An honest warts & all sightloss blog. I'm living with Macular Dystrophy. To track my progression and hopefully help others. What will happen next?…
Author: One Vision
An honest, warts & all sightloss blog about living with a rare genetic eye condition, Macular Dystrophy, Stargardt's Disease. To track how this progresses in myself. Hopefully help others & bring awareness. Let's see what happens next...
After a very productive day of abit gardening by Richard and I. A brickie doing some work in my house this morning due to my ongoing renovations to my little house 🤗. We thought we would meet up with my sister for a well deserved meal locally.
I was looking at the menu on my phone as it’s easier for me than reading the menu. Or so I thought.
A lovely fella came up and said they had a large print menu which we could use which also had a Braille menu on the other side.
Well done Brewers Fayre and the Rhubarb Triangle Pub!
We’ve never been offered a large print menu and it made it so much easier for me to read today. And it was also nice to sit and just enjoy reading a menu, page by page for once.
Richard, who has an eye condition called Choroideremia, can read the menu as his central vision is sort of 20/20. His vision is very different to mine and about as hard to explain! He uses a white long cane to get around safely as his distance vision is patchy.
At least we can help each other.
PD 1 A colourful ring bound book of photographs of lots of plates of food on the cover. The text reads Large Print Menu.PD 2 A colourful ring bound book of photographs of lots of plates of food on the cover. The text reads Braille Menu.PD 3 A close up photograph of a white page with Braille text PD 4 A white contents page with large black text. Different types of food listed with page numbersPD 5 Richard. A white male with shaved head. Wears a colourful turquoise and orange jersey and beige jeans. He also is wearing Ray-Ban meta glasses. He holds a hedge trimmer whilst cutting a green foliaged hedge nearby.
A new blog is coming up about the Special Assistance service we used on our holiday to Tilos, Greece recently.
Myself. My other half Richard and his lovely Mum Pauline.
This was my first time using this service and my experience of it.
From Manchester Airport to Rhodes (Diagoras) Airport there, and back.
How to book it. Who can use this service. What this involves. Any hiccups. Ease of service. What to expect.
On one leg of the journey we were left to our own devices by the special Assistance member of staff. As he… “finished at 5pm”. We’ve made a complaint about this to Jet2.
This didn’t spoil the holiday it was just a very small incident among the amazing people that helped us make travelling alot easier. Other people in both countries couldn’t do enough for us and even went out of their way to help. From the staff in Special Assistance, to the cabin crew from both airlines we flew with.
We were 2 visually impaired travellers and one person needed a wheelchair for ease of getting around. 3 of us in total.
I will write about the additional help we received from the very kind and caring people we came across.
VD Choppy images of inside the special Assistance room in Manchester Airport. Images of my shoes walking in the airport and on the plane. On the beach with my cocoon sunglasses. Small Greek church. Greek flag fluttering in the breeze. Bright pink flowers. Our apartment next to the beach with blue doors and shutters. Richard being guided in Rhodes Airport by their special Assistance member of staff. Croissant and coffee on the plane. Outside view of the plane taking off from my window. The Greek salad meal I had on the way home. The plane landing. A green eye logo for One Vision Blog appears with the words One Vision Blog
When I used to get on a plane. The first thing I’d love to do was read the in-flight magazines. The travel one, where it would show you destinations, food and recipes. Gives you an idea maybe where to go. Where you’re going to.
The best magazine for me, is the duty free magazine.
I wouldn’t particularly buy myself anything from this, but I’d pour over the lovely items you could buy. The perfumes, jewellery, skincare travel sets, etc.
The first time I did ever buy anything was years ago in the very late 1980s. The very first time I ever went away abroad. I went with my friend on a cheapy we found in the September of 1989. To El Arenal in Majorca.
Back then, on a plane. To listen to the radio channels by your leg near the armrest, you needed a headphone adapter. Couldn’t just plug yours in without this (What a con!)
In the bag with it, came a European adapter for your UK plugs. Some wired headphones and the headphone adapter. I still have it all in the bag from Air 2000 😂 . Don’t know why! Probably because they are a memory of a wonderful holiday when I was a teenager, or because they were bloody expensive! I came across them when I was having a clear out recently. I didn’t clear them out though. I still kept them.
The second time I bought something was for my son when he was a tiny tot. A toy plane. That probably cost an arm and a leg as well, but you never mind for your children do you?
The thing is. Now I cannot read them. I see blurry photos inside. Not much details. I tried to read it on my recent holiday. Just to try. I gave up.
So knowing this, I do what I do before I go out for a restaurant or anywhere where the menu will be usually a fussy text with a background image that’s impossible for me to comprehend.
I looked at it one night at home online. I was going with Jet2.com, so started there. Feet up. With a cuppa. Really enjoyed it too.
This may seem so little to some people. But it’s usually the little things that pee you off the most. The little enjoyments you always had to look forward to. Now you can’t.
Look online for whomever you are flying with and find the online magazine.
Also I don’t know about anyone else with this same or similar condition, but the duty free shops are so packed with lots of things and bright lights that it’s hard to get a grip on what you are seeing.
Colours mush together especially when there’s numerous different items infront of me. The more there is the more it melds together like a bright colourful splodge. It’s difficult to make anything out properly if you want to browse in person. I’m better with a plain background. With one or two items infront of it.
Trying to find my sons aftershave as a present in Manchester Airport when I went to Tenerife with my friends in April, was OK when I found the stand, but sometimes my eyes just give up. I persevered and found it but then couldn’t be bothered to find any for myself.
A good way around this also is looking online at the airports website you’re flying from. They have online duty free shops. You can also buy items online from some airports in the UK and pick up once you’re there at the airport, so you don’t get stressed looking for things when it’s so bright and full and busy.
So whilst I had my feet up. I looked at Manchester Airports Duty free online shop too.
Just a couple of tips to help you. Bon Voyage!
PD 1 Screenshot of the Jet2 online magazine How to use our digital edition page. At the top of the page it has search this issue. Main menu sections. Swipe to move between pages. All this is on white font infront of a blurred background image. PD 2 Same blurry background with white font. Another instruction page. Text reads tap highlighted articles to view. Pinch to zoom in and out. The words at the bottom read continue to edition. PD 3 A mossy woodland background with 3 red and white toadstools in the middle of the image. In between the toadstools, sits 2 light green skin cream pots. One with the lid open showing the cream inside. White text reads Skincare in all capital letters above the image.
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