Rnib Conversations

As theatres, museums, galleries, and other arts venues start to re-open their doors RNIB Connect Radio's Toby Davey catches up with Jess Beal from VocalEyes, the national audio description charity providing access to the arts for blind and partially sighted people to share some of the accessible events that are featured in their weekly email newsletter. Items highlighted this week include: The British Library Exhibition - Hebrew Manuscripts: Journeys of the Written Word - online audio described introduction Black Victorians at The Peace Pagoda, North Willen Lake, Milton Keynes - audio described performance, Saturday 24 July 3pm (Touch tour 2.15pm)  Six the musical at Lyric Theatre, London  - audio described performance, Saturday 31 July at 4pm Dulwich Picture Gallery, Picture Description Talk – Unearthed: Photography’s Roots - online audio described via Zoom, Thursday 5 August at 11am Last  Easter at The Orange Tree Theatre - audio described performance, Friday 23 July 7.30pm. To find out

With so much news around at the moment regarding Covid, whether it is easing of restrictions, wearing of masks, or which countries we might be able to visit for holidays over the summer, in this week's regular check in with Pharmacist Elizabeth Roddick from New Life Pharmacy in Glasgow Connect Radio's Toby Davey began by asking Elizabeth for an update on her thoughts about Covid at the moment. Elizabeth also shared with Toby recent research by researchers in Glasgow that has linked some of the symptoms of Covid with those that people might face if they are suffering from Rheumatoid arthritis.   Elizabeth outlined the difference between Rheumatoid arthritis and ordinary arthritis, how arthritis is diagnosed, what the current treatments for arthritis are and whether arthritis medicine is available over the Pharmacy counter. Finally Toby asked Elizabeth about her thoughts on the wearing of masks at the moment and the benefits of mask wearing over the coming autumn and winter months with seasonal flu and su

Linda Garforth has been a foster carer with Oldham Fostering Service for over 30 years. She also lost the majority of her eyesight one morning in 2013, but with support and understanding, she was able to continue doing what she loves the most, offering a safe and caring home to kids in foster care.  RNIB Connect Radio's Paulina Kuchorew spoke with Linda to find out why disability needn't be a barrier to fostering. Image shows Linda sitting on a comfy couch and smiling at the camera. (Image credit: Oldham Times.

Unscene Suffolk's new audio play, The Mystery of Syleham Manor launches on Friday 9th July.   Unscene Suffolk is a community theatre company for visually impaired adults.  Caroline, the director and long standing member Clare, who has Glaucoma and works for Suffolk Sight, talk about the audio production, brought about by lockdown, the history of the group and their on-line rehearsals.  Image is of Unscene Suffolk logo.  On a purple background, a large white cirlce in the top right hand corner, with a crescent moon shape in the middle in purple, with the words Unscene Suffolk below, in white.

We're heading across the pond today to hear about a Boston-based non-profit, whose work is all about empowering young people with sight loss.   Titled Our Space Our Place, the aim of this non-profit is to Prepare blind youth for their future by building their self-confidence, and social and independent living skills.   RNIB Connect Radio's Paulina Kuchorew spoke with the founder of the group Cheryl Cumings, to hear a little bit more about the organisation and how it was created. For more information visit: Welcome to Our Space Our Place | Boston area programs for blind youth Image shows Our Space Our Place logo. White background with capital letters O. and S. in the top row, and O. and P. bellow. 

The last year was not easy but were there any positives to a UK-wide shut down? RNIB Connect Radio's Paulina Kuchorew catches up with blind musician and singer-songwriter Rik Jones, to hear how the last year has been for him, as well as for a sneak peak at his upcoming album. Find Rik Jones on iTunes, Apple Music or follow him on Facebook.    Image shows a British Flag with Rik Jones written over the top. 

As theatres, museums, galleries, and other arts venues start to re-open their doors, RNIB Connect Radio's Toby Davey catches up with Jess Beal from VocalEyes, the national audio description charity providing access to the arts for blind and partially sighted people to share some of the accessible events that are featured in their weekly email newsletter. Items highlighted this week include: Northern Ballet: Expressions inclusive dance festival Mischief Movie Night In - livestream with audio description The Invisible Hand at Kiln Theatre, London - audio described performance Romeo and Juliet at Open Air Theatre, Regent’s Park, London -audio described performance And Constellations at the Vaudeville theatre, London - audio described performance To find out more about these and other up-coming audio-described arts events as well as details about how to sign up to the VocalEyes weekly email newsletter do visit the VocalEyes website -  https://vocaleyes.co.uk (Image shows RNIB logo.

We are hearing a lot in the news about more and more people getting their Covid vaccinations which is great but we are also hearing about many cases of Long Covid too. So in this week's regular check in with Pharmacist Elizabeth Roddick from New Life Pharmacy in Glasgow we thought it would be a good time to have a recap and update on Long Covid.   Connect Radio's Toby Davey asks Elizabeth whether the experts have a greater understanding now of Long Covid, what the main symptoms are of the condition, what advice is being given to people who are affected by Long Covid, and with a lot of talk about mixing of Covid vaccinations is it fine to mix them? To get in touch with Elizabeth Roddick email  Elizabeth.r@newlifepharmacy.co.uk or for more information visit https://newlifepharmacy.co.uk. Image:  Picture showing Elizabeth standing in her pharmacy, dressed in her white pharmacist coat and a colourful bandana around her neck, she's smiling. warmly at the camera with her hands slightly raised.

Thursday, 1st July would’ve been Diana, Princess of Wales’ 60th birthday.  The Princess once visited Cardiff Institute for the Blind (now known as Sight life) and Lynne Morgan has been chatting to 2 people who remember that day. Image is of Alan George, demonstrating a talking calculator to Diana Princess of Wales.

Glaucoma Awareness Week 2021 runs from 28th June - 4th July and the charity Glaucoma  UK wants to emphasise the importance of family and loved ones.  RNIB Connect Radio's Barry Snell spoke with Glaucoma UK's CEO Karen Osborn and Jessica Sydenham, who is living with congenital glaucoma, to discuss how Glaucoma affects the whole family. {Image: Glaucoma UK logo in white writing against a purple background}

Carla Golledge is a mum of three. She's also a full-time carer to her 8-year-old son Cameron. During the coronavirus pandemic her family struggled with receiving support, leaving Carla to forgo her own needs and wellbeing for the sake of her children.  She spoke with RNIB Connect Radio's Paulina Kuchorew about the impact the last year had on her family and how social services could be improved to ensure families in similar situations don't suffer unnecessarily. Follow their journey on Facebook: 'Camerons smile'  Image shows Carla with a smiling Cameron sitting in her lap, enjoying a nice sunny day outside. 

Rachel Jones talks about her new role as the Policy & Campiagns Officer, Wales and the route that led her to that job; beginning with a meeting with her ECLO (Eye clinic liaison officer) and volunteering on the Living With Sight Loss courses. Image is a head shot of Rachel Jones, standing infront of wall, in a pink t-shirt wearing dark glasses. 

RNIB Connect Radio’s Barry Snell chats to Blind Dave Heeley, who is back in training after the easing of lockdown restrictions. Things are thankfully now looking up for Dave as he chats to Barry about his latest DIY projects, training with his new guide dog and also reflecting on his recent appearance on Tracks Of My Life. Image: A close up of Dave out running. he is wearing a white t-shirt with Blind Dave written across the chest in blue . Dave is also wearing a dark collared bandana & seems in good spirits.

We re-join Claire Forde for another sit-down 'in conversation with', this time with current STV weather forecaster Seán Batty. Seán is a familiar face on Scottish televisions, having presented STV Weather since August 2007. His passion for meteorology began at a young age, growing up watching Ian McCaskill, Michael Fish, and Heather Reid. He left home at 18 to study meteorology at Reading University, eventually leaving to take up his first job as a weather observer in England. Seán and Claire talk about his initial, and very informal interview with STV, the "boring" months when it comes to weather, bow-ties, taxi drivers, being colourblind, a fear and love of flying, 'that' Michael Fish Great Storm blooper from 1987, and his own unique way of trying to explain the "fickle, volatile" Scottish weather to us all. Seán is on Twitter, and can be followed at @SeanBattyTV Claire can be found on Twitter at @ClaireFordeMSYP

If you live in Wales, have sensory loss, are over 25 and are looking for employment, then the Jobsense programme could be for you.   Zoe Gambling, team leader at Elite Supported Employment, spoke to RNIB Connect Radio about Jobsense and what it has to offer. Image is of RNIB logo. RNIB written in bold, black capital letters on a white background and underlined with a bold pink line, with the words 'See differently' underneath.

As theatres, museums, galleries, and other arts venues start to re-open their doors, Connect Radio's Toby Davey catches up with Jess Beal from VocalEyes, the national audio description charity providing access to the arts for blind and partially sighted people to share some of the accessible events that are featured in their weekly email newsletter.   Items highlighted this week included:   Journeys - picture description talk, Dulwich Picture Gallery (Thursday 3 June 11am) Northern Ballet shows - Dangerous Liaisons and Swan Lake audio described performances A Midsummer Night’s Dream - Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre live stream with audio description Waldon - described performance at the Harold Pinter Theatre, And Reasons You Should(n’t) Love Me - described performance at the Kiln Theatre To sign up to the VocalEyes weekly email newsletter and more details about these and other accessible events do visit the VocalEyes website - https://vocaleyes.co.uk/ (Image shows RNIB logo. 'RNIB' written i

Following the easing of some of the Covid restrictions on 17 May and more to come hopefully over the next few weeks Connect Radio's Toby Davey checked in with Pharmacist Elizabeth Roddick from New Life Pharmacy in Glasgow for some advice on how to keep Covid safe now that we are all able to get out and about a bit more.   Elizabeth and Toby talked about how the easing of restrictions have been affecting people so far, how important it is to still maintain social distancing, are people coming forward for their vaccination jabs and if you have had both your jabs is it possible for you to still pass on the virus? To get in touch with Elizabeth Roddick and for more help and advice you can either email  Elizabeth.r@newlifepharmacy.co.uk, search for ‘New Life Pharmacy’ on Facebook or click on to  https://newlifepharmacy.co.uk Image:  Picture showing Elizabeth standing in her pharmacy, dressed in her white pharmacist coat and a colourful bandana around her neck, she's smiling warmly at the camera with her han

Rationale Arts are a charity formed in 2019 after identifying a need for art to be made equally accessible to both disabled and non-disabled members of the community.  Their work, aims to improve public appreciation of the arts, and this June they have an exciting event coming up. Titled 'Trust in Care', their new show features performances from professional dancers who appeared on BBC Strictly's "It Takes Two" and combines Hip-Hop, Street dance, Interactive Projection, beatboxing and Poetry to tell the dynamic story of two siblings trying to navigate their way through the care system.    Charity Director at Rationale Arts Vignesh Murali spoke with our Paulina Kuchorew about the performance, and how their company continues to champion diversity and inclusion. For more information about the show visit: Trust in Care | Sheffield Theatres

The Pet Bereavement Service (PBSS) offers a free service to anyone who has lost an animal. They also work closely with the charity Guide Dogs. RNIB Connect Radio’s Sandra Gayer has been chatting to the PBSS manager Diane James, to find out more about the emotional support they can provide. {image: Blue paw print against a white background with the words PBSS Pet Bereavement Service)

Since the first lockdown in March 2020 with many theatres going dark and many museums, galleries and heritage sites having to close their doors, VocalEyes, the national audio description charity providing access to the arts for blind and partially sighted people, started up a weekly email newsletter titled 'The Interval' to share up-coming online accessible events for blind and partially sighted people.   In this week’s VocalEyes - The Interval here on RNIB Connect Radio Toby Davey is joined again by Jess Beal from VocalEyes to highlight a number of online accessible arts events from the VocalEyes weekly email newsletter The Interval.   Items highlighted included: National Paralympic Heritage Trust :  Life and work of Dr Guttmann - audio described tour, National Gallery:  Orazio Gentileschi: The finding of Moses - Art Through Words described session Donmar Warehouse:  Blindness - UK tour Barnsley Museums: Audio described introductions - available on Soundcloud British Library:  The Library of a