In Touch

What does carrying a white cane or using a guide dog actually signify? Does it say to people that you're partially sighted, or completely blind? A new film by the Royal National Institute of Blind People tries to explain to the general public what it's like to be visually impaired, and all the different varieties of sight-loss. Also, why making a recording of your benefit assessment interview is fraught with difficulties. And if you're applying for a job, when's it appropriate to disclose your eyesight problem: on the application form or in person at an interview.

Presented by Peter White

The Marrakesh Treaty was designed to make the sharing of books more seamless between countries, and therefore make more literature available to people with visual impairments.

It needed 20 countries to ratify it, and this was achieved at the end of June.

Dan Pescod from the Royal National Institute of Blind People tells Peter White what happens next, and what it could mean for readers in the UK.

Meanwhile. three guests give their suggestions for absorbing summer reads, and talk about the devices they use to read their books. They are: BBC Washington Correspondent Gary O'Donoghue, author Tanvir Bush and avid reader, Adrienne Chalmers.

Adrienne Chalmers's choices:

Gary O'Donoghue's choices:

Tanvir Bush's choices:

Presenter: Peter White

Glastonbury likes to be inclusive, but how easy is it if you're blind or visually impaired? Two of our listeners, Dave Kent and Hazel Dudley, test it out for us. Listen to how they get on camping, getting around the muddy site, and enjoying the hundreds of performances. They investigate how accessible Glastonbury really is and find out whether they'll ever go again.

Producer: Anna Bailey

One London father describes the problems he's had getting his blind 11 year old into a suitable secondary school. He's so worried about the time it's taken to resolve, that he's had to move home to another part of the city. And new author, Mark Hardie talks about his first novel called Burned and Broken and describes how his blindness has influenced his writing.

According to the charity British Blind Sport, not enough blind and visually impaired people are keeping active and getting involved in sport. Peter White talks to Dave Gavrilovic who is vice chair of the organisation, as well as being a huge cricket fan himself, and fitness instructor and Pilates teacher Jane Taylor, about why it's important to stay fit. They discuss the benefits of staying active, groups that you can join, and ways you can exercise even if you want to stay at home.

We visit New College Worcester as it marks 150 years of educating blind teenagers. The secondary school has been through many changes, going from a single-sex school, to being co-educational. We speak to teachers and pupils about the school's ethos and curriculum. We also hear from Jade Sharp, who complained to Transport For London when a number of Uber drivers refused to take her and her guide dog. Five of them have been successfully prosecuted and fined.

Hull has just introduced a charter which spells out how the city is easier for blind people to get around. We go and find out if it's working. And we speak to the journalist and crime novelist, Susie Steiner, about her eye condition, retinitis pigmentosa. Is her failing sight fuelling her creativity or just frustrating to manage?

Presenter Peter White.

News, views and information for people who are blind or partially sighted.