Testimonials
HangLoose adventures on the high ropes!
Saturday 26th April, 2025.
Suzie Simon’s (Eye Matter’s founder) wrote an appreciation message to #HANGLOOSEADVENTURE #HANGLOOSEBLUEWATER. “Eye Matter brought 20 members to Hangloose Adventure Bluewater. Our group included 12 visually impaired participants, 8 sighted guides, and one wheelchair user.
From the moment we arrived, your team were outstanding—kind, patient, enabling, and never patronising. You made sure that every individual could take part in the activities in a way that suited them, and it was truly heartwarming to witness such inclusive support.” Hangloose provided a chance for everyone, including our wheelchair user to access their activities “she was hoisted up upon the Zip Wire, to take part alongside her friends—a moment that was particularly special for her and for all of us to share.”
Eye Matter’s member ,Paula congratulated their planning and organisation, “The event was fun and very scary and I got as much out of it as was humanly possible for me. People were friendly and conversational, that includes VI’s, staff at HangLoose and guides.
Miles (one of Eye Matter’s new sighted guides) expressed his admiration of both the organisation behind the event and being part of such a positive charity supporting those with sight loss: “I was paired with Rachael. Her resilience to combat her personal fears of the zip line was totally awe inspiring. For me the highlight of watching a visually impaired person tackling the challenges that they faced while traversing through the high ropes was an absolute inspiration. I just cannot comprehend how people who don’t know what’s in front of them will place 1 foot in front of the other based on the advice given from someone they have only just met. However, Rachael did this with grace and confidence and was a true inspiration to watch.”
Peer support IPhone training
March 2025.
Visually impaired, Charu has lead another successful series of IPhone training, Charlotte expressed her appreciation; , “thank you very much for arranging IPhone training for me. I’m very pleased with the training I’ve had, and also the trainer. I feel he should be awarded a medal for his patience!”
Shahid also completed his training with Alan and this is his feedback; “Thank you very much for this opportunity. I am very pleased with Alan. He has been an amazing trainer and I have gained a lot of confidence using my iPhone.”
Eugene acknowledged the support from Trainer Tahira, “permit me to say a big Thank You for the voice over training sessions. You were supportive, patient and kind.”
Angelas review on her training with Tahira. “Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Mere words cannot express how grateful I am to you, Charu and Eye Matter. I was very much aware I was struggling using my new phone but I didn’t realise how much until our sessions started. Your kindness, patience and lovely sense of humour helped turn a daunting situation for me into something I looked forward to each week.”
Jennifer added, “Just to say thank you so much for the lessons. It has given me a real insight into how the phone works.”
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Monthly Poetry Appreciation sessions with Diana Bramson,
Each month the group discuss various poems from a wide genera based on a particular theme.
February 2025 – Toys and games with Eye Matter:
Suzie Simons, (Eye Matters Founder) said, “The poems were fun and playful. Members explored and shared personal experiences from their childhood reflecting how often the joy of play is lost within adulthood. It was a lighthearted and incredibly fun session.”
member Malcolm adnitted, “it was his favourite session each month and this week was particularly fun.”.
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cathartic writing programme.
This is delivered monthly, by author Joanna Barnard. Hayley explains, “I have attended three cathartic writing sessions which have been inspirational and deeply moving. I love the different themes that are presented to us to explore and direct our creative writing cells. Thus given every Person who chooses to participate in writing a piece of prose a voice.”
Tasha said, “I had a great time at the creative writing session it was such a fantastic way to spend a Friday morning with friends.”
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Nando’s and SnoZone.
Thursday 6th March, 2025.
Elsie Wilcox said, “This was my very 1st experience with EyeMatter. I’d never done sledging before and didn’t know what to expect.”
Suzie Simons (Eye Matters Founder and Project Co-Ordinator) explained,, “we brought 24 members (17 visually impaired people and 7 sighted guides) for lunch.” Irena said, “From start to finish everything clicked like clockwork.
To Gemma from SnowZone Suzie said, “thank you so much for the incredible support we received.”
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FlowSense.
From February 2025.
Hina Majeed and Tasha are currently taking part in Eye Matter’s collaboration with FlowSense. Hina said, “This experience was important for me as it felt good to connect with other women with the added connections of sight loss. It’s imperative to feel like we are part of a community as the greater community and society can be very discriminating and unaware of how isolating it can be to have an eye condition which affects every part of our lives.”
Tasha has been involved with this project since November 2024 (after meeting Suzie at Sight Village London); “The journey to finding the cause of my vision loss was long and difficult: This seemed like a perfect opportunity to meet new people similar to myself, learn and contribute positively to an amazing and innovative product.”
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Stranger Things”, at the PhoenixTheatre,
Sunday 9th March, 2025.
Nicky Newportexplained,”thanks for a lovely day at “stranger things” and for getting me out of my comfort zone as that is the first sci-fi play I have seen in a theater. Big thanks to Tiana and Tony for all their help. Looking forward to the next one.”
Jade Sharpe said, “the show was amazing, with incredible effects and the audio description was fantastic!”
“It was fantastically organised and arranged. Everything was efficiently managed and I was especially impressed with the vetting, ensuring that the vision impaired participants were kept safe and supported. I found the whole experience easy, fulfilling and enjoyable. I will be volunteering again at this wonderful charity.”
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Social media training (Zoom):Facebook.
February 2025.
Stephen Portlock said, “Thanks for a really useful session on Facebook. I realise now Facebook access works better on the iPhone.”
Confidence building workshop.
Saturday 1st February, 2025.
Suzie Simons (Eye Matter’s Founder and co-ordinator)said, “Along with our existing fabulous members we were delighted to welcome Five new Eye Matter members. The confidence building was delivered using drama improv games run by Steve Reed, actor and facilitator extraordinaire! The group took part in some brilliant team games, working together, using our listening skills to present fun scenes to each other. This was a great afternoon.”
Cheyenne said ”It was my first time attending an Eye Matter event and I really enjoyed it.”
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A private audio described tour of this year’s Hyundai commission at the Tate Modern Gallery.
Wednesday 12th February
Rikki said,“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.”
Volunteer Danielle, “found the team at Tate very understanding, clear, helpful and sympathetic to everyone attending. Overall, I felt the day was well organised and well thought out by both Eye Matter and the team at Tate”
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Sparkled in the park (Charlton House (Woolwich).
Sunday 1st December 2024.
Kat Gill (Access Producer For Festival.org), who lead our group, explained that this event is staged in different parks around the borough and encourages local communities to become involved with its presentation. She said, “
It was such a pleasure to have Eye Matter at Sparkle, I’m so happy the group enjoyed it.”
Vicky Blencoe said “Great evening visit to ‘Sparkle in the park’ at Charlton house and gardens, Greenwich with Eye Matter. It was audio described by the fabulous Tony McBride with help from the excellent Kat. We followed the light trail in a group of 27, with stars, light installations, a snow machine, and snowflakes wafting across Charlton house which was lit up in blue.”
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ABBA Voyage.
Thursday 7th November, 2025.
Sarah Matthews explains, “This week I was lucky enough to join Eye Matter for a trip to see ABBA Voyage and what a truly joyful evening it was! As a totally blind person who’s also now a wheelchair user, I find going to events like these can make me very anxious, I worry about getting there and finding everyone else and all the things that could go wrong. But once I’m there I always feel so thankful that I pushed myself out of my comfort zone. Suzie and the Eye Matter team always organise the events so brilliantly and are incredibly welcoming. The arena holds about 3000 people and the place was packed. The staff assistance was flawless; helpful, welcoming and chatty. On the way out after the show we got sidetracked by the bar where there was a conga line going on to some of the songs they didn’t include in the setlist and we just had to stop for a drink and enjoy a last bit of the happy, carefree vibe before making our way back to the tube. A very special, unique night out that gave me a boost.”
Rachel Bowden Waterstone said,”We met at Stratford tube station, many of us thanks to the always excellent “turn up and go” service offered by transport for London. there was a palpable sense of anticipation and excitement as we boarded the DLR to go the one stop to pudding mill Lane where a purpose built arena for “ABBA Voyage” had been built. Eye Matter kindly had allocated me a sighted guide, so from the get go, Naomi described everything that was going on, including the fabulous 1970s outfits some attendees were wearing. Upon arrival at the venue, the Access team were superb and made us feel incredibly welcome. We were on a raised access platform with seats but there was still plenty of space to dance which we took advantage of throughout the evening. in the arena there were also bars, and a large dancefloor. Naomi described the “ABBA-tars”, costumes, lighting and effects which brought the show to Life for me. It was surprising that audio description hadn’t been factored into the Access provision as although the Music was brilliant, there was so much else to enjoy.
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Improv comedy session
Saturday 21st September, 2024.
ten members joined in various games and scenarios with Vic Hogg and Steve Reed. One member explained how this enabled her to not feel inhibited at expressing herself in a more comedic way. Another member expressed the relief of being able to share personal examples of not feeling confident since experiencing sight loss.
PGL Adventure holiday.
August. 2024.
- 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.”
- Steve: “Everyone pushed themselves out of their comfort zones and challenged themselves to do things they hadn’t done before.”
- Bicky: “My favourites were the archery especially getting the bull’s-eye on my second shot, and also the giant swing.”
- Amar (Amrits daughter) “I just want to say a big BIG thank you to Suzie for organizing an amazing trip at PGL.I am so proud of how everyone had the chance to push themselves out of their comfort zones when taking on these challenging activities.”
- 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. 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 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.”
- 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. We were 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 group 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.
- Norin, “I had the best few days meeting you all and doing lots of activities.
Tate Modern
21 Feb 2024
20 members attended:
”Spending the morning with Eye Matter at Tate Modern was a delight and really gave me a boost. It can be hard to engage with art as a totally blind person, especially when it was once a major part of your life, but I knew I was in good hands with Suzie and the team as they’re always so encouraging, supportive and understanding. after all meeting at Southwark station, we nmade our way to Tate Modern where we met their Access Team. Anyone who needed a guide was paired up with a volunteer and we were all given audio headsets. In the Turbine Hall we heard about Behind the Red Moon by El Anatsui, a complex installation made of 1000s of metal bottle tops. This piece fills the vast space and is in 3 sections so it was a bit like being shown 3 pieces of art. The describers had their work cut out, explaining the scale and form of it and did a great job. They told us about how the work was constructed alongside the concept and historical context which was fascinating. I particularly appreciated the time and effort put in to producing tactile boards which had small example sections of the artwork for us to feel. It allowed me to visualise the piece so much better and made me feel more connected to it. That was fantastic.”
“We saw Babel by Cildo Meireles which is a piece I’ve heard about but never experienced. We listened to the swirling sounds of the circular tower of radios and were told that the lighting in the room is kept very low so visitors focus on sound and can see the various coloured LED lights shining. It was so fascinating to consider how the tower was constructed (old tech at the bottom, changing to new tech as it rises) and what the artist was interested in conveying. We could hear a mix of constantly changing music and voices from all the different stations.”
“I was so energised and inspired by attending Eye Matter’s collaboration with Tate Modern in providing an audio-described tour of artworks by Ghanaian artist, El Anatsui, and Brazilian artist, Cildo Meireles .
“there was much expertise in assisting all of us to get the best experience in being able to take in the depth of these brilliant artworks, through a variety of sensory approaches, and elevate our voices in rendering our own interpretations aloud, and having a group collaborative experience about what it all meant. It was fabulous. Tactile, touch objects were also provided to give an impression of El Anatsu’s creative approach to his art by providing an impression of these by touch. It was a fantastic experience. Whole-hearted thanks to Suzie, eye Matter , the sighted-guides and to the fantastic Visitor Experience and Access team at Tate Modern :)”
Winter Extravaganza
14 December 2024.
“As this was my first Eye Matter event I was a little nervous but there was no need to be, everyone was so welcoming and friendly, it was very well organised a really lovely venue. Fantastic bunch of people and i had a brilliant day. I’m so pleased I found out about Eye Matter s Sight Village exhibition.”
“I really enjoyed the Christmas Extravaganza party at the Crown Hotel in Cricklewood with excellent food, raffle, quiz and dancing on the dance floor with a live band being a very rare opportunity not only to dance to good music but most importantly the exercise as a result of dancing was truly beneficial to my physical health and wellbeing. Also I felt totally at ease on the dance floor in the company of others who are also visually impaired. Again, this was brilliantly organised by Suzie Simons and the Eye Matter group.”
Windsor Castle
1 December 2023.
“I and my sister, were very excited to visit this historic landmark with Eye Matter. Coming in from the bitter cold we learnt the history of its walls before encountering an exquisite dolls house inside. In the center of the hall was an enormous Christmas tree, where I was invited to feel the large baubles and get closer to its brightly coloured lights as I only have light and dark perception.”
“I wanted to thank the Eye Matter team for a hugely enjoyable outing to Windsor Castle on the 1st of December. The event provided a great opportunity to meet up with and socialise with other members, The organisation was excellent with volunteer sighted guides for those who needed them.”
Living Well With Sight loss course.
Run twice a year )now in its 13 series)
“I wanted to write to you at the end of the living well with sight loss course which has had a positive effect on my confidence as Yesterday I went on the underground unaccompanied for the first time. Since then I have now travelled independently on a train to Manchester. You’ve made a big difference to my new life.’
“so glad that I attended the “living Well With Sight Loss’ course, it was informative and I learnt so much.”
“I am entering my 4th year of living with sight-loss and deafness, as well as impaired mobility. The latter I am able to work on improving and it’s getting better, but to improve my physical and mental health and mobility I need to get out more and this purse gives me the confidence.”.
“The sight-loss sector is a bit of a jigsaw puzzle, and in some cases can be quite antiquated and focus on the medical model of disability, in its approach to blind and partially-sighted people. This has made me hesitant, in the past to attend one of these courses, as I would to want to ensure a “progressive” and enabling approach to such a course. Then, a few months ago, I chanced across Eye Matter, when referred by my low vision officer and also my ECLO and found this course inspirational.”
A Christmas Carole
9 December 2022
“I wanted to say yet again how great the trip to the theatre was last Friday. You organised everything flawlessly and we felt really looked after – the audio description headphones were great, and the staff from the Old Vic were so friendly.”
“I found A Christmas Carol really emotional and really set us up for Christmas.
We especially enjoyed the snow falling in the theatre!”