That'll be the Day

In this podcast, Tom Walker talks to a visually impaired man whose graduation ceremony was ruined by disability discrimination and thoughtlessness. But as you will hear, there’s much more to Connor Scott-Gardner than this. In addition to campaigning and raising awareness of the challenges visually impaired people face, Connor has spent a year living in Colombia and is trans-gender.

In this podcast, Martin Conway who’s totally blind, tells Tom Walker about his experiences of waiting for a very long time for help to get off and on aeroplanes. Martin regularly flies between Manchester and Ireland to attend GAA and other sports fixtures. Martin isn’t alone … the BBC’s Security Correspondent, Frank Gardner who uses a wheelchair, has also recently been forced to wait for way too long for assistance at Gatwick Airport.

In this podcast, Margaret Ord tells Tom Walker about how she coped with her visual impairment. At school, university and in her working life, virtually no adjustments were made for Margaret, with the exception of in her Biology O Level. It’s a story of determination - with a bit of blag thrown in!

In this podcast, Tom Walker talks to the visually impaired drag queen, Jake Sawyers, aka Venetia Blind. As you will hear, there’s much more to Jake than his drag queen act. Jake Talks about the challenges he experienced when attending mainstream school and when training to be an actor.

In this podcast, Tom Walker speaks to the Blind Braille Artist, Clarke Reynolds, about how he uses Braille to create art installations, how he has coped with losing his sight and so much more. Given that he has only recently lost his sight, Clarke has developed considerable insight and understanding of the challenges blind and partially sighted people face. In this conversation, Clarke talks openly and honestly about the difficulties he and his family have faced. There’s an abundance of joy and resilience about Clarke, and I enjoyed listening to him.

In this podcast, Tom Walker talks to Sean Harrington, a visually impaired singer/song-writer, who is making waves on the Irish music scene. Tom caught up with Sean just before he was due to go on stage at the Irish Centre in Liverpool.

In this podcast, Tom Walker talks to visually impaired probation officer, Gill Wake, about the challenges she has faced at work and her views on the wider issues facing disabled people. Gill has over 32 years’ experience of working with offenders, some of whom would be classed as seriously dangerous. There are stories and funny anecdotes aplenty.

In this podcast, Tom Walker talks to Gary O’Connor about the challenges he faced in his personal and professional life while losing his sight as a result of the eye condition, Choroideremia. Gary tells Tom about the lengths he went to, to hide his eye condition from his employers and his passion for music.

In this Christmas edition of  the That'll be the Day podcast, tom Walker talks to the visually impaired comedian from Liverpool, Chris McCausland. Chris tells Tom about school; his first comedy gig at an open mic night; and the challenges for him, as a blind person, of working in television. Chris also has some hilarious stories that will provide you with some entertaining Christmas cheer.

In this edition of the That'll be the Day podcast, tom Walker talks to Gillian Stafford, a visually impaired woman from County Meath in Ireland, about the challenges she experiences in her daily life. During the conversation, Gillian speaks honestly and openly about the difficulties she has faced at university and in trying to secure employment. Gillian also reflects on the ignorance she has  faced in the community in relation to her visual impairment.