogs for the Blind Association. Reporter Dave Williams spoke to Emily at her home. John Carlin from GDBA responds. Also, we hear listeners’ feedback from the radio play, Blind School, which was broadcast on Radio 4 last Tuesday, and which we featured on In To...
Feb 13, 2019•19 min
Visually impaired tenants of a block of flats in west London, run by the Thomas Pocklington Trust, are concerned about the Trust's proposal to make changes to its housing scheme. They explain their worries and we hear from the Trust. Is it right to presume that mainstream schools are the best places for blind and visually impaired children to learn? Conservative Member of the Scottish Parliament Liz Smith has tabled a motion challenging that presumption. What does she want it to achieve? Present...
Feb 05, 2019•19 min
Reporter Tom Walker finds out why the closure of the RNIB Centre in Bristol has locals up in arms. Colin Whitbourne, RNIB's Head of Network Operations in the South, tells us the thinking behind the decision. And the writer Mandy Redvers-Rowe on the very personal story at the heart of her radio drama Blind School, which features a cameo performance by none other than Peter White. The play, co-written with Sarah McDonald-Hughes, will air on Radio 4 on February 5 and tells the story of Nina who str...
Jan 29, 2019•34 min
Listeners tell us why they think their sighted running guides should receive a medal on completing the London Marathon. Organisers tell us these policies are under review. The BBC's technology reporter Rory Cellan-Jones has been to Cambridge to see a new tactile innovation for helping teach visually impaired children how to write computer code. Listener Annie Rimmer has got back to In Touch to share some good news she heard from the National Lottery about plans to make their app more accessible ...
Jan 22, 2019•19 min
Dame Joan Plowright was discovered as a stage actor in the late 1950s before going on to have a stellar career – starring in The Country Wife, A Taste of Honey and as Saint Joan. She became Lady Olivier on marrying Sir Laurence Olivier in 1961. They were married until his death in 1989. Dame Joan took parts in film and television production up until 2014 when her worsening eyesight compelled her to retire. She lives in her home in Sussex where she and Sir Laurence came to live once he had retire...
Jan 21, 2019•28 min
Icons is an epic new history series for BBC Two profiling great people from seven different fields of human endeavour. It asks you to vote for your favourites, and ultimately decide who was the greatest person of the 20th century. Icons: Activists is on BBC Two, Monday 21 June, @ 9pm. If you want to find out how to vote for Helen Keller or any of the other nominees featured in the series then go to www.bbc.co.uk/icons, where you can also find Terms and a Privacy Notice. Extant theatre, a company...
Jan 15, 2019•19 min
In 2013, Norway's equivalent Equality and Human Rights Commission was given the authority to fine both public and private sector organisations if they didn't make their websites usable to a certain standard. There are suggestions from campaigners in the UK that the same approach should and could be adopted. Robin Christopherson from AbilityNet believes it is something that would work in the UK. Malin Rygg from Difi, the Norwegian organisation tasked with auditing websites, says they haven't fine...
Jan 08, 2019•19 min
Sally Clay’s recommended audiobook: Before I Go To Sleep by SJ Watson Ryan Kelly ‘s audiobook recommendation: The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August by Claire North Peter White’s audiobook recommendation Thirteen by Steve Cavanagh Presenter: Lee Kumutat Producer: Peter White
Jan 01, 2019•19 min
At the age of 14, Israel Martin’s life was on the verge of going off the rails. Growing up in Newham in East London, Israel was a member of a gang which committed crime and got involved in fights. When he started to lose his sight, his life changed, but not as he would have originally expected it to. Our reporter, Tom Walker, has been speaking to Israel at the Royal National College for the Blind in Hereford. Also, Peter White meets visually impaired dancer, Janet Salt from South Manchester. Jan...
Dec 18, 2018•19 min
Due to a long fought-for change by member states to EU legislation, the UK government now has discretionary powers to abolish VAT on all ebooks. The CEO of the Publishers’ Association says that no VAT would help people on low incomes including some visually-impaired people for whom these are essential. Reporter Tom Walker looks in to why Ofcom ruled that a London shock jock overstepped the mark when he derided a visually-impaired man for wanting to be the first person to train with a guide-horse...
Dec 11, 2018•19 min
Going to university presents special challenges if you are blind or visually impaired. It may be your first time away from home. You have to learn a whole new level of independence from finding your way around unfamiliar spaces, to decoding lectures and fitting in with your new friends. Peter White talks to three students about their experiences.
Dec 04, 2018•19 min
The early symptoms of a rare form of Alzheimer's disease, known as Posterior Cortical Atrophy, presents problems for people in seeing and making sense of the world. The disease starts in the visual cortex at the back of the brain. Its impact is devastating and its progression is aggressive. Doug Banks, who is 58 and has PCA, likens it to looking through a shattered mirror. He talks to Peter White about the other ways it affects his life. Alzheimer's Research UK's chief medical officer David Reyn...
Nov 27, 2018•19 min
In 2012 Simon Rockman set up a simple-to-use mobile phone service aimed at the older visually impaired person. Fuss Free phones had one button, which put your call through to a call centre and they would either phone someone or text them for you. Now Fuss Free Phones has closed. Peter White asks Simon Rockman what went wrong and will any customers be left out of pocket? Reporter Tom Walker meets Juliette Parfitt who began losing her sight in her early twenties. Since then she says she has strugg...
Nov 20, 2018•19 min
On the centenary of Armistice Day, over 100 blind veterans assembled at Horse Guards Parade in London. Some were blinded in action. However, most started to lose their sight well after their service had ended. Reporter Dave Williams went to talk to them as they assembled for this historic event - we hear just some of their stories. Also, Peter White visits 97-year-old blind veteran Peter Van Zeller. He is a resident at a Blind Veteran’s UK care home, and shares the story of when he first discove...
Nov 13, 2018•19 min
Over the next 12 months, In Touch is planning a series of stories and interviews looking at the changing landscape of our streets, and the ways in which councils, rehabilitation trainers and technology can help visually impaired people cope with this fast-changing picture. Professors Anna Lawson and Rich Romano are both leading on different projects looking at the future of towns and cities. Prof Lawson’s is focusing on the elements that cause people to feel excluded from the streets, while Prof...
Nov 06, 2018•19 min
What help can you get if you struggle to recycle your rubbish? Listeners talk about the problems they have with recycling their rubbish: from knowing which bin to put the right rubbish in, to finding it again once it has been collected. We talk to Wayne Priestly from the Association for Public Service Excellence about what help visually impaired-residents can expect to receive from their local council. Professor Christopher Tyler from London City University believes he has found evidence artist ...
Oct 30, 2018•19 min
Last week the Royal National Institute for the Blind announced the closure of the Pears Centre, a children's home and school, run by the charity. The Pears Centre will shut in November after Ofsted raised significant concerns about the management of the Specialist Learning Centre. The children at the centre will need to find new placements. We get reaction from Hardeep Rai, a parent, whose son is a resident at the Pears Centre, in Coventry. And we'll find out how best to wow the audience if you'...
Sep 11, 2018•19 min
A school for visually impaired children with additional disabilities is being closed.
Sep 04, 2018•19 min
Tom Walker talks to visually-impaired attendees of the first conference of the Partially-Sighted Society. Anita Plant, CEO of the PSS talks to Peter White about the charity's relaunch. RNIB Optometrist Louise Gaw talks to Cheryl Gabriel about the way lighting can help someone with low vision, make the most of their residual sight. Louise stresses the importance of getting professional help from a rehab worker or local blind society, to advise on the best lighting options, depending on the eye co...
Mar 13, 2018•19 min
News, views and information for people who are blind or partially sighted. Jackie Brown wants better access to domestic white goods, which don't require sighted help to set up. Robin Christopherson from AbilityNet, suggests smart options which use apps, speech and wifi to enable a blind person to take control of their domestic appliances. Jackie is concerned however, that not everyone is comfortable using smartphone technology and the demise of the button and tactile switches will leave some peo...
Oct 03, 2017•19 min
A question often-asked of blind and visually impaired people, by both sighted and other blind people, is "is your partner blind or sighted?" Peter White explores the reasons behind this question, and blind and visually impaired peoples' reaction to it. Guests: Amie Slavin, Jonathan Mosen and Rob Murthwaite. Presenter: Peter White Producer: Lee Kumutat.
Aug 30, 2017•19 min
16-year-old Grace Marsh talks of her vision loss and her poetry aspirations. Actor Karina Jones lands an iconic role as a blind character.
Aug 23, 2017•19 min
21-year-old Allan Hennessey was born in Iraq totally blind. His parents applied to the UK for him to undergo laser surgery, which restored a minimal amount of vision in one eye. Later Allan and his family settled in the UK on a council estate in east London. While attending a mainstream school, he rejected all attempts to teach him to read braille or adapt to his visual impairment, preferring to rely on the support and safety net of the multicultural community in which he thrived. In high school...
Aug 15, 2017•19 min
In August 2016 it became mandatory for health and social care providers to offer patients written information in whichever format they required - whether that be via text, email, braille, audio or large print. The implementation of what is called the Accessible Information Standard has recently been reviewed with mixed results. We put some listeners' experiences of getting required information in a required format from the NHS to Olivia Butterworth from NHS England. Peter White talks to Vanessa ...
Aug 08, 2017•28 min
What's the best approach when it comes to holidays for blind and partially sighted people? TravelEyes is a company which takes both blind and sighted people on holiday - the visually impaired traveller pays full price, and the fully-sighted person pays up to 50% of the full cost and agrees to guide and describe the attractions for the visually impaired travellers. But what if you have an additional need like a hearing impairment? The travel company says that in some cases, customers who have an ...
Aug 01, 2017•19 min
A look at the range of specialist and non-specialist gadgets available for identifying objects and travelling around. Joining Peter to share their experiences of solutions offered by technology are guests Jackie Brown, the incoming chair of the British Computer Association of the Blind, and Dave Williams, a freelance trainer on technology. If you'd like to find out more about the products discussed in tonight's programme please call the Radio 4 Action Line on 0800 044 044 for the next 24 hours a...
Jul 25, 2017•19 min
