Action Blog
Viewing entries posted in March 2010
Sight loss and acceptance: time heals all wounds if you let it
My eyes and I are coming up to our second anniversary. On April 1st, it will be two years since I registered blind. And since I am planning to participate fully in the joys of April Fool's Day - I do live with two boys, after all - I am suddenly aware of just how far I’ve come. My sense of humour was definitely on sabbatical this time last year, so the fact that I am feeling mischievous again has given rise to a very warm and fuzzy feeling all over.
Much more than a pet
I have a great love for dogs. The other week I travelled to the Emirates Stadium to watch Burnley play Arsenal. As I got off the coach I was welcomed by two brown and white spaniel dogs with tails that wagged their bodies. My first reaction was to stroke them, but then I realised that these dogs were happy because they were working. It got me thinking about the wonderful contribution that dogs make to improve our way of life.
Comfortably Blind - Part 3
I met many people, and most of them were genuinely interested in meeting me and finding out about what it is like to be a visually impaired traveller and I was more than happy to relate my story to them because it was a rare and unique one that would broaden their experience and understanding, not out of any need to explain or justify myself, but simply because understanding is the key for all of us. And it was also fantastically pleasing that the telling of this tale didn't serve to define me in any way, in my eyes or theirs.
How a blind, resourceful and respectful girl creates opportunities
When I was in Toronto visiting my dad in February, it was mighty cold. After 20 years of London winters, anything sub-zero in daytime is just not on. But Torontonians kept on commenting on what a mild winter it was and thought I was ridiculous with my suitcase full of thermal underwear.
Amidst great pain comes momentous joy and a completely unexpected new beginning
When my dad had his leg amputated and was recovering in hospital, his cries of pain rocked me to my very core.
‘Never for me the lowered banner, never the last endeavour.’
These words of the great Antarctic explorer Earnest Shackleton have been at the forefront of my thinking in the last week. Welfare rights work can be so exhilarating when things are going right and so frustratingly disappointing when they are not.
Comfortably Blind - Part 2
The decision to travel solo, to spend three months in Nepal on my own, did not come easy, but I knew I had to do it. I'd be able to fully test the limits of where my vision lay, of what I could and couldn't do. It would also clear up all the psychological clutter of how I defined and represented myself to other people, of how they should understand my visual impairment and whether I was making too much of an issue out of it.
Employing a visually impaired person makes good business sense
I am lucky. There are no two ways about it. I have the good fortune of having everything any human person needs to be happy and fulfilled. I have a loving family, have had the benefit of a great education and, this is where the luck bit comes in, I have been afforded opportunities.
What do we want? Free travel. When do we want it? Now!
As a dyed-in the-wool socialist I am disturbed by fundamental services such as healthcare, education and transport being offered to people on a postcode lottery basis. Often this arises due to the government seeking to bring in strong legislation but then succumbing to lobbies from amongst others the private sector and local authorities. The Free Bus Pass Scheme is no exception.
Inclusivity may be taking over, but it isn’t leaving accessibility behind
I made a commitment quite a few blogs ago to hold the accessibility torch and forge forward and I can report that I have done just that, but now need to make a slight alteration.
Tag cloud
accessibility, apple, assistive technology, beauty, benefits, braille, burnley, christmas, confidence, coping, digital inclusion, disability, disclosing disability, discrimination, dla, dwp, education, employment, esa, family, fashion, grieving, guide dogs, holidays, human rights, inclusive design, inclusivity, independence, independent living, iphone, life, lifestyle, living with sight loss, money, pension, people, personal independence payment, registration, respect, rp, sailing, shopping, sight loss, social inclusion, technology, travel, vi people, web accessibility, welfare rights, work,
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