Welcome to Eye Matter Matters issue number twelve. This is a fortnightly publication for you to share experiences, engage with our extensive range of activities and learn more about Eye Matter’s objectives for its members. If you would like to contribute an article to a future edition, please contact: fiona@eyematter.org.uk
This edition includes:
Eye Matter Zoom events.
- Grief counselling workshop – Monday 9th September at 1.30pm
- Eye Matter Singers return at 6pm on Monday, 9th September via the wonders of Zoom.
- Introducing FlowSense (through Zoom) on Tuesday 10th September 2024.
Eye Matter Outings
Special features:
- Feeling the sun setting above ‘Fiddler on The Roof’ with Eye Matter.
- Bullseye with Eye matter.
- Eye Matter had plenty to say!
- Poetry appreciation workshop with Diana Bramson.
- Exercising “the little grey cells” with Steve Wax.
Eye Matter Zoom events.
Keep up to date with our activities here.
Some highlights:
Grief counselling workshop – Monday 9th September at 1.30pm
Our next grief counselling workshop takes place Monday 9th September at 1.30pm on Zoom. These twice a month sessions have been kindly funded by the Marway family and Natasha Cazin to allow blind and partially sighted people a chance to explore a range of different topics related to sight-loss. Facilitated by therapist Joanna Williams.
If you would like to find out more about these grief counselling workshops on Zoom, or, join us, please email: suzie@eyematter.org.uk with the subject “thriving”.
Eye Matter Singers return at 6pm on Monday, 9th September via the wonders of Zoom.
Come and start your Christmas early with 12 musical weeks working towards our fun and festive concert on Saturday, 30th November at Somers Town Living Centre, London, NW1.
Everyone is welcome to join, there are no auditions, and we sing for well-being, relaxation and most importantly, fun!
Rachel Bowden Waterson leads the weekly warm-ups and singer sessions and superb VI musician Kevin Satizabal will once again accompany the choir.
For more information contact Suzie
suzie@eyematter.org.uk with subject ‘choir’
Introducing FlowSense (through Zoom) on Tuesday 10th September 2024.
By Fiona Musgrove.
As blind women, managing our periods can be challenging, especially as we get older and our cycles become more unpredictable. Or perhaps you’re just starting out on your menstrual journey and feeling a bit awkward discussing your fears!
If these sound familiar, please join us for this introductory session about Flow Sense.
Eye Matter is thrilled to collaborate on this groundbreaking project with FlowSense.
We are looking for six women of all ages who are still having regular periods.
Our first session will be on Tuesday 10th September at 7pm,on Zoom.
To book your place or to find out more about this unique experience please email Suzie: with the subject title “FlowSense”.
Eye Matter Outings
All our events are accessed here
These are the outings we still have space for, we hope you can join us.
21st September Confidence Building Workshop with Vic Hogg and Steve Reed £5
Join us for a fun-packed session that consists of various drama games and creative exercises to boost confidence and improve interactive skills– and are guaranteed to make you giggle!
28th September visually impaired group grief workshop session with Joanna Williams in Kings cross Sommers Town Hall 2pm to 5pm with refreshments £5
Joanna Williams is a writer, workshop leader and therapist, specialising in grief and loss. These sessions will not be group therapy but will provide information and ideas, and a space for the sharing of experiences with your peers.
Please join her for our first in person session
17th October Katriona Taylor Jazz at Piano Smithfield £12.50
30th November Eye Matter Christmas Concert, Kings Cross Somers Town Hall, £5
12th December Eye Matter Winter Extravaganza, Crown Hotel London, meet and greet Kings Cross 10:30am, £40
For more information or to book your place contact Suzie
Suzie@eyematter.org.uk with subject [Name of event].
Please keep up to date with our activities on our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/eyematterofficial/
and join our members of Eye Matter group.
Special Features
Feeling the sun setting above ‘Fiddler on The Roof’ with Eye Matter.
By Fiona Musgrove.
On Saturday 31st August, 28Eye Matter members attended the open-air performance of ‘The Fiddler of The Roof’ in Regents Park. Suzie Simons (Eye Matter’s Founder) said, “The access was very well done. Many of the actors came out to talk to us and we got to feel the props including the challah bread and the severed head from the dream sequence.
Eye Matter would like to thank all the access team involved in supporting their visit. Suzie added, “Phoebe was so helpful and Jaime who Eye Matter have seen playing with his band TUNGZ were excellent”. A huge thanks to all our fabulous volunteers and members who enjoyed a lovely picnic, before the production, in the park.
A special thanks to Jo, one of our fantastic volunteers for supplying these images.
If you would like to take part in a future theatre trip, please email us.
Bullseye with Eye matter.
By Fiona Musgrove.
After every event I try to use feedback to express how the visit has gone. However, this has been a totally overwhelming experience after Eye Matter’s first PGL activity holiday which took place in East Sussex last week (Monday 26th to Thursday 30th August). To accommodate the different activities Eye Matter participants were divided into three groups: GROUP 1, 9 people: Tiana, Sarah, Rachel, Vicky, Danielle, Erin, Steve, Chanel, Paula, GROUP 2, 10 people: Noemi, Rose, Bushra, Nada, Kasia, Althea, Stuart, Daniel, Lauren, Priti. GROUP 3, 11 people: Hayley, James, Anne, Jane, Andrew, Lucy, Darren, Amrit, Amar, Norin, Karen. Suzie floated between the groups. Subsequently everyone had the chance to try disc golf, archery, rifle shooting, abseiling, giant swinging, axe throwing, climbing, buggy building, swimming, canoeing. Along with a pool party campfire and lots of laughs. Here’s some of their responses.
Steve, “When Suzie was putting Eye Matter together, she had lots of big ideas and dreams, and I would tell her to make sure she could walk before she could run. I think even this trip has been bigger than her dreams. What Eye Matter has achieved, and I don’t just mean Suzie, I mean all of the members has been immense and the last few days epitomises that achievement. Suzie and I have a saying that we use to help with mental health and wellbeing and that is to give yourself praise for the small victories. We say small victories because when you praise those the victories start to get bigger and bigger. Every single person who came to PGL should be praising themselves and giving themselves many pats on the back. Everyone pushed themselves out of their comfort zones and challenged themselves to do things they hadn’t done before. I hope you all have sore backs with all the pats you’ve been giving yourselves. But I also hope Suzie is taking a leaf out of her own book and giving herself a massive pat on the back, not only for arranging this holiday, but also for everything she has achieved with Eye Matter in such a short space of time. That award was more than well deserved.”
Vicky, “I am so proud of us all for achieving so much and pushing our boundaries! For me, my favourites were the archery especially getting the bull’s-eye on my second shot, and also the giant swing which I was a little unsure about but absolutely loved apart from the harness! Hope they come up with some sort of nappy next year 🤣 You are all absolutely amazing as Vip especially but not specifically Pretty, Althea and Bushra and Danielle and Erin. just love those videos from the meta Rayban specs, I expect a lot of us will have those by next year, I am certainly planning to get some myself 😎 who would’ve thought we would all produce such excellent videos and photos as ViP. We are al awesome and amazing people and should be very proud of all of us. The team spirit was amazing, and the support from the PGL staff and all the wonderful volunteers from I Matter was superb . I guess we all exceeded any expectations that the PGL staff about dealing with a load of adult VIPs as opposed to a bunch of truculent children! 🤣 so looking forward to next year and doing even better”
Amar (Amrits daughter, “I just want to say a big BIG thank you to Suzie for organizing an amazing trip at PGL. I am honestly so proud of everyone and how much u guys really pushed out of your comfort zones when taking on the challenging activities. I am also so impressed with how well the PGL team adapted activities to make them accessible and how they taught and explained everything so well! I honestly had a rollercoaster of a time on the holiday. From saying I’d never do some activities because I was too scared to pushing past my limits and overcoming my fear of heights on uneven surfaces😆. Special thank you to my team for cheering me on and all the people who encouraged me to go try the activities!! I honestly cant decide what activities where my favourite but if I had to choose I liked Rifle Shooting, Rock Climbing and the giant swing (sky is the limit Anne😝) I hope we have another successful trip like this and Suzie keep up the amazing work and effort you do to organizing these trips!❤️”
Priti, “I’m not a fit or active person so for me this break was a real challenge and I was determined to conquer my fears. With the support and encouragement of the amazing PGL staff, guides and team mates in team 2, I did all the activities apart from Buggy building as my sciatica was painful. Thank you wonderful team mates for insisting on giving me a ride on the buggy so I felt a part of it. It was so much fun. I really struggled with climbing the wall but I was told I managed to get a third of the way up that too. One of my biggest fears was abseiling with a fear of heights, but with constant encouragement I even managed that. I was so happy and felt such a sense of achievement and elation when I got to the bottom. The PGL staff were outstanding, so friendly, encouraging , motivating and happy to help in any way including guiding and helping us with getting our dinner. The rooms were comfortable and the food ok, we were never hungry. The friendship, spirit and chatter with and amongst everyone always had a buzz of joy, excitement, anticipation and pride too, it was so nice. This break really took me out of my comfort zone and I now feel great apart from my arms and legs aching. It built my confidence and self esteem. Thank you, I really couldn’t have done some of this without the support and encouragement of everyone, days later I still can’t believe I actually absellied, I saw so many nervous people scared of trying things like I was, it made it even more special seeing everyone’s euphoric faces when they’d just done something they thought they never could, that made me really happy, thank you, thank you, thank you . Let’s all remember, we can achieve so much if we put our minds to it, suzie, you’re a superstar!”
Althea, “Thank you, thank you, thank you for all the wonderful activities that pushed me beyond my comfort zone. The experiences were thrilling, emotional, and incredibly challenging. Well done, everyone—we really are awesome and absolutely fabulous. The words of a beautiful, encouraging song come to mind: “Lean on me!” We are one of many—a team, a network of beautiful souls who have supported each other emotionally, mentally, and physically. I made new friends, reconnected with old ones, and was surrounded by an amazing network of supportive people. A special thanks to Suzy and her incredible team of helpers and volunteers, as well as the PGL team of friendly instructors who pushed and encouraged us beyond what we thought was possible.”
Norin, “I had the best few days meeting you all and doing lots of activities, enjoying and having fun every moment. I will mention a few names below, apologies if I forgotten someone’s name, hope you forgive me. 🙏🏻Thank you superstar Suzie for organising such an amazing trip James, Hayley, Tiana, Rachel, Naomi, Andrew, Amar greatly appreciated your support every step during the trip. I had a lovely conversation with pretty woman pretty, Amrit ji dancing/language buddy Bushra, 😊 got a very good friend in Darren. Short and small catch up time with Sarah, Steve, Chanel, Nada, Kasia, Karen, Althea, Stuart, Daniel, Lovelyto meet some New amazing people from this trip, Anne, Lucy, Jayne, I wish there could be more time to know more Danielle, Erin, Rose, Vicki, Lauren, Paula. Thank you everyone again for motivating me on activities you all are amazing. I enjoyed taking part in all activities, but my favourite one is abseiling, X throwing, pool party, and disco night. Special thanks to PGL Staff, they were amazing and really really helpful. Also, my special thanks to James as well, he is a very helpful and very supportive person.”
Bushra, “Suzie did an incredible and awesome job and really made the holiday special for us. Amazing trip. I really really enjoyed it. Thank you so much to all the volunteers and guides and everyone behind the scene organising it all for us. The PGL staff were amazing and helpful. I really challenged myself and so proud of myself and everyone, well done.”
Chanel, “A big thank you to everyone. It was amazing. Loved it. It was incredible. Thank you all. I’d say the abseiling was my favourite but, overall, I had a wonderful time. It was absolutely fantastic!!!! Loved it. Was absolutely brilliant. “
Suzie “I cannot pick a favourite activity, although I love the pool party and I also loved sitting in the dining room listening to the wonderful lively chatter between the participants and the giggling I also loved the incredible team spirit the support everybody gave each other and the Dancing on the last night.”
Hayley, “as a sighted volunteer, it was great to take part, and I had an amazing experience! The ethos of the group is enjoyable as everyone had a positive attitude, friendly and appreciative. It’s lovely to meet new people too.”
Paula, “Thank you to Eye Matter and Susie Simons for all their hard work for putting this together. So, there is the bonfire night, Rachel and Paula on the big swing, that’s all I’m saying about that. Paula bullseye at axe throwing, Paula and Cassie relaxing, Cassie eating even more grass doing a very good impression of a cow, Rachel and Paula abseiling we got better the more we did it. It was a lovely way to spend a few days in the Company of some very nice people. The staff were fab, friendly, supportive and fun.
”
Tiana, “As a sighted guide/ volunteer, it has been truly wonderful to see the VI’s step outside of their comfort zones, push their boundaries and the relief and pride on their faces when they accomplished the achievement! Moreover, the incredible team spirit and camaraderie which I think everyone experienced even if they didn’t participate in that particular activity.”
Nadia Thank you to all the volunteers, especially to James and Hayley who waited with me for my Taxi thank you so much. Susie, a big thank you for arranging such a beautiful holiday! I would like to say a very big thank you to you and all of the helpers for such a fantastic holiday.”
Rachel, “We all accomplished so much, above and beyond my wildest expectations of what we could all achieve. Obviously, I saw the list of activities written down but never imagined how much fun it would all be! I still can’t believe that I abseiled and loved it, was thrilled by the giant swing, learned to canoe as a team with Vicki, somehow managed to be a useful part of a buggy building team, found archery so natural🏹, shot my first ever rifle and met so many marvellous people.🤸🏻♀️ There are so many highlights but the pool party was an absolute dream, just paradise to be in a gorgeous heated pool in the open air alongside many new friends🥂 I also loved sharing a room with Suzie, we never stop laughing😂. Thank you for everything super Suzie and you incredible sighted guides and PGL people who made it all possible😘😘”.
Darren, “I have felt it has gone from a good swing from start to the end making it a long swing! I have made some fantastic friends. I was able to conquer one of my biggest challenges which was doing the abseiling when I got to the top. I realise the only way out of this was to go down and continue. I was very hesitant at first and but didn’t want to be the only one out that didn’t rise to the challenge and was so pleased with myself that I did so I really enjoyed this holiday and really want to return next year. I have made loads of friends. The pool party was lovely and the sense of friendship, I gained from this Eye Matter outing was incredible. I also liked playing disc golf, which was using a frisbee into a basket. This was the first time I had played. Thank you all.”
Daniel, “A big thanks to Susie for organising such a fun and wonderful event. I hope everyone enjoyed themselves and it was great to catch up with many of you again and meet new people as well. My favourite had to be the pool party. It’s just a shame I didn’t go in earlier, as I only learnt about the ball games in the pool when I got back :-). Axe throwing was good and the problem-solving really made me laugh as Lauren and Althea were just so funny LOL. A big thank you to Rose, James, Stuart and Althea for helping me throughout the trip. Also, thanks to you Hayley and Naomi for also helping me and anyone else that did. Well done, Bushra, Priti and Althea you guys were amazing in the activities you did. I had fun with you all and couldn’t stop laughing when I was around you Steve, Lucy, Susie and many of you who put a smile on my face throughout this trip.”.
Lucy and Andrew, “We had a lovely activity holiday, thanks to Eye Matter.”
Apologies to those who submitted voice notes and other testimonials along with a gallery of images. I hope to collate some. Of these into a movie within a week and will share on our Facebook page.
If you are interested in booking a place on next year’s PGL activity week or would like more information about this year’s holiday, please email, suzie@eyematter.org.uk
Eye Matter had plenty to say!
By Fiona Musgrove.
On Friday 23rd August, at 11am 10 Eye Matter members joined Professor Finlayson, (Alan) on Zoom. Fiona (me) presented an argument to encourage people to take ownership of their own environment by stating some facts and examples of hazards faced by blind and partially sighted people. Another member read her speech about providing free childcare. She drew from her personal experience in Poland and the benefits this provision would provide for young parents. Sarah provided a whimsical speech.
Alan discussed the use of speeches containing opening questions or giving an introduction to themselves. We also discussed how much content should be given and knowing when to adapt a speech for a specific audience. One member gave an unwritten speech on his concerns about changes in Personal Independence Payment (PIP). Another member said she had really enjoyed the chance to write in a professional way and had been determined to submit her speech.
Eye Matter would like to thank Alan for his work in providing such an interesting and informative workshop. We would also like to thank all those who contributed to these sessions.
Poetry appreciation workshop with Diana Bramson.
By Fiona Musgrove.
On Friday 16th August 12 -members took part in our monthly poetry appreciation workshop. This month’s poems were based on a child’s perspective and examples from the Victorian times to modern day poets from the UK and beyond were discussed.
“I chose never to grow up and found these poems very powerful today”, Suzie Simons.
Diana began with a poem entitled, My Party by Queenie Scott-Hopper which incorporated traditional nursery characters such as Littel Red Riding Hood, Little Miss Muffet and Sukie and Poly taking us straight back to our childhood. However, this painted image was somewhat shattered Within, My Space by J H Rice. A member commented that it made her feel sad that some childhood recollections a not full of fun and happiness. “My space fits my shape, Helps me find my own escape, Lets me take a little break “. In contrast an American contemporary poem, Hide and seek by Zaro Weil explored the need to find inner peace. Members enjoyed the vivid imagery and use of words used to describe sounds. Foster Child by Louise Greig, a Scottish poet described the insecurities of a “labelled child” and the perceptions attributed to their own position in society.
The Good Little Girl by A. A. Milne engaged members to recollect their childhood connections to this poet in his many writings about his son Christopher Robin. However, this poem was centred on the perception of what a good girl is.
A whimsical poem, Dear Mum by Brian Patten had us giggling as we could imagine an angelic little boy penning this to his exasperated mother “How the self-raising flour managed to self-raise”. What I love about school by Roger McGough, provided a narrative of constant questions, synonymous with many young children to reflect the poets tangle of thoughts about school life. She Crochets the Stars by Vicky Arthurs taken from Poems for Grandparents was another whimsical and fun poem – which even inspired me to try crocheting again!
“Crochet me a cobweb decked with dew”.
If you would like to learn more about the enjoyment of poetry in our exclusive workshop, please email: suzie@eyematter.org.uk including the subject “poetry”.
Exercising “the little grey cells” with Steve Wax.
By Fiona Musgrove.
On Friday 9th August, 17 Eye Matter members attended our monthly session of Neurobics, (aerobics for the memory) which is a fun brain workout facilitated by Steve Wax. These sessions have been kindly funded by The National Lottery.
Neurobics Brain & Body Fitness – is a preventative and rehabilitative treatment programme which supports people to “Challenge the Body, Stimulate the Brain & Lift the Heart.” These sessions aim to recognise that, “Brain & Body Fitness has become a vital element for lifelong well-being, and Neurobics can help you to manage, postpone or eliminate cognitive decline as well as support those recovering from brain injury.”. This is achieved by providing a range of stimulating, interactive memory games to encourage maximum participation.
Members engaged in a range of games designed to stimulate our brains including writing words and numbers simultaneously, memory word games in different subjects, and number games.
Try these:
What is the highest amount you can calculate using the 24-hour clock i.e. 02.23 or 12.12 etc?
Singing twinkle twinkle little star and ABC together what letter would be reached on the first “star”?
If you would like to take part in our next session, please email us with the subject title: “Steve Wax”.