Supporting people with sight loss in Essex
Registered charity number: 1074812
SIGHTLINE
Summer 2016
Message from the Editors ..................................................................... 1
News from Support 4 Sight ................................................................... 2
Support 4 Sight Events and Activities ................................................... 4
What’s On Locally and Further Afield .................................................... 7
In the Media .......................................................................................... 9
Thinking of Going on Holiday? ............................................................ 13
Low Vision Products ............................................................................ 14
The Funny Side of Life ........................................................................ 16
Contact us ........................................................................................... 18
Message from the Editors
Welcome to this summer edition of Sightline. We hope you enjoy
hearing about all of our latest news and activities. We do like to keep
you ahead of the game with our newsletters, so we include articles
both about the latest breakthroughs in treatments and also news about
what is going on in your area ranging from the Support 4 Sight social
events to audio-described films. In this edition we also help to point
you in the right direction if you would like a summer break. Please
don’t forget that if you have any ideas of what you would like to see
covered in a future edition of Sightline we would really like to hear from
you - do let us know by simply calling the Centre.
Have a great summer everyone – we might even see some sunshine!
Mary and Jon
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News from Support 4 Sight
Sam Tracey Continues with her Bucket List
If you were up late watching TV on Friday April 8th you may have
spotted Sam in the audience of the Graham Norton Show. Sitting on
Graham’s couch that night were Kevin Costner and Helen Mirren!
Sam also visited the Harry Potter Studios, just outside London. The
latest tick on Sam’s bucket list is the 02 Arena Challenge.
Up at the O2
Staff, volunteers and members of Support 4 Sight joined Sam for the
O2 arena challenge, walking up the roof of the O2 in London on
Saturday 4th June.
Congratulations to everyone who made it to the top!
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Recycling your old specs
Do you have any old glasses that you
no longer need? If so please do drop
them into us. We can offer them for
recycling and raise valuable funds for
our Sightline USB project.
New Soft Play Activity for Visually Impaired Children
Sight loss can affect anyone at any age. In Essex there are over 100
blind and partially sighted children listed on the Young Person’s Sight
Impaired Register; yet it is estimated that at least four times that
number have sight loss in our county and do not receive support.
Parents of pre-school children with visual impairment face various
challenges but, with the right support, a child with sight loss can
achieve their full potential just like their fully sighted peers. We will be
holding pre-school sensory soft play sessions where children can play
in a safe environment with equipment that they will enjoy. At the same
time parents will be able to meet other parents over a cup of coffee
and will also get support from experienced staff and volunteers.
Soft play sessions are held
on the first Tuesday of each
month from 1 to 3pm on 7th
June, 5th July and 2nd August.
The venue is Meadgate
Church, The Orchards,
Meadgate Way, Great
Baddow, CM2 7NS.
Please contact the Centre on
01799 523700 for further
information.
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Support 4 Sight Events and Activities
Low Vision Exhibitions
For information and advice about sight loss, or for the latest in low
vision technology and equipment, come to one of these exhibitions:
Chelmsford
Wednesday 24th August 10am to 3pm at Broomfield Village Hall,
Broomfield, Essex, CM1 7AH.
Saffron Walden
Saturday 22nd October 10am to 3pm at the Town Hall, Market Square,
Saffron Walden, CB10 1HR.
Braintree
Thursday 27th October 10am to 2.30pm at Church House, St.
Michael’s Lane, Braintree, CM7 1EY.
Focus Days
Come and discover the latest low vision technology and equipment at
our Centre in Saffron Walden. There will be lots of advice and
information available, plus the opportunity for demonstrations.
Tuesday 9th August 10am to 2.30pm Enhanced Vision and Dolphin
Computer Access will be demonstrating electronic video magnifiers
and computer accessibility.
Tuesday 29th November 10am to 2.30pm Optelec Ltd will be
demonstrating magnifiers and lighting.
Coffee Mornings
Do come and join us for a cup of tea or coffee at your local group. If
you have any questions about the coffee mornings, or for information
on how to get to the venues, contact us on 01799 523700.
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Harlow – Brand New Group!
We are delighted to bring you news of our latest coffee morning in
Harlow. This one will be slightly different from our other groups, as we
will have the pleasure of joining an existing group, who have
everything already organized for us including the tea and coffee!
Held on the second Tuesday of each month at the Potter Street Baptist
Church ‘Coffee Stop ‘, 98 Potter Street, Harlow CM17 9 AW, 10:30am
until noon.
Dates: 14th June, 12th July, 9th August, 13th September, 11th October, 8th
November and the Christmas special on 13th December.
Chelmsford
Last Wednesday of each month at the Village Hall, 158 Main Road,
Broomfield, CM1 7AH, 1.30pm to 3pm.
Dates: 27th April, 25th May, 29th June (strawberries and cream!), 27th
July, 24th August, 28th September.
Saffron Walden
Last Tuesday of every month at the Bowls Club, Abbey Lane, 10:30am
till noon.
Dates: 26th April, 31st May, 28th June (strawberries and cream!), 26th
July, 30th August, 27th September.
Great Dunmow
Second Thursday of every month at Banks Court, Chequers Lane,
10:30am till noon.
Dates: 12th May, 9th June (strawberries and cream!), 14th July, 11th
August, 8th September.
Braintree
Last Thursday of every month at Church House, St Michaels Lane,
10:30am till noon.
Dates: 28th April, 26th May, 23rd June (strawberries and cream!), July
28th (please note change of venue for this one – it will be held at the
Church), 25th August, 22nd September.
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Social Trips
Why not join us for a lovely summer lunch? Please call Stephanie at
the Centre to reserve your place.
Thursday 16th June Lunch at the Swan Inn Felsted at 12.30pm.
Choose from the menu on the day. £10 deposit required by 10th June.
Thursday 21st July Come and enjoy a summery day out on a trip to
Southend on Sea. We depart from Saffron Walden at 10.30am and
return leaving Southend on Sea at 4pm. Please make own
arrangements for lunch or bring a packed lunch. Travel costs will be a
minimum of £22 and please pay by 20th June.
Thursday 18th August Lunch at The Cock Inn Henham. Pre-order
from the menu and £10 deposit required by August 11th. Followed by
a visit to the Saffron Brewery - see below.
Visit to Saffron Brewery
also on 18th August. This
is a family run, award
winning, artisan brewery
based in Henham. It
produces a range of
heritage ales with a
contemporary twist, using
only the finest floor malted
barley and English hops.
Do come and taste some.
Wednesday 15th September Lunch at the Farmhouse Inn, Thaxted,
12.30pm. Choose from the menu on the day. £10 deposit required by
8th September. Easy destination for anyone living in Great Dunmow or
Saffron Walden.
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What’s On Locally and Further Afield
Your Local Cinema
Local cinema Saffron Screen, situated at Saffron Walden County High
School, offers audio description for many of its films. Audio description
(AD) works through a special headset, giving people with visual
impairments additional commentary on the film in between the actors’
dialogue. This facility does not interrupt the sound or cinematic
experience for the rest of the audience. Audio described films are
marked in the Full Diary. Ten AD headsets are available for use within
the cinema. Please reserve a headset in advance by emailing:
[email protected] or telephone 01799 500238.
To receive the latest Audio Described film listings email the cinema at:
[email protected] and include ‘audio description’ in the
subject line. Large print film programmes are also available on
request.
Guide dogs are welcome. If you wish to take your dog into a
performance, please email the cinema when booking so that they can
arrange an aisle seat. Alternatively, your dog can be cared for by a
member of staff for the duration of the performance. The staff will be
happy to provide drinking water for your dog. Please give 24 hours’
notice if possible.
Tennis for the Visually Impaired
According to the British Lawn Tennis Association, Visually Impaired
Tennis is booming in this country. The game is adapted from the full
court version to a smaller court, with lower nets and using an audible
ball so you can hear it bounce. Depending on your sight level you may
have up to three bounces of the ball before you must return it back to
your opponent.
There is a great social side to get involved in and players regularly
meet up to play and compete, many travelling across country to do so!
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The Tennis Foundation runs subsidised tennis camps nationwide
specifically for disabled people. The purpose of these camps is to learn
the basics of the game within an impairment-specific setting, ideal for
beginners who have never played before! There are camps scheduled
for June at Hills Road in Cambridge. For more information or to book
a place email [email protected] or call 020 8487 7000.
Support 4 Sight Recent Outings and Events
Chocolate Tasting Evening
On 13th April we held a very
successful chocolate tasting evening
hosted by local chocolate company
Smith’s L’Art du Chocolat. We learnt
about the origins of chocolate and
were also educated on how to
experience the taste of it in a more
discerning way.
Lunch at The Elder Street Cafe
On 15th April, we all had a thoroughly
enjoyable lunch. The venue was relaxed
with a lovely ambience, quality food and
pleasant staff. It was also a bonus to have
the shops nearby so we able to have a nice
potter afterwards!
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Lunch at the Farmhouse Inn Thaxted
A large group of us thoroughly enjoyed a very noisy lunch on 17th May,
with plenty of fun and laughter. We were very well looked after by our
hostess, Karen and will be sure to do a repeat visit!
In the Media
Facebook Offers Picture Recognition
The internet is increasingly becoming a picture-led medium, with an
estimated 1.8 billion images uploaded every day to social networks
such as Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. , Until recently screen
readers were able to vocalize only text on Facebook but on April 5th a
new system was launched, based on artificial intelligence, providing a
way to recognizing images. The man behind the development is Matt
King, a Facebook engineer who lost his sight as a result of retinitis
pigmentosa - a condition which destroys the light sensitive cells in the
retina.
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"On Facebook, a lot of what happens is extremely visual," King says.
"And, as somebody who's blind, you can really feel like you're left out
of the conversation, like you're on the outside." The technology that
King and his team have developed uses Facebook's inhouse objectrecognition software to decipher what an image contains. Facebook is
keen to stress that this technology is still in its infancy and is not yet
perfect but it has now trained its software to recognise about 80
familiar objects – for example car, swimming, pizza.
The system currently describes images in fairly basic terms such as:
"There are two people in this image and they are smiling." King and
Facebook would like the system to go one step further and use face
recognition to identify people in a picture by name with help from their
database of users, but others are resisting the idea on privacy
grounds.
For King, it is a matter of principle - he says sighted and visuallyimpaired people should have equal access to the content posted
online. Sighted people know who is in many of the photos they see, so
blind people should also be allowed that same privilege, he believes.
Implantation of an Electronic Retina: Nikki’s Story
The following story was reported in the Daily Telegraph in April.
For years Nikki Watson was unable to walk along the country lanes
near her Devon home unaided or without using a cane. In November
2015, just six weeks after having an electronic microchip fitted in her
right eye, Nikki, who has been registered blind since the age of 17,
found she could walk unassisted. She will never forget the feeling. “I
suddenly realised I’d left my husband, Hal, and another friend behind
and was walking happily by myself, because I could make out the
hedgerow alongside the road,” says Nikki, 49, from Shebbear, in North
Devon.
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Nikki has retinitis pigmentosa. Before this technique, no treatment was
available for the condition, which affects one in every 3,000 people.
The disease is a genetic condition and Nikki’s older brother, Geoffrey,
59, is also affected. By the age of 17 Nikki was registered blind and
she likened her vision to “looking down a Smartie tube”.
Nikki learnt about the research being carried out by Professor Robert
MacLaren and his team at the Oxford Eye Hospital when she was
using the online messaging service ‘Twitter’. Last September, she
underwent surgery at the John Radcliffe Hospital to have the microchip
implanted below her retina. Containing 1,500 tiny electronic light
detectors, it sends signals the optic nerve is able to pick up, so
patients can begin to regain some sight. Two days later, she was
home, with plastic eye shields to wear outside and at bedtime. Four
weeks later, the chip was switched on and doctors began carrying out
tests. “Every time it went on, I saw a bright flash. They had laid out
objects to identify. I was asked whether I could see a dinner plate or a
circular ring. I said it was a ring. When they told me I was right, I
wanted to jump up and kiss the ophthalmologist.” Arriving home, she
switched on her chip and could see there was a letter on the doormat.
“I went around the house switching the lights on and off. I was thrilled
my brain was starting to interpret what I was seeing.”
However, a few months later at a check-up, Nikki’s right eye looked
sore. The wiring was not lying flat on her conjunctiva. She had surgery
to correct the fault, but by January the wire had lifted again and the
chip still wasn’t working, so in February she had it removed. Professor
MacLaren, professor of ophthalmology at Oxford University and
consultant vitreoretinal surgeon at the Oxford Eye Hospital, says this is
unusual. “In the majority of patients, the electronic microchip is working
very well. Nikki is the only one where this has happened and she was
just unlucky. Having the chip replaced at a future date is an option for
Nikki.” Professor MacLaren hopes the microchip will become available
to people with the illness within three years. To date nine patients
have been implanted.
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Gene Therapy Reverses Sight Loss and is Long-Lasting
The results of this new therapy, published in the New England Journal
of Medicine, have been tried out on 14 patients in the UK and 18 in the
US, Canada and Germany over the past four and a half years.
A team at Oxford University is treating a rare disorder called
choroideremia. The disorder affects young men whose light-detecting
cells in the backs of their eyes are dying because they have inherited a
faulty gene. Until now, there has been no treatment and they gradually
become blind.
The researchers found that not only does the treatment halt the
disease, it revives some of the dying cells and improves the patient's
vision, in some cases markedly.
A 24-year-old history teacher Joe Pepper, who works at St John's
school in Leatherhead in Surrey, is the latest patient to have been
treated. Joe played cricket as a boy, but was forced to give it up at 16
when his vision deteriorated. But he could see well enough to continue
his love of the game as a coach at his school. Without the gene
therapy, he would have had to give that up too within a few years, as
his sight gradually worsened. Joe says "I was never blind but every
year there would be something new to compensate for, so my life was
never steady and it was the constant changes that affected me the
most, particularly when I was 18. Not being able to do what my peers
were doing I found quite hard for a while."
Joe’s operation involved the injection of fluid into the retina in order to
lift the layer of cells and then to inject working copies of the faulty
gene. Joe noticed an improvement very soon after the operation. He
says "After the operation I was looking into our garden and I could see
more but I wasn't sure.” A subsequent sight test showed that his vision
had improved significantly. The study also indicates that the treatment
is long-lasting. Professor MacLaren says that if the next phase of
larger trials goes as he anticipates a gene therapy for choroideremia
will be licensed in three years.
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"When I started my career as an eye surgeon when we had these
patients that had inherited diseases, not only did we tell them nothing
could be done but we would actually discharge them from the clinics.
"We are now calling them back in to test them, to look at them in great
detail because potential treatments are available. To treat a disease at
the genetic level is surely the most efficient way of treating a disease,
to prevent it from happening in the first place. We would like to develop
treatments for more common forms of blindness and this may be
available in the next five to 10 years”.
Thinking of Going on Holiday?
Sight loss doesn’t mean that you can no longer enjoy a holiday. The
RNIB has lots of useful information on how you can still enjoy going
away. See the RNIB website below for lots of useful ideas:
www.rnib.org.uk/information-everyday-living-home-andleisure/holidays.
There are also specialist agencies, such as Traveleyes. This agency
organizes international holidays and was set up by a Glaswegian
entrepreneur called Amar Latif I in 2004. Amar has been without 95%
of his sight since his first year at university, due to retinitis pigmentosa.
Traveleyes pairs up sighted people with the visually impaired travellers
so that they can act as sighted guides whilst also help with the
practical side of things – such as going up stairs, or helping with food
on a plate.
The company says “Our groups provide a safe, comfortable and fun
way for any blind or sighted person to travel solo. Each group is on
average 14 people. Around half of the group are blind and the rest are
sighted. We aim to take a few extra sighted travellers along, just to
make things a little easier. We enjoy daily excursions together and
dine together in the evenings, so you’ll never have to eat alone. After
dinner, individuals can choose whether to socialise, or just relax with a
bit of ‘me time’. More information is available at http://traveleyesinternational.com/holiday/.
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Low Vision Products
All of the following products are available for trial at our Centre in
Saffron Walden.
Optelec Traveller HD
This lightweight device allows you to comfortably read letters,
newspapers and other materials wherever you are - at the dining table,
in bed, or in your favourite chair. Its unique slide and read mechanism
provides you with a more natural reading experience, especially for
those people that find it difficult to keep their hands steady. Simply
slide the screen across a line of text and view the content on-screen.
You can see a more complete line of text because of the large screen
and you can therefore read more fluently. You can zoom in on text with
adjustable magnification starting at 3 times. The Traveller HD allows
you to view text and smaller details of photos on the high brightness
13.3-inch widescreen. Price £1995.
Alternatively, if you happen to be the owner of an iPad then you may
also like to consider the various apps that are available, such as Big
Magnify.
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W18 Watch by Cobalt Systems
This large easy-to-see square faced watch has a clear analogue face
measuring 30mm square and announces in a clear male voice. It
includes three alarm sounds and optional hourly chime. The styling is
modern and attractive with a black rubber strap, black face with thick
white hands. Case size 40mm - 1.57" diameter x 15mm - 0.59" thick.
Powered by 1 x CR2025 Lithium battery (supplied). Cost £27.72.
Yoyo Magnifier by Daylight
This is a very handy foldable pocket LED
magnifier – the type of magnifier that is really
useful if you enjoy a game of cards and is ideal to
use when you are out and about. It’s very
compact and has 3 x magnification. Wrist strap
included. Requires 3 AAA batteries. (not
included).
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Optima Pocket Magnifier
This lightweight pocket magnifier
has a rectangular lens which slides
out easily. Comes in both 3.5x and
5x magnification and includes a
light. Neck lanyard, pouch and
cleaning cloth are included. Cost
£23.
The Funny Side of Life
From time to time our visually impaired members tell us amusing
stories about experiences that they have had as a visually impaired
person. We would like to bring a bit of humour to the newsletter so if
you know of any funny stories that you would like to share with our
readers, then please let us know and we can start a small section in
future editions of Sightline. You can email us at
[email protected]
Here are a couple of stories from Paul to get us started……
Confusion at the Supermarket Checkout
A blind friend was shopping in a supermarket with his wife. They had
all their shopping in the trolley and made their way to the checkout to
pay. Once all the shopping was scanned, the only item remaining was
my friend’s white cane that he uses for mobility. The till operator
picked up the white cane, looked it all over but couldn’t find a bar
code. She held it above her head, asking for assistance, and said
“Does anyone know how much this item costs?”
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A Play on Words
I am sure that many of you will have been in business and worked for
a company, or organisation, that is always trying to get ahead of the
competition. There are many ways of doing this with advertising,
whether through the press, media or social networking. Company
branding is also a very well used and popular way of getting your
name out there in the public domain. One of the most popular forms of
advertising is using a company vehicle to display your brand.
Companies are always looking for that slogan which will get them
recognised and most importantly keep their name in the mind of
potential customers. This can be done in the form of eye catching
graphic design and wording. Sometimes a play on words can really
grab the attention of the public. It can be funny or sometimes
offensive. I was recently approached by a local radio station for my
opinion about such a form of advertising on the rear doors of a
company van. This company manufactures and sells window
blinds. Their slogan in large capital red letters is “This van is driven by
a Blind Man”. My initial thought was that this is quite offensive, but the
more I thought about it, the more I saw the funny side and the play on
words.
When this was circulated on Social Media and on the local radio, most
people in the visual impairment community found it quite funny and not
offensive.
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Contact us
If you have any concerns and want to speak to someone at Support 4
Sight, you can contact us at our Centre from 9.30am to 2.30pm on
01799 523700. You are welcome to drop into the Centre, without an
appointment, for a chat and a coffee. It’s a good opportunity to meet
the staff, our volunteers and other members.
Here is the list of staff at Support 4 Sight:
Madeleine Cassidy – Director
Paul Atkins – Resource Centre and Volunteer Manager
Linda Pollard & Michael Lovell – Paul’s Support Workers
Vanessa Cowell – Community Support Worker
Natalie Emuss – Administrator
Gemma Golab – Essex Vision Coordinator
Stephanie Emberson – Community Support Worker (Carers)
Mary Martin – Business Development Executive
We are here to help and if you do need us, please do not hesitate to
call or pop in.
Produced by Support 4 Sight (Essex)
2 & 4 George Street, Saffron Walden, Essex CB10 1EQ
Telephone 01799 523700
Registered Charity No. 1074812
With support from:
All information in this Newsletter is checked and believed to be correct at the time of
publication, but cannot be so guaranteed. Support 4 Sight shall not be liable for any
loss suffered directly or indirectly as a result of its use.
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