Welcome to Eye Matter Matters issue 30. 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
- The Afghan by Frederick Forsyth for our book worms next month- 3rd September
- From the sea to tea, poetry for you and me!
Eye Matter Outings
- Join us in September for our first Hyde Park Community Fun Run and Picnic
- An audio described performance of My Neighbour Totoro
Eye Matter’s volunteering opportunities
- Hyde Park Community Fun Run and Picnic
- Voiceover training
- Members Outreach Programme
Special Features
- An uphill success for Eye Matter as Mike Brace becomes our first Patron.
- Henry Moore’s legacy that art should be for everyone (especially Eye Matter).
- From glasses to DIY Bounce leaps into action.
- The changing face of Thomas Pocklington.
- Fantasy meets science to restore sight.
- UK government is testing the Emergency Alerts system on Sunday 7 September 2025 at 3pm.
- The benefits of visiting National Trust this year.
Eye Matter Zoom events
Keep up to date with our activities here.
Highlights include:
From the sea to tea, poetry for you and me!
On Friday 25th July, Eye Matter members joined poetry appreciation with Diana Bramson. Each month Diana carefully selects a topic of interest and shares poems from across a wide genre and years, to stimulate a discussion.
This month’s theme was based on ‘tea’. Within this session, participants are also encouraged to contribute their own pieces based on the previous themes – June’ s was ‘around the sea’.
I Can Sea By Sarah Brooks
I can sea an arc of animals
They are two by two not three.
I can sea an ow and a pussycat.
The pussycat waves at me.
I can sea a boy in a boat
He has a tiger just for company.
I can sea the royal yacht Britannia,
The Queen it’s on deck having afternoon tea.
Although you are not obliged to contribute to these sessions but if you wish to please consider the theme of ‘tea’. Various poems were selected including; Cups by Gwen Harwood and Teabag by Matt Harvey. For a full list or to join us in August please email: suzie@eyematter.org.uk
For more details or to join please email: suzie@eyematter.org.uk
Eye Matter Outings
Find all our events here
Highlights include:
Here are the outings and events available for Eye Matter members:
Join us in September for our first Hyde Park Community Fun Run and Picnic
‘Let’s move together to support mental health in our community.’
- Saturday, 13th September 2025
- Hyde Park, London
- Starting at 11:00 AM
- Choose 1K or 5K distance
- Run, Walk, Wheel, or Dance – it’s up to you!
- Entry: £10 per person
- Optional Eye Matter T-shirts – £10 each (Available in Small, Medium, Large)
- Bring your family and friends to participate or cheer you on!
- bring your own lunch or snacks and enjoy the day with fellow participants! We’ll be providing water and fruit to keep everyone refreshed!
Get Sponsored!
- Help raise funds for mental health support at Eye Matter by getting sponsored for your challenge.
- Once registered you will receive a link to our exclusive Just Giving page for this challenge to share on your networks.
- Please send us photos of your training preparations and images from the event.
To book your place or for more information please email: suzie@eyematter.org.uk with subject ‘Fun Run’.
To read more on our Facebook page please click here.
An audio described performance of My Neighbour Totoro
- At the Gillian Lynne Theatre
- On Saturday 11th October
- Meet and greet at Tottenham Court Road Station at 11:40am
- Touch tour 12pm
- Tickets are £25
- Please bring a picnic to have after the touch tour, before the performance
This “utterly beguiling” and “jaw-dropping” staging of the celebrated 1988 animated feature film is brought to you by the Royal Shakespeare Company and Executive Producer Joe Hisaishi and adapted by Tom Morton-Smith.
Hailed as “a tender and remarkably beautiful show”. My Neighbour Totoro is an enchanting coming-of-age story exploring the magical fantasy world of childhood and the transformative power of imagination, as it follows one extraordinary summer in the lives of sisters Satsuki and Mei.
- Run time: Approx. 2 hours 30 minutes, including a 20-minute interval
- CONTENT WARNING: This production contains live music, some loud noises, some scenes are set in a hospital with a sick parent and some very large puppets. There are pyrotechnics, smoke, and haze.
To book any Eye Matter outings please email suzie@eyematter.org.uk stating clearly which event and how many tickets you require.
Eye Matter’s volunteering opportunities
- Eye Matter encourages peer support amongst its members.
- No experience is necessary
- Provides work experience within a safe environment.
- All work is done through Zoom or on a phone (unless stated otherwise).
- You will learn to work both independently and as part of a team.
- These roles are for anyone who wants to support others or upskill for future employment opportunities
- Training is provided
Hyde Park Community Fun Run and Picnic
- Guide runners, stewards and first aiders.
Join us for a community picnic in the park – bring your own lunch or snacks and enjoy the day with fellow participants! We’ll be providing water and fruit to keep everyone refreshed!
- Saturday, 13th September 2025
- Hyde Park, London
- Starting at 11:00 AM
Voiceover training
- Required participation of six (one hour) sessions over six weeks.
- An alternative number is required (preferably a land line).
Click here to read the testimonials of members who have benefitted from this project.
Members Outreach Programme
- coordinated by Eye Matter’s member liaison officer, the wonderful volunteer Irena Valchera.
- This role includes assisting Irena to reach out to our ever-growing membership.
- Check on their wellbeing, confirm their continued interest in membership, and ensure that they are able to join our Zoom sessions.
- Minimum commitment of one call per week.
If you are interested in any of these opportunities, please email suzie@eyematter.org.uk
Special features
An uphill success for Eye Matter as Mike Brace becomes our first Patron.
Mike Brace CBE, OBE has kindly agreed to become Eye Matter’s charity Patron. Members will get a chance to meet him at our Fundraising Hyde Park Fun Run, walk, dance, wheel on Saturday 13th September, where he will be our official race starter and he will say a few words of welcome. He was inspired by the ethos and passion shown by Eye Matter’s founder and members, “The biggest agents for change I believe are people with a vision impairment themselves.”
He rose to notoriety as a blind cross-country skier at the world’s first winter Paralympics, held in Sweden (1976). Representing his country in three World Championships, five Paralympics and two European Championships. Achievements also include setting up Metro, British Blind Sport (BBS), the British Ski Club for the disabled, the British Paralympic Association, and the Uk anti-doping agency. He was also a member of the Board of the successful 2012 Bid Team and a full board member of the London Organising Committee until 2009
Born in Hackney (1950), Mike’s early childhood revolved around sport (especially football) until (aged 10) a firework exploded in his face leaving him totally blind. He first noticed attitudes changing towards visually impaired participation in sport, during the first winter Paralympics, “In 1976 I was one of the three first athletes competing with a vision impairment to be included in the British Paralympic Team.”
Their success snowballed into inviting visually impaired people into the summer Paralympics Mike exclaimed, “For the first time people with a vision impairment were having their abilities recognised on a global stage.”
For over 50 years, all around The UK, he was able to witness the impact of visually impaired people participating in regular sport, “suddenly people’s expectations were enhanced, and no sport was out of the frame. My belief is that very often the biggest barriers we face are those that we place in front of ourselves. This is not helped by the attitudes of the public and sometimes our families who consistently say, “being vision impaired you cannot possibly do that” or seek to protect us as they cannot imagine how we can do something without sight!”
In 2001 Mike turned again to the voluntary sector, creating Vision 2020, an umbrella organisation for over 200 different organisations providing services for the visually impaired. He is keen to show to other blind and partially sighted people who struggle to find employment how sport has enhanced, empowered and provided opportunities to progress his professional career, “sport has given me so many other benefits outside the VI world. Skills learned through managing sports teams came in very handy during my social work career. It enabled me to have the confidence to apply for roles within various public bodies, such as the Commonwealth Games Committee”.
The Trustees are delighted to welcome Mike to Eye Matter and look forward to us all meeting in September.
Please click here for the full article.
Henry Moore’s legacy that art should be for everyone (especially Eye Matter).
Despite the drizzle 18 Eye Matter members and volunteers took the train out of London to the Henry Moore Studios and Gardens in Hertfordshire on Thursday 5th June 2025. After a short minibus ride they were soon at the former home of this prolific artist. Moore, similar to today’s Banksie believed art should be for the everyday people and he donated many of his sculptures to poor neighbourhoods. Unlike the heavily guarded sculpture donated to a Kennington council estate Eye Matter members were allowed to get a close encounter with the sculptures.
Eye Matter’s member Mark exclaimed, “As usual this special trip was extremely well organised by Suzie Simons of Eye Matter which included a very comfortable coach journey from Ware Station to the Henry Moore house and sculpture park.
There was plenty of time to explore sculptures including an arranged guided audio tour with history and when stepping out of the house into the gardens I was met with sheep bleating nearby which I haven’t heard for years, and the smell of the countryside and grassy area was very uplifting all enhanced by the rain which made it a very pleasant experience indeed. Touching the wet sculptures was much more preferable than ones that were dusty and a bit dirty!”
Please click here to read the full article and review our video:
Click here to read more on our Events Testimonials page:
From glasses to DIY Bounce leaps into action.
On Wednesday, 9th July 2025 Eye Matter’s Bounce discussed a variety of issues relating to living with sight loss and a variety of helpful tips.
The first discussion concerned the merits of the “In Vision” glasses which are based on Google glass. A major consideration in comparison to other products, such as the meta Rayban glasses is the substantial price tag which according to their website, starts at £2,758.80 excluding shipping. This is in comparison to the Meta Rayban glasses which are available at £299 from a myriad of retailers. Whereas others asked, “is there a Talking air fryer and DIY tools?”
Click here to access our catalogue of helpful ideas for your sight loss.
There is no Bounce in August so join us for our next instalment on Wednesday 17th September live on Zoom from 11am.
The changing face of Thomas Pocklington.
Thomas Pocklington (1860- 1935) was a jeweller-turned-property developer who, after a period of sight loss, donated his considerable fortune to set up the charity known today as Thomas Pocklington Trust (TPT).
By 1891 he was married and operating a successful watchmaking business from his home in Shepherd’s Bush. Thomas was able to take advantage of the rapidly expanding city and by the end of his life had a very healthy portfolio of properties in London’s west end and a number of suburban estates. However, it was on one of these country estates (Friningham Manor) where his life took a different direction. During a shooting party his own Chauffeur accidentally misfired his rifle leaving Thomas blind in one eye. Although doctors at Maidstone Hospital were able to restore much of his sight the incident left a significant impact on his life and a legacy for blind and partially sighted people living within London. Upon his death (1935) Thomas left clear instructions that an asset account should be formed to support blind and partially sighted people which would remain locked for a further 21 years.
However, under new management, in 2014 TPT conducted a review of its operations which concluded that many blind and partially sighted people chose to live in their own communities but, still wished to access services supporting; employment, health/fitness, education, and technology. In 2025 it was announced to the dismay of the current blind and partially sighted residents, at Pocklington Lodge based in Thomas’s hometown of Shepherds Bush, that they would be made homeless due to the sale of the property. In effect the key principle of providing specialised support would be removed, forcing them to live within different communities around London.
Click here to read the full article on ‘Blind Lives’.
Fantasy meets science to restore sight.
The world’s first fully functional bionic eye system aimed at restoring vision for individuals who are completely blind has been developed by doctors and researchers in Australia.. Hailed as a major breakthrough in neural and visual technology the Gennaris Bionic Vision System is a result of decades of research at Monash University.
The system bypasses damaged optic nerves by using a camera mounted on custom-designed headgear, which captures visual information from up to 11 tiny wireless implants placed on the brain’s surface. These implants stimulate brain cells with minute electrical pulses, allowing users to perceive basic shapes and outlines, offering a 100-degree field of view for a more natural visual experience.
In the early 1970’s (1973-1978) a television series was broadcast, called ‘The Six Million Dollar Man’ depicting the story of a severely wounded astronaut restored with bionic technology who gains superpowers. Although in reality, normal sight may not be fully restored or superpowers enabled, it marks a landmark in considering sight loss as a treatable condition rather than a life sentence. Click here to read the full article.
UK government is testing the Emergency Alerts system on Sunday 7 September 2025 at 3pm.
Your mobile phone or tablet will vibrate and make a loud siren-like sound, even if it’s set on silent. The alert message will confirm this is a test and that you do not need to take any further action. Regular testing ensures the system is functioning correctly, should it need to be used in a life-threatening emergency.
Find out more at www.gov.uk/alerts
You can opt out of the Emergency Alerts, including the national test, but you should keep them switched on for your own safety. Emergency Alerts will warn you via your mobile or tablet if there’s a life-threatening emergency nearby. Only the government and the emergency services are able to send them. There are simple and effective steps we can all take to be more prepared for an emergency. Visit gov.uk/prepare for advice on how you can prepare
The benefits of visiting National Trust this year.
Why not take advantage of the discounts provide for disabled visitors this year to the National Trust venues all across the UK.
Click here to find out more.