Category: Useful Information

Posted in How I'm Adapting, Useful Information

The Lost Plant (Part 2)

Posted on by One Vision

For those of you that read my missing plant post from earlier on in this year.

You’ll maybe be glad to hear I found it.

Or rather it’s grown vivid green leaves so I can see it better.

Now to go read my own post about it as I can’t remember for the life in me what it is!

UPDATE: it’s a Dahlia Moonflower. I’ve posted a picture of what it will look like in full bloom eventually. Picture 2.

Since all the plants were taken out after my new fence was fitted. I can plan my own garden plants and where to pop them.

I’m making an accessible low vision friendly garden if you will.

A low maintenance, vision friendly space, where I’m planning and planting large plants with contrasting foliage and flowers, so I can see them better than usual if they are all similar flowers.

The large spaces are covered in bark as I cannot tell weeds (although I don’t believe in weeds to be fair. Every plant to me looks beautiful in its own way) from flowers so this will help me garden happily knowing I’ve not destroyed a bunch of newly planted flowers.
Big bold flower heads and large buds so I can try make them out.

It’s been a long time in the making but it’s nearly finished now.

I’ve got umpteen screenshots of some lovely plants which may fit the bill to be planted into my garden.

Some I’ve got to source, but I’m going to take my time as I want to get it right as I now have free rein.

I’ve this one (Still named The Lost Plant) A baby blue Hydrangea which is flowering now, a Buddleia, which will be a vibrant purple and orange flower eventually and a gorgeous olive tree.

The only thing left after the fence was put in, was my beautiful Juniper tree which I keep in a nice cute shape and hang solar light of it with other hanging bits of the branches. It’s definitely the pride and joy of the garden.

The link below is for Part 1 of The Lost Plant story if you wish to read it.

The Lost Plant (Part 1)

A vivid small green leafed plant, sits in the brown bark. In the background is a concrete and wooden fence.
PD 1 A vivid green leafed plant sits among brown bark. In the  is a concrete and wooden fence.
A dark brown leafed plant with large flower heads. These are orange in the middle and the petals are yellow.
PD 2 A brown leafed plant with vibrant yellow and orange large round flower heads.
Posted in Blind Traveller, Blind Travelling, Useful Information

Special Assistance in Airports

Posted on by One Vision

So. Special Assistance at the airport.

From the view of a visually impaired couple. One using a white cane.

We took this last year so we were able to not be so worried having to check ourselves in, trying to deal with small print and the added pressure of people behind us, whilst we find reading difficult and not wanting to hold people up. It’s very nerve-wracking trying to do that when there’s a queue and you can’t rush. So Special Assistance sorts all this for you.

This is how we arranged special Assistance for both countries. Manchester Airport and Rhodes Airport for our holiday to Tilos in Greece.

When you book your flights either online or by phone, you can can request Special Assistance.

They will ask you some brief general questions about what assistance you’ll require. If you need to change or add to Special Assistance after you’ve booked, if you Google the company you’re flying with for the Special Assistance contact details, you can then add or change.

The information asked maybe do you need a wheelchair or a guide. Do you need help through security and checking luggage. Which was the main reason why we wanted assistance.

Do you need help to get onto the plane? Do you need help for the steps to the plane?

So then you’ve given the information to them and they will tell you how long to arrive before your flight. They will also tell you to go to the Special Assistance area in the airport, which is well signposted when you get there or there will be someone around to ask.

When you get to that at the day of your flight. You’ll need to confirm your booking with the reception desk. They will confirm your needs in more detail. Then you wait there until someone comes to assist you through the airport, through security, to your gate number and to the plane door.

Once you’re on the plane, the stewards and stewardesses will take over and probably offer to show you the safety procedure and let you examine the seatbelts and life jackets so you know what to do. They were very good with us offering to explain one to one and showing us all the apparatus prior to the flight.

When you initially get to Special Assistance, just explain that you will need same in your holiday destination airport as well.

VD scenes in Manchester Airport of the Special Assistance area. Luggage and coffee cups. At the bottom of Easy Jet plane. View out of the window. Being guided at Rhodes Airport. Food on the plane and video of plane up in the air.

VD Scenes in Manchester Airport of the Special Assistance area. Luggage and coffee cups. At the bottom of Easy Jet plane. View out of the window. Being guided at Rhodes Airport. Food on the plane and video of plane up in the air
Posted in Useful Information

Sight loss groups and making friends

Posted on by One Vision

I attended the monthly sight loss group on Thursday this week.

Meeting up with visually impaired people and their families and friends helps probably all of us get a better understanding of blindness as a spectrum and all it’s different forms.

Somebody new attended with their family this week.

It’s a lovely welcoming group and getting quite a large one!

There’s different age ranges of the people who attend the groups I’m in. From mid 20s to people in their 70s. We did have people come at one point in their 80s and even 90 odd years of age!

It’s lovely talking to different age groups. You can learn alot and it’s so interesting. I don’t really know many older people anymore, so I love chatting with those old enough to be my parents age as it brings them back in a way hearing their similar stories I used to hear and I love their company. I’m somewhere in the middle age range and like to help welcome and support new people and also make sure they are comfortable and having a good time so they come again.

A sight loss diagnosis can be a devastating, most likely, life changing, news to deal with. Making you feel isolated, losing or leaving your job because of it, not being able to drive anymore, not able to make friends easily or even losing friends because of it.

Having a group that understands, even though your condition might be different to someone else’s, makes all the difference.

I’ve made some amazing friends through them.

There is also a the bi-weekly group in the centre of Wakefield, you can have a cuppa and a natter if you don’t drink or if you do there is plenty of choice to have a bevvy.

The group I attended on Thursday is once a month. It’s abit more raucous ☺️ with a fair few drinks and we all look after each other getting around between 2 of the pubs in Pontefract.

If you are around the Wakefield area and are visually impaired and feel you’d like to meet up with us or know someone who could be interested. Please get in touch with me by my messenger button and I’ll forward you onto my good mate Ross who organises this or my other half Richard to give you a bell with the details.

There are 2 groups I attend at the moment. And they have helped me come to terms with my diagnosis immensely.

We do chat about our blindness at times if someone needs support, it’s always there. Funny stories, frustrations etc. We also just chit chat about other stuff. They are all an incredible lovely and funny bunch.

Two young women sat together facing each other at the foreground. One with short blonde hair and one with short dark hair chat infront of three people in the background sat at the bar. At the top of the picture there is green foliage and flowers on the ceiling filled with fairy lights.
PD 1 Two young women sat together facing each other at the foreground. One with short blonde hair and one with short dark hair chat infront of three people in the background sat at the bar. At the top of the picture there is green foliage and flowers on the ceiling filled with fairy lights.