Fred and Etta: honoured for charity work

Learning to fly at 82

How to cook like a MasterChef

Issue 18 / Winter 2017/18

Connect Bringing together everyone affected by sight loss

Sooty’s 70th birthday celebrationsRNIB shares a long history with the loveable yellow bear, dating back to 1960, including the popular Sooty collection boxes you may have spotted locally.

Over the years, Sooty box volunteers have raised £11.5 million for RNIB and to celebrate Sooty’s birthday, we will be finding new homes for an additional 2,018 Sootys.

Become a Sooty box volunteer today by registering at rnib.org.uk/sootybox. Or if you know a local business who would like to have a Sooty box, email sooty@rnib.org.uk or call 0345 345 0054.

Happy New Year!

2018 is a special year for RNIB as we will be celebrating our 150th birthday in October. I’ll be back in the spring edition to share more details about our celebrations.

Inside this edition, we speak to an inspiring couple who received a joint honorary degree, we hear from John Allison who learnt to fly at 82, and blind MasterChef USA winner, Christine Ha, serves up a tasty Asian dish.

Sally HarveyChief Executive of RNIB

Contents4 Your Voice

7 Your Quarterly Connect round‑up

9 News and Updates

12 Fred and Etta: honoured for charity work

16 Learning to fly at 82

20 Food Fanatics

23 Changing our World

29 Book Lovers’ Corner

31 Tech Spot

34 Through My Eyes

36 Information Directory

In your winter issueBook Lovers’ Corner: Enter the RNIB writing competition Tech Spot: What will be big in 2018?Changing Our World: Accessible streets victory

From the cover: Blind couple, Fred and Etta Reid receive honorary degree from University of Warwick

© RNIB January 2018 Registered charity numbers 226227 and SC039316

Welcome

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Dr Imran Haq wins Voice of the Community awardIn December, RNIB hosted the second Vision Pioneer Awards to celebrate the hard work and dedication of eye health and sight loss sector professionals. The awards recognise their tireless work to support blind and partially sighted people and their friends and family.

This year RNIB gave community members the opportunity to nominate the professionals who have made a big impact on their life for the Voice of the Community award. Connect

magazine spoke to Junior Doctor in Ophthalmology, Imran Haq, who won the award.

“I was really shocked when I was told I had been nominated for RNIB’s Voice of the Community award.

“I had had a long day, operating on some difficult cases and I was fighting for the last loaf of bread in Tesco when I got a phone call. I was already close to tears, and when the lovely lady from RNIB rang and said I had been nominated, I think I shed a few.”

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Your Voice: stories, tips and gems from your community

Imran won the Voice of the Community award because of his self-funded project to create eye health videos to help patients understand their conditions.

“I made the videos initially foran aunt of mine. She is quiteyoung and has diabeticmaculopathy, and so she waslosing vision. I made theoriginal video for her.

“I thought to myself, ‘There is a real need for eye health videos that people can understand.’ Even doctors sometimes do not understand eye problems, especially the very abstract conditions.”

Imran was nominated by his patient, Nadine Almanasfi. In her nomination, Nadine explained that people who are given a diagnosis that changes their life can find it a frightening time, especially if they feel like they are kept in the dark about their condition.

“I know my videos are only three minutes long, but each one takes a long time to produce. I filmed them myself, and edited them down to the right length. Then I had to draw illustrations and animate each one, frame by frame. It took me about a year to make the five videos.”

Imran plans to have the videos translated into several different languages so they can be accessed widely by people around the world.

“A lot of the sight-threatening conditions happen to populations who do not typically seek medical help. By the time they come in to be looked at by a doctor, their disease is quite advanced. One of the main issues for this is the language barrier, and as a result of difficulties communicating, they do not always understand what is going on.

“A lot of the time, the doctor cannot speak to them directly, so go through translators or a family member who may not portray exactly what is happening accurately. So that is why I want to get them translated.”

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Your Voice: stories, tips and gems from your community

Like many of the people who were nominated for one of RNIB’s seven Vision Pioneer Award categories, Imran did not think he would win.

" I’m really just in completeshock. I’m really grateful.Being an ophthalmologydoctor, you hear of the RNIB,it’s a massive organisation,and I never ever, not evenat lunch time, thought I’dbe here holding this. I justthought it would be a niceday trip down to London, andI’d be back up in the evening.

“At the moment, I give patients leaflets and think, ‘Here, read the leaflet, go home, and do what I tell you.’ But as a sector, doctors and other health care professionals need to put a bit more effort into it, explain to patients exactly what is going on, help them feel empowered, so they can help themselves.

“And of course, I would just like to say thank you to Nadine for nominating me. It is a real honour to be recognised for the work I do.”

RNIB’s Vision Pioneer Awards was held on 12 December at the Royal College of Nursing headquarters

in London. The other award finalists were Audrey Gardiner, an inspiring Eye Clinic Liaison Officer in Lancashire and Paul Stark, a volunteer with Tandem Trekker – a tandem cycling club for people with visual impairments.

Our special thanks goes to community members, Dianne Woodford, Will Williams and Angus Huntley for judging the Voice of the Community award.

You can watch Imran’s videos on his website askaneyesurgeon.com.

To find out about the other winner’s amazing stories, please visit rnib.org.uk/vpa.

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Your Voice: stories, tips and gems from your community

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When copping out is not an optionNick Rood had his dream job as a police inspector, but shortly after he was promoted, he lost his sight. Nick talked to Connect about how he adapted to sight loss.

“I started as a police constable for West Yorkshire Police. Over the years, I moved over to the Firearms Support Unit, where I was a PC, a sergeant and an inspector.

“My real passion was for firearms support. Although there was a lot of training, my experiences were absolutely brilliant.”

Four years ago Nick lost nearly all of the sight in his right eye and later his left eye. Despite this, Nick was determined to hold on to his job.

Nick says, “I thought: ‘You can either give up or look on it as offering new opportunities.’ I had a workplace assessment and was supported by my supervisor and line manager. I’ve learned how to use specialist equipment and now my role is very office-based.”

Nick went on to help set up the first operations centre for the Police Air Service and is now an executive member of the West Yorkshire Police Disability Association.

“ The disability work issomething I’m reallypassionate about,” Nicksays. “If I can inspiresomebody – if there’ssomeone out who’sbeen told they’ll never beanything, I hope they lookat me and say ‘Do you knowwhat? It’s up to me. I canmake that difference. I’mnot going to take no foran answer.’”

Your Quarterly Connect round‑up: news from all corners of the community

Local Society: Galloway’s Society for the BlindAlso celebrating their 150th year, Galloway’s Society for the Blind has evolved and developed to provide a range of services to over 7,000 blind and partially sighted people across Lancashire and Sefton. The charity runs four Sight Advice Centres, including one in Morecambe. Kay Saunders, a volunteer and service user explains what Galloway’s offers her.

"I have age-related macular degeneration and my introduction to the charity came when I needed a talking watch. Within no time of getting the watch, I got involved in arranging the new Galloway’s centre in Morecambe.

"We called the centre ‘Brew Me Sunshine’, because on the promenade is a statue of Eric Morecambe , the late comedian, so we came up with the idea that this would be the name of the place to come if you wanted to have a brew.

"The hub is central to the people in Morecambe. It is very easy to get to and people come in from the community. New people see others with vision impairments, and they feel reassured because they can see it is quite normal. And also we have this wonderful Ideas Store where people can come and get ideas for independent living".

For more information on Galloway’s Society for the Blind, visit galloways.org.uk or call 01772 744 148.

If you would like to share your story, email connectstories@rnib.org.uk, or call 0303 1234 555.

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Your Quarterly Connect round‑up: news from all corners of the community

Putting cataract surgery patients firstNew official guidelines for patients and ophthalmologists advising when cataract surgery is appropriate has been released.

The new guidelines published by the health regulator, National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) puts the patient at the centre when recommending when and how to treat the condition.

During 2015 and 2016, nearly 400,000 cataract operations were carried out and this figure is set to rise in the coming years as our population lives longer.

Fazilet Hadi, Deputy Chief Executive of RNIB, is delighted that the new clinical guidelines from NICE recognise that referrals for cataract surgery must be based on how the condition affects a person’s quality of life.

“RNIB recommends theguidance is fully implementedto prioritise eye healthservices, so patients gettimely access to treatmentrather than waiting monthsfor sight‑saving surgery.”

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News and updates: bringing you up to speed on the sector

Understanding sight loss through art

RNIB and the Royal College of Art are collaborating on a research project to help the general public understand the experiences of people with visual impairment.

The year long initiative is called, “How We See: Representation and Communication around Visual Impairment”.

The project aims to work with both sighted and low vision communities to create publications, reports, posters and films that support public engagement and understanding with the topic of vision loss.

The work will be completed by the Helen Hamlyn Centre for Design who have previously partnered with Guide Dogs and Thomas Pocklington Trust on similar

inclusive design projects around eye health and lighting.

Research Fellow, Dr Chris McGinley, is leading the project. He said: “We were really taken by the fact that 93 per cent of people registered as sight impaired do have usable sight. RNIB already has the campaign ‘How I See’ and it seemed to capture the imagination, so we are building on that with this ‘How We See’ research project. We want the general public to engage with what we create and in doing so understand better the spectrum of vision and what that means for us all.”

Artwork produced from the project will be published in September. For more information, visit rnib.org.uk/rca

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News and updates: bringing you up to speed on the sector

Getting to know Sally HarveySally Harvey was officially appointed RNIB’s new Chief Executive back in October 2017. Dale Milligan from Connect magazine met with Sally, to help you get to know her better.

Do you have any New Year’s resolutions for 2018?

This year is a big year professionally for me, and my resolution is to make sure that every blind and partially sighted person in the country knows about RNIB.

In another life, if you were not the Chief Executive of RNIB, what would you be doing?

That is a really interesting question. My dream jobs when I was younger were very different – I wanted to be a pilot or an anthropologist.

How I ended up the RNIB Chief Executive from that, who knows, but I am very, very proud to be so.

What gets you out of bed in the mornings?

I have to say, my work truly is my passion. I could not do the job I do, if I was not passionate about making a difference to the lives of blind and partially sighted people.

I do also have two lovely children at home, my son aged 14 and my daughter aged 11. Most of my time outside of RNIB is spent enjoying their company.

What are your plans for RNIB this year?

This year we celebrate our 150th birthday, so starting in October, we will be reflecting back on our rich history and also looking forward and planning for our next 150 years.

I also want to spend this year focusing on growing our community. We have over 30,000 people now part of the RNIB Connect community. It would be fantastic to see that grow stronger and more relevant as we connect you with other people, and you to your organisation.

Lastly, we will be ensuring our services are relevant to you, that they are the ones you want and that they are meeting your needs.

If you would like to ask Sally or any of RNIB’s directors a question, email governance.mailbox@rnib.org.uk

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News and Updates: bringing you up to speed on the sector

Fred and Etta: honoured for charity workLast year, the University of Warwick bestowed Fred and Etta Reid a joint honorary degree, an accolade Nobel Prize winners and former Secretary-Generals of the United Nations have also won. The couple received the award in recognition for helping to establish the Kenilworth Readers Service for the Blind in 1970. Since then, the couple have continued to run the life-changing service.

Fred and Etta spoke to Connect about their successful careers, their family life and their reaction to winning the accolade.

Early life Fred, a blind activist since the age of 14 said, “We met at the Royal Blind School in Edinburgh. Sitting beside me in my first Latin lesson was this very attractive young lady and I thought to myself, ‘Oh she’s not bad’.

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Etta, had been born with sight, but suffered burns to her face and eyes in a road accident, leaving her with no vision. Fred was also sighted as a child, but lost his sight at the age of 14 following a double retinal detachment.

“I started pursuing Etta and she gave me the brush‑off several times, but gradually we established a relationship, much against the authorities’ desires at the time”, Fred said.

After leaving school, Etta went to London to study physiotherapy and Fred went to Oxford to study for a PhD and it was there that they married and lived.

Working and studying“Quite a lot of people did physiotherapy, whether they were totally blind or partially sighted and all the books that we needed were in braille,” Etta said. “Luckily, I managed to get my first job at the Churchill Hospital in Oxford which was brilliant.” Thanks to this positive experience, Etta went on to work as an NHS physio for over 30 years.

For Fred, studying was not as easy as it had been for Etta as braille was not available for much of what Fred needed to read.

To help him study, Fred gathered willing students who were happy to read to him. After he finished his studies, the couple moved from Oxford and had a short stay working in London, before settling in Kenilworth, Warwickshire.

Fred started working at the University of Warwick as a history lecturer and had to once again gather a group of volunteer readers.

“It always struck me that itshould not be as difficult asthat,” Fred said. “I was veryaware that there were lots ofother blind people who weregetting no help at all.We knew an elderly blind ladyin Kenilworth who had toask the butcher to read hermail to her. Her letters wouldlay on the table for days, notbeing read.”

Setting up the Kenilworth Readers Service“One day my doorbell rang and a man said, ‘My name’s Ted Herbert, I’m the Head of Careers Advice at Coventry City Council. I have got a young unemployed lad who really needs to do some

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voluntary activity as a bridge into employment, and I was wondering if he could read for you?’”

The reality was, by then, Fred did not need any more readers, but other blind and partially sighted people in Kenilworth never had offers to read to them.

“We sat and talked about it for a while and we developed a model of how a reading service might work, and off he went and within weeks he said, ‘Right, I’ve got it set up’. That was the start of the Kenilworth Readers Service”, Fred explained.

“It’s just marvellous that a volunteer reader goes into people’s homes and they’ll read whatever the person wants reading,” Etta said.

When the couple’s three children were old enough to be read stories, Etta created her own way of reading to them. “The children’s first little books were not in braille, and I thought ‘Well, now that we’ve started this Readers Service, I could ask the readers to come in, read what was on each page and I could put some braille at the top of each page,’” she said.

“I didn’t do every word because I already knew the stories, Goldilocks and all those. I tried to remember the proper words that were on the page, for the sake of the children. So we went on with that system for quite a long time.”

Fred and Etta on holiday with their young children

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Being honoured by the UniversityEvery year, the University of Warwick gives honorary degrees to individuals of high intellectual or cultural distinction and to those who have served their community. Receivers of the award include Nelson Mandela and former Archbishop of Canterbury, Doctor Rowan Williams.

Last summer, Fred and Etta joined the university’s honorary degree alumni at a prestigious ceremony.

“We were totally gobsmacked when the University said it would like to award us a joint honorary degree,” Fred explained. “We turned up in our gowns and our caps and we both made little speeches of thanks before being given the award.”

They were allowed to invite six family members to be at the graduation. “We got a full three‑course lunch and you’d have thought our son had never had a decent meal in his life before,” Etta recalled, laughing.

Both Fred and Etta did not think they would be recognised in this way for setting up the Kenilworth Readers Service.

“I would never have dreamt in my wildest dreams that I’d ever get an honorary degree from my old

university", Fred said. "I’ve never wanted to have a knighthood or a CBE or anything like that. I don’t believe in these kinds of honours, but the respect and recognition by your peers is worth everything. It’s just wonderful and I feel very humble.”

Helen May, Community Partnerships Officer at the University of Warwick, said: “The award is to recognise Fred and Etta's amazing contributions in their respective fields and for their incredible work helping to improve the lives of local blind people with the Kenilworth Readers Service."

Find out more about Fred and Etta's story by watching their film at rnib.org.uk/fredandetta. Anyone living in and around Kenilworth can request a reader by contacting Sue Ling at sue.ling@sky.com

Fred and Etta with daughter Julie and grandchildren, Theo and Maya

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Learning to fly at 82John Allison had been dreaming of learning to fly since he was 12 years old, but there was always something stopping him. Now, aged 82 and with deteriorating vision, he thought it was time he took the plunge. John shares his story with Connect.

I was born in Bradford in West Yorkshire in 1935. I’ve had age-related macular degeneration (AMD) since 2004. I can only see middle distances which makes it difficult to cross the road and see traffic far away.

I wanted to fly since I was a young boy when I saw an advert in a magazine that said, “Fly with the Royal Air Force” and I thought, “What a good idea”.

I had wanted to join the Royal Air Force and so joined the air cadets and tried to get a flying scholarship. There were 200 of us applying for two places, but I had broken my left arm and did not do the exercises I was supposed to make sure it healed properly, so I was not successful.

Then I thought my time had come when I had to complete National

Service, but I was sent home with suspected tuberculosis and that put a stop to that.

When I retired I could see, but I had family commitments and couldn't learn to fly so it went on my bucket list and I decided that I would do it this year.

Learning to fly What I really wanted to be able to do is control the aircraft in the air. With other transport you can go left and right, forward

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and backwards, but you cannot in an aeroplane, instead it is all dimensions.

I also wanted to experience a completely different view of the world by flying 1,500 feet above the ground. I think mankind has a privilege to be able to fly and it is a wonderful feeling.

Although I have AMD, and it was difficult to see the instruments on the instrument panel in front of the aircraft, I could fly alongside someone else.

The first flight I had wasa sort of experience flight,where I just sat there as thepassenger. When we took off,Mike the instructor controlledthe aircraft. When we hadgot up to about 1,500 feet,he said: “Here you are, here’sthe control column, it isall yours”.

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I thought “Oh my goodness, am I going to show myself up and make a fool of myself?” But I grabbed hold of the control column, then relaxed, and like anything else, when you are more relaxed, you do it properly.

In all, I controlled the aeroplane for about 500 miles. I could see the altimeter and recognise whether we were rising or falling.

It is like any other skill, you have to keep practicing and you get better and better until it becomes automatic and you do not have to think about it.

Flying in the futureI would like to go back and have more lessons. It is a bit expensive and I shall probably have to save up to be able to do it again.

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I would highly recommend flying to anyone who wants to learn, but I would say they should have a trial flight at first. I found out after I had had my experience that my daughter had gone for flying lessons. Her brother had bought her a flying lesson, but she hated every minute of it, and they had to turn back after a very short time.

I think it is such a privilege tobe able to fly in the air. I lookat birds and think “I wishI could fly like they do”.

John has written an article about his experience for the Microlight magazine. Go online to find out more about John’s flying experience.

There are lots of flying schools around the UK so why not try one of them out? If you prefer a sport closer to the ground, British Blind Sports UK has many options to try out including goalball, cricket and archery. Visit britishblindsportorg.uk or you can phone 01926 424 247.

John's photograph of Scarborough from the air

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How to cook like a MasterChefFive years ago Christine Ha, a blind contestant, won the TV show, MasterChef USA. Since then, she has gone on to become a TV presenter, writer and professional chef. Find out more about Christine and try one of her tasty recipes.

What have you done since winning the show?“Since I have been on MasterChef, there have been a lot of opportunities to do really amazing things. I have been able to travel the world, give inspiring talks, teach cooking classes, and even be a part of diplomacy work with the U.S. Embassy, through Culinary Diplomacy Programmes. I have also done some television work in Vietnam, Canada, and the U.S.”

What are some of the challenges you face as a blind chef? “Being someone who is vision impaired, sometimes it is difficult to be taken seriously and not dismissed. Though I also find that it is a setback that we put upon ourselves. When I first went on MasterChef, I was not confident in my abilities because I felt like I

had a shortcoming compared to other contestants.”

How have you overcome those challenges? “Once you celebrate the small accomplishments, you start understanding that victories can be found in small things, and then the small things add up to larger things. When you start building up that confidence, I feel like you have less fear and more courage to achieve as much as you can in spite of visual challenges.

“I know the word ‘mistake’ always conjures up negative thoughts but I think that we should embrace our mistakes, because that is really how we learn and build character. I still make mistakes now, even after having won MasterChef.”

What are you working on at the moment?“I am working on my second cookbook. I’m theming it in way where I am going to try to teach people to cook with their intuition, so using all of their available senses to learn how the dish should smell, taste, look if you have vision, and how things sound when ingredients

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Food Fanatics: for foodies and everyday cooks alike

hits the pan. I would love to teach people to be able to cook with that sort of blind intuition.”

You can try Christine’s recipe for making a chicken tikka masala from her cookbook, Recipes from My Home Kitchen. Christine says the dish is the perfect introductory to Indian cuisine and is incredibly flavoursome. “The list of ingredients may be long but do not let that be daunting because it is not that hard to accomplish", she explained.

Ingredients • Four teaspoons ground cumin

• One and a half tablespoons ground paprika

• One tablespoon ground coriander

• One teaspoon ground turmeric

• One teaspoon ground cayenne pepper

• Half teaspoon ground cinnamon

• 250ml plain yogurt

• Juice of one lemon

• Six garlic cloves, peeled and minced

• One and a half tablespoon freshly grated ginger

• Three boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cubed

• Two tablespoon ghee, or unsalted butter

• Half an onion, coarsely chopped

• One tin of whole tomatoes

• Half a bunch of chopped coriander leaves

• 250 ml of double cream

Instructions 1. In a small bowl whisk together

your cumin, paprika, ground coriander, turmeric, cayenne and cinnamon. This will make your garam masala.

2. In a large bowl, stir together the yogurt, one tablespoon of lemon juice, half the garlic, half the ginger, two thirds of the garam masala and salt and pepper to taste.

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Food Fanatics: for foodies and everyday cooks alike

3. Add the chicken into the large bowl, turning to coat, then cover and chill for one to four hours.

4. Now it is time to make your sauce. In a large saucepan, over a medium to high heat, melt your butter and sauté the onion until tender.

5. To the saucepan, stir in the remaining garlic and ginger and sauté until fragrant.

6. Add the tomatoes, a quarter of the coriander and the remaining garam masala, then season with salt.

7. Lower the heat and simmer until thickened, stirring occasionally for about 20 minutes.

8. To cook the chicken, shake off the excess marinade, skewer it and grill it, till it is just cooked through. It will take between

8‑15 minutes, depending on your grill. And you should turn it half way through.

9. In the meantime, add the remaining one tablespoonful of lemon juice, the cream to the sauce.

10. Take the chicken off of the skewers and add to the sauce. Simmer for a final 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

11. Serve over basmati rice or with naan and garnish with your remaining coriander leaves.

Christine keeps in touch with her fans and followers on social media. If you do try her chicken tikka masala recipe, you can send a photo or share your cooking story with Christine on Facebook, Twitter or YouTube using @theblindcook.

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Food Fanatics: for foodies and everyday cooks alike

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Campaign UpdateWelcome to your new regular campaigns section of Connect. Here, read about the RNIB campaigns you can get involved in, a fantastic success story and a few things to look out for in 2018.

Ask your MP to support under 25s with vision impairment nowChildren and young people with vision impairment in England are being let down by a lack of appropriate support to learn vital social, communication and mobility skills, both in and out of the classroom.

RNIB believes a disintegrating system of support, including a dwindling of local services and provisions, is the result of inadequate government policy.

However, all children and young people have the same potential to learn, achieve and thrive regardless of whether they are blind, partially sighted or sighted.

Tara Chattaway, Policy Project Officer at RNIB, said: “Parents and young people’s experiences, backed by evidence paints a bleak picture of provision failing young people across the country. 

"That is why we are calling on the government to make changes to the support available to help all

children and young people fulfil their potential." 

We need your helpJoin us by inviting your MP to a special parliamentary reception in February. At the event, your MP will hear from children and families impacted by a lack of support and find out what is happening in your local constituency. Most importantly, they will learn how they can take action to improve the system of support across England. 

Visit rnib.org.uk/childrenand youngpeople and invite your MP to attend the parliamentary reception today. 

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Changing Our World: campaigning for you  

Accessible streets victory The voice of blind and partially sighted campaigners has been recognised by Liverpool Council as it finally passes a motion agreeing to adopt a Street Charter.

With support and resources from RNIB’s “Who put that there!” campaign, our volunteer Louise took the idea of a Street Charter to her local councillor who agreed to work on improving Liverpool’s street accessibility.

A Street Charter is a document that shows commitment from a council to make sure a space is accessible.

Street Charters need to be flexible so they take into account the local geography and features of an area, while being shaped by the knowledge of people who rely upon kerbs, tactile paving and crossings to get around.

Since her councillor agreed to the Street Charter, Louise has coordinated local campaign efforts. She has been working with RNIB, Guide Dogs, Bradbury Fields, and the Corporate Access Forum, to ensure the council follows through with its commitment.

All the hard work paid off in the official announcement of the Street Charter along with an agreement to support an implementation plan to make it a reality, which will be monitored by the Neighborhood Select Committee.

This is an excellent win for blind and partially sighted people in Liverpool. We will continue to monitor the implementation of the Charter. 

Find out more about the “Who Put that There!” campaign at rnib.org.uk/onmystreet  

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Changing Our World: campaigning for you  

Is a “shared space” street coming your way?Street and town centre redevelopments are happening up and down the country. Hugh Huddy, RNIB’s Policy Manager for Inclusion, talks about why shared spaces in our towns are not safe for blind and partially sighted people.

Being able to get around independently is vital to all of us who are blind or partially sighted, but it’s not just a matter of mobility skills. It’s about the design of the streets and footpaths that we use as well.

These redevelopments are happening up and down the country at the moment, often to make for new cycling schemes, to reduce traffic congestion, but also to make public spaces more pleasant for pedestrians.

The problem is many redevelopments are based on a shared space design, which from bitter experience, is bad for those of us who are blind or partially sighted. Navigating these areas can get a lot harder because of the loss of kerbs and controlled crossings.

Our policy is clear: all streets, footways and town centres must be accessible.

We think every public redevelopment scheme should make accessibility better than it was before, not worse. No one should ever have to cross a road or a cycle lane without being certain that they have the right of way.

Action is underway to challenge schemes that are being planned and also to get completed schemes refitted with the accessibility features that we all need.

If you are worried about a street redevelopment near you, or you would like to get involved in making streets more accessible, contact your regional campaigns officer on 020 7391 2123.

Demand better access to vision rehab services

RNIB has created a new campaigning toolkit which will help you to demand better access to vision rehabilitation and social care provision in your area.

Every council in England is required by law to provide rehabilitation and social care support to people with vision impairment. This support includes having access to aids and equipment, mobility training and essential skills to help people maintain independence.

Since launching in July 2016, RNIB’s “See, Plan and Provide” campaign has been asking commissioners to improve blind and partially sighted people’s access to vision rehabilitation support and social care.

Unfortunately, all too often, people living with sight loss either find there is a lack of provision in their area or they experience long waiting times to receive the help they need. 

To help you campaign for better access to services in your area, we have launched a new self-advocacy toolkit. The toolkit will enable you to lobby decision-makers by helping you identify and understand your rights to care. By using a range of tips, advice, research and legal evidence, you will be able to advocate for your own local action from day one. 

As well as self‑advocating, our regional campaign officers and network teams across England are there to help support you in your campaigning. Find out more about the toolkit at rnib.org.uk/seeandplan 

Changing Our World: campaigning for you  

Are disability benefits being wrongly refused?

In autumn 2017, the Work and Pensions Select Committee undertook an inquiry into poor-quality assessments and decisions on claims for Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) and Personal Independence Payment (PIP). RNIB teamed up with Thomas Pocklington Trust to submit evidence.

We are among many disability organisations that have noted a growing number of poor-quality ESA and PIP decisions, where claims have been wrongly refused or the wrong rate awarded.

When challenged, such decisions should be carefully looked at again (a process called mandatory

reconsideration). But this has become a low-quality “rubber stamping” of the original decision and claimants increasingly have to go to an appeal tribunal for a correct ruling.

A remarkable 65 per cent of ESA and PIP appeals are successful (and RNIB wins almost all of ours) which shows that the assessment and decision-making processes are failing to get it right, in far too many cases.

The Work and Pensions Committee could make a difference on this issue and we won’t stop pushing until we see acceptable standards in place.

Changing Our World: campaigning for you  

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Your support makes a big difference

Over the past few months, our campaigns team have been asking for your feedback about three important consultations. Here is an update on the issues that matter to you most.

All Party Parliamentary Group on eye health and vision impairment

The All Party Parliamentary Group on Eye Health and Visual Impairment held an inquiry into the issue of capacity problems in the NHS eye care services in England.

Your contribution to the inquiry was invaluable with hundreds of people completing the online patient survey. The evidence from the survey will be added to findings gathered from professionals, which could deliver real change for patients’ eye health.

Findings from the inquiry will be published in a report, which is expected to be released later this year. Look out for the inquiry report on the RNIB website at rnib.org.uk/appginquiry. 

Travel and transportWe used your feedback and comments to shape our response to the Department for Transport’s (DfT) Accessibility Action Plan Consultation. The draft action plan set out proposals to improve the travel experience for people with disabilities.

We will be monitoring the DfT’s progress.  

Accessible votingFinally, we heard numerous horror stories about people’s voting experiences. In conjunction with Thomas Pocklington Trust, we submitted a response to the Cabinet Office’s consultation on accessible voting. 

Early indications suggest the Cabinet Office is keen to overhaul the tactile template and some changes could be in place for elections as early as May of this year. Watch this space. 

Thank you for your feedback – it is so important that your voices inform government decisions. We could not do our campaigning work with your help.  

Keep up to date with our campaigning work by signing up to Campaigns eNews. Visit rnib.org.uk/current-campaigns

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Changing Our World: campaigning for you  

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Having sight loss but without a conditionQuite often the general public do not understand how sight loss affects a person’s vision. Leah Caplan took part in RNIB’s How I  See campaign which shows how people's experience of sight loss can vary greatly. Here, Leah highlights her rare situation.

Hi, my name’s Leah, I am 18 years old and I am severely sight impaired.

If someone passes me in the street or meets me for the first time, nine times out of 10 they would not notice that I am visually impaired. This is because there are no outward indications that suggest I cannot see very well.

Through My Eyes

I can control where I move my eyes and even if there is just a silhouette to follow, I still look at people when I am talking. This leads people to think I do not have sight loss. But the reality is I have extremely blurred vision, almost to the point of seeing double.

I do not have a specific condition that causes my sight impairment. I think it is very important to recognise that there are members of the visually impaired community that do not have a specific condition. For us, we do not have a “reason” for our sight and our struggle to see.

My vision varies completely from day to day. One morning I might wake up and have very blurred vision, but then another day, I will have slightly clearer sight. Sometimes I will have quite an

unstable day with my vision, but that can change to being very constant and stable at other points.

For those people who do not have a condition to name, I think it does not make it any less valid, and it does not make it any less important to support those people.

Leah’s video, along with many other community member’s How I See stories, are available at rnib.org.uk/howisee

You can download a How I See pack with tools showing different eye conditions and facts on the spectrum of sight. Speak to your Connect team on 0303 1234 555 or visit rnib.org.uk/howisee

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Through My Eyes

Enter RNIB’s Writing Competition The theme for RNIB’s 2018 writing competition is “connections”. If you are a budding writer, poet or artist of the written word, start thinking about your entry today.

We make different kinds of connections every day, whether we are rushing to change trains or connecting with others in our community. Some might say that through technology, we are more connected than ever before.

As always, there are two categories to enter – prose and poetry. Get your creative juices flowing on the theme of “connections” in either 1,000 words of prose or 30 lines of poetry. Prose entries can be fiction, non-fiction or drama.

A panel of expert judges will select a winner and two runners-up in both categories, all who will have their entries read and recorded by professional Talking Book narrators.

We will reveal the winners in Connect magazine later in the year, with full recorded winning entries to be broadcast on Connect Radio on RNIB’s website and in your chosen format on request.

How to enter

You can enter in any format: audio, word document or hard copy, hand written or preferably typed on A4 paper or in braille. Whichever format you choose, make sure your entry clearly states your name, address and phone number.

The deadline for entries is 9am on Monday 5 March 2018.

To submit your entries, email writingcomp@rnib.org.uk or post it to: RNIB Members Writing Competition, Talk and Support, 105 Judd Street, London WC1H 9NE.

Good luck!

For more information and full terms, contact Talk and Support on 020 7391 2218 or email writingcomp@rnib.org.uk

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Book Lovers’ Corner

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How to start writing a short story Need inspiration to start writing? George Saunders, 2017 Booker Prize winner and A C Hart, a winner of RNIB’s 2016 writing competition, share their tips.

George Saunders is a master of short story writing. He says, “A short story is almost like a song or a poem. It has a resemblance to real life, but it is not necessarily a linear representation of real life. A short story can also be like a joke, with little to do with real life, but is more compressed and sillier.

“Whichever way you see a short story, there is usually one moment in the story that is kind of the pay-off moment, like the punchline in a joke. Nothing else really matters except for that event. With a joke, if the person laughs then you win, and if they do not, then you lose.

“Most of the storywriters I know do a lot of revision. It is not the case that they just blurt something out. They go back to it again and again and again and try to find what it is they are really trying to say to you.”

A C Hart won the prose category of the writing competition last year, with Many Happy Returns.

“It does not matter whether you have got any experience of writing: of being in a writing group, or having studied literature or creative writing. You do not need to follow a formula for writing – just do what you want.

“I knew absolutely nothing about writing and the last contact I had had with formal English was in 1967 when I did my O-levels.

“Winning the competition last year has given me confidence that other people have appreciated what I am capable of.

“I wish you good luck with your writing.”George Saunders.

Photo credit: David Crosby

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Book Lovers’ Corner

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Tech tips for 2018To help you stay on top of the latest tech developments happening in 2018, Robin Christopherson, Head of Digital Inclusion at disability charity AbilityNet, looks at what is coming your way this year.

AppsBe My Eyes is an app for your smartphone (now available on Android as well as iPhone) that can connect you to a sighted volunteer who can answer questions and read things for you.

Simply open the app and point your smartphone camera at whatever you want help identifying. Once you are connected with a sighted volunteer, the camera will start a videocall.

Be My Eyes is great for mobility because the person will be able to read road signs, describe objects or tell you how many minutes are left on the dishwasher programme.

Aira is another app which also connects you to a sighted person who can identify things for you. But with this app, you pay a monthly subscription. For your money, you get a pair of glasses with a head-mounted camera, and the

assistant at the other end of the line is trained to help people with vision impairment.

The monthly subscription varies depending on how much you use Aira. If you are going to be using it heavily, then it will cost you quite a lot.

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Tech Spot: the best news and gadgets from the tech world

Home assistantsThis year, I cannot emphasise strongly enough how important virtual assistants, or voice assistants, are going to be for people with vision impairment.

Many people already use voice-controlled devices around the home to do all sorts of things, from checking the weather or controlling the thermostat. But device capabilities are getting better all the time.

The two most popular virtual assistants, are the Amazon Echo and Google Home. There are now over a dozen Echoes to choose from and several hundred capabilities or “skills” added each week.

Other products include Apple’s HomePod which is coming out soon, and Microsoft have brought out the Invoke. Both are very much focused on playing music and not so much on the different skills and functionalities that you can use the Echo or the Google Home for.

Assistance on the goAmazon is bringing out a pair of smart glasses that will provide all the functionality of your home-based virtual assistant, for example your Echo, with you

wherever you go. Soon you will be able to talk into a built-in microphone and the device will speak back to you using a little speaker behind your ear.

If you have a speech or hearing impairment, there will be other considerations you need to think about. There are ways around it, and there are still virtual assistants that can work for you.

Amazon glasses

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Tech Spot: the best news and gadgets from the tech world

FitnessWe should all exercise on a regular basis, but if you have vision impairment, it is sometimes just a little bit harder.

Here are two low-tech tips to really get your heart going:The first is very simple – running up and down the stairs at home. You can easily set a timer on your phone or you can ask your virtual assistant set a timer for 10 seconds, or five minutes if you want to walk. That is an incredibly easy way of keeping fit, unless you live in a bungalow.

The second tip is spinning classes. I recently went to a spin class for the first time and absolutely loved it, although I did nearly collapse of exhaustion. Joking aside, spinning is really accessible.

Around 20 stationary bikes sit facing an instructor at the front of the exercise class. The instructor leads the workout which is set to music to make it fun. To increase the resistance, simply turn a knob on the bike half a turn to the right. Turn it another half turn to the right and it works harder still.

A spin class is about 45 minutes long, and if you need to lower the resistance to meet your own fitness levels or strength, the instructor is not going to tell you off if you want to turn it down a bit.

If you would like to know more about the Amazon Echo, check out Robin's daily podcast, called Dot to Dot. Just search for it on iTunes or your regular podcast app.

For more on AbilityNet or advice about using virtual assistants, visit abilitynet.org.uk or call freephone 0800 269 545.

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Tech Spot: the best news and gadgets from the tech world Tech Spot: the best news and gadgets from the tech world

Information Directory

Contact RNIBContact the RNIB Connect Team on 0303 1234 555 or email connectstories@rnib.org.uk

Write to RNIB, 105 Judd Street, London WC1H 9NE

Connect online with other members at rnib.org.uk/community

Update your format preference (choose from print in 16pt, braille, audio CD or by email).

RNIB HelplineCall 0303 123 9999

Email helpline@rnib.org.uk or

Visit rnib.org.uk/ask

The Helpline is your one stop shop for help and advice. You can use it to access the range of services we offer, including:• eye health information

• emotional support

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• product information, including the RNIB Shop

• fundraising, volunteering and campaigning

• RNIB Library, including Talking Books, Overdrive, RNIB Newsagent and more telephone groups

• …and much more.

Lines are open Monday to Friday, 8am to 8pm and Saturday, 9am to 1pm. Calls costs no more than a standard rate call to an 01 or 02 number.

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Call 0203 432 1488 to hear useful recorded information and listen to our most popular publications.