Welcome to Eye Matter Matters issue 15. 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@eyematter.org.uk
This edition includes:
Eye Matter Zoom events
- “Living Well With Sight Loss” (12th series).
- Labelling sight loss
- Training for those who wish to teach iPhone VoiceOver or Android TalkBack skills
Eye Matter Outings
- Eye Matter Christmas Concert
- Eye Matter’s “Winter Extravaganza”!
- An AD performance of Robin Hood Panto at the London Palladium
- Ben Elton: Authentic Stupidity- Stand Up Comedy Tour
- Eye Matter and Seable holiday to Sicily 2025
Special Features
- The ‘blind leading the blind’ – our Italian adventure
- New volunteer opportunities with Eye Matter
- Simply the Best with Eye Matter
- Bounce with Eye Matter.
- Stay safe with Eye Matter and the London Fire Brigade.
External activities
- Commemorating the 200th anniversary of Braille
Eye Matter Zoom Events on week starting 11th November
Eye Matter Zoom events
Keep up to date with our activities here.
Highlights include:
“Living Well With Sight Loss” (12th series).
On Thursday 31st October (at 11am) Eye Matter members (in partnership with RNIB) participated in our 12th series of “Living Well With Sight Loss” course. The facilitators explained how this course had initially been delivered in-person but, now through Zoom more people were able to register. The group discussed an array of subjects from, RNIB services, travel, Taxi cards and the discrepancies of services provided by local authorities. Steve also explained the importance of having a Certificate of Visual Impairment (CVI) which denotes that your sight loss has been registered. In their next session they will discuss rehabilitation and access to low vision clinics alongside other information needed as we journey through sight loss.
This course is delivered twice a year, the next one starts in May 2025.
Labelling sight loss
Joanna Williams, Eye Matter’s grief workshop facilitator writes a blog for our website twice a month. This episode is entitled “The Power of Labels.” When experiencing loss, one of the processes to go through is working out, ‘Who am I?’ in this new world. Just as a newly bereaved person who has lost a partner finds themselves suddenly called ‘a widow’ and has to figure out what that means to them, you may have been given labels relating to your loss, not all of which will have been welcome. Perhaps you acquired the label ‘blind’ or ‘visually impaired’ or ‘severely sight impaired’ suddenly, or over time, or perhaps there has been a label you have carried since birth…
To read the full blog, and previous blogs, please use the link below.
To take part in our twice monthly Zoom sessions please email Suzie with the subject “Thriving”: suzie@eyematter.org.uk
Training for those who wish to teach iPhone VoiceOver or Android TalkBack skills
We seek members who are confident iPhone and Android users interested in sharing their skills with other VI individuals. To support this initiative, we have a new Volunteer VoiceOver Training Manager, Charu Bansal, and the RNIB will facilitate a short training programme designed to enhance your teaching abilities.
While our first training session was on October 29, there is still time to register your interest in subsequent VoiceOver and TalkBack ‘teacher training’. In addition, we are planning to offer basic iPhone and Android lessons in November. If you are interested in attending these lessons in the future, please email us, and we will keep you informed as arrangements are made.
To sign up for the teaching training, please email us with the subject line ‘Teach.’ If you are interested in the basic iPhone or Android lessons, please use the subject line ‘Lesson.’
Eye Matter Outings
Find all our events here
Highlights include:
Eye Matter Christmas Concert
Date: Saturday 30th November
Location: Somers Town Living Centre, Kings Cross NW1
Time: 4:30pm – 6:30pm
Meet and Greet: 4pm at St Pancras International Station Midland Road Exit by the Thameslink barrier
Please come and join Eye Matter for this fun afternoon.
Superb VI musician Kevin Satizabal will once again accompany the choir.
£5 voluntary contribution
For tickets, please email suzie@eyematter.org.uk
Eye Matter’s “Winter Extravaganza”!
Date: Thursday, 12th December 2024
Location: The Crown London Hotel, 152 Cricklewood Broadway, London NW2 3ED
Time: 11:30am-6:00pm
Meet & Greet: 10:15am at St. Pancras International
Join Eye Matter for a fun-filled afternoon and indulge in a sumptuous four-course lunch.
Tickets are subsidised at £40 per person.
Eye Matter never wants financial constraints to be a barrier, so please contact us if this amount may prove prohibitive. Equally, please donate towards the Extravaganza if you are able to, as this will allow more people to attend.
All donations and prizes for the extravaganza raffle gratefully received on the day.
Please email suzie@eyematter.org.uk for more information.
An AD performance of ‘Robin Hood Panto’ at the London Palladium, 8 Argyll Street W1F 7TF
Thursday January 6, 2025 at 7:30pm
Touch tour time tbc
Meet and greet at Oxford Circus Station time tbc
Tickets are £25.50 each
To buy your ticket email suzie@eyematter.org.uk with subject ‘Panto’
Ben Elton: Authentic Stupidity – Stand Up Comedy Tour at the Duke of York Theatre
St Martin’s Lane, London WC2N 4BG
Saturday January 18, 2025 at 7:30pm
Meet and greet at 6:45pm at Leicester Square Station
Tickets are £20.13
To buy your ticket, email suzie@eyematter.org.uk with subject ‘Stupidity’
Eye Matter and Seable holiday to Sicily 2025
June 16-21, 2025.
We have been quoted a price of £1843.34 (excluding flights) for a five night/six-day trip to Sicily. The cost includes bed and breakfast at the four-star Hotel Malavoglia resort; all activities; van hire; three guides (one Seable staff member and two Eye Matter guides) based on a shared twin or double.
To Find out more or register your interest, please email us at suzie@eyematter.org.uk with the subject ‘Holiday’.
You can also keep up to date with events on our Facebook page: https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=pfbid02wFmBPyPqoVHQgMMwjUPp4BKtp9gcjK8BGKgViyXHavTZkUY4KZ8jDxXSHJEXwdJfl&id=100064088379673
Where you can join the Eye Matters members’ group.
Special Features
The “Blind Leading the Blind” – follow our Italian adventure
Richard Simpson and Fiona Musgrove who are both severely sight impaired, have roller caned 2000 miles, across England, France, Switzerland and in Italy – raising funds for Eye Matter. Having recently completed another 150 miles, they will finish their fundraising with the last leg of their trek between November 14-21, when they will walk into Rome.
Fiona (Eye Matter’s Communication Trustee) explained how at times their pathways were quite an adventure jumping over streams, crossing planks over a river and along narrow roads. “Richard is brilliant using Google Maps but, even this app struggles within the dense warrens of the Medieval towns.” She added, “It is quite sad that we haven’t encountered many blind and partially sighted people, living in Italy and hope our appearance will encourage awareness of sight loss.”
Follow their adventures on Facebook and Instagram, and if you would like to support their walk with a donation to Eye Matter please click here: https://www.justgiving.com/page/eyematter
New volunteer opportunities with Eye Matter
We are pleased to announce an exciting new volunteer opportunity for our members. Eye Matter is launching a member outreach programme, which will be coordinated by our new volunteer member liaison, Irena Valchera. We seek volunteers to assist Irena in contacting members to see how they are doing; confirm their continued interest in membership to Eye Matter; and ensure that they are able to access our opportunities.
If you would like to support Irena, even one call a week would be helpful – while more would be greatly appreciated. Volunteers will receive basic training for this role.
For further information, please email suzie@eyematter.org.uk with the subject line ‘Outreach.’
Thank you for considering this opportunity to support our community.
“Simply the Best” with Eye Matter
Twenty-three Eye Matter members recently attended the touch tour and AD evening performance of “Tina – The Tina Turner Musical” on October 16 at the Aldwych Theatre.
Karis Anderson, who has played Tina for only 3 months was ‘rarely off the stage” explained Suzie (Eye Matter’s Founder) “It was absolutely fabulous”.
Rachel Bowden-Waterson (Eye Matter’s Secretary and Trustee) called it a ‘phenomenal production’ and noted that despite the early start and two hour and 45-minute running time were necessary to tell the story of the singer’s long and colourful life. ‘The quality of the acting and vocal performances made the time fly,’ said Rachel.
Click here to read the full article and photos: https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=pfbid02mCcRzDfSoTXcvkbVtucEzoemnnS4vkrjobUW7mH3sMT2GK28Urus1UA9QD6yWKM3l&id=100064088379673
Bounce with Eye Matter
On October 9, members joined Rachel for our monthly Bounce discussion via Zoom.
Highlights include discussion of topics such as:
- What have members heard about the ‘Eye Care Support Pathway’?
- Would members advise booking assistance in advance of getting a mainline train to somewhere like Rugby?
- The Uber Eats ‘Fresh Mondays’ offer of a 50% discount on fresh fruit and vegetables from select retailers
Click here for the full review: https://www.eyematter.org.uk/bounce-notes/
Please note that Eye Matter does not endorse any goods or services discussed in Bounce sessions. All topics / comments are contributed by meeting attendees and are suggestions only. Individuals are responsible for acting on recommendations and any consequences thereof are not the responsibility of Eye Matter or its partners.
If you would like to join our next session in November, please email Suzie:
Stay safe with Eye Matter and the London Fire Brigade.
On Friday 11th October, members joined us for a Fire Safety Talk with Darren Balshaw, who is a Fire Chief at Barking and Dagenham Fire Station. He discussed the importance of having smoke alarms fitted and perhaps, how your local fire station could assist with this.
To arrange a Home Fire Safety Visit, call
0800 028 4428
The online tool is available via:
https://www.london-fire.gov.uk/safety/the-home/home-fire-safety
External activities
Commemorate Braille’s 200th anniversary
To mark the 200th anniversary of Braille, we celebrate the importance and longevity of this tactile reading and writing system by calling your attention to the comprehensive resources of The Braillists’ Foundation. Please see the link below if you are interested in learning about Braille or learning to read Braille.
Eye Matter Zoom Events on week starting 11th November:
Monday:
1:30pm-3pm “Turning Surviving into Thriving” facilitated by Joanna Williams, writer, workshop leader and therapist.
In these regular workshops, we will explore the nature of grief in the context of any major life change, not just bereavement, and specifically the challenges of living with visual impairment. As well as gaining an understanding of common human responses to loss, we’ll consider aspects of self-care and practical tools to help us navigate life’s more difficult days.
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.
In this week’s session we will be exploring the concept of instrumental vs intuitive grief. Instrumental grievers typically focus on practicalities and problem-solving rather than feeling and expressing emotion. Others around them may perceive that they aren’t grieving at all, or even that they are somewhat cold or don’t need help. In the context of the grief of sight loss, we’ll discuss how best to help yourself wherever you may be on that instrumental-intuitive scale.
Tuesday
6pm fun and friendly social followed by a quiz with Steve Reed
Wednesday
11am Bounce – Come and discuss and bounce ideas off each other
Discuss and swap survival hacks for living with a visual impairment
6pm-7:15pm The Eye Matter Singers – Everyone welcome 🎶 Please email Suzie for more information.
Thursday
No meetings
Friday
11am Fun and friendly social followed by Neurobics with Steve Wax, aerobics for your brain.