I am considering entering RNIB’s annual writing competition. This year entrants are being asked to write a story on the theme of “a day in the life of”. The story may feature either a real or ficticious person. You can find entries from last year’s competition here, http://www.rnib.org.uk/getinvolved/membership/membersbenefits/visionmagazine/Pages/vision_magazine.aspx.
I very rarely listen to commercial radio preferring BBC Radio 4, however while enjoying a curry in my favourite Indian restaurant this evening I heard an advertisement for Sainsburys Ebooks so determined to check it out, http://www.sainsburysebooks.co.uk/about.
Being registered blind I love ebooks which I read using the text to speech facility on my Kindle, the Kindle app on my iPad or Voiceover using iBooks on Apple devices. I’m not clear from the Sainsburys Ebook site as to whether their books can be read using the kind of accessible software used by blind people such as myself. The website states that Sainsbury’s Ebooks are not compatible with Kindle which suggests to me that they can not be read by registered blind people. I have, however e-mailed Sainsburys to ask whether their books can be read using access software (the product I use on my computer to access the screen as Jaws converts text into speech and braille). However It is always good to know of healthy competition in the ebook market so I thought that I’d share the site with my readers.
For my Amazon Author’s Page please visit http://www.amazon.co.uk/K.-Morris/e/B00CEECWHY/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0
“Can I get you a drink?” the stranger asked touching Philip on the arm.
“I’m fine thanks. I’ve just ordered another pint”.
“I’ll get this” the stranger said handing over a £10 note to the barman.
“No really there is no need” Philip protested. Why did people always assume that he was in need of charity simply due to the fact that he was obviously blind, sitting as he was at the bar with his guide dog, Zeus at his feet. He hated being patronised but he had heard the till drawer click shut and the change being returned to his benefactor. He had no choice other than to accept the drink with as good a grace as possible.
“Thanks for the drink”.
“You’re welcome. How long have you been blind.
Philip’s instinctive reaction was to ask “how long have you suffered from terminal nosiness” but he smiled that world weary smile which his friends new so well and said “since birth”.
“What caused it?”
“A blood clot on the brain. They managed to remove it but not before I’d gone completely blind”.
“Christ I really admire people like you. Who looks after you?”
“No one, I live alone but if you know of any eligible young ladies do let me know”. Philip had found that the best way to deal with unwelcome interactions of this nature was to make light of them. Humour was after all better than losing his temper and telling the unwelcome interloper to go and take a long walk off a short cliff.
“Can I get you another pint?” the stranger asked beckoning to the barman.
“No thanks I’ve hardly touched this one” Philip said.
“I’ll have another, its my fifth”.
“I hope you don’t have work tomorrow” Philip said with a smile.
“Sod work. The boss can go screw himself. I feel like getting pissed and if anyone’s got a problem with that then they can get stuffed” the stranger said his voice rising.
“Maybe you should make this your last one Pete” the barman said as he poured another pint of cider into Pete’s glass.
Pete glared at the barman who retreated to the opposite end of the counter.
“My girlfriend had Retinitis Pigmentosa. Have you heard of it?”
“Yes of course it’s a degenerative genetic condition which causes people to go blind over sometimes quite long periods”.
“Yeah. I met this great girl, Ruth her name is. We clicked straight away. We both liked the same kind of music and supported the same football team, Chelsea. She was (is) gorgeous. Big blue eyes and silky blonde hair cascading down her back. We moved in together and everything was great. I’ve never been happier in my life. Another pint Bob”. The barman rolled his eyes but complied with the request. There was a prolonged pause in the conversation.
“So what happened? You speak of Ruth as though she is in the past” Philip asked.
“Ruth started to have problems”. Pete paused for so long that Philip wondered whether he should say something. “At first Ruth complained of problems reading” Pete continued. “She’d hold the paper really close to her face, sometimes she’d even get ink on her nose from the news print. I suggested that she should go to the opticians for an eye test and get some reading glasses. She wouldn’t have it, at least she refused until she walked smack bang into a lamp post. Can I get you another drink by the way mate?”
“No I’m fine thanks”.
“Well I’ll have one anyway” Pete said signalling to the barman who reluctantly filled his glass. “It was a really bad gash Ruth had. The hospital had to put stiches in it. After that I insisted she go for an eye test. The optician prescribed glasses but suggested Ruth go to the hospital for more tests. She was diagnosed with RP, not a thing they could do. In tine she’d go completely blind”.
“I’m sorry to hear that but I’m sure you where supportive, that you did your best to find out about RP and to help your girlfriend to adjust to losing her sight”.
“You don’t know what its like. I’d met this vivacious sporty girl who was always doing things then, suddenly she changed”.
“Changed?”
“Yeah she couldn’t play sports anymore. She became so depressed, very teary”.
“But I’m sure you tried to support her?”
“I didn’t know what to do. You don’t expect your partner to become disabled. The girl I loved changed completely. It wasn’t the Ruth I’d met”.
“A person is not defined by their disability. Surely you saw beyond your girlfriend’s RP. You tried to connect with the lady you had fallen in love with?”
“I didn’t know what to do. Every time I suggested going out somewhere she would always make an excuse so I started doing more and more things on my own. I met this girl, Karen in the supermarket. I helped her carry her shopping to the car and one thing led to another. We swapped phone numbers, met up the next day and went back to her place. Well you can guess what happened next”. Anyway one of Ruth’s girlfriends found out what was happening and told her. Ruth was devastated. She moved back in with her parents. I haven’t seen her since”.
Philip sat at the bar not knowing what to say.
“Say something. Anything. I couldn’t help what happened could I?”
“I can’t answer that” Philip replied.
“But look at it from my point of view. I didn’t sign up to be with a blind girl did I?”
“I don’t have all the facts so, quite honestly I’m not in a position to comment”.
“So you think I should have stayed with her then?”
“Only you can answer that question my friend” Philip said.
“You think I’m an arsehole don’t you? Perhaps that’s what I am. I drink because I’m an arsehole who wants to forget what he’s done”.
“Mate I can’t give you absolution. I’m not a priest but one thing I do know is that alcohol won’t solve anything. Do yourself a favour and go home”.
“Do you think that I’m a bad person?”
“That is for you to answer. I can’t give you absolution. Thanks for the drink. Take care of yourself”.
Philip got off his stool and picking up his dog’s harness exited the pub.
“Absolution” that was for priests to bestow not for him Philip thought as he walked home.
One of the difficulties of holding down a full-time job is that it affords insufficient time for writing. By the time I return home during the week I’m often to tired to expend the time and concentration required for writing. On the few occasions when I have expended time writing during weekday evenings I’ve found myself to be extremely tired come the morrow! As a consequence most of my writing takes place during the weekends.
A close friend who has retired spends every weekday morning writing. Indeed if I e-mail him I’m unlikely to receive a response until the afternoon which I, as a writer totally understand. While writing I turn off my mobile and ensure that my e-mails are closed so as to avoid distractions. Technology is a boon as computers enable us to make corrections etc without the need for copious amounts of correcting fluid! Again for me as a blind writer computers have given me the freedom to write by employing software (Jaws for Windows) which converts text into speech and braill on a Windows PC.
I need to win the Lottery, retire to a big house and write. Alternatively any donations, however large would be welcome. Please send to:
The Struggling Writer’s Fund
Care of K Morris …!
I became blind due to a blood clot on my brain at the age of 18 months. I feel very lucky as the doctors predicted that I could suffer from severe mental impairments which is, fortunately not the case. I attended university and have a full time job which I enjoy doing. Above all I am grateful for the fact that I’m able to live independently.
Unfortunately many blind people receive little support from their local council on losing their sight. I was fortunate to learn how to use a white cane at school and (later) a guide dog. Many people who lose their vision wait a long time to receive mobility and other assistance to ajust to losing their sight from their local authority.
The Royal National Institute of the Blind (RNIB) has recently released a report drawing attention to the difficulties faced by many blind people, http://www.rnib.org.uk/getinvolved/campaign/news/Pages/facing-blindness-launch.aspx. RNIB is calling on the government to ensure that the Care Bill which is currently going through Parliament reflects the needs of visually impaired people. If you live in the UK I would appreciate it if you would consider writing to your MP to ask that they ensure the needs of blind people are reflected in the legislation. You can find a template letter together with further information at the above link.
For anyone who is curious how I, as a blind person use a standard Windows PC, I have Jaws software which converts the contents of the screen into speech and braille allowing visually impaired people to use a standard computer. The software is sold by a US company called Freedom Scientific.
Do you ever do silly things? I certainly do particularly when I’m thinking about my writing. A few days ago, having finished with a piece of kitchen roll I threw the remains of the paper towel into the bin. Well that is what I meant to do. In fact the kitchen roll had a ducking as it ended up in the washing up bowl, not the waste paper basket! On another occasion I went to put the dog’s bowl away in the fridge. A highly logical place for storing a dog bowl! Well I’ll need to concentrate on matters other than writing this morning as the Guide Dogs for the Blind Association are visiting to check on how my guide dog, Trigger and I are working together. This is a routine visit which all guide dog owners have but I will still be on my best behaviour as will Trigger!
I am, as those of you who follow this blog will know registered blind. As a consequence of my blindness I require sighted assistance to locate products while shopping.
Erlier this evening I popped into a supermarket and soon obtained help, however the assistance offered was so bizarre that I feel compelled to put fingers to keyboard and write about it. My conversation with the young lady went something like this
Me “Can I have a litre of fresh milk please, the one with the blue top?”
My assistant, “Absolutely, no problem”.
Me, “Can I have Tropicana orange juice please?”
My assistant, “Absolutely, no problem”.
My shopping “experience” (see I have all the right buzz words) continued in precisely the same manner until I, in a fit of merriment felt compelled to ask
“Do you say anything other than “absolutely, no problem?””
My companion responded with
“Sometimes I say cool” (I am not making this up I promise you)!
I asked if my companion spoke in the same manner when conversing with her friends, to which she replied that she was “a gamer” and this is how gamers interact with one another.
At the end of my “customer experience” I couldn’t resist saying with a smile that when I next encountered my companion I would call her “absolutely, no problem” to which she responded without a hint of irony that this was fine.
I feel that I’ve gone down the rabbit hole to join Alice in Wonderland and to be frank I don’t know whether it is me or my companion of earlier this evening who is the mad hatter!
I must confess to knowing virtually nothing about gaming, however if the pastime produces people who are unable to communicate other than by churning out meaningless phrases then we are, as one of the leading personalities in Dad’s Army says “all doomed”!
On a serious point excessive exposure to gaming or any other similar activity can not be conducive to the development of fully rounded persons. All things in moderation say I.
Kevin
My three books (“The First Time”, “Samantha” and “Sting In The Tail”) have all been written on my Sony Vio Windows 7 Home Premium laptop. I purchased it in John Lewis approximately 3 years ago and it has on the whole served me extremely well. Being blind (I don’t possess sufficient vision to read the screen) I use screen reading software called Jaws which converts text into speech and braille enabling me to read the contents of the screen. I’m currently using Jaws version 11 which is several years out of date (the current version is Jaws 14) and given the march of technology I’m finding that an increasing number of websites do not work as they should or, more correctly Jaws can’t interact with them correctly. Jaws 11 cost over £800 and to upgrade from the current version to Jaws 14 would cost approximately the same amount. This seems crazy as the cost of my laptop was £529 so in effect I could buy another laptop and still have change for the money I’d spend purchasing the latest version of Jaws.
The alternative to the above is to buy an Apple Mac. The advantage to Apple products from the point of view of visually impaired people is that they come equipped with high quality built in speech known as voiceover unlike Microsoft PCS where the blind user has to purchase additional expensive software such as Jaws (I’m not counting Narrator which is next to useless).
I’m used to I pads so purchasing an Apple PC wouldn’t be a complete leap into the dark. However I am familiar with how Jaws interacts with Windows. I know the short cuts for interacting quickly with Windows and learning Voiceover on an Apple computer would be a bit of a challenge. However I need to bite the bullet sooner or later and decide whether to upgrade Jaws or buy an Apple Mac otherwise I’ll be left with an increasing number of websites and applications which either do not work with Jaws 11 or, at best work imperfectly.
I’m rather fond of my Sony Vio laptop. It has served me well in my writing and other tasks. There is nothing wrong with the machine and it could continue to be a good little work horse for years to come (famous last words)! Anyway this evening I’ll be borrowing a friend’s Apple Mac so I’ll have the opportunity to experiment with Voiceover and decide whether the fruit or Windows (with Jaws) is the way forward. What a shame that Microsoft don’t include a high quality text to speech facility with their computers then blind people wouldn’t be faced with these expensive choices.
Several days ago I answered the phone to a lady calling on behalf of the Royal National Institute of the Blind (RNIB). She was conducting a survey and as I am myself blind and I was, at that juncture at a loose end I agreed to answer a few simple questions. At the end of the survey the lady asked my age and on me confirming that I am in my 40’s she announced that
“I’ve been doing all the men in London in their 40’s today and I’m very tired”. Now what can one say to that …
Does the fact that I am blind impact on my writing? This question pops into my head occasionally and it is one which I have been meaning to address for some time. First let me describe my level of vision. Sitting in my spare room (where most of my writing takes place) I can see my computer screen. The screen appears blank to me although I know that words are gradually populating it’s surface as Jaws (my screen reading software) announces each time I type a letter). IF I raise my eyes I see the outline of a poster with writing at the foot of the picture. I wouldn’t know what the poster is except for the fact that friends tell me that it shows rather a nice representation of a dolphin. To my right and left are book cases full of braille books. I can see the outline of the books but nothing else. The sun is shining, it’s light on my wall and the quilt make me feel happy. There is something about the gentle rays of the sun which I love and I’m grateful that I have sufficient vision to appreciate the sun.
The fact that I am registered blind does, I believe mean that senses other than sight feature more prominently in my writing than would perhaps be the case where I fully sighted. For example when describing Sam’s visit to Woolton Woods in my book “Samantha” the sound of Sam’s feet crunching through the leaves features prominently due to me loving the noise made when walking on newly fallen leaves. The crunch of freshly fallen leaves coupled with the gorgeous scents which rise from them make for a heady cocktail of sensory delight. Passing through Woolton village Sam is delighted by the fading splendour of the flowers in the hanging baskets which festoon the cottages. I can’t see those baskets but I know through having passed often through the village and having had the baskets described to me what a wonderful display they make. This is not the same as seeing objects oneself, however I do, I hope still manage to impart Sam’s pleasure as she looks on the fading blooms.
For me what is fascinating about people is what makes them tick. Why individuals are as they are and act in the manner they do is a subject of endless interest. I am more interested in a person’s personality than in how they look which does, very possibly arise from the fact that I can not see people very clearly. Where a friend to pass me today in the street I would see a passing shape. Only when my friend speaks to me do I know that it is John, Brian or Jeff the identification being made by the distinctive sound of my friend’s voices. Living in a sighted world I do, of course fully appreciate the fact that most people are interested in the physical appearance of persons both in real life and fiction. Looks self evidently play a significant role in explaining what initially attracts one sighted individual to another. Talking to my sighted friends I know that physical factors are what first draws them to a person of the opposite sex. All this is not to say that looks are the be all and end all of attraction. Once most people fall into conversation with a person to whom they are physically attracted factors other than appearance come into play, for example does he/she make me laugh and does he/she have similar interests to mine.
Returning to the issue of writing, as a blind writer I find that I sometimes have to remind myself to describe the physical appearance of the people who populate my stories something which I suspect does not happen with writers who are fully sighted. As pointed out above, I am well aware that I live in a sighted world and physical attributes do play an important role in life as in story telling. In certain instances physical attraction is central to my stories. For instance the fact that Becky (a young graduate who enters the world of escorting in order to pay off her debts in “The First Time” is slim and blonde) plays an important role as many customers of sex workers like slim blonde ladies. Consequently it is important that Becky’s appearance is described as “The First Time” would lack authenticity where the central actor’s physical attributes to be overlooked. Having said that the primary point of “The First Time” is to explore the psychological effects of prostitution on Becky. I am more interested in how Becky’s engagement in sex work impacts on her emotionally so once Becky’s description is provided the story concentrates on Becky’s emotional state which is, in my opinion as it should be.
In conclusion my writing is no doubt influenced by the fact of my blindness. I do not believe that this is to the detriment of my craft I do however need to keep in my mind the fact that I live in a sighted world in which vision plays a pivotal role and ensure that where appropriate the visual aspect is reflected in my story telling.
K Morris - Poet 