Posted in Useful Information

Natwest & RNIB tactile cards

Posted on by One Vision

Someone who has always supported my blogs, has sent me a link about Natwest Bank and RNIB working together

They have come up with the idea of tactile cards, so you can get the right one, the right ways round in the card machine.
This is fantastic for anyone having trouble.
The card will have raised dots and a notch cut out of it.
Can they do this with paper money?
As in, dots that denote the value of them.
At least now hopefully the other banks roll this out as standard. It\’s a little thing to some, but huge help to others.
Me for one. If your cards are all a similar colour, it will be frustrating getting them right one anyway and after that you have a 50/50 chance to get it right so far. Then have to pop your card nearly on your face to find the gold chip, which brings attention, and probably the old pearler… \’should get some glasses love\’… 😡…
Luckily, the card I need is a different colour to the other cards I have for this and that in my purse.
So I always search out the blue one. So then to be able just to pop it in the machine after having a furtive feel of it. Makes you feel ‘normal’ and doesn’t draw attention with all that rigmarole.
But… I do have to ask why this hasn’t been thought of before? It seem such a simple idea, so why couldn’t they have done this years ago?
Now, I know what your thinking… Stop moaning it’s a good thing.
Yes it is. Very good. But the more I enter the visually impaired world, the more I see how they aren’t the priority in life.
Other disabilities have help and it’s standard and the Law. Yes, maybe not enough, but it’s standard in all shops, and out there on the streets.
Let me give you an example…
Someone in a wheelchair. Knows they are going for a meal. Dropped curbs, no kerb, ramps to the door if possible, widened doors, disabled toilets, widened, Accessable seating areas. All by law.
When I go, I can’t even see what I want to eat, apart from the titles if I’m lucky. I won’t be able to what variations they have, so have to either think of what I want and ask if it’s on there, or have someone read bits out.
The best was, when someone knows you so well that they can order for you both and you trust them because you always like the same things. The same person almost.
It isn’t law in the UK for large print or Braille menus. Some do, but that’s because the owners, bosses thought to do it. Why? I’ve have an idea to that.
Never before, when I was walking around loving life with my 20/20 vision, did I think of any of this.
It’s flying under the radar. It never crossed my mind about how would other people coped with a standard menu.
Unless you have it, and whatever ‘it’ it is. You can’t explain or understand it, or notice all this stuff. Because you didn\’t have to.
Anyway… The link below gives you more information ☺
Posted in No category yet

Slots of fun

Posted on by One Vision

3 cartoon pictures of 6 friends at the seaside

With the quarantine coming into effect in March 2020. That\’s scuppered me and my friends plans to go away in April.

It was all booked and we were so looking forward getting together. Just the 6 of us.
I’ve known these ladies for years and years. They are the sort of people that you already know you have had the best time away, even before you have gone ☺
Putting the world to rights, laughing… Lots of that. Helping each other vent about something that’s bothering us or upsetting us, cheering someone up, sometimes wiping the tears away and having a cuddle, taking the mickey, getting drunk and then watching your friend help another because she has fallen out of the taxi, while the rest of us are laughing at the situation. We are in our 40s. That was a true event.
I can rely on them to take any difficulties away that I would face on my own. Because I treat my reading glasses like the holy grail and frightened of breaking or losing them, I don\’t take them out. I will have to get a spare pair of glasses.
But for now… they become my spare set of eyes.
They would read the whole menu for me if I asked them, but I wouldn’t have them doing that and because I’m at the seaside I will most likely say… ‘have they got one of those seaside fish and chips special things with the little pot of tea and the bread and butter?’
They will read it out to me. Tell me how much it is and then bless them, they will usually order for me as it’s just less stressful for me.
They will read anything I can’t see if they see me squinting or I ask them.
Enlarging a photo on their phone is standard nowadays. Then, even if I still can’t see it, they tell me what it is, I stare abit more and then I can usually make it out if I know what I’m looking for.
Sometimes I just say ‘still haven\’t got a bloody clue’
I also have to trust them if they take a picture as my eye has developed abit of a slight squint that I only became aware of when I looked at some photos recently.
I think it’s because my eyes are so near a phone they are rapidly trying to focus. Panicking thinking.. ‘What they hell is that? … Hurry up… She wants to see it’
They point out where I should look at them camera. We will all delete one, when it’s not best for all of us.
If it\’s bumpy ground or there is kerb hell where I am, I will link arms so that if I go down… they will either stop me or I’m taking them down with me.
The thing is… I can relax.
I usually don’t like looking at my phone very closely in public. But I will when I’m with these lot as I don’t care as much, because woe betide any randomer that would make a comment about it to me.
Before I could even react or say anything at all, the poor person would immediately regret it ☺
They would most probably be more angry and upset than me.
So, we have provisionally moved our little holiday for October.
Something to look forward to ☺
If that can’t happen then we will just move the date again.
Posted in Glasses

Booked an eye test

Posted on by One Vision
hand holding a mobile phone with Boots Optician web page on screen

Booked my eye test today.

Important to keep my sight going and eek out any help or improvement I can.
How I see it is… I’ve aways had this condition, even when I was growing inside my Mother, so I’m not mad at my eyes. They haven’t let me down. If anything they have let me do things and experience life independently for alot longer than most.
Alot of people with this condition don’t have that luxury. It shows itself to them when they are kids, so having later onset macular dystrophy is remarkable.
It isn’t anything I’ve done. Won’t have done anything different from those people who have difficulties from a very early age. Just luck of the draw I guess.
Will be interesting to see if the deterioration I know is there, means a different prescription. Whilst the ophthalmologist can detect the changes from me reading the Snellen chart, what can’t be considered by them is the tiny blind spot that makes C into O, E into an F etc.
All depends on where the spot has shifted. Whether I’m stressed, tired, been reading or too much light in my eyes.
I’m sure if I went to have an eye test everyday. There would be a different result from one day to the other.
There will be a time when the grey/black blob and the blindspots will overtake my current situation. But as for now, my good old eyes are hanging on in there… sort of ☺