A Different Way of Seeing. Helping You Make Sense of the Overwhelm
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 …
It was our first afternoon in Warsaw, and we were on our way to Łazienki Park, or Royal Baths Park. Every Sunday in summer free piano recitals of Chopin’s compositions are performed at the base of the giant bronze statue of Chopin in the park and we were lucky enough to arrive in Warsaw on …
“Mr and Mrs Strachan, you’ve been upgraded to business class. I hope you enjoy your flight!” Those have to be amongst the most welcome words a traveller can hear, especially when having just spent 9 hours travelling from Cape Town to Dubai. The thought of spending the next 6 hours in transit to Warsaw suddenly …
Craig and I were squeezed into our tiny economy seats travelling from Cape Town to Dubai. As he often does, Craig was flipping through the airline magazine to see what was on offer as entertainment during the flight. I admit I seldom watch movies when travelling. I find the audio tracks are usually slightly distorted …