In Touch

Finding the motivation to get fit and active can be difficult, especially when there can often be some barriers to entry for blind and partially sighted people. With this in mind, In Touch has assembled a panel of sporty visually impaired people to provide tips and advice on how to get started, or maintain your current fitness programme. Roy Turnham is captain of the England blind football team and works with British Blind Sport, who provide advice and opportunities for blind and partially sighted people to to get involved with sport. Rehnaz (Naz) Khan is a runner and she has set up her own visually impaired running club in Cardiff, called VI runners. And James O'Driscoll works as a personal trainer and owns his own gym called Simply Fit.

If you're looking for a sport or fitness group you can get involved with in your area, British Blind Sport's activity finder may help: https://britishblindsport.org.uk/activity-finder

Presenter: Peter White

A legal case is being brought against the British Museum over a lack of accessibility for visually impaired people to the Bayeux Tapestry exhibition. Dr Yusuf Ali Osman raised the case after being initially told that there were no plans for an audio described tour of the historical artefact. Dr Osman, along with other visually impaired people with similar complaints, describe the issue and we hear about the British Museum's plans for access to the tapestry in future.

A recent global study has found that 1 in 5 visually impaired people are encountering what they believe to be 'bogus' eye treatments. The majority were found online, but some participants were even sceptical of the treatments being offered by their clinicians. Research Fellow Dr Lee Jones of Moorfields Eye Hospital and UCL Institute of Ophthalmology delves into the study's findings for us and advises on what patients can do to protect themselves from potentially harmful treatments.

Presenter: Peter White

New research by RNIB has found that only 13% of visually impaired people surveyed feel their disability benefits actually cover the additional cost of their disability. This research comes at a time where the Personal Independent Payment is under review and so In Touch hears from the RNIB about their research and how they are contributing to this review.

To celebrate National Poetry Day, In Touch has brought together two visually impaired poets to discuss the concept of 'non-visual noticing'. A term coined by one of our panel poets Claudine Toutoungi. It is the art of noticing the non-visual aspects of the world as a source of inspiration for poetry. The Blind Poet Dave Steele also joins the discussion and shares some of his work, which often has the theme sight loss and addresses how it can impact you and those around you.

Presenter: Peter White

Anela and Scott Wood are keen theatre goers, and they regularly attend the audio described showings of the biggest musicals at their local theatre in Bristol. However, they were recently surprised to find that assistance around the theatre (help with things like getting to the bar and other facilities) was no longer a clear-cut issue. The couple tell us what happened.

'Making Fashion Accessible' is an initiative designed to help visually impaired people access London's Fashion Week. Its aim is to turn runway shows at this prestigious fashion event into multi-sensory moments for blind visually impaired guests; through tactile fabric swatch booklets, guided touch tours, (feeling designer garments and talking about them before or after the show) and scent and sound associations. The runway and outfits were also audio described for attendees during the show. Fern Lulham attended London Fashion Week to find out more about how Hair & Care's project works.

Presenter: Peter White

Live Action Role Playing (LARP) is where people create a character, dress in costume and physically role play them within a real-world setting. In Touch finds out how visually impaired people get involved with this hobby by visiting one of the UK's largest LARP events, Empire, where James Crawford Laird role plays often. James has the sight condition Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) and In Touch producer Beth Hemmings followed him around the Empire to find out how he interacts with the medieval fantasy themed game.

Presenter: Peter White

First Hello is a pilot scheme by the charity Guide Dogs which provides visually impaired expectant parents with a rendered 3D model of their baby, taken from their 20-week ultrasound scan. In Touch finds out more from some to-be parents who have received their models and Guide Dogs' Head of Support Services, Kerry Bevan.

Macular Disease is the leading cause of sight loss in the UK and medical intervention has come a long way in terms of treating some aspects of the disease, but a new research method is trying to pin-point the root causes and contribute to earlier diagnosis by comparing healthy and diseased eyes from donors. Dr Colin Chu is leading the project and he describes the method and how he hopes it will contribute to wider research.

Presenter: Peter White

With technology providing an increasing number of options for visually impaired people to access text, do we need braille food labels? Well a group of visually impaired people in Scotland certainly think so, and they've just relaunched a campaign to support their cause. Campaign leader Marie Harrower joins us to explain the objectives of their work and how it's progressing. We also hear what some of our listeners have to say on the subject.

If you want to find out more about the campaign you can email [email protected] or phone 0131 378 2800 extension 7015.

What is it that makes so many blind people keen on sport? Joining us to help answer that question is 13 year old Ravi Chahal, who is himself registered blind and already making his mark as a cricket pundit.

Presenter: Peter White

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It is the time of year where youngsters across the country are receiving their exam results. For many, this will mean attending university for the first time in the next few months. It is a big time, but for visually impaired youngsters, there are added dimensions to consider. With this in mind, In Touch has assembled a panel of guests to provide hints and tips for new visually impaired students on how they can make the most of their first term at university. We provide advice on things such as the Disabled Students Allowance, negotiating new environments and making the most of the social side of university life.

Presenter: Peter White

Personal Independence Payment (PIP) supports people with the extra costs of a disability or long-term health condition and it is currently under review. The steering group behind The Timms Review now wants disabled people to apply to participate in a series of workshops throughout September and October to provide feedback on draft recommendations. Decisions on these recommendations are then expected to be announced in late Autumn. The deadline to apply for the workshops is Friday 21st August. There is an email address to request reasonable adjustments if you are not able to access the online application form: [email protected]

More information on these workshops, including application form, can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/timms-review-of-personal-independence-payment-register-your-interest-in-a-shaping-recommendations-workshop/timms-review-register-your-interest-in-a-shaping-recommendations-workshop#information-for-workshops-in-wales-northern-ireland-and-scotland

Terra Sarda Wines is a small Sardinian wine company based in Yorkshire that have a big ambition to provide all of the wines they sell with braille labels. It currently includes the braille labels on demand on three of their range. Terra Sarda isn't the first wine company to do this, but the inspiration came from hearing Brandon Hulcoop from transcription service All Things Dotty on the In Touch programme. Brandon and Sue Scott from Terra Sarda Wines tell us how their partnership developped.

Presenter: Peter White

If someone has little vision, is it actually helpful to describe historical sites and objects using only visual language? That is a question being posed by a new project 'Describing Heritage' by charity VocalEyes. It aims to challenge traditional audio description at heritage sites (museums, galleries, stately homes) by involving blind and visually impaired people in the creation of descriptions of objects and spaces. By co-creating audio descriptions that are based on all the senses, they believe that this will create the kind of description which could be more relatable to people with low vision. Our reporter Fern Lulham attended one of the curation sessions at The National Gallery to find out more about how this concept works.

Presenter: Peter White