Publications Archive

New Beacon, October 1995, 79(935)

Summary: The leading monthly magazine on issues concerning people with sight problems

• In Depth
• Letters
• Insight
• In Brief
• Leisure for all
• Leisure Notes & News
• Obituary

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Editor: Ann Lee

© Royal National Institute for the Blind

In Depth

Talking about your generation: Self help for people with nystagmus

Following the success of its first regional meeting in Blackpool a year ago, the Nystagmus Action Group is holding a second meeting in Sheffield this month. John Sanders, honorary chairman of the Group and full time financial journalist, explains that NAG is not just for children and shows how a small self-help group like NAG can tap into the resources of RNIB.

Enquire within

"I've had three enquiries from the Nystagmus Action Group newsletter this week", Helen Oldfield of the RNIB's Education Information Service tells me. "Ah well, I've passed on two enquiries to the Nystagmus Action Group, so we're about even", counters department manager Nancy Chambers.

I'm visiting the department's crowded, ground floor office in Great Portland Street, central London. The RNIB has kindly offered to include details of NAG booklets in a mail-out to 340 peripatetic teachers. This is one way in which a small group like ours can access the resources of RNIB and work together.

For those of you who haven't heard of nystagmus before, it's a complex condition which manifests itself in the form of an involuntary movement of the eyes, normally from side to side, which seriously reduces vision and causes a host of other, less well understood problems.

At least one in a thousand people has nystagmus, and one survey in Oxfordshire (1) found that one in 670 children has the condition, whichshould always be referred to an ophthalmologist. Nystagmus is normally diagnosed by the age of one, and often occurs with other eye conditions, such as glaucoma, childhood cataracts and coloboma. It can also occur with cerebral palsy, Down's Syndrome and many motor system diseases. Although one estimate suggests one in three cerebral palsy sufferers has nystagmus, its effects sometimes go unnoticed in such cases.

Nystagmus has a number of causes and is usually a symptom of an underlying problem in the eye or the neural pathways behind the eye. It is almost always present with albinism. Sometimes it is inherited, but in many cases there is no family history of the condition. There is no known cure and glasses and contact lenses will not correct nystagmus, although they should be worn if prescribed for another eye problem.

People also develop nystagmus in later life, sometimes on its own, sometimes as a symptom of multiple sclerosis and other diseases. Its effects in later life are less predictable and poorly documented. Being diagnosis specific, we don't aim to duplicate or compete with the work of RNIB or other charities and self help groups. However, we do see plenty of opportunities for cooperation. One of our tasks is to persuade our members that they should use RNIB, and that just because it's got the word `blind' in its title doesn't mean the RNIB caters only for those registered as blind.

It's rare now that one of our quarterly Focus newsletters goes out without at least one reference to RNIB. The June issue mentioned the Family Weekends in September, and prompted several enquiries to the RNIB.

James Galway, the flautist, is our patron and perhaps the best-known nystagmus sufferer. Great Ormond Street Hospital for Sick Children advises NAG on medical and scientific matters.

The spare room

The Nystagmus Action Group is run by a group of volunteers, with the support of our 500 or so members, from spare rooms, kitchen tables, anywhere we can write a few letters or make a phone call. We have annual income of less than £10,000 from donations and membership subscriptions with which to help the estimated 50,000 or more people affected by nystagmus in the UK alone.

The Group came into being in the mid 1980s, when a group of sufferers and parents of children with the condition met through the Institute of Optometry, which was pioneering an experimental therapy for nystagmus.

Since then NAG has produced two booklets, set up a telephone helpline, supported research and set about building up an accurate picture of how nystagmus affects people and what we can do to minimise its effects.

Our so-called `yellow card' is widely used in schools to help pupils explain to teachers what nystagmus is. Our ‘Fact Sheet’ sums up on two sides of A4 the key points about nystagmus. We also produce audio cassettes of the guest speakers at our annual open days.

We have been contacted by thousands of people, including many professionals, mostly in the UK, but from as far afield as Malaysia, India, New Zealand and Norway. We keep in touch through a quarterly newsletter and an expanding programme of meetings around the country.

We're pretty sure we are the only self-help group for nystagmus in the world. We know there is a lot more we could and should be doing, so we're looking for funding for an office and full- or part-time worker.

Not in front of the children

NAG exists to help adults with nystagmus as well as families with young children suffering from the condition.

We are often seen as a self-help group targeted primarily at children and parents, an image that has developed by accident rather than by design. It is true that our membership is weighted in favour of school age children. We've identified two reasons for this.

Firstly, once you get to your late teens you tend to drop out of the system of regular annual visits to the eye hospital. People are usually told nothing can be done about their nystagmus and they needn't come back to the ophthalmology department after the age of 16 or 17. This makes it very hard to contact adult sufferers.

Secondly, when parents are told their child has nystagmus they tend, quite understandably, to search high and low for information about this condition most of them will never have heard of before. As one parent in New Zealand wrote and told us recently, "The problem with ignorance is not knowing what you don't know".

The information generation

In contrast, the attitude of many adult sufferers who hear about us is - "I've got this far on my own, what's the use of a self-help group if there's no cure and no immediate prospect of one?" The answer, in a word, is information. All too often it surprises us just how little people know about a condition that may have - often quite unnecessarily - seriously limited their opportunities at school and work.

At RNIB's recent Vision '95 exhibition we explained to two visitors in their 20s, both with nystagmus, that they turned their heads to one side to achieve their so-called null point where the eyes are most stable and vision is at its best. One of them, although she had been to a school for the visually impaired, had never been told about her null point.

I would urge anyone with nystagmus who thinks they can't benefit from the Group to think again. Many sufferers have never had the effects of nystagmus explained to them. If you don't know you have a null point or why you have one or that it's due to nystagmus, life is going to be much harder than it needs to be.

Apart from the obvious problems of very bad sight - such as not being able to drive - adults with nystagmus often suffer in silence from frustration, loneliness and isolation. "I never knew the Nystagmus Action Group existed. It's such a relief to know I'm not the only person with this condition and to be able to talk to other people about it", is a typical message in the many letters and phone calls we receive.

The moving eyes and the head posture frequently associated with nystagmus can lead to a whole range of social problems, as well as difficulties in job interviews. Another worrying, but hopefully rare, problem may arise if you're unfortunate enough to be questioned by the police, whose training tells them that anyone who doesn't look them unflinchingly in the eye is probably guilty.

The Nystagmus Action Group may not be able to stop your eyes moving, but we can help you to live with it more confidently.

NAG - the next generation

Apart from NAG helping adults with the condition, we also want adults to help us and future generations. Parents of children with nystagmus are desperate to meet adults with nystagmus so they can build up an idea of what the future holds in store for their children. We will need adults and children to take part in research projects. We also need adults to help raise funds and run the Group.

Most of all, there are still many unanswered questions about nystagmus. Does it get worse with age? Just how many people have the condition? How often does it develop in later life? How many people lose their jobs or can't get work because of nystagmus? Only by working together can we find the answers.

References

1. Maureen Stayte, Ann Johnson, Catherine Wortham, Oxford Eye Hospital, Walton Street, Oxford, OX2 6AN: "Ocular and visual defects in a geographically defined population of 2-year old children". February 1990. British Journal of Ophthalmology, 1990, 74, 465-468.

• For further information either call our `INSIGHT' telephone helpline - 01392 72573 - or write to the Nystagmus Action Group, 43 Gordonbrock Road, London SE4 1JA.
• For information about the venue for the Sheffield meeting on October 14, telephone Lynne Wildbore on 0114 230 1024.

On blindness

Introducing a volume of correspondence between the philosophers Bryan Magee and Martin Milligan, published last month by Oxford University Press, from which extracts appear below and in next month's ‘New Beacon’.

The untimely death of Martin Milligan two years ago was (as Colin Low noted in ‘New Beacon’) a great loss to all those who knew and worked with him, and to the blind world generally. A well-known activist, Martin had campaigned ceaselessly and sometimes fiercely, over many years, for the equal treatment of blind people and their integration into society. Having himself benefited from an early experiment in integrated education, which took him from a start in the slums of Glasgow to a brilliant educational career at Edinburgh and Balliol, he later became the driving force behind much of the movement towards integration in education from the late 1960s onwards.

This side of Martin Milligan was well known, and some knew him also in another capacity - he was an accomplished pianist, and gave recitals with his first wife Jeanette Goddard, a singer, including a number of broadcasts on BBC Radio.

Less well known outside immediate academic circles was his work as a philosopher - until shortly before his death he held the post of Head of the Philosophy Department at the University of Leeds. But it was partly in this capacity, and partly because of his blindness, that he was approached some years ago by the noted broadcaster, writer and philosopher Bryan Magee.

What Bryan Magee sought was discussion of a question which arose from the fundamental philosophical question `What can I know?' Since what we know of the world comes from our senses, he wanted to explore the question: what sort of difference does it make if we lack a major sense such as sight, and have done so since birth. He therefore sought out a professional philosopher who was blind, and found him in Martin Milligan (who had been blind from very early infancy, and had no memory of sight).

The discussion was pursued by correspondence over a period of time, until the illness and death of Martin Milligan brought it to a sudden halt. This correspondence has now been published, with an introduction and afterword by Bryan Magee. Far from being a dry academic discussion, it is lively, witty, and often heated, and addresses every aspect of living without sight, challenging all our assumptions.

Questions explored include: Does a blind person know friendship and love in the same way as a sighted person, even though they never see the other's face?; What are the differences between a blind person's dreams and a sighted person's?; Is a blind person's experience of the world worth as much as a sighted person's?

In the extract which immediately follows (taken from Letter 4), Milligan expounds his view that born-blind people can understand the meaning of visual terms, and explains why he thinks that some sighted people attach too much importance to sight.

Milligan to Magee:

Turning now to what is to me a particularly important part of your letter, covering roughly pages 26 to 33: the first thing that strikes me is that our discussions seem to be arousing more emotion than I had expected. You seem to have found my claims that born-blind people can understand, at the very least, a major part of the meaning of visual terms, and that many sighted people grossly exaggerate the importance of sight, somewhat exasperating in their presumption. I must confess to having wanted to protest rather vehemently against some of the things you say in this part of your letter. The presence of emotion, however, is often a sign that something important is at issue; and whilst it can make it difficult to stick to the methods of philosophy, it can also make it particularly worth while to do so. So: forward!

You say: "You surprised me a great deal in conversation by saying you thought sighted people grossly exaggerate the importance of seeing." Does your surprise mean that you think it would be impossible to exaggerate the importance of sight? If so, doesn't that suggest that you yourself may be guilty of some exaggeration here? But I hope I did not give you the impression that my view is that all sighted people exaggerate the importance of sight. I don't think that: I think some underestimate its importance, and some get it about right. But I am quite sure that many sighted people do grossly exaggerate its importance.

What I was thinking of particularly was the trouble I and many other blind people have had in getting jobs for which we were fitted but from which we were excluded because sighted employers or their representatives had absurdly exaggerated ideas about the paralysing effects of blindness. To give only one example out of thousands that could be given from experience in Britain alone: there was a time in my life when, desperate for work, I was applying for jobs in Glasgow as a telephone typist on newspapers. This was a job that - at that time, at least - newspapers were constantly having difficulty in filling, and which I was well qualified for, having a good knowledge of current affairs and also certified high speeds and accuracy both as a typist and as a (braille) shorthand writer. I had already done this work successfully in another city. Yet although some of my applications were acknowledged, including applications for posts which were re-advertised, I was never even called for an interview. By chance, however, I met a man from one of the newspapers in question who knew about the trouble they had been having in making these appointments, and who told me that they had been favourably impressed by my application. When I asked: "Why didn't you at least interview me then?", his reply was: "Oh well, we just couldn't have employed you because there are stairs in our building."

I have also heard an education officer explain that it would be difficult to accept blind children into the ordinary schools in his city because they nearly all had stairs.

Now, of course, downward flights of stairs can be a serious hazard to blind people who are on unfamiliar terrain alone, but most blind people learn their way around buildings they are going to have to use regularly within a day or two of first entering them, and they very quickly find ways of identifying where the stairs are and what these are like. Thousands of blind people in this country live and work every day in buildings with stairs, which, once they have located them and used them a few times, are no more dangerous to them than to the sighted users of the buildings. Not only were the schools I attended as a child full of stairs, so too have been most of the special schools for blind children which I have visited. Many sighted people, however, who do not know any blind people and who know that they themselves use their sight to locate stairs, and the distance from step to step, cannot imagine how blind people can do this without sight.

More generally, because the sense of which they make overwhelmingly the greatest use is sight, these sighted people just cannot imagine how blind people can manage without it. What they don't appreciate is that nature (fortunately) makes available to human beings a great deal of redundant information through more senses than one; and because sight is in modern conditions so much more efficient than the other senses, sighted people have got into the habit of disregarding a lot of the information the other senses provide, or can provide. However, blind people can learn to use this when they put their minds to it. Sighted people also underestimate the usefulness of language. For all that you say about knowledge by description being "pale, grey, thin, second-hand stuff", I believe that to be told that "There's a downward flight of twenty steps immediately round the next corner, with a banister on the right-hand side" is at least as useful as seeing them when you get there. And of course, many sighted people do not know about a lot of special aids and equipment now available to blind people. Given all this, I think one would have to be surprised if many didn't grossly exaggerate the importance of sight - and therefore of its absence.

I think it's desirable not to encourage or even acquiesce in such exaggeration, though, both because large numbers of recently-blind people are disproportionately depressed and damaged in spirit as a result of the widespread acceptance of this exaggeration, and because large numbers of people who at present have good sight are likely to go blind before they die. Loss of sight cannot, and should not, be experienced as anything other than a serious loss; but many people need not, and should not, experience it as the `cataclysm' you speak of, because whether suffered early or late in life it can - if responded to with spirit, and with a bit of help from others - bring the discovery in oneself of new and encouraging powers, and the clear realisation that sight is by no means the most important thing in life. It is significant that a number of older people near where I live who have recently gone blind have chosen to call the organisation they have formed to support others `VINE' - `Vision Is Not Essential'. Some of us believe that this name has its drawbacks, but I think we all understand and approve of what they are trying to say through it.

You refer to my "failure to understand why sighted people regard being blind as a cataclysm". I can't think of any ground you can have for attributing such a failure to me. I believe that I do understand why many sighted people think of their becoming blind as a cataclysm; but I do after all also know many people who have suffered that fate, and I know that many of those who originally regarded this as a cataclysm have come to see it in a different light. I know that many have come to think of their loss of sight as not nearly as catastrophic as they had once thought, and that some have even come to regard the period during which they lost their sight, and had to learn to live as blind people, as a period of great net gain in their life.

Next month: A reply from Bryan Magee.

• ‘On blindness’ by Bryan Magee & Martin Milligan is published by Oxford University Press (September 1995). ISBN 0-19-823543-7. Price £16.99.
• Extracts are reprinted by permission of the Peters Fraser & Dunlop Group Ltd.
• Page references are to print page numbers.
• A braille edition of ‘On blindness’ is planned by RNIB, and is scheduled to appear at the end of the year. It is also being recorded by the RNIB Cassette Library (available in November [1995]).

Letters

Mobility

I am writing in response to the interesting letter from Mr Frederick Jakeman published in the July/August ‘New Beacon’. Mr Jakeman has clearly got to the heart of a number of problems relating to the use and abuse of tactile paving.

For some time now we have been working with the Department of Transport to try and recover the situation and the position is basically is as follows. First, at the time of writing we hope that during September there will be a new document issued by the Department setting out how tactile paving should be used. This document will be a consultative paper and will cover not only the paving to be used at pedestrian crossings but also a range of other approved types. The paper will be sent to relevant organisations representing the interests of visually impaired people and also to access officers, access groups and local authorities. It is hoped that early in 1996 a new document can be issued setting out quite firmly and clearly how tactile paving should be laid.

Secondly, we are working with Cranfield University and the DoT on the preparation of a self-instructional training programme aimed at visually impaired people to explain to them what tactile paving is, how it should be recognised and used. Such a document would seem to be necessary because only those who have had formal mobility training in the last few years will have had proper instruction on the use of tactile paving.

Finally, perhaps I can mention that we have been running a series of articles in ‘Update’ (RNIB's newsletter for local societies) which have explained the use of each type of tactile paving.

In the Joint Mobility Unit we would be interested to hear from visually impaired people on their experiences, good or bad, with tactile paving.

Peter Barker

Manager, Joint Mobility Unit, 224 Great Portland Street, London W1N 6AA

Moon, myths and management

I would like to record how delighted we, at the National Library for the Blind, were to learn of RNIB's decision to continue with the production and development of Moon literacy and teaching materials (New Beacon Letters, September).

Whilst sympathising with RNIB on the high cost of Moon production, it is heartening to see that the views of users and suppliers have been listened to. I am sure Moon readers will applaud and appreciate this decision. For our part, the National Library for the Blind will ensure that we shall continue to provide free loan access of Moon books to all who need them.

Pat Lynn

Chief Executive, National Library for the Blind, Stockport

Computer access

Computers have become increasingly dominant in today's society. There is a variety of hardware and software on the market that allows a blind person access to the computer. With the increasing emphasis on graphics in many computer tools such as the Internet and word processors, accessing these applications can be a challenge.

Three students from Worcester Polytechnic Institute in the United States - Christine Manganis, Aaron Newman, and Jeremy Olszewski - are working in London on a project to help minimize this challenge. The students are working with Mr Angus McKenzie MBE, a blind computer user, in conjunction with the Royal National Institute for the Blind.

The goal of this project is to investigate the types of hardware and software available that can be adapted for use by the blind. The project is concentrating on the types of software which will benefit most users, such as dealing with gopher, e-mail, the Internet, databases, and word processors in the windows environment. Data for the study will be obtained by testing different computer interfaces with the aid of blind computer users in the London area. At the end of the project a presentation will be made of the findings and subsequent recommendations on which hardware and software combinations are most effective. This presentation will be held on October 16 at 10 am in the Armitage Hall at the Royal National Institute for the Blind, 224 Great Portland Street in London. All are welcome and invited to attend.

Please send comments or suggestions to Angus McKenzie and the group: telephone 0181 343 0404, email AMCKENZIE@delphi.com.

Dr R James Duckworth

Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Massachusetts

Superhighways

I read the article by Peter Bosher in the last issue with interest and bewilderment. I thought it might contain something to help me, as a totally blind man, living alone, but no! I write hundreds of braille letters, and I do not type too badly. I have my braille address book and note the telephone numbers I use frequently. When I need information about BR, I merrily ring them and they will give me all the information I need - times of trains, changes, etc, and undertake to acquaint the change-stations that I may need help. I am not in the least interested in the Japanese railway system, and do not wish to have the information in seconds or even days. My entertainment is adequately catered for by my hi-fi and CD.

Now what else do I need? I have a braille dictionary which is cumbersome and time-wasting, so Peter might help me there, but my repeated attempts to get information about an Oxford dictionary have not met with any success.

Why should I spend thousands of pounds for something which is going to give me very, very little help? I think that a safe, easy to use device to help us get around would be of very great help.

No doubt, the clever boys and girls of the blind world will enthuse over Peter's article, but it just leaves me cold.

Charles Townend

Beverley

Home workers schemes

I share Francis Rwama's concern about the future of home workers schemes (September Letters). Readers may be interested in what happened to me. I qualified with a CTB Honours Diploma in piano tuning and repairs, and started my own business in August 1971. In those `good old days' the scheme for this area was run by RNIB Home Industries Department at Reigate. I was told I'd receive financial and technical support for all my working life; but, if I did well, as was hoped, I'd only need to receive the annual Holiday Allowance, plus the usual Bank Holiday Allowances. After a few years, I'm delighted to say I did achieve this.

In due course, the scheme was run directly by East Sussex authority, and I was visited. I was rather surprised to hear the RNIB representative say, "Of course, Richard is in a good area". In fact, I had to contend not only with patchy and inadequate public transport provision, but also with competition from untrained people who `tuned' a few pianos as a hobby and charged ludicrously low fees. (If this is a `good' area, I'm jolly glad I did not try to set up a tuning connection in a `bad' area!)

In autumn 1991 I was again visited, this time by East Sussex Personnel only, RNIB's involvement having ceased in this area two or three years previously. I was told, "We're taking you off the scheme, because you're doing too well." My father, who had retired, and had been driving me to appointments for a few years, was due to have an eye operation in a few months, so I didn't know how things would work out; but this made no difference. "The decision has been made." (I don't think I was told "like it or lump it", but I might just as well have been.)

Fortunately, my father's eye operation was a success, and I was able to find another driver; now they share the work. My concern is that there seemed to be no way of going back on the scheme if one's circumstances changed; and what kind of logic is it to take people off the scheme who are doing "too well"? I do not say inefficient people should have unlimited support, nor do I say people who do not need it should receive large hand-outs; but I do feel some humane and flexible arrangements could and should be made. I hope I shall never again need help, now nobody can predict the future with certainty.

Richard Foster

Crowborough, East Sussex

Mountbatten Brailler

I read the letter to the editor entitled `Mountbatten Brailler' (‘New Beacon’, September) with serious concern and some amusement. I am anxious to allay any fears that the Mountbatten can be a problem once purchased. After all, there are hundreds of Mountbatten Braillers all over the world giving good service – that must stand for something?

Since January 1994, when RNC Enterprises took over the UK Agency for the Mountbatten Brailler, a great deal of effort has been put into "service to the customer" and we do our utmost to ensure that all sales, service and advice given is executed in effective and accurate manner.

I think that it would be well worth noting here the kind of service that RNC Enterprises has to offer for customers of the Mountbatten Brailler Agency:

1. Totally FREE OF CHARGE demonstrations anywhere in the country with NO OBLIGATION to buy.

2. FREE delivery of the Mountbatten Brailler with personal, hands-on, tuition on the day of delivery.

3. In the unlikely event of a breakdown, if feasible, SAME DAY REPAIRS.

4. All Software Upgrades are FREE OF CHARGE (plus a small administration charge), except upgrading of the Mountbatten Brailler from the Standard to Advanced versions of the machine or upgrades which add the Speech Editor.

5. HELP LINE: Phone 01432 265725 - speak to: Mike Williams-Davies, Norman Simms, Brian Moorey or Grahame Alan. Alternatively: Phone 0378 146410 and speak to Mike Williams-Davies, when mobile.

NB All freight costs associated with warranty repairs are the purchaser's responsibility.

With reference to the two scenarios mentioned by Mr Booth, the first point to make is that the Mountbatten Brailler, like most other equipment which contains rechargeable batteries, must be correctly charged, as per the manufacturer's instructions. If a few simple rules are adhered to then good reliable service will result.

The second scenario makes little sense, and the play on words is quite childish and not worthy of comment.

The Mountbatten Brailler cannot be converted to act as a soft braille display.

The Mountbatten Brailler is covered by a twelve month parts and labour warranty (details on request). The rechargeable battery is not covered by this warranty since it can, in extreme cases, be damaged by not following the simple recharging instructions.

RNC Enterprises Limited have no record of any communication with Mr Booth or any knowledge of the problems he seems to have experienced, and we would be pleased to hear from him with a view to sorting any problems out.

Michael P. Williams-Davies

Manager, Mountbatten Brailler Sales & Support Agency

RNC Enterprises Ltd, Hereford

Louis Braille's birthplace

I am an advisory teacher of the visually impaired and have been a qualified braillist for about fourteen years. This summer I achieved one of my ambitions when I visited the village of Coupvray where Louis Braille was born in 1809.

My family and I had decided on a camping holiday in France and one of our stops was at EuroDisney, about twenty miles from Paris. When I looked at the map I realised that EuroDisney is actually very close to Coupvray, and determined to visit it.

The village itself is quite small and ordinary and off the beaten track. As we drove through it my family were even beginning to question whether I had got my facts right, when we saw Louis Braille's name painted - rather shabbily, I thought - on a wall. We parked in the village centre and consulted a large information map on a board. There we found references to `Rue Louis Braille' and to the house in which he had been born and which is now a museum. We proceeded to walk through the virtually deserted streets - except for a group of boys playing boules - and fairly easily found our goal.

On the wall of the house is a commemorative plaque in English and French. As I went up to the door I sensed disappointment because it obviously looked closed and I thought we had been unlucky and chosen a holiday, but there was a notice which even we could translate as meaning it would reopen at 2 pm. Sure enough, on the dot (rather appropriately!) at 2 an elderly gentleman arrived to let us in.

There followed, for me, a most moving experience as we got what amounted to a completely personal tour of the whole house and surroundings. We were the only visitors there and our guide, who spoke no English at all, made us feel very welcome. We had great fun communicating with each other! I explained in my halting French that I was a teacher of the blind in England and Louis Braille was my hero, and that greatly pleased him! We saw the workshop where Louis Braille blinded himself, the bed in which he was born and the rooms in which he spent the early years of his life. The guide was quite happy for us to take photographs inside the house, and we shook his hand warmly when we left.

If any of you are ever near Paris or EuroDisney, I do urge you to make a detour to this little known village. It seems to me that the French nation itself has not really paid the attention it should to such a great man, and in no way could his birthplace be described as having been `commercialised'. Perhaps, paradoxically, that is the best tribute of all.

Ray Taylor

Barnsley

Coloured alphabet

This morning I was contemplating my failing eyesight - I have diabetic retinopathy - and was wondering about altering my computer keyboard to make letter recognition easier. With my retinopathy the point of focus is becoming fogged, and I thought of making every ‘e’ red - for instance. I immediately realised that the form of the ‘e’ was unnecessary, and a simple red square would be sufficient.

However, I did not stop there for, with modern computer technology, why not make colours or combinations of colours represent the letters and figures? This could be an universal alphabet for anyone able still to distinguish colours. It would be easy to program a computer to use the colours instead of letters and to use modern colour printing to print as well. It might be possible to use microfiche technology to print on film for projection. It would surely be possible to flash coloured light using modified spectacles. Punctuation could be accomplished through rhythms in the flashes - or spacing between bars or sections of printing.

I have not thought this through completely, but it might be that the primary colours, by themselves, should represent the main vowels. Other letters would be represented by a split between one colour in the upper (or left-hand) half and another in the bottom (or right). Half white could be used for the ten digits. Phonetically similar letters (S, C and Z) could have similar looking combinations. Syllables like -ing, - igh and -ough could have their own combination or shade. Computers could flash the coloured letters at you to confirm that you had hit the keyboard correctly.

Saying it with flowers may now be literally true. Combinations of different coloured cars coming down the road might immediately read as your lottery numbers - or an obscene message! The possibility for advertising is immense, and the use of M&Ms instead of an ouija board may boost their sales. But seriously, learning might be easy for fully sighted people. Books could provide colour printing with the letters and the colour combinations (left side same as background, right side the letter itself) integrated.

The advantage over braille would be that the translation could be automatic for anything within a computer and that reading speed would not be dependent on sensitivity of touch. Fully sighted people might find this a useful technique to take in written information when needing to watch something else. Is anyone working on this? If not, I am happy to make the idea available through your columns. As a publicly available document, if no patent pre-dating this exists, the idea of using colour, or combinations of colours, to represent the alphabet, figures, syllables or words is now universally available.

Chris Mead

Thetford, Norfolk

Insight

What the challenge means ... RNIB annual review

There are almost a million blind and partially sighted people in the UK - and many have to fight very hard to enjoy the same rights and quality of life that sighted people take for granted.

This real challenge presented by living with a sight loss is the theme of RNIB's annual review for the year 1994-95, launched during last month's RNIB Week (September 11-17). With a series of glimpses into the lives of individual visually impaired people and their relatives, the review explores some of the challenges presented both to them and to RNIB.

"Running over 60 services in a tough financial climate isn't easy", say John Wall (Chairman) and Ian Bruce (Director General) in their introduction to the review. "We have set ourselves four key targets for the next five years. Our first challenge is to put the needs of blind and partially sighted people more firmly on the map. We are also determined to increase the numbers of people we serve, especially older people, and to ensure that all our services keep a high standard."

Through the words of those who have benefited from RNIB's services, the review illustrates what the challenge can mean for individual people:

• Gunna describes her struggle for information and support after her daughter Faibia was born with severe mental and physical disablements. "I had to battle for everything - a suitable wheelchair, glasses, equipment. It is appalling that support in the community is so inadequate and you have to fight so hard." Faibia is now a weekly boarder at RNIB Sunshine House School at Southport, where her mother feels she is getting plenty of affection, attention and the right kind of stimulation.

"It's very evident when you walk in that the children - and their parents - are the most important thing there .... I can't thank them enough."

• John was devastated when he recovered consciousness after a road accident to be told that he had lost his sight. "I was 21 when I left hospital. When I arrived at RNIB's employment rehabilitation centre in Torquay I was just beginning to crawl out of a long dark depression." John left Manor House - where he had learnt skills including word processing, carpentry and kitchen sense, and (most challenging of all) mobility - feeling "a thousand times better". He went on to take a computer course at RNIB Vocational College, Loughborough, and then moved to a mainstream college supported by RNIB to do a diploma in Leisure Studies.

"I feel far more positive about the future now, and my big challenge is to get a job. I know I have a lot to offer, and I'm determined to get there."

• "When I was about 50 I realised I couldn't read so well. I kept changing my glasses but my eyes kept getting worse .... It gradually got so bad I couldn't manage the shopping, or go out safely on my own." For people like Ellen (whose words these are), one of the worst problems is managing to pay the bills and extra costs associated with their disability - over half of all visually impaired people live on the edge of poverty. Ellen had heard about Attendance Allowance but was initially turned down "because they said I wasn't disabled enough". An appeal also failed. Then she turned to RNIB, whose Benefit Rights and Information Team made all the arrangements for a tribunal. "They contacted my doctor to get his support, spoke for me at the tribunal, and we won!" Ellen is grateful to RNIB, but says:

"I don't think that if you are blind you should have to fight to get a bit of extra money. Pensioners should have enough income so that they don't have to worry - to pay the gas bill, or to take a taxi if they need to."

There are an estimated 900,000 blind and partially sighted people aged over 60 in the UK, the review notes.

• Visually impaired RNIB manager David Mann describes the `lifeline' represented Talking Books.

"My challenge is for RNIB's Talking Book Service to reach more people. And to provide the same level of service that any sighted person would expect from a public library. RNIB has been campaigning hard to get financial support for Talking Book users paid for by local library services. Because blind people have a right to access books just like everybody else. It isn't a luxury."

• RNIB has set a target of doubling the number of people it serves by the year 2000, the review notes. It is also committed to increasing the number of visually impaired staff in RNIB.
• Jim Stanley, who is on call for the Talking Book Service, is one of tens of thousands of RNIB volunteers.

"I've been called a genius and a miracle man. I get terrific job satisfaction out of being a Talking Book Service volunteer. I've been doing it for 28 years, but I really enjoy it."

The challenge for RNIB:

In addition to the picture built up by individual stories, the review describes what the challenge has meant for RNIB as an organisation in a very demanding year, focusing on just a few of its achievements. They include (among many others cited):

• For youngsters: Guidance sent to 27,000 schools on how to help visually impaired children integrate into mainstream schools, and over 100 families helped through RNIB's advocacy service.
• Breaking into the working world: RNIB has continued to work with employers to protect the jobs of visually impaired people, including those threatened by restructuring and the introduction of new technology. A new award was launched to encourage visually impaired people running their own businesses.
• Empowering people with multiple disabilities: The pioneering RNIB Springfield Service near Glasgow continued its work in developing the skills and confidence of people with multiple disabilities; and RNIB collaborated with Sense to develop guide-help services for deafblind people.
• The right to information: A new book, ‘You and your sight’, was launched by RNIB to give basic information for people with newly diagnosed sight problems.
• Leisure: The year saw the marketing of several new videos with additional audio information, and work on the Europe-wide Audetel project, designed to allow visually impaired people to enjoy TV programmes.
• Home life: Highlights of the year ranged from a report on the housing needs of visually impaired people to the ‘New Independence!’ training pack, designed to improve the quality of care for the 200,000 blind and partially sighted people in residential care homes.
• Money matters: RNIB's Benefits Rights and Information Team worked doubly hard to protect the interests of blind and partially sighted people, threatened by changes in benefits and social services provision.
• Challenging the decision makers: Successful campaigns to raise awareness about visual impairment and work for change included persuading the government to strengthen the Disability Discrimination Bill in key areas.

Challenging the decision makers: A successful campaign to strengthen the Disability Discrimination Bill

Finances

The review records that the total expenditure of RNIB in 1994/5 was £46.6 million, and total income was £44.1 million.

Discussing the financial position, RNIB Treasurer Jack Dunn says: "Despite an extremely tough financial year, RNIB increased its services to blind and partially sighted people, partly through a modest growth in spending, but mainly through increased efficiency.

"We spent £46.6 million on providing services. After deducting £23.1 million received from Government, other public sources and fees, the shortfall on service provision was financed by investment income and the help of our generous supporters. The resulting operating deficit of £2.5 million has been funded from our reserves. This has been necessary because our voluntary income has fallen - mainly from legacies. We believe this is partly caused by lower house values and the increasing cost to individuals funding their own residential care.

"There is also little doubt that the National Lottery has affected us. It is too early to put a precise figure on this, but we believe the Government needs to give this urgent attention. And like all charities we continue to pay VAT which we cannot recover. This amounted to £1 million last year...."

The fundraising challenge

The review concludes with a look at the fundraising year, and activities ranging from collections and appeals to a sponsored tandem ride from John O'Groats to Lands End by blind cyclist Dennis Daymond-John, and high profile events such as the concerts given by Stevie Wonder at Royal Albert Hall. It pays tribute to the many companies, trusts and charities which support RNIB.

"Considering the numbers of people we help, RNIB is not a wealthy charity", observes the review. "For the second year running we have had to spend more on services than we have raised as income. So we have to raise more money and work even harder to make every penny count."

• Information about leaving a legacy to RNIB is available in print, large print, tape or braille from Ciara McCullagh, Supporter Services, RNIB, 224 Great Portland Street, London W1N 6AA.
• The RNIB's Annual Review, 1994/94, ‘What the challenge means’, is available in braille, tape and print from RNIB, PO Box 173, Peterborough, PE2 6WS. The review is also available for the first time on Internet (http://www.rnib.org.uk)

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Blindness - The daily challenge

A new report published last month by the Royal National Institute for the Blind (RNIB) exposes a catalogue of frustrations and discrimination faced by blind and partially sighted people in the UK.

The report `Blindness - The daily challenge', published during RNIB Week (September 11-17), aims to raise awareness of the needs of Britain's one million blind and partially sighted people.

The report details the findings of a telephone poll conducted with 500 visually impaired people this summer. The poll gives a `snapshot' of the frustrations and difficulties visually impaired people regularly experience in areas of daily life sighted people take for granted.

The main areas of difficulty experienced by those polled were:

• Getting information in readable forms. Cooking instructions, medical information, benefit forms and information, hospital appointment details, council tax information, pension information and utility bills were all difficult to get. 40% of people polled wanted financial information, more than anything else, in an accessible format.
• Getting about is a major difficulty. 44% of those polled did not use public transport on their own. The things which make public transport difficult to use are: timetables printed too small, automatic machines being too complicated and stops not being announced.
• Shopping causes major difficulties. For 35% of those polled, shopping was one of the top three frustrations. Supermarkets and department stores are particularly difficult. Those polled said shopping was difficult because of layout changes, difficulty reading labels and prices, finding products, finding your way around the shops and simply getting to the shops in the first place.

Many of the visually impaired people polled mentioned the attitudes of sighted people as a problem. 68% wanted more understanding of what it is like to be blind. Many mentioned how lonely it can be being blind or partially sighted and 62% said their social life suffered as a result of their visual impairment.

"Visually impaired people should be able to lead fully independent lives", says RNIB Chairman John Wall. "Yet all too often unnecessary hurdles make daily life difficult and frustrating. With a little thought and some simple changes, many of the barriers which prevent visually impaired people leading independent lives could be removed. It is easy, with today's technology, to provide information in large print, braille or tape. Announcing stops on buses and trains would make a real difference. We at RNIB continue to campaign to raise public awareness and tackle the discrimination visually impaired people face. What is needed - as a simple start - is a change of attitude."

• The telephone poll was conducted by Crossbow Research for RNIB in June 1995. 500 people were telephoned at random from a cross section of visually impaired adults in the UK. Half the people polled were of working age and 97% were registered as blind or partially sighted. The visually impaired people polled were generally slightly younger than the `average' visually impaired person (90% of visually impaired people in the UK are over 60) yet still experiencing these difficulties.

See It Right Awards

A new incentive to companies and information providers to provide accessible information to blind and partially sighted people is the RNIB See It Right Awards scheme, launched on September 13 by RNIB President, the Duke of Westminster.

In RNIB's telephone poll (see article right above), 49% of blind and partially sighted respondents listed lack of access to information as the most frustrating experience in daily life, with access to financial information causing particular difficulty. The RNIB See It Right Awards, whilst open to all types of companies, will focus in particular on those providing financial information.

Reward for good provision

Through its See It Right campaign, RNIB argues that access to information is a right, and that providing information in accessible formats - braille, large print, cassette tape or computer disk - is easily achievable. With the Government's Disability Discrimination Bill set to become law this autumn, anyone providing goods and services will have an obligation to provide information about them in formats accessible to blind and partially sighted people.

Many major companies and public utilities already ensure that information about their services is available to blind and partially sighted people in braille, large print, tape or computer disk. The Awards will reward companies that have already implemented "good information provision" and also those that show the best commitment to doing so.

RNIB will be seeking nominations from the people who know best about accessible information provision - blind and partially sighted people - and will also be asking companies themselves to enter. The Awards Ceremony will take place in April 1996. RNIB will be looking for the best track record; the best single example; the best commitment to future information provision; the best overall design; and the best local initiative.

There will also be a special award for the unsung heroine or hero who has been especially helpful to a blind or partially sighted person. In supermarkets, for example, where labelling and pricing are often impossible for visually impaired people to read, the availability and helpfulness of staff is often critical.

• A special hotline is open for information about making nominations for the See It Right Award scheme. Telephone 0171 383 5600 (until December 15 [1995]).

10 Steps to better benefit information

The Benefits Agency has launched an initiative to improve its information provision to visually impaired people.

‘10 Steps’ information packs, produced by RNIB, will be sent to all Benefits Agency District Offices. Each district office will then be encouraged to work through the steps until their blind and partially sighted customers receive the same quality of service and information as sighted people.

The 10 Steps include: providing all information on request in braille, large print or on tape; providing visual awareness training for staff; ensuring that blind and partially sighted people do not have to wait any longer to receive information than sighted people; and publicising the service to their customers.

The `10 steps' initiative, resulting from collaboration between the Benefits Agency and RNIB, was launched during RNIB Week. Ian Bruce, RNIB Director General, said "There are many blind and partially sighted people who are reliant on benefits. We hope that more accessible information will now be made available to them about their entitlements. We also urge other Government departments to follow the lead of the Benefits Agency and commit themselves to improving their information provision to blind and partially sighted people."

Multimedia Transcription Centre for the North West

A new Transcription Centre in Tarporley, Cheshire, was opened during RNIB Week. It will give blind and partially sighted people in the North West a new opportunity to obtain information in a form they can read.

The centre was opened by RNIB Chairman John Wall. It will give visually impaired people the chance to have print information transcribed into a medium of their choice – large print, braille, tape and computer disk.

The new centre will also offer this transcription service to commercial and public organisations who need to make information available in large print, braille and tape to visually impaired customers. This service will become increasingly important when the new disability discrimination legislation comes into force. The legislation will put more responsibility on organisations to make information accessible to blind and partially sighted people in appropriate formats as well as in normal print.

The centre aims to be fully operational within the next six months. The current RNIB Express Reading Service, which has benefited blind and partially sighted people for the last 17 years by offering a fast print to tape transcription facility, will continue whilst the new multi-media equipment is installed.

Donations from local organisations have helped contribute to the development of the centre. One donation from TSB Foundation has resulted in the purchase of an `Open Book' scanner which will enable printed text to be quickly scanned into a computer. The resulting text can then be easily transcribed into the required format - large print, braille or computer disk.

Money for pensioners

`Money for pensioners with sight problems' is a new booklet from RNIB, published during RNIB week.

The free guide explains how older people with sight loss can obtain essential financial help, and gives clear explanations and advice on how to make a successful claim.

Ninety per cent of visually impaired people are over 60. The RNIB survey has shown that almost half of visually impaired people aged between 60 and 74, and 65 per cent aged over 75, live at an `extreme poverty level'.

"Living with sight loss can be expensive, yet amazingly, millions of pounds of state benefits go unclaimed each year," said Laura Jacobs, Manager of RNIB's Benefits Rights and Information Team. "RNIB is challenging blindness by helping older, visually impaired people to get the money they need to improve their quality of life."

`Money for pensioners with sight problems' is available free of charge in large print, braille or on tape from RNIB Customer Services, PO Box 173, Peterborough, PE2 6WS - telephone 0345 023153. Bulk orders welcome.

Wavertree: Partnership to boost services for VIPs in Hove area

Jenny Shepherd (RNIB) writes:

Visually impaired people in the Hove area will soon be offered improved housing and new employment opportunities when RNIB Wavertree House is redeveloped, thanks to a special partnership.

The new facility has been in the planning stage for several years, in collaboration with local societies for the blind, such as East Sussex Association for the Blind, and local social services and housing departments. But the real breakthrough came as a result of RNIB's links with Anchor Housing Association and Hove Borough Council's `Hove Means Business Partnership' Single Regeneration Bid. Funding has now been secured from a variety of sources, including the Housing Corporation through Anchor Housing Association and the Single Regeneration Budget, and it is hoped that the project will be completed by May 1998.

Wavertree House, a well-known landmark in Furze Hill, Hove, will be retained. Other buildings on the site will be demolished and a new building erected. This will offer quality housing with care support for up to 46 frail and elderly blind and partially sighted people, allowing them to lead lives that are as independent as possible in either studio, one or two bedroom flats, designed especially for visually impaired people.

Additionally, a day centre and resource centre will be provided for the residents and elderly, visually impaired people in Hove and the surrounding area.

Employment Services

This facility will also include employment services for visually impaired people, providing a link between RNIB's comprehensive range of employment and training facilities and visually impaired people seeking work in the local area.

The long-term aim of the training and employment service is to fill in any existing gaps in the provision of opportunities in the locality, and RNIB plans to work closely with other agencies providing social and employment services for visually impaired people.

In collaboration with Hove Borough Council and local societies for visually impaired people, RNIB is conducting research - funded through the Sussex Chamber of Commerce, Training and Enterprise - to identify what is available now and what will be needed in the future. The service is expected to grow and develop in response to the changing needs of visually impaired people in the area.

"This project meets the needs of two distinct groups of visually impaired people in the area", said Ian Bruce, RNIB Director General. "There is a very large portion of elderly, blind people in the community who have special housing needs, and also large numbers of visually impaired adults who have difficulty in getting a job. RNIB, by working closely with other organisations, will be able to help address both these vitally important needs. We are delighted with the £1.5 million grant received by Anchor Housing Association from the Housing Corporation. However, the project is going to cost over £3.5 million and we will need to seek financial support from individuals and organisations within the community to help meet the total costs."

Kitchen sense

A new publication from RNIB is full of practical ideas for visually impaired people who want to make the most of their kitchen. It is based on the experiences of people with sight loss who run their kitchens with pleasure and success.

The guide aims to show that people who have developed sight problems can adapt their skills rather than having to learn completely new ones. It gives details of a wide range of special equipment and adaptations, available from RNIB and local resource centres, as well as useful publications and sources of help.

• Sections cover: The importance of lighting, using colour contrast, organising the kitchen so that everything has its place, safety, shopping and labelling, storing, choosing a cooker, preparing food, helpful gadgets, cooking, washing up, washing and ironing.

The text is enlivened throughout by quotations from people who have practical experience of `kitchen sense'. "I love cooking and I'm pleased I can still do so much", sums up one person, who has found that the kitchen is a much less daunting place than it can seem for people with sight loss.

• ‘Kitchen sense’ costs 50p and is available in print, tape and braille from RNIB, PO Box 173, Peterborough, PE2 6WS.

Tactile danger warnings

Potentially hazardous household chemicals must now bear a raised warning triangle, known as a Tactile Danger Warning (TDW). New regulations, which came into force at the end of July, are designed to help blind and poorly sighted people identify containers which may have hazardous contents.

The tactile warning triangle should be easily identifiable by touch to any visually impaired person - unlike some previous kinds of tactile warning it doesn't use braille dots. The sort of products which will be covered are: methylated spirits, some oven cleaners, de-icers, and paint related products such as thinners - items which are used in every home.

The new rules which have now come into force are part of the Chemical (Hazard Information and Packaging for Supply) Regulations 1994 (CHIP 2), which implement EC Directives.

They require that tactile danger warnings be placed on most, though not all, products supplied to the public which CHIP 2 requires to be labelled as `very toxic', `toxic', `corrosive', `harmful', `extremely flammable' or `highly flammable'.

The Department of Trade and Industry has warned, however, that people should not become complacent about products which do not bear the warning triangle. The danger warning will only appear on products sold from now on, and many people have products which have been in their home for some time. Some tubes of glue which are too small to carry the standard version of the triangle will eventually bear a special version of the hazard warning on the neck of the tube, which is currently being designed.

• Information about the tactile danger warning is included on edition 2 of Sound Advice, a tape of news and information from the public sector produced by the Central Office of Information. For further information contact Sound Advice, ECONOVA, PO Box 224, Ripley, GU23 6YY.

Window concepts

An introductory guide for visually disabled users of Windows has been published as part of the Graphical User Interfaces for the Blind (GUIB) project, funded by TIDE (Technology Initiative for Disabled and Elderly People).

The guide is intended to help relieve some of the problems currently faced by visually impaired people with the increased popularity of Microsoft Windows. It describes the fundamental concepts behind Windows, and provides enough keyboard commands so that current computer users could start to work comfortably in Windows with access technology.

The book provides an introduction to Windows, and covers in clear and simple terms such concepts as the desktop, icons, menus, program manager, and dialogue boxes.

• ‘Window concepts’ can be obtained free of charge in print, large print, audio cassette, braille, and on IBM and Apple diskette. A set of embossed diagrams to accompany the guide is available at £5 a set. A set of interactive tactile diagrams is also available at £40 a set. ‘Window concepts: An introductory guide for visually disabled users’ is available from: The GUIB project, Sensory Disabilities Research Unit, Psychology Division, University of Hertfordshire, Hatfield, Hertfordshire, AL10 9AB – telephone 01707 284629, fax 01707 285059.

In Brief

Cassette for surveyors

A new audio cassette, `Access for all', published by Owlion and aimed at surveyors, explains why they need to familiarise themselves with the needs of disabled people, and why a fully integrated built environment is both more appealing and good financial sense.

Featuring commentary by Peter Barker of the RNIB/GDBA Mobility Unit, Roger Southam of the RICS Access Group, and others, the cassette is based on the principles set out in RNIB's new publication ‘Building sight’. Copies are available from RICS Books (Mail Order), Surveyor Court, Westwood Way, Coventry, CV4 8JE - telephone 0171 222 7000 - price £11.06 plus VAT and p&p.

DWA video

A new seventeen-minute video from the Department of Social Security explains how people with disabilities can qualify for the Disability Working Allowance benefit and features real life stories of disabled people. The video also gives an overview of the new changes that have been made to the benefit, including free NHS help, increased allowances for couples and lone parents and a new disabled child's allowance.

A free copy of the video, ‘DWA update '95’, can be ordered by telephoning free on: 0800 444 000.

Braille football magazine

The unique braille football magazine produced by the Scottish Braille Press has acquired a new name and a new sponsor.

Sponsorship of the magazine has now been taken over by McEwan's Lager following expiry of the Press's contract with the previous sponsor, B&Q. The magazine has been renamed ‘The McEwan's Lager Football Today’.

Over 400 football fans are keen readers of the braille magazine, which was launched in 1989 as a monthly supplement to ‘The Braille Sporting Record’. It is available from the Scottish Braille Press, Craigmillar Park, Edinburgh, EH16 5NB - telephone 0131 662 4445.

Leisure for all

Audio described video

Four weddings and Aladdin (and several more ...)

Denise Evans, RNIB's Broadcasting Officer, introduces some entertaining new additions to the list:

RNIB is pleased to announce that four new audio described videos are now available:

• Four weddings and a funeral - the British film hit of 1994, starring Hugh Grant, Andie MacDowell, Simon Callow, and David Bower. Description written by Veronika Hyks and read by Andrew Sachs.
• Aladdin - one of Disney's latest animated features, which tells the story of Aladdin and his pet monkey's escapades. Description written by Peter Wickham and read by Ian Masters.
• Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs - Disney's timeless classic animated feature. In addition to the film, the video features ‘The making of Snow White’, which shows how the production team put together the film, and includes Walt Disney himself talking about the picture. Description written by David Banks and read by Di Langford.
• Cool runnings - who could have imagined a Jamaican bobsleigh team? No one except a disappointed athlete who failed to qualify for the Olympics because of an accident on the track. Starring John Candy and Leon, the film charts the team's exploits as they prepare for the Calgary Winter Olympics. Description written by Peter Wickham and read by Geff Banks.

As many people now know, audio description fills the gaps by describing facial expressions, body language, action - anything that will help visually impaired people follow what is happening and get considerably more enjoyment from films and television programmes. Audio described videos can be played on an ordinary video recorder, and do not therefore require any special equipment.

These videos are an excellent way of becoming familiar with audio description. RNIB hopes to be able to continue to make them available for some time, and is involved also in developments to bring audio description to television. After last year's successful test transmission service for the AUDETEL Project, RNIB and the UK's broadcasters are assessing how a regular description on television service can be set up.

Non-audio described videos (Documentaries not requiring description):

In addition to the new described titles, RNIB is pleased to make available two further documentaries, which do not have description but have on-going narration.

• D-Day to VE Day - Through archive footage, this video chronicles the events from June 1944 until VE Day in May 1945. Narrated by Michael Aspel.
• The story of the Great War - Through archive footage and still photographs, this video chronicles the story of the First World War, by putting it into context as a result of the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. Narrated by Nigel Davenport.

For further information on audio description, contact Denise Evans, Broadcasting Officer, RNIB, 224 Great Portland Street, London W1N 6AA - telephone 0171 388 1266.

Information on all videos available from RNIB Customer Services (see list below).

• There will be a feature on the current position of the European AUDETEL Project in the ‘Leisure for All’ section of next month’s ‘New Beacon’.

Ordering videos

To order any of the videos contact RNIB Customer Services on 0345 023153 (for the price of a local call) or write to RNIB Customer Services, PO Box 173, Peterborough PE2 6WS.

Order no.	Title	Certificate	Price
AV001	Hear my song	15	£10
AV002	Hear my song (pack of three)	15	£26
AV003	Pretty woman	15	£10.99
AV004	Dead Poets Society	PG	£10.99
AV005	Bambi	U	£14.99
AV009	Aladdin	U	£15.99
AV010	Snow White	U	£16.99
AV011	Cool runnings	PG	£10.99
AV016	Four weddings and a funerals	15	£14.99

Order no.	Title	Price
AV006	The Boer War	£10.99
AV007	The Somme	£10.99
AV008	The Paras	£12.99
AV012	D-Day to VE Day	£12.99
AV013	The Great War	£12.99

Leisure Notes & News

Play it my way

A new book from RNIB is designed to help parents gain the confidence to learn and play with their visually impaired child. Published by HMSO, the book contains a wealth of ideas and activities to help visually impaired children to find out more about the world around them whilst having fun.

All the play ideas, toys and materials have been used successfully with visually impaired children who have multiple disabilities. The activities are easy to carry out at home. Brothers and sisters will enjoy them too.

• ‘Play it my way’ costs £9.95. Copies are available in print and on tape from RNIB Customer Services, PO Box 173, Peterborough, PE2 6WS - telephone 0345 023153.

Cricket

Yorkshire's cricket team, White Rose, finally triumphed at their fourth final in six years at the BBS National Blind Cricket Final at Lords in August (sponsored by Action for Blind People).

White Rose scored 123 runs for 9 wickets after 25 overs against Metro, who were all out for 93. Each team had four blind cricketers and seven partially sighted cricketers.

White Rose captain John Prashar said: "We won the toss so we felt in control. We had a bad start, getting only 40 runs in the first 15 overs, but we did not panic and played very well in the last 10. Metro were very good but they lost too many wickets."

The game was played by blind cricket rules, using a large football containing 150 ball bearings. It was the seventeenth knockout since the competition began, and the third time the final has been held at Lords, with the support of the MCC.

Audio description in the theatre: Training the trainers

Blind and partially sighted theatregoers will be the first people to benefit from a training course for experienced audio-describers held in August. The course - the first of its kind - was designed to teach the describers how to train others who wish to provide visually impaired people with a live commentary of what is going on on stage.

The AUDEST course (Audio-Description Training for theatres) run jointly by RNIB and the AUDEST Steering Group - which includes Disability Scotland and the Royal Shakespeare Company - took place at Bolton Community Education Service.

Ten experienced audio describers followed the one-week training course, to enable them to train audio describers for new theatres introducing an audio description service. Participants came from all over the country, including Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, Derby, Plymouth and London. The students were tutored by Diana Hull, who pioneered audio description training for theatre describers throughout the country.

Between 1992 and 1995 AUDEST evolved describer training courses, for both beginners and advanced describers. The major goals of AUDEST are to:

• Make theatres (management, administration, marketing) aware of their potential for developing visually-impaired audiences.
• Make theatres aware of the need for establishing high audio description standards.
• Publicise the AUDEST training standard. This consists of: auditioning prospective describers, a course for beginners and a course for advanced describers after one or two years' practice.
• Make theatres aware that an audio description service needs to be fully integrated within the functions of the theatre for it to work well.
• Support theatres with advice in setting up audio description services, and to provide lists of trained audio-describers.

"This is a real milestone in audio-description for theatres", said Marcus Weisen, RNIB Leisure Officer (Arts). "Training the trainers will create a sort of ripple effect, which will mean a much quicker increase in the numbers of people who can provide audio-description. The number of theatres providing audio description has mushroomed from three in 1990 to 25 in 1995. We anticipate that the number will double by the year 2000. As each theatre has on average ten describers, each of whom require a high standard of training, it's easy to see that there is going to be a huge demand right across the country!"

Museums, galleries and heritage attractions - A user guide

A new information pack is available from RNIB Leisure Services. The pack aims to provide ideas and useful tips for visits to heritage attractions, including museums, galleries, cathedrals, historic houses and castles.

The pack gives some general tips for getting the most out of your visit. It also includes an address list with details of national organisations which have developed services for visually impaired people such as touch tours and audio commentaries.

• ‘Museums, galleries and heritage attractions’ is available in large print, braille and on cassette and costs £1 per copy. Contact: Anne Robson, Assistant Leisure Officer, Arts, RNIB, 224 Great Portland Street, London W1N 6AA - telephone 0171 388 1266 extn 2332.

Museums and older people

‘Sharing the wisdom of age - Museums and older people’ is a new publication from Age Concern aimed at curators, community arts workers and the like. It stresses the value of older people as a `living resource' to museums, as well as the enormous benefit to older people of oral history, reminiscence and other projects in museums. It also includes practical tips on making museums and galleries more accessible to older or less able people.

• ‘Sharing the wisdom of age - Museums and older people’ is available from the Mail Order Department, Age Concern England, Astral House, 1268 London Road, London, SW16 4ER, price £6 (£3.50 to MAGDA members and Age Concern organisations).

Going down

This is an organisation which promotes scuba diving for people with a wide range of disabilities. `Try dive' introductory sessions and basic training are arranged on a regular basis at venues in Britain as well as overseas diving holidays in the Red Sea, the Mediterranean and the Canary Islands. All instructors hold relevant qualifications.

• For further information contact Leon Golding, Going Down, Uplands, Reigate Road, Dorking RH4 1QE - telephone 01306 740349.

Henshaw's VIP holidays

Blind and partially sighted people who want to travel independently and take advantage of mainstream hotels equipped to meet their needs, are being offered a new service by Henshaw's Society for the Blind.

The society has details of 12 hotels in prime British resorts and cities. Key members of staff in each hotel have undergone special training.

• For more information and a brochure, contact the booking office on 0345-697090 (calls charged at local rate).

Ickworth

The National Trust has made access easier for disabled visitors to Ickworth House near Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk. For visually impaired visitors who book in advance there are objects and surfaces in each room to be enjoyed by touch and braille guides for the house and park. Large print guides and a scented walk are planned.

• For more information, contact Ickworth House, Horringer, near Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, IP29 5QE - telephone 01284 735270.

RSC

The Royal Shakespeare Company has produced a free booklet containing details of facilities for disabled theatregoers at its theatres at the Barbican Centre, London and in Stratford-on-Avon.

• It is available in print from Andrew Canham, Marketing Manager, RSC, Barbican Theatre, London EC2Y 8BQ - telephone 0171 628 3351 extn 7125 - and in braille/tape format from Angela Banks, RSC, Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, CV37 6BB - telephone 01789 205301.

Skiassis

A new centre near Villars in the Swiss Alps can provide courses in ski-ing for visually impaired people. Accessible accommodation can also be arranged.

• For more details, contact Thomas Fiechter, Skiassis, Le Pastoureau, 1882 Gryon, Switzerland.

National Tramway Museum

The National Tramway Museum in Matlock, Derbyshire has recently introduced a new braille guidebook.

Together with a text version for sighted companions, it may be loaned from the Admissions area on arrival, or borrowed by post prior to a visit (£2 returnable deposit).

The Museum has a huge variety of trams on display, and electric trams run every few minutes through the museum site and on to open countryside. The Museum also has a number of indoor attractions - including displays and a video theatre. It's open almost daily until the end of October. Contact: National Tramway Museum, Crich, Matlock, Derbyshire, DE4 5DP - telephone 01773 852 565.

Elthorne Park (London Borough of Ealing)

A new trail at Elthorne Park comprises a wide gravel footpath with low wooden fence and tap rail around the tree lined edge of a 36 acre open space. The trail was launched in June. An audio tape describing the route and bird song, wild flowers and other interesting features of Elthorne Park, will soon be available from the Ealing council's nature conservation section for a nominal fee. For more details, contact Mary Wright, London Borough of Ealing, Perceval House, 14/16 Uxbridge Road, London W5 2HL, telephone 0181-758 5704.

Poetry Book Society

If you are an avid poetry reader you might be interested in becoming a member of the Poetry Society. Full membership costs £30 a year in the UK, associate membership £10 a year. Members can purchase contemporary poetry books at discounted rates - there are some available on tape. Members also receive free tickets to Poetry Book Society readings at London's South Bank Centre and will be entered in a draw to win a week's free poetry tuition.

• For further details contact Poetry Book Society, Book House, 45 East Hill, London SW18 2QZ - telephone 0181 870 8403/874 6361.

Discover Birmingham's Heritage

This leaflet, published by the Public Relations Department of Birmingham City Council, is now available in braille, large print and on tape.

It includes intriguing descriptions of thirty-five different places of interest in Birmingham City Centre and in the suburbs, together with information about disabled access, special events and other details.

• To obtain a free copy please telephone Juliet Reeve, Leisure Consultant at Brib, on 0121 428 5066.

European Disability Arts Directory

This new directory has been researched and compiled by the National Disability Arts Forum, with assistance from the Arts Council of England and EUCREA. It is the first ever publication in this field and it aims to make networking between disability arts groups throughout Europe much easier by providing information about organisations working in this field, both in the member states and other European countries. These include visual arts groups, arts and disability festivals, theatre companies, cabaret, writing, and many others.

• ‘European Disability Arts Directory’ is available from NDAF, Diorama Arts Centre, 34 Osnaburgh Street, London NW1 3ND - telephone 0171 813 1431, fax 0171 813 1434.

Flower power

Suttons Seeds is donating 20p to RNIB for every packet sold of a new, fragrant stock, `Heaven Scent', which is being launched this autumn.

Proceeds will go to provide the plants and seeds needed to create a specially designed garden for the elderly, visually impaired residents of RNIB's Kathleen Chambers House in Burnham-on-Sea in Somerset.

Suttons Seeds is also organising a competition for horticultural students to provide the design.

Kathleen Chambers House is currently being rebuilt in order to provide a new `Centre of Excellence'. The new Kathleen Chambers House is due for completion in the summer of 1996, incorporating purpose built accommodation, including spa pool, library, and conservatory, as well as the garden.

Heritage guide

English Heritage has published a new version of its guide for visitors with disabilities, listing around a hundred sites of historic interest countrywide.

Details include information about tours on tape, braille guides, and other information of interest to people with a visual impairment. A special new attraction is at Dover Castle, where visitors are guided round the sounds and smells of the recently opened underground hospital.

• For visually impaired visitors, versions of the guide are available in large print by county, on tape and in braille. Copies of the free guide (in any of the formats, including standard print) are available from English Heritage Customer Services Department, PO Box 9019, London W1A OJA - telephone 0171 973 3434.

Shopping: Help in store

Paul Rand writes:

Many things can get in the way of a day's shopping in London, but I recently discovered one particular store which has a scheme to ensure that problems of kept to a minimum.

In many places, who would come to the rescue if you were to lose a child in the crowd, if you needed first aid, or help with a foreign language speaker? Selfridge's team of ambassadors have been called on to do all of these things in the year since their inception. It was the intention of those who came up with the idea of the ambassadors that some system should be in place to act in all of those situations when so often the customer is otherwise left in the lurch while someone is found to take charge. Resembling to some extent the old idea of `floor walkers' that used to be in many stores, they can be contacted by disabled people, tourists or anyone who has a specific need. Recently a blind lady arrived and asked to be shown to the make-up department. The member of the team detailed to escort her not only did this but stayed with her to advise on which products to buy, which were most suitable for her, even show her how to apply the make-up. As Robin Bennett, head of Customer Information, told me during my visit, this is work that it would not really be practicable for sales staff to be expected to do: `to serve rather than to sell' he offers as the team's outlook.

The team of `ambassadors' comprises people with many interests. Emily, who came round the store with me, is a modern languages graduate who sees work for the `ambassadors' as an interesting and varied way to use her language skills. Bennett himself was involved with a jazz magazine before his present work in the store. The team members acknowledge the need to be sensitive to the wishes of a specific customer, and receive regular `cultural briefings': covering such matters as which foods to avoid for specific religious beliefs, or how to guide a blind person or do sign language.

When the customer has finished shopping the `ambassadors' are quite happy to help advise about travel plans. Whilst it was admittedly somewhat unusual for one lady in a wheelchair recently to be pushed all the way home to her flat, some distance from the store, on the other hand they will show you to the relevant bus stop, if required, or else help sort out a taxi.

• Anyone who thinks he/she might want help when visiting Selfridge's should phone the usual number - 0171 629 1234 - to ask about the `ambassadors'. Help is available for any time up to a maximum of approximately one and a half hours. I found it made things a lot easier.

Obituary

Thomas J Parker, OBE

J A Wall writes:

Tom Parker died peacefully at his home in Pontypridd on August 11. He was aged 86.

Born fully sighted into a closely-knit Welsh mining community, he would have undoubtedly become a coal miner if blindness had not supervened. At the age of 12, following an accident, he lost the sight in one eye and went to a school for the blind. Four years later, following an unsuccessful operation on his good eye, he became totally blind.

Tom's first job was at the local sheltered workshop. He joined the National League of the Blind, the Trade Union which represented employees in workshops, and by the age of 20 he was Branch Chairman. Three years later, he was elected Area Secretary and became a member of the National Executive Council.

In 1936, he was elected full-time paid organiser for the National League of the Blind in London and the South of England. He held this post for 33 years. In 1969, he was elected General Secretary of the League, and then, ten years later, retired at the age of 70.

Tom was all his life a keen member of the Labour Party. In 1946, he was elected to the Middlesex County Council, the first time that Uxbridge had been represented on the County Council by a member of the Labour Party. In 1949, he lost his seat on the County Council, but was almost immediately elected to what was then the Uxbridge Urban District Council. By 1960, Uxbridge had become a Borough and Tom was elected Mayor. He continued to be a member of Uxbridge Borough Council until it was dissolved on 31 March 1965, and then became a member of Hillingdon London Borough Council. He continued on that Council until 1968.

While Mayor, Tom raised money to found an old people's welfare centre, which continues to flourish. But his political interests were not limited to the local scene. In 1951, he stood as Labour Parliamentary Candidate for Ruislip-Northwood. He did not win, but got the highest Labour vote ever recorded in the Constituency. In 1964, he stood for Parliament in the apparently safe Conservative seat of Uxbridge. Again he was defeated, but by the very narrow margin of 600 votes.

Both as a Trade Unionist and as a Labour Party politician, Tom was a formidable protagonist. When negotiating with the old London County Council, he did not flinch from confronting Herbert Morrison, at the time a leading Labour Party politician. Tom fought hard and successfully for the rights of blind workers in the sheltered workshops.

Until 1970, the National League of the Blind had not taken much of a part in the activities of Royal National Institute for the Blind. In that year, however, Tom was elected a member of the Executive Council. Just as had happened in Trade Union and Labour Party politics, Tom was soon at the forefront of RNIB affairs. With his interests in employment, he became Vice-Chairman of the Rehabilitation, Training and Employment Sub-Committee (1976-92), and Chairman of the Vocational and Social Services Committee (1982-92). He was from 1980-88 Vice-Chairman of the International Committee.

Practical flair

One of his big achievements was to be the founding Chairman of the Consumers Sub-Committee (1975-92). His practical flair meant that, from the outset, that Sub-Committee played a full part in evaluating new equipment designed for blind people.

Radio has always been important for blind people but, in his nature, Tom was not just a passive listener. In 1938, he was one of the first blind people to obtain a Radio Amateur's Licence, and he continued this interest until his dying day. It was natural that the RNIB should appoint him as one of the representatives on the Committee of the British Wireless for the Blind Fund, and he served as Vice-Chairman of that Fund until 1995 and was Chairman of its Technical Committee. He was,justly proud that, under his chairmanship, the Technical Committee developed a radio/cassette player specially designed to meet the needs of blind people.

In 1984, Tom Parker received the Merite Typhlophile Francais, awarded by the French Federation of the Blind - one many honours conferred on him during his long career. This photo appeared in the Pontypridd Observer to commemorate the occasion.

Tom's interest in blind affairs was not limited to the United Kingdom. As long ago as 1949, he had visited Holland and gave blind organisations in that country invaluable help in rebuilding facilities destroyed during World War II. In the 1960s, he visited the United States, and joined the International Federation of the Blind (IFB). At that time, there was o some tension between the World Council for the Welfare of the Blind (a `for' organisation) and the International Federation of the Blind (an `of organisation). Tom had a foot in both camps. From 1970-84 he was First Vice-President of the IFB.

World Blind Union

Like other men of good will, Tom considered the division between IFB and WCWB to be both unnecessary and damaging. Merger discussions had foundered. Tom hit upon the bright idea of suggesting that both organisations should be dissolved, and a new organisation (the World Blind Union) founded. This happened at both world level and in Europe.

Tom was appointed an Honorary Life Member of both the World Blind Union and the European Blind Union. He was 75, and many people of his age would have decided that it was time to hang up their boots. But Tom still had much to give. He was appointed to the Rehabilitation, Training and Employment Committee of the World Blind Union. More important, he became the first Chairman of the EBU Commission for liaising with the European Economic Community. He held this post for six years.

Many honours were conferred on Tom. He received the Louis Braille Medal; and, at the age of 80, the Help the Aged Golden Award as `Intrepid Traveller'. On his retirement from the Executive Council of RNIB in 1995, he was appointed an Honorary Vice President of the Institute, a unique honour for a blind person.

So much for history, but what was Tom like as a man? He was happily married, and very proud of his son, Brian, grandchildren and great-granddaughters. He was greatly saddened when his wife died, and, before that, when his son, like himself, became blind as a child. His daughter-in-law, Muriel, helped him a great deal in his later years.

He was a warm-hearted Welshman, who never lost his Welsh accent or his Welsh patriotism. He was essentially a practical man who was much more at home looking at new equipment for blind people than in tackling abstract ideas. He was always alert and willing to help blind people, whether in the United Kingdom, Europe or the wider world. He was always good for a `soundbite'. He was loyal to his friends and loyal to the causes which he championed.

Above all, by his example and by sheer hard work, he showed to the world what blind people could do for themselves.

He once said that blindness had never prevented him from doing what he wanted to do. Tom's many friends mourn his loss, and extend to his family our deep sympathy.

J A Wall is Chairman of RNIB.

Content author: ann.lee@rnib.org.uk

Last updated: 20/11/2008 11:13