A Different Way of Seeing. Helping You Make Sense of the Overwhelm
I met my guide dog, Fiji, just less than 11 months ago. You know, I can hardly believe it – in some ways it seems like such a brief span of time … And in some ways it feels like she has been an integral part of my life forever! Here’s a few of the …
In my book, “A Different Way of Seeing”, I mention that one of the hardest parts of losing my sight was losing the ability to drive a car. It really hit me hard that I couldn’t just climb into my fire-red City Golf – named the Jean Genie after a David Bowie song – and …
A few months ago I submitted an article to the Blind New World website, based in Massachusetts in the USA. Basically, I wrote the article, sent it to them and forgot about it. So you can imagine my surprise when I learned that the article had been published. Not only was I delighted that my …
The first time it happened I was waiting to cross a road. A car pulled over to the side of the road and the window was lowered. A lady leaned across from the driver’s seat and asked how long I’d been training guide dogs. Last weekend it happened again. In conversation with my husband, Craig, …
I have very clear memories of being dragged round museums as a child… with dragged being the operative word. It’s not that I wasn’t interested in history; it’s just that what I love about history is the stories of people and their actions, and I found it hard to see the stories in the dry, …
Last year, at the beginning of 2016, I wrote an article about what I hoped I would be able to achieve in the year. Looking back at that article a few days ago I was surprised – and delighted – to realize that I’d achieved most of the targets I’d set for myself – I’d …
Recently I’ve done a few PR visits with the South African guide-Dog Association for the Blind. Fiji and I both love being part of these PR visits, especially when we’re asked to visit a school. We recently went to one of the local primary schools. When we got there we were delighted to find we …
I know I’ve been quiet for a while. But I Promise you I’ve had a really good reason for it– I’ve been finishing off my book, A Different Way of Seeing: A Blind Woman’s Journey of Living an “Ordinary” Life in an Extraordinary Way. After what feels like a long journey spanning 15 months, the …
Have you ever considered what it is like catching a train when you’re blind? Not being able to see the edge when you’re walking along the platform, and trying to find your way around a large and busy station with the sound of trains screaming in and out of platforms. For 12 long years I …
On our recent overseas trip Craig and I stayed in 7 different places – that’s 7 different places in less than 14 days. As you can imagine, I need to have techniques to learn my way round a new place as soon as I can. Every apartment has fixtures: furniture, doorways, windows, even pictures on …