Blog Archives

61. Argh… where has my burger gone?

30/5/2018

With hopes that the cold and wet weather will be behind us soon (it’s pouring with rain as we post this so maybe not!!) we live in hope of a long and warm (not too hot, just pleasant please) summer ahead of us. With summer and hot evenings brings eating ‘Alfresco’ (apparently that is defined as ‘In the open air’) and this means… Yes folks, the uncovering of the BBQ!! This week is National BBQ week (is that why it’s raining so much??) so we couldn’t let such a British tradition pass without us talking about it (and not just because it’s food related 😊).

Dave: I am a traditionalist when it comes to BBQs and continue to have a charcoal fired one. I’ve had the same BBQ for about 10 years, a cheap, round fold away one that I bought from Homebase (other home DIY supply shops are available). You might ask how it’s lasted 10 years… well, this is because it only gets used about once or twice each year (if we’re lucky) and spends the remaining time hanging up in my shed being used as a home for spiders.

I really enjoy the taste of barbequed food and would, if I had better sight, use the BBQ more than we do now. I have strategies in the kitchen for cooking and think that I do pretty well in this department; however, it’s very different when it comes to the BBQ.

The problem with a BBQ is that:
a)   You have to set them up and light the coals about 3 hours before you want to cook on them. I find that you have to allow 3 hours as it usually takes several attempts (usually using a bottle of lighting fluid and packet of firelighters) to light them unless you cheat and use the impregnated charcoal or buy the charcoal where you just light the bag
b)   It’s outside… usually in a sunny garden where the glare is impacting on the little sight I have remaining
c)    They smoke… the smoke always (yes always) comes in the direction of the chef and for me, trying to see through smoke with watering eyes that aren’t functioning due to the glare of the sun is an accident waiting to happen
d)   They eat my food… It’s true, for some reason, every time I go to turn a burger or roll a sausage they’ve gone… Usually this is due to them rolling off of the BBQ on to the floor (does the 5 second rule apply outside?) or they have fallen from my tongs and dropped in to the coals without me noticing
e)   And finally, I can’t tell if things are cooked… Unlike an oven that has a controllable temperature or a hob that has a dial to change the heat a BBQ has the following heat settings: cold > not quite hot enough to cook > too hot to cook > not hot enough to cook > cold. There doesn’t seem to be a time in the middle for optimal cooking! As a result, when I do cook (and to be honest, I’ve not cooked on a BBQ now for a couple of years) I really do have no idea if the food is cooked. I think that this is a very visual thing and something that I now have to let other people do for me.

I would be keen to know if there are any other vision impaired people out there who refuse to give up on using a BBQ and have found alternative strategies to combat such problems or maybe you’ve found a new type of BBQ that would work for me. If so, please leave us a comment or get in touch as we would love to hear from you!

We’re always interested to know about other people’s experiences and thoughts. Please share these by commenting…

Interested to learn more about VIDA Training? Read about our Training and Consultancy packages, specialising in Vision Impairment and Disability Awareness, Communication and Team Building or contact us for further information.

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60. Another chapter in my life…continuing sharing stories for #NationalShareAStoryMonth

23/5/2018

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Making drinks is something that most people take for granted… for me (Dave), this is just another thing that I have to really concentrate on and have strategies to help with the task.

With my sight continuing to deteriorate, I have to adapt my strategies further or find alternative solutions. Several months ago I finally accepted that I needed extra help with making hot drinks. I was beginning to spill or overfill the mugs with either hot water or milk and making a right old mess on the worktop. So, I dug out a Christmas present that Kelly (my wife) had bought me several Christmases ago that I had refused to use at that point (yes I am stubborn at times) and started to use it.

The gadget, probably one of the simplest and easiest to use, is called a liquid level indicator. They are often supplied for free by local authorities or can be purchased from places such as the RNIB for around £10. The one that I have is an audio and vibrating one but you can get just an audio one that doesn’t vibrate.

The idea is that you hang the indicator over the side of the mug with the metal prongs inside the mug. As you fill the cup/mug/glass, the device will vibrate slowly and give off a beep when the liquid reaches the first level of the prongs. When you continue to fill the vessel, the device will vibrate faster and the beeps beep faster when the liquid reaches the top prong indicating that the vessel is full. You lift off the device to stop the vibrating and beeping.

The indicators have a magnet inside them so can be attached to a fridge door or other magnetic device so that they are easy to locate when you need them.

Watch the video to see how they work…

Other simple things that you can try to aid with this task are:

To use mugs that have a white inside. For someone with some vision, seeing a dark liquid (tea or coffee for example) filling up inside the mug against the white walls might help.

Placing the vessel on a contrasting surface might also help with identifying or defining the vessel further. Some people like to use a tray for this providing a dual purpose - not only giving a different colour contrast but also catching spills if they happen.

Using a kettle that has a good spout can make a big difference (some have lips on the end that enable you to feel when the spout connects with the edge of the vessel). Alternatively, there are some hot water dispensers that dispense 1 cup of water at a time; these are particularly useful for people that struggle to lift a kettle.

You can still buy kettle tippers; a metal cage type device that the kettle sits in that swings on hinges making the kettle easy to tip and pour. The down side to these is that you have to be sure where your cup is before you tip or you could easily miss! Also, not all kettles fit so you’ll have to find an appropriate kettle for the task.

And for some people, getting someone else to make the drinks works best!

Vicky – the only thing to add to this that Dave hasn’t mentioned is even with the above gadgets, it might depend on which kitchen you are in. So, when we’re working from Dave’s house, we tend to share drink making (not on a strict rota basis, just as and when either of us thinks about it!). But if we are out providing training, or even in the office kitchen that is shared between colleagues, making hot drinks is something I would do. This is because in an unfamiliar place, making drinks with unfamiliar equipment is just not practical and in a shared kitchen things get moved around a lot which makes it nigh on impossible for Dave to feel confident that he’s going to be able to locate items or not knock something over that someone else has left on the side.

[Video shows the liquid level indicator positioned on the side of a glass, with 3 metal prongs pointing down into the glass on the inside. Water is then poured into the glass. As the water level reaches the first prongs of the liquid level, the indicator starts to beep. As more water is poured in and the level reaches the highest prong, the indicator starts to beep and vibrate.
The end slide of the film shows the VIDA Training logo and the website address – www.vidatraining.co.uk]

We’re always interested to know about other people’s experiences and thoughts. Please share these by commenting…

Interested to learn more about VIDA Training? Read about our Training and Consultancy packages, specialising in Vision Impairment and Disability Awareness, Communication and Team Building or contact us for further information.

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59. A dog called DEZ – review of a book about John Tovey, ghost written with Veronica Clark.

16/5/2018

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Dave and I have just finished reading and listening to ‘A Dog called DEZ’ and as it’s #NationalShareaStoryMonth, we thought it would be a good time to share our thoughts.

The book is the true life story (to date) of John Tovey, from his difficult childhood, adolescence and early years, through to him losing his sight as a result of diabetic retinopathy and to getting his guide dog, Dez.

Obviously this is just one person’s story and as always we’d like to remind people that not every person with a vision impairment wants or is entitled to, a guide dog. However, the book has some useful insights into the training of guide dogs and the commitment required by anyone considering having one, as well as recounting some of Dez’s misdemeanours and his eye for the ladies (if food’s not in the way 😊)

The early parts of the book are not an easy read, as the book states, “Life before Dez had been pretty bleak and I’d not been a very good person at all.”, however, John makes a commitment to himself and Dez when he applies to become a guide dog owner and the highlights of the book for me all relate to the bond they develop with each other.

There are some very funny moments (when Dez manages to grab a child’s lollipop and steals some chocolate cake – yes Dez is a Labrador 😊) but there is also a lot of information that will deepen people’s awareness about being blind (John feeling self-conscious when he first used his white cane and then realising the benefits to him and others is just one example) and also the responsibility of owning a guide dog (after Dez had stolen the lollipop, John invited a friend, who had a young child, round to his so they could teach Dez to ignore sweets, even if they were being waved at dog eye level by a young child). The book also talks about the training a dog receives, the support the person gets with the training and also the essential fundraising activities John and other people undertake in order to raise money for Guide Dogs.

There were also a few moments when John relates something about Dez that reminded me of Dave’s lovely guide dog Errol who sadly died last year. One such moment was when John first got Dez and then went outside to put out the rubbish:

“Dez sat back down and sighed as if in a huff. I closed the door behind me and nipped out to the bin. I must’ve been gone for a total of ten seconds, but as soon as I walked in through the door he bounced around like Tigger on Red Bull.”

Errol also didn’t appreciate being left behind either and used to look quite miffed if Dave had the nerve to leave him behind at any time. Unlike Dez though, Errol would maintain his aloofness for a while even after Dave returned home!

The other was when John describes Dez being so different with his harness on:
“When his harness was on Dez was the ultimate professional, always watching and waiting. He wasn’t reckless to impassive, instead he’d err on the side of caution, anything to keep me safe. However, as soon as the harness was removed he was off duty and back to being a regular dog and a bouncing ball of fun and energy.”

We definitely used to say that Errol held himself differently when his harness was on, more alert and ready to fulfil his important role!!

If you’ve read this book, please share your highlights with us or, if you have other books you’d like to recommend we read, please let us know. As always, we’re also interested to know about other people’s experiences and thoughts. Please share these by commenting…

Interested to learn more about VIDA Training? Read about our Training and Consultancy packages, specialising in Vision Impairment and Disability Awareness, Communication and Team Building or contact us for further information.

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58. Aira – another story shared for #NationalShareaStoryMonth.

9/5/2018

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[Photo, showing a pair of Aira glasses and a mobile phone showing the Aira app logo, is courtesy of the Aira.io website]
This is a guest blog, originally written by Jonathan Mosen. The full version entitled ‘A review of Aira. What it is, how it works, and the ways it has changed my life’ is on the Mosen Consulting website – http://mosen.org/aira/. Jonathan states he will be updating the post from time to time with additional information and experiences.

For information, Jonathan also produces The Blind Side Podcast (this can also be accessed via the Mosen Consulting website).

We have taken the following excerpts directly from Jonathan’s blog:

“When you’re involved with an industry, you tend to watch developments so closely that changes usually seem incremental. But occasionally, something new comes along that is so game changing, it stops you in your tracks. For me, San Diego-based Aira is one such technology.

According to the company’s website, Aira is today’s fastest growing assistive community. One tap of a button instantly connects you with a sighted professional agent who delivers visual assistance anytime and anywhere.

Here’s what that means in practice. At present, Aira is a smart phone app, available for iOS and Android. Since Aira is a service for blind people, it’s no surprise that the app is exemplary in terms of its accessibility. And in iOS, it even sports Siri integration.

Using the app, you can connect via video, much like a FaceTime call, with agents who can provide you with visual information. Audio quality is excellent, far clearer than a standard cell phone connection. Essentially, an Aira agent can tell you anything at all that a pair of functioning eyes can see, plus perform a range of tasks pertaining to that information.

You can acquire the visual information using your smart phone’s camera, or, when you become a subscriber to the Aira service (Aira calls its customers “explorers”) you receive a pair of smart glasses. These are included as part of your subscription, so there’s no hardware cost upfront.

Describing it like this makes it sound kind of cool. But I want to explain the impact that Aira has had on our lives in the brief time we have had it, to illustrate that, at least for some of us, this technology is more than just pretty cool, it’s life-changing.

If you’ve been reading this blog or listening to The Blind Side Podcast over the years, you will know that in recent times I have come out as having a hearing impairment. I love going to these big conferences because I get to catch up with old friends and make new ones, as well as see the latest and greatest technology. I hate going to these big conferences because often, I find myself in difficult audio environments. It can be very noisy. Hotel lobbies and restaurants are often exceedingly crowded, with high ceilings causing noise to bounce everywhere. The environment is difficult and tiring, but I keep going and doing the best I can, because the alternative is to sit at home and rust away, and I’m certainly not going to do that.

One smart thing that Aira has done is to start rolling out a concept called “site access”. With appropriate sponsorship, or perhaps at times where there will be many potential customers in one place, Aira can enable free access to a location or even the entire city through their smart city project. There are two benefits to the strategy. First, it’s helpful for existing Aira explorers because they can use the service as much as they want without it counting against their monthly plans. Second, anyone, even those not signed up with an Aira monthly plan, can go to the iOS App Store or the Google Play Store, download the app, create a guest account, and use the service for free. As I found out, it’s convenient to have access to Aira in such situations, and it offers the opportunity for Aira to convert those guests into full-time explorers. Smart stuff.

It was thanks to this program that I gave Aira a shot. Had I been required to go to the booth to give it a go, I probably would have run out of time and wouldn’t be writing this post. But it was a cinch to download the app and set up my guest account.

I first decided to put Aira through a simple test. Having arrived in San Diego after a long journey, I wasn’t taking much notice of the hotel layout when the porter showed me to my room. So, the next morning, I made my first call to Aira, and asked the friendly agent to guide me to the elevator. Not only did I get to the elevator effortlessly, I was also guided right to the button for the elevator.

But the call I will never forget is the one I made to ask for assistance getting to the exhibit hall while exhibits were being set up. If you’ve visited the Grand Hyatt in San Diego, you’ll know how cavernous the lobby can sound. When the lobby is full of people, I find it impossible to navigate, because there’s just so much sound bouncing everywhere. To be honest, I wasn’t expecting much from Aira, but I was keen to see what would happen.

This is the moment when I transitioned from the intellectual understanding that “this is quite a good concept”, to the emotional connection that made me say “holy guacamole, this thing is changing my life!”

I’m not a guide dog handler at the moment, but I have been in the past. One of the advantages of working with a dog over using a cane is that you avoid many obstacles without ever coming into contact with them. The exception is if you are a cane user with good echolocation. I think that even with full hearing, I would have found echolocation difficult in that very noisy lobby, but it’s certainly not viable for me now. Therefore, in that type of environment, I often find myself hitting people’s legs with my cane, as I try to find a way forward. With the Aira agent talking in my hearing aids which were also delivering environmental sounds, I was getting information about where the crowds were, and when I needed to veer to avoid running into people. I was told when it was necessary to turn to reach my destination and given confirmation that I was indeed heading in the correct direction.

Because of my hearing, and the fact that I know navigating these environments can be difficult, I had allowed myself plenty of time to reach the exhibit hall. But I reached it much more quickly than I had anticipated, and with much less stress than usual.

When we eventually reached the exhibit hall, which was some considerable distance away, the agent informed me that the door was closed. I expected this, since I was heading to the exhibit hall before it was officially open to the public. The icing on the cake was when she said that she could see a counter to the left of the door with a sign labelled “Exhibit Services”. She then informed me that there was a man behind that counter and offered to lead me to him. She did so, and he let me in. Astounded, I thanked the agent, and ended the call.

Full disclosure, at this point, it gets a bit embarrassing. No technology has made me cry for joy before. But a stressful experience I have to psych myself up for had just been made effortless and enjoyable. I was utterly overwhelmed. This was all achieved with no more than the free app and the camera on my iPhone X.

The good news is that Aira is preparing to spread its wings. They’re seeking expressions of interest from would-be explorers in New Zealand, Australia and the UK who would like to trial the service. The trial involves using only your phone. No glasses or WiFi are part of the trial, and you’ll use your own cellular data. To compensate for that, you’re getting a good deal on the 200 minutes a month plan. So, if you would like to give Aira a try, I’d appreciate it if you’d sign up using our referral link. The referral program means that the person being referred, and the person who did the referring, each gets a free month. Pretty good marketing. To take Aira for a spin, activate my referral link - https://aira.io/plans?referral=304c2. I hope it makes as much of a difference to you as it has to Bonnie and me.”

Thank you to Jonathan Mosen for giving us permission to use his blog. And, as we said at the top, if you’d like to read the full blog please visit - http://mosen.org/aira/

Further to this blog, the good news is that the Aira is currently being trialled in the UK. If this trial is successful we could see it live by the end of the year.

We’re always interested to know about other people’s experiences and thoughts. Please share these by commenting…

Interested to learn more about VIDA Training? Read about our Training and Consultancy packages, specialising in Vision Impairment and Disability Awareness, Communication and Team Building or contact us for further information.

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57. Sharing Shared Stories for National Share-A-Story Month

2/5/2018

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57. Sharing Shared Stories for National Share-A-Story Month

This month is #NationalShareAStory month so we thought we would write a blog about 2 of the most recent books we have read and listened to in which the authors share their own stories. One is by Red Szell entitled ‘The Blind Man of Hoy – A True Story’ (we previously read and reviewed the novel Blind Trust by him). Red has RP (Retinitis Pigmantosa) and this book is about his preparation for and actual climb of the Old Man of Hoy. The other book is ‘The Windhorse’ by Elaine Brook and Julie Donnelly. Julie has been blind since the age of 8 as a result of glaucoma, Elaine is sighted. This book is about their adventure to both trek to the 18,000 foot summit of Kala Patthar, 500 feet above Everest Base Camp. Both adventures raised funds for charities (RP Fighting Blindness and Guide Dogs) but the main drive for both of them was the experience itself.

If you are interested in either travel/endurance activities or vision impairments then these could be the books for you. If you, like us, are interested in both then they definitely are 😊. As well as offering fascinating accounts of their explorations and the determination required to succeed, they also provide some insight into undertaking such adventures with a vision impairment.

We’ll just give you a few quotes here that we think give you a feel for each of the books…

Red Szell talks about the challenges he faces, struggling to balance requiring/expecting people to assist him but not defining him by his disability. He talks about how the Paralympics changed his view:

“Medal winners were encouraged to tell their story, and again and again I heard a blend of pride and humility as they expressed thanks to coaches, trainers and support staff. It began to dawn on me that mountains don’t get conquered single-handedly but by teams….I took some positive action, accepted the help on offer and worked with Matthew and Andres to develop a system what would minimise the impact of my blindness on my sport.”

Julie also touches on this in the Windhorse:
Julie: “I would give anything right now to be back in my own house where I can run around all the rooms easily, without any help and I know where everything is kept. …I never stopped to think what it would be like to be in unfamiliar ground for so long without a break, dependent on someone every time I want to go anywhere further than the loo tent.”

And from Elaine’s point of view in the Windhorse:
“As she spoke of textures, sounds, smells, I began to enter a world of non-visual perception – a fluid and sometimes elusive world where a person’s expression is judged by their rate of breathing and the day’s weather by the smell of the wind. I was hooked. Here was a world as fascinating and mysterious as my beloved Himalayas. Aligning my perceptions with Julie’s had become as much of a challenge as understanding my extrovert and enigmatic Sherpa friends.”

The journey itself:
Red - “Our speed had picked up after about 20 minutes when Alex had started knocking on the top of large boulders with the end of his trekking pole to warn me of their position. It was genius, utterly unbidden by me and highly effective as it told me height and position in one as well as giving me a sense of size by dint of the tone the strike made”.

Julie - “It has got harder and steeper, but I’ve become more able to cope with it. Watching myself adapt has been one to of the most exciting parts of the whole thing.”

Elaine - “Strange isn’t it…So many people said to me, ‘What’s the point of Julie going if she can’t see any mountains?’ and it was hard to explain to them how much more there is to being up here than just being able to look at the view. Otherwise everyone would just take a mountain flight and stare out of the pressurised windows for an hour or two.”

And their experiences along the way:
Red -
“The contrast between light and shade; matt red and glittering blue; between shelter and exposure was so elemental and beautiful that I had to stop and catch my feelings.
A final tussle with a troublesome cam and I joined Martin on the ledge just below the summit”

“After Martin had gone, Nick and I shared the ledge with a little puffin…Nick directed my gaze and after a couple of minutes hard staring I finally made out it’s sleek black shape perched just a few feet from me. It’s noisy munching made the ledge…less haunting”

Talking about a cam stuck in the rocks:
“It was well and truly embedded and I would dearly have loved to see it to work out the angle it had been slipped in at, but I’m used to seeing with my fingers so, with the seconds ticking past and the shakes trembling in my left leg and threatening to dislodge my only solid point of contact, I ran my fingertips along the line of the groove trying to build a mental picture”

The Windhorse:
Julie - “I’m getting used to the different household sounds: the crackling of the fire with the juniper twigs on it. And I don’t need to be told its juniper, because of the lovely aromatic smell. Lhakpa’s aunt is making mashed potato to feed her family, rolling the boiled potatoes on a ridged stone – it sounds like an old fashioned washboard, and the vibrations are transmitted right across the floorboards.”

Elaine - “The conversation had bought us to a tea shop outside which a group of Tibetans had spread their wares on blankets laid on the ground…I began passing things over for Julie to feel.
‘She can’t see? Tch,tch. Nyingie’.
Soon the women were hovering around us, watching fascinated as Julie’s fingers ‘read’ the filigree patterns and carved woodblocks. Salesmanship took second place as they picked out things she would find interesting, no longer caring if it came from a competitor’s stall.”

We hope this has given you a flavour of these books. If you like stories about adventure, then we’d recommend both these books as a good read as well as Touching the World by Cathy Birchill and Bernard Smith which we previously reviewed in February - http://vidatraining.weebly.com/blog/february-28th-2018.

If you have any books that you’d like to recommend or think we would be interested in, then please comment here to let us know.

We’re also always interested to know about other people’s experiences and thoughts. Please share these too by commenting…

Interested to learn more about VIDA Training? Read about our Training and Consultancy packages, specialising in Vision Impairment and Disability Awareness, Communication and Team Building or contact us for further information.

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Our VIDA Insights...

Following our experiences from delivering our Vision Impairment Awareness training days over the past couple of years, we know that there’s loads more that we could talk about and examples we could have shared. Whilst these won’t be a substitute for our training, they will give you an insight (hence the name!) into our thoughts, observations and experiences from each of our perspectives - Dave’s living with sight loss and Vicky’s from being a sighted person and working alongside and supporting people who have sight loss.

We recognise some of you won’t agree with us or will have your own opinions or comments – after all, as we say loads during our training, everyone is an individual! If you have any comments or thoughts about our ‘Insights’ in particular that you’d like to add, we would love you to share them with us!

61. Argh… where has my burger gone?

60. Another chapter in my life…continuing sharing stories for #NationalShareAStoryMonth

59. A dog called DEZ – review of a book about John Tovey, ghost written with Veronica Clark.

58. Aira – another story shared for #NationalShareaStoryMonth.

57. Sharing Shared Stories for National Share-A-Story Month

Our VIDA Insights...

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