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Assistive tech, the turmoil of choosing between accessibility and privacy
I have a confession to make – I do not own a smart speaker. Not only that, but I have no intention of getting one. If I have my way, no Alexa, Google Nest or Apple HomePod will ever be brought into my home. The thought of having a device constantly listening into my conversations,…
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Delivering sardines, turkey and icicles the blind way this Christmas
Sat on the window seat of this 13th century house we rented for the weekend, I have time to watch as the world goes on around me. Chester is curled up on the bench beside me, his head rested on a soft cushion, Oswald is sprawled out on the floor under the enormous dining table…
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Musings from a Blind Man: Into the Night
Sometimes at the weekend I’ll forego the usual silent battle Mrs Backpack and I embark on to see who breaks first and will leave her to sleep, heading downstairs where I’ll feed the animals, pour myself a fresh coffee and pop on some album or other. By this time, William will usually be installed in…
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Flight Free part 4: Selfies in Paris
Waking up in Nice on a bright late summer morning, we could hear the pedestrians ambling around on the streets below going about their Saturday morning routine. We had a relatively tight schedule to get to the station for our late-morning train and the most important task on the list was opening birthday presents. It’s…
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Flight Free part 3: The Train of Monte Cinto
Quite often as a holiday gets close to an end and you begin getting your things ready for the trip home, there is that sense of melancholy that tomorrow you will be back home and the holiday will soon be a distant memory. Not this time, as we had our final swim in the rooftop…
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Flight Free part 2: Night boat to Ajaccio
We left off last time reflecting on the trip so far as we settled into our 5 hour high-speed run down from Paris to the Mediterranean port of Toulon. So far, aside from a slight panic in Paris, things were going smoothly. The SNCF train we were on was spacious and comfortable although being on…
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Flight Free part 1: Happy anniversary
Last year my wife of 17 years and I celebrated our anniversary by going out for dinner with the kids at Hard Rock Cafe in Piccadilly Circus. This isn’t our usual choice for a romantic anniversary meal but there was a special reason for being in London on a warm August evening. We were due…
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Musings from a blind man: the power of perspective
As I sit here on a Sunday morning on the eve of my 44th birthday, I can’t help but smile. As usual, I’ve been woken up by the telly blasting through our bedroom floor as William watches some random rubbish on YouTube. We normally turn the TV down before bed, but forgot last night as…
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Musings from a Blind Man: Turn up and Go
Original post from January 2024 I decided to do a little experiment today as Chester and I took a solo trip to visit my eldest at university in Kingston. It’s quite a straightforward trip on South Western Railway from Reading with just a single change at Twickenham. So what’s the experiment? Turn Up And Go…
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Chester the Sunburst Saviour: 1 year qualified
There is a common misconception that a Guide Dog is simply delivered to an owner like an Amazon delivery, and the next day you are ready to step out the door and go about your life as normal. Reality couldn’t be further from the truth as it takes significant time and commitment for this highly-trained…
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Same World, Different Perspectives
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