Welcome to Eye Matter Matters issue 21. This is a fortnightly publication where Eye Matter shares news and information about events and activities, members’ experiences and other items of interest. Unless otherwise indicated, all articles have been contributed by Fiona Musgrove. If you would like to contribute an article to a future edition, please contact Fiona at: fiona.musgrove@yahoo.co.uk
This edition includes:
Eye Matter Zoom events
- Accessing grief support in different ways
Eye Matter Outings
- Grieving the life you expected
- A day at Bletchley Park
- You are invited to “hang out” with our Suzie on her birthday!
- A private audio described tour to the Henry Moore Studios and Gardens
- Ciao! Visit Sicily with Eye Matter.
Special features
- Blind swimmer on target as she glides past 7 miles and raises nearly £200 for Eye Matter.
- Keep on board with Bounce.
- Understanding the complexities of art with Eye Matter at the Tate Modern.
- Love is all around us with Eye Matter
External activities
- We Swim across London
Eye Matter Zoom events
Keep up to date with our activities here.
Highlights include:
Accessing grief support in different ways
There are now 11 blog posts on our website from the amazing Joanna Williams, writer and therapist accompanying our twice monthly Zoom programme “Turning Surviving into Thriving”
In issue 10, we consider humour as: The Best Medicine?
Here are a few extracts:
“There are a few things that happen physiologically when we laugh. First, you increase your intake of oxygen – good for the heart and brain. Laughter causes your muscles to relax, which in turn eases tension. We also release dopamine and serotonin, the brain’s “happy hormones”. Having a laugh with other people can increase these positive effects even further, as you gain that all-important sense of connection and community which is so great for wellbeing.”
“If you are looking for ways to bring more humour into your life, try one of these:
- Revisit an old comedy show you enjoyed
- Chat with a friend who makes you laugh
- Smile more! (Remember, fake it to make it)
- Make time for fun activities, especially ones that require trying something new
- Try out “laughter yoga”
- Spend time with young children or pets
And of course, you can come along to our next “Turning Surviving into Thriving” session on Monday, 24th February at 1:30pm-3pm. Although we discuss serious subjects relating to grief, we do a lot of smiling and laughing too. The next session will focus
on the subject of Beliefs
How have your spiritual and philosophical beliefs been affected by your sight loss? In the workshop we will discuss how grief can shake your faith in the world, your trust in others, and your beliefs about yourself. We learn how beliefs are formed and how to forge new, healthy beliefs that will help you moving forward.
Eye Matter Outings
Find all our events here
Highlights include:
“Grieving the life you expected”
Saturday 29th March
At Somerstown Community Centre Kings Cross, London.
A voluntary contribution of £5 is greatly appreciated.
In this special in-person workshop, there will be the chance to share experiences with your peers and, crucially, learn ways of re-working your expectations and letting go of fear.
All of us have expectations about life and the world around us. Some are societal, some we learn from friends and family, some we figure out for ourselves. The experience of sight loss is what we call a “non-finite loss”, in that it might occur as one event, but the repercussions are ongoing and may interrupt or derail what we thought our lives would be. Even if you are sight impaired from birth, you still might have absorbed ideas about a so-called “ideal life” and experience grief about those aspects you don’t have and fear for what the future holds.
A day at Bletchley Park
on Saturday, 5th April
Meet and greet: 09:50am at Euston Station
Tickets are £35 which includes: return train tickets from Euston to Bletchley (£16.40), entry into Bletchley with a private tour (£16.50+£2.10 admin fee).
A self-guided tour will be available upon arrival. Due to the limited availability of headsets, we have been given permission to use speakers in conjunction with them. Please bring a picnic, although there is a cashless café if you prefer.
Bletchley Park, once the top-secret home of the World War Two Codebreakers, is now a museum and vibrant heritage attraction open daily, managed by the Bletchley Park Trust.
To book your ticket please email suzie@eyematter.org.uk with the subject “Bletchley”
Click to our Facebook page for more information: https://m.Facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=pfbid0Zx8d71rzTHtbryr7hT3qcdc5u6xk53zjgnxhQm8arvVCZVPeoEw6xZoxuq2cNRtEl&id=100032751800652
You are invited to hang out with our Suzie on her birthday!
In a change to the original plan at Tottenham Hotspur’s Stadium all members and friends are invited to a thrill seeker’s dream day at “Hangloose Adventure” with Eye Matter. Get set to enjoy fun, thrilling, adrenaline fuelled adventures with the UK’s most exciting Outdoor Adventure company, offering England’s longest zipline, and a brilliant high ropes course – It’s a great trip away from the big city life!
Bluewater, Kent
On Saturday, 26th April
Tickets are discounted to £35 per person. If you are traveling with us, travel will cost £7 if you have a freedom pass. If you are a sighted guide, you will need a travelcard to zone 6.
Zip Lining at Bluewater – wheelchair accessible
Over 720 Metres Long, Over 100 Metres Tall, Reach up to 50 mph. Soar through the skies on England’s longest zipline – an impressive 720 metres of airtime! This will be followed by a picnic, please bring a packed lunch
Hangloose Adventure on the thrilling treetop adventure
Challenge yourself to conquer our daring high ropes course. With tons of heart-pumping obstacles, it’s sure to be an unforgettable sky-high adventure.
A private audio described tour to the Henry Moore Studios and Gardens
Ware, Hertfordshire
On Thursday, 5th June
Meet and greet at Stratford Station at 12:50pm
Tickets are £30 which includes: return train tickets between Stratford and Ware, (edge of Zone 6), return minibuses between Ware station and the Gardens and your entry fee.
We will visit the gardens where Moore created his world-famous sculptures. Share in the artist’s experience of viewing his work in the landscape ‘in changing light and weather’ and ‘so that near to, and far away it reads as three-dimensional form.’ Please note, we will be visiting different sculptures from last year.
Click here to read about last year’s fantastic visit: https://fb.watch/xxZBBE3P4q/
Click here to find out about 2025’s exciting schedule: https://m.Facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=pfbid0GmhochLW5rrqm1xceoXUxq7FkKg33KBMzQwgDPGCxFgsTmvpPfK4q8uyBVrRkGugl&id=100064088379673
Ciao visit Sicily with Eye Matter.
Based on the success of last year’s Eye Matter and Seable holiday trip to Sicily, we are delighted to offer it to you again, 16th-21stJune 2025.
Activities will include: A tactile museum and city tour featuring local markets.
Excursion to Mount Etna featuring a cable car trip up to 2300m, a 4×4 Jeep ride to 2800m and an Etna products food tasting session. Guests will also be treated to an Etna Vineyard visit with a 4-course lunch and accompanying wine pairing. Half day at the beach with sunbeds and umbrellas with Sicilian dessert tasting, before a sunset boat trip with aperitivo on board
Organic farm including local donkeys, horses, goats and chickens
5 nights/ 6 Days staying at the four-star “Hotel Malavoglia” resort in Sicily.
The bed and breakfast price, which includes all activities, van hire, 3 guides, including 1 Seable member of staff and 2 guides from Eye Matter, is £1843.34 per person sharing a twin or a double room.
The single room supplement is £250.
Return flights from Gatwick will be approximately £150-200 plus luggage. Each traveller is responsible for arranging their own travel insurance.
Seeable Holidays requires a £200 non-refundable deposit for each person.
Click here for feedback from last year’s holiday: https://m.Facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=pfbid02FJXBJLJXt3YqxffUzXA2UtX72WtkL2DTjKMnWoCtPg6qDT4Jd7rHAjc5YSS17CEYl&id=100064088379673
To book any Eye Matter outings please email suzie@eyematter.org.uk stating clearly which event and how many tickets you require.
Special features
Blind swimmer on target as she glides past 7 miles and raises nearly £200 for Eye Matter.
A huge thanks to the fabulous Nicky Newport as she glides across the waters at Forest Hill swimming pool simulating the 22 miles between Dover and Calais.
Nicky explains, “Doing this as a fundraiser for Eye Matter is really motivating and I think both my stroke and stamina are improving every day.” From her time spent in the pool, Nicky has joined in other activities such as Aqua aerobics.
Please continue to support blind, swimmer Nicky’s remarkable achievement by visiting https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/nickynewportswimsforeyematter
Click here to follow Nicky on Facebook:
Keep on board with Bounce
On Wednesday 19th February, we held our latest Bounce session live on Zoom hosted by Suzie and Rachel.
Our previous Bounce sessions on Wednesday, 18 December 2024 and 6th January 2025 covered an array of subjects and concerns. The latest Bounce notes will be available soon but in the interim, please see all previous notes here https://eyematter.org.uk/bounce-notes/
Understanding the complexities of art with Eye Matter and the Tate Modern
On Wednesday, 12th February 13 Eye Matter members attended a private audio described tour of this year’s Hyundai commission at
the Tate Modern Gallery. A huge thanks to Rikki, Charles, Abdul and Danielle for their contributions to this article. Artist Mire Lee has created a biomechanical environment of dripping revolving turbines, wet skins and dried organic forms reflecting the Turbine Hall’s previous industrial use but creating an organic process within it.
Rikki, who has been a member of Eye Matter, since October 2023 explained his experience, “The Tate Modern people assigned to our visit, Linda and Frederico, made an excellent job of describing Open Wound to us, not at all an easy task as it’s a very large installation with many contrasting elements such as skin-like material and industrial components. We were given objects to handle, which had been taken from the installation, to give us an idea of how some of it must appear.”
Charles wrote, “Thank you very much for organising this special tour. As a museum fan I regularly visit museums such as, the British Museum and V &A, but this was my first time at the Tate Modern. There was excellent background information and Q&A during the tour to help me understand what is going on, but it was only at the end of the tour when I finally understood the idea that the artist wanted to relate to mental crisis. Too much time was given on describing what we cannot see. At one point, I was under the impression that we were talking about how Tate modern was built whereas it would have been more beneficial to discuss why this is art? Why people appreciate this particular installation? It’s perceptions/interpretations as a piece of artwork. To include examples of symbolic meanings such as dripping water etc. Afterall, art is communication between artists and audiences. It is the stories behind those symbols and details that will appeal to people, whether blind or sighted. Nevertheless, I am looking forward to coming back to Tate Modern, especially for those special exhibitions.”
Open Wound invites us to revel in contradictory emotions: from awe and disgust to compassion, fear and love. Abdul agreed with Rikki, “It was great, and I enjoyed it. I would love to go to more art galleries.”
Rikki suggested: Open Wound is such a large and complex thing that only really a model of it would have given an impression of its overall shape and construction. But full marks to Linda and Frederico for describing it to us and to Eye Matter for setting the visit up.”
Eye Matter is so appreciative of the generosity shown by their volunteers embellished by Rikki, “I really got on well with my lovely guide, Sylvana, and we immediately found a common interest in the French language.”
Danielle, who was initially inspired by her friend’s idea of giving time to others, has now been a sighted guide for Eye Matter for a few months, “found the team at Tate very understanding, clear, helpful and sympathetic to everyone attending. Charles needed to ensure the Tate guides stood near to him as he could not use the headphones. I thoroughly enjoyed seeing the art and felt the clear and precise spoken description helped bring the art alive.” This was a completely different environment from Danielle’s first experience of volunteering at the Tina West end show last year, “Having the classroom / space both before and after the tour was excellent. Overall, I felt the day was well organised and well thought out by both Eye Matter and the team at Tate”
Click here to read the full article on Facebook:
Love is all around us with Eye Matter
Our first cathartic writing session (on Friday 14th February) was inspired by the meaning of love in all its many dimensions. In response, Jo chose three short extracts from the below writings: Captain Corelli’s Mandolin, Louis de Bernière Dolly Alderton, Everything I Know About Love: A Memoir, Calling Things What They Are By Ada Limón. For some these extracts awakened memories around love such as loss, joy and frustration allowing different interpretations of the same piece of writing.
It is your choice, whether you attended the session or not, to contribute homework based around these pieces should be sent to Joanna Barnard (before the next session) for her to read it out in class if you wish.
Writing Prompts – Theme: Love
- Write a love letter, a love story, or write about a memory of love.
- ‘Before, the only thing I was interested in was love’ (Ada Limon). How has your understanding of love changed over time?
- ‘It had been there all along’ (Dolly Alderton). Where is love found for you?
- Write about an interest that has developed later in life that you’re now passionate about.
- Thinking about a particular kind of love, complete the following and choose one or more to write more about:
- If love were a place, it would be:
- If love were music, it would be:
- If love were a person, it would be:
- If love were weather, it would be:
- If love were a smell, it would be:
- If love were a taste, it would be:
- If love were a sound, it would be:
- If love were a texture, it would be:
- If love were an animal, it would be:
Our next creative cathartic writing session is Friday 14thMarch at 11am-12.30pm.
External activities
We Swim across London
We Swim CIOC is a registered charity, not for profit organisation designed to ensure
that every adult with a disability has a local opportunity to be active in, and around, water. It was launched by Natasha Fleming, three weeks before the national lock-down in 2019 which only increased its demand once local pools were reopen when the isolation and loss of confidence was particularly evident in disabled people. According to Government estimations 24% of the UK ‘s population are registered as having a disability and within London (2021) 13.2% of its citizens are registered disabled. Statistics often indicate that disabled people are more likely to feel isolated and lack confidence to access regular exercise which is amplified within the visually impaired community.
Consequently, over 40 disabled people now have access to weekly swimming opportunities supported by a dedicated team of volunteers. These weekly swims are building local communities, in swimming pools across London: Old Street, Barbican,
Vauxhall, Tottenham Green and Crouch End. In 2025 a further two venues will be available to cope with their increased demand. “WeSwim is about more than just time in the water—we’re building a community” explains Natasha. Swimmers stay connected beyond the sessions through WhatsApp groups, offering each other support, checking in when someone is unwell, and sharing community events.
Each session is carefully coordinated by volunteers who are both in the pool and beside the regular lifeguard. Everybody is assessed on their “water confidence” and although one to one support is available volunteers are usually supervising small groups. There is a range of equipment available to support disabled swimmers including a hoist for wheelchair users and floats for those not so confident. One woman confided that this was the only time she was able to socialise and feel a sense of freedom she had once enjoyed as a county swimmer in her youth.
Natasha drew from her experience volunteering with the Pimlico Puffins, “I started WeSwim because I believe swimming should be accessible to everyone, especially disabled people who often face significant barriers to taking part. I’ve seen firsthand how swimming can improve physical, mental, and social wellbeing, but I also know how difficult it can be to find welcoming, accessible spaces to swim.”
In 2024 We Swim had 222 registered members of whom 24 are visually impaired swimmers. Natasha said, “What started as a small community initiative has now grown into a charity, helping disabled Londoners improve their wellbeing through swimming while building friendships and connections along the way.” In addition to working with existing groups such as the Pimlico Puffins they strive to create interest in new venues across London. Sadly, pool allocation in some leisure centres is difficult to negotiate as it is also dependent on availability of volunteers, of whom many are working during the day. At the moment We Swim are focused on demand within London but, they acknowledge, disabled access to regular swimming opportunities is a national problem. Currently over 100 people are on their waiting list.
Please fill in an application form and We Swim will be in touch.
List of venues:
Crouch End – Monday 5.45pm
Tottenham Green – Monday 7pm
Old Street – Tuesday 7pm
Barbican – Wednesday – 6.15pm
Vauxhall Thursday 11.15am
Sign up to their newsletter and follow insta / Facebook feeds.
email at info@weswim.club