News, views and information for people who are blind or partially sighted
The battles to get our town and city centres more user friendly for the visually impaired. What can we learn from Australia? Brisbane based accessibility expert John MacPherson is our guest. We hear from Peter Osborne of Guide Dogs about the renewed efforts to link up animals and owners during the pandemic. PRESENTER: Peter White PRODUCER: Mike Young
It's emerged more than a third of the UK's railway platforms are still without tactile paving. It was designed thirty years ago to make it very clear to a blind or visually impaired rail user exactly where the edge was. Caroline Pidgeon, a Lib Dem member of the London Assembly, asks how long will it take before this safety measure is universally installed? As university students across the UK prepare to head home for Christmas, we hear from two first years who are visually impaired. How has thei...
We hear about the newly launched Freeview Play Accessible TV Guide which you can find on channel 555. We hear from Gavin Ellis who led the development of it. And calls to save the RNIB's giant print library which is due to shut in January. Are the alternatives to a borrowed large print book, particularly for younger readers, going to be as good? PRESENTER: Peter White PRODUCER: Mike Young
Peter Wilkins tells us about the loss of his wife who died in a care home he was barely allowed to visit due to Covid restrictions. He says the isolation felt by those with sight loss in care homes is unbearable. And London Underground changes its policy for blind and visually impaired users. Physically assisted guidance is resuming after it was stopped for eight months due to Covid. PRESENTER: Peter White PRODUCER: Mike Young
The RNIB says its closing its giant print lending library in January next year. We hear from the RNIB's Director of Services David Clarke. The disabled artist and film-maker Richard Butchins will be telling us about his latest TV programme. It challenges the importance of good vision in making great art. The Disordered Eye is on the BBC iPlayer now and is available with audio description. PRESENTER: Peter White PRODUCER: Mike Young
Cabinet Office Minister Chloe Smith and RNIB Chair Eleanor Southwood discuss the technological changes being introduced to help blind and visually impaired people vote independently and in secret. We also look at the situation in the US and hear how technology is helping voters cast their votes in the race to the White House. PRESENTER: Peter White PRODUCER: Mike Young
Peter White chats with Steve Daley who, at the age of 43, retired as captain of England's partially sighted, 5-a-side "Futsal" team after last year's World Cup final. Futsal is FIFA's recognised version of small-sided football. In total he represented England at nine World Cups and nine European Championships, winning Silver and Bronze medals along the way. The FA has now offered him the Head Coach role which Steve has accepted. And, with a new TV advert featuring a blind actress, we'll hear fro...
News of a global study into dry age-related macular degeneration. Its aiming to help experts understand the role genetics may play in the disease. Professor Paulo Stanga from the London Vision Clinic talks us though what the study involves and how you can take part. There is a number to call if you want more information about this trial. It's 01438 532 142. The link for more details is also on our website. Also in this programme, the public transport challenges we face as we travel around the wo...
Fern Lulham sits in for Peter White (you can see a picture of Fern, with her guide dog Nancy, on this programme's page on our website). The Audio Description Association will be telling us about the falling numbers of theatres offering audio described performances in recent years. They're hoping there'll be a reversal of that trend once the theatres start to reopen after lockdown. And Fern chats with Sinead Kane. Sinead was the first registered blind solictor in Ireland. And, three years ago, sh...
Guide Dogs, the RNIB and the Thomas Pocklington Trust have joined forces to launch a research project on the needs of blind and partially sighted people. Keith Valentine from the RNIB tells us why they're doing it and how you can take part. The survey link is on our website. Or you can call 0161 507 7360. Or you can email: sightlossresearch@acumenfieldwork.com Also on the programme, blind Indian music legend Baluji Shrivastav chats to Peter about plans for his 70th birthday. We'll hear just how ...
We hear from a blind student who's facing the start of his first year at university during the pandemic. We also meet a student who's taken a year out rather than return to university when social distancing and other restrictions are in place. Among our expert guests offering advice and support are Elin Williams from Look-UK. We also hear from Rachel Hewett who is from the Vision Impairment Centre For Teaching and Research at the University of Birmingham. PRESENTER: Peter White PRODUCER: Mike Yo...
A programme responding to your emails on a range of subjects. Talking about the latest glaucoma treatments, our guests include Karen Osborn who's the Chief Executive of Glaucoma UK. Also joining us is Gus Gazzard from Moorfields Eye Hospital. And with the latest on the pros and cons of driverless cars, we hear from a leading designer in the industry. PRESENTER: Peter White PRODUCER: Mike Young
The government is being urged to double its spending on research into eye disease. Fight for Sight, the charity which campaigns for the ending of preventable sight loss, argues that visual impairment is costing the country billions of pounds and that more than half the two million cases of visual impairment in the UK today are preventable. The Chief Executive of Fight for Sight, Sherine Krause, joins us. And we meet Carl Morgan who, it's believed, is the first blind musical therapist in England....
Tim Reddish is visually impaired and won numerous swimming medals when he competed in three Paralympics . He's been National Performance Director for the Disability Swim Team and he's chaired the British Paralympic Association. He's currently a member of the International Paralympic Committee Governing Board. We hear from him about the impact of delaying the 2020 games in Tokyo for a year. And we learn about the blind Japanese women who travelled their country as Goze musical performers. PRESENT...
A look at what specialist and mainstream schools are doing to help blind pupils get back to school safely. Can social distancing be achieved without leaving a blind pupil feeling isolated? Advice from chartered environmental health practitioner Dr. Lisa Ackerley on using public transport again as safely as possible. PRESENTER: Peter White PRODUCER: Mike Young
The National Pharmacy Association and the Macular Society discuss how best to maintain a steady flow of drugs and medicines into the UK from the EU after the Brexit transition period runs out at the end of December. And we hear from Stefano Sbrulli, the Italian photographer who captured lockdown on film from the perspective of blind and visually impaired people in the country. We also speak to one of the people who was snapped by Stefano. PRESENTER: Peter White PRODUCER: Mike Young
We look at the challenges facing people who are blind or visually impaired when they return to work for the first time since lockdown. We'll get advice from Maria Shinn. She's from ACAS which gives employees and employers free, impartial advice on workplace rights, rules and best practice. And our reporter Fern Lulham heads to London's Donmar Warehouse to check out a sound installation based on the novel "Blindness" by the Portuguese author José Saramago. Playwright Simon Stephens has adapted th...
Peter White hears about the efforts some blind charities are having to make to revive their finances and services after lockdown. And, Haben Girma, the first deafblind graduate of Harvard Law School, tells us about the Her Abilities Award and the drive to celebrate more women with disabilities. PRODUCER: Mike Young
There are now more places where you have to wear a face mask but there are exemptions if you have a disability. The national charity Sense says the government should do more to raise awareness of exemptions as they report a rise in the number of abuse cases related to the wearing of masks. Could a robotic guide dog ever replace the real thing? We talk to Anthony Camu, a student who has designed a prototype of a new device that leads the user as a guide dog would, and Angela Wood, chair of Hab Vi...
Abbie Robinson is a champion paraclimber. She talks to us about her passion for the sport and how she wants more blind and visually impaired people to take up the sport so it can qualify as a Paralympic event. Simon Mahoney suddenly found he had to learn how to cook for himself when his wife recently died. He's now decided to put all that he has learnt into a new book. Simon talks to us about cooking safely, but with aspiration, when you have no sight. Presented by Peter White Produced by Louise...
At the beginning of next year, when Britain leaves the European Union, rules will be different for taking dogs to EU countries. What will be the impact on guide dog owners? We speak to guide dog owner David Lucas and Chris Theobald from Guide Dogs. There has been a growth in on-line dating during lockdown. What are the issues for blind and visually impaired people? Has it been a good experience and will people continue to use online dating services? Fern Lulham is a self-confessed veteran of dat...
Ten years ago the shooting of PC David Rathband by the fugitive killer Raoul Moat shocked the UK. Blinded in the attack, the police officer eventually took his own life. The manhunt unfolded in real time against the relatively new backdrop of social media. We talk to writer Christopher Hogg whose award-winning drama Rathband explores the resonances of a tragedy which mirrored the communication failures and breakdowns which still define the medium today. He discusses the role Peter White's early ...
The government has begun a trial of rental e-scooter schemes and any local authority can apply. What are the concerns for blind and visually impaired people and can anything be done about it? We speak to David Davies from Pacts, the Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety, a charity which advises parliament on road safety issues. The charity Scope has done some research on which streaming platforms are the best when it comes to audio description. Why don't they all provide the same a...
The Charity Commission's report into the failings at the RNIB's care homes says it is 'one of the worst charity failures we have come across'. We hear from RNIB's Chief Executive and Head of Policy, Matt Stringer. He tells us what will happen to people in the residential homes and how they will repair their reputation for the future. Lord Blunkett talks to us about the challenges to visually impaired people as we come out of lockdown and whether any benefits can emerge from it.
As lockdown is relaxed, Peter gathers three people of different ages and walks of life to consider the impact of the last 12 weeks - and what the future holds. Elin Williams of Look UK is at the start of her working life. Emma Williams is part of the Independent Living Skills Team at New College Worcester, and Kevin Mulhern is a writer and producer of TV and radio. Together they sum up how lockdown has affected them, from enjoying the accessibility of online communications, to feeling that vital...
Many visually impaired people are still struggling to do a regular shop but a new scheme may help. The RNIB has joined with other visual impairment charities and DEFRA to provide help to those who have not been able to access priority shopping slots online. We hear how sports students Kali Holder and George Williams have been continuing their sports studies while their college is closed. Lucy Proctor is Executive Principal at the Royal National College and she tells us about the challenges of re...
Last year the High Court branded arrangements for voting for blind people "a parody of the electoral process". But the Scottish Parliament has approved a new pilot which will see blind and visually impaired people able to vote in secret in devolved elections. Previously many blind people have described being forced to take someone into the booth to vote for them because tactile voting devices have been unavailable in polling stations. Scotland's Minister for Parliamentary Business Graeme Dey exp...
The face-to-face training of guide dogs came to an end with lockdown. And the crisis has led to questions about how dogs may be losing their skills in this period of relative inactivity. Guide Dogs Director of Operations Peter Osborne takes on questions about how much of the delays pre-dated Coronavirus and where the My Guide project fits into future plans. You can contact their helpline on 08007811444. And Iris Peel puts the miles in. The accomplished runner was training for the Manchester Mara...
All parents are feeling the strain of educating their children at home. But for blind parents of sighted children, the dizzying array of apps and worksheets with varying degrees of accessibility can be a struggle. Father-of-two Nick Adamson is navigating the landscape well, and he's joined by Hetal Bapodra, who, with no sighted adult in the house, is finding things difficult. Sean Randall of Blind Parents UK is on hand to give his view of what it's reasonable to expect in the way of help. We had...
In this special programme we discuss what the rules on social distancing mean for the way blind and visually impaired people live their lives. For example, is it safe for a stranger to guide someone by the arm? What concerns are there around using public transport? We speak to Kirsten Hearn, a blind listener who raised the issue before lockdown. We hear how she is feeling now. We hear the experience of those who live in countries just emerging from lockdown. Peter Brass is a board member of the ...
