Navigating the world differently
This weekend Britain experienced a historic moment as the statue of slaver Edward Colston tumbled off the Bristol dockside. These days I tend to write about being visually impaired and disability activism. However, as my twitter handle indicates, I did have another life before I picked up my white cane. After popular demand, this lapsed… Continue reading A little bit of history…
On Tuesday I had the pleasure of attending the Royal National Institute of the Blind See Differently Awards. I was chosen as a Campaigner of the Year national finalist for my #JustAskDontGrab campaign. It was a huge honour to be nominated and shortlisted! I was totally overwhelmed when I heard the news as it felt… Continue reading See Differently Awards
October 15th is White Cane Awareness Day. I've put together this short video to raise awareness of how I navigate with my white cane and to encourage people to be more aware of their surroundings. If you want to learn more about my white cane why not check out my other posts! Learn all about… Continue reading White Cane Awareness Day
The world recently enjoyed Car Free Day and our timelines were treated to images of joyful cycling through streets, yoga on the roads & enthusiastic pedestrians strutting down the highway. Alongside this celebration, a recent report by think tank Common Wealth called for a car free London by 2030, but only mentioned disabled people once.… Continue reading Car Free Cities Risk Excluding Disabled People
As a visually impaired white cane user, there is nothing worse than walking straight into an unexpected hazard. Unfortunately in London there are now thousands of them. Dockless bike schemes exploded all over the capital, and the UK generally, in the last couple of years. These app based initiatives allow anyone to log in, pick… Continue reading Dockless Bikes – a navigational nightmare!
As a visually impaired woman using a white cane I experience unwanted touching in public every single day. I have been dragged across roads, pulled out of train carriages and pushed around shops, without being asked if I wanted assistance first. These experiences can be distressing and disorientating, occasionally they cause me physical harm. Whenever… Continue reading Private Places, Public Spaces
I live in a suburban family neighbourhood so I regularly encounter small children on my walk to work. My white cane totally fascinates them and I almost every day I over hear a loud “WHAT’S THAT MUMMY?” Parents seem to have two responses to this question, they either answer it or they shush the child,… Continue reading Don’t kids say the darndest things?
When navigating the world is a constant battle of bumping into things, the freedom of a bicycle is incredible. Although I was born visually impaired I did learn how to ride a bike as a child. My mum thought it was a rite of passage that I should experience. I was pretty late to the… Continue reading On a Bicycle Made For Two
In an article titled, Extremist and Disability Chic, academics Kauffman & Badar state: “we do not want disability to be seen as merely another form of good or acceptable diversity”. They argue that disability is inherently ‘bad’, a curse rather than a gift, something to be prevented, cured, segregated and institutionalised. According to Kauffman &… Continue reading Academic Ableism
Amy asked me to do a blog several months ago. I liked the idea but didn’t know where to start. I’m also not a natural writer. I’m an engineer so am much happier with numbers and diagrams than words. Yesterday Amy told me about Dr Phil saying “100 out of 100 relationships that involve caregiving… Continue reading View from the Other Half
