29th June 2016

Sorry that I'm not blogging as often as I should. I will try to blog at least once a month even though not much changes but I'm happy to say that I blind-sim as much as before – Wednesday afternoon in Chris's office, Friday morning household duties with fortnightly piano lessons still fun for both of us, and my occasional bird watching trips back to usual, despite terrible weather this year so far.

Torrential rain as the TV forecast comes up with only too often.

However, I had a little adventure last Wednesday in May which had anyway turned out to be a really nice sunny day. It resulted in me having a new (fourth) blindsimming acquaintance on my Wednesday morning trips. Up till then I had three acquaintances who all took me to be a genuine blind person – Tony, the bird watcher; the fisherman who I still chat briefly with over the hedge as I walk past (of course! I should say as I am guided past!) and the bus-driver who, more often than not, is the same very helpful man who knows where I should be getting off and stops the bus to help me. I must tell you next time of a slight hiatus over that event and I will tell you about the new fourth acquaintance then as well.

Jane

31-may-2016

but actually 1st June today, but just to get at least two blogs in May!!

I (and Chris) occasionally wonder how many of you blindsimming enthusiasts are able to make regular blindsimming outings such as I am lucky to be able to do. We get little or no feedback to our blog here and hope we are not wasting our (or your, for that matter) time. Is anyone really lucky to have a regular guiding friend who really believes that you are genuinely blind – and leaves you with a guilty conscience? Would be most interesting to hear, please!

Jane

11-5-2016 Very pleased to report

Well, I'm very pleased to report that I am back on my bird-”watching” blindsimming outings with my guide/friend, Tony. Last Wednesday was just the right lovely warm, sunny day for our first trip out after an absence of about 18 months, due to him losing both his 'phone and my number as I've described previously.

Early morning train to Lewes, where I adopt my partial blindsimming pose. As I've again explained before, for full blindsimming I wear a pair of reflective wrap-around glasses, with a little extra trimming to minimise the light creeping in around the edges and with the inside of the lenses blackened out. Most effective although not as good as being securely blindfolded.

I have a second pair, an exact replica, except the lenses are translucent (not blackened out). These are my “trans” pair which worn and with the use of my white cane give other people the impression I am blind. This is all explained on our web-site:-

meblindfolded.wix.com/blindsimming-lady.

So, as in the old days, I tapped my way to a point where I could cross the road safely towards the bus-stop that I use for the next part of the trip, to a village where I meet up with Tony. As soon as I crossed the road, I changed my glasses to the fully blacked out pair and now, blind I can through some practice over previous trips, find my way to the bus stop and with a certain amount of gratuitous help from passers-by, got on the correct bus and got off at the required stop where Tony was waiting just as he used to before.

Very pleased with the whole outing, very much as before so I won't bore you further just now. Next time perhaps.

Jane

Good news for my blindsimming outings

Surprise! You will remember my bird-watching friend, Tony, who used to take me on bird-watching trips and firmly believed and accepted me as a blind person who, however, happened to be fairly good (me that is!) at bird song and calls? He went to Australia to visit family early in 2015 and I had heard nothing from him at all since – our only contact had been via our mobile phones, we had each others number and that was all. When I heard nothing during last summer, I tried his number without luck. I thought either my calls didn't get as far as Australia or that he had simply lost his phone altogether or something much worse had happened.

Then, last week, a message from him arrived on my mobile – an unusual happening anyway – a voice message of course, I can't read texts (he believes). He had indeed lost his phone and therefore my phone number which was on it. Thinking he had simply just left it behind on his return from Australia, he enquired of the family there, but no luck. Then after Christmas this year, he had reason to get out the suitcase he had taken there and back and, to his surprise, he found the phone ( a modern slim-line, I assume,) slipped down inside the case's lining! Obviously the battery had gone very flat and the SIM card ran out, but there was my phone number stored in the phone itself. My old phone (large keys and only used my him and my brother, Chris), would never had been that clever!!

So we are back in contact and planing to resume the bird-watching trips as soon as the horrible weather we have at the moment clears up. I'm really pleased, I can tell you.

Jane

Not much on the blindsimming front at this end! 24-02-2016

background to these blogs at                 meblindfolded.wix.com/blindsimming-lady

Husband catches a train into his workplace in London every day, giving me plenty of scope for blindsimming as I've been describing in these blogs. It is the main line between the South Coast and London and the commuters are often complaining about delays. Due, I am told, to - Leaves on the Line, Wrong type of Snow, Staff oversleeping, passengers committing suicide – sadly usually on Monday mornings and so on. A few weeks ago, there was a strange one. In the middle of January for a day, the sun was too bright! Would you believe it? Hard to believe that this would bring the trains to a halt? But it apparently did.

Reportedly, the drivers of trains going northwards in to London that morning, leaning out of their driving cab windows, were unable to see the back end of their train at station platforms and therefore couldn't see if passengers were still waiting to get on and they couldn't drive off!

Why? They were blinded looking back into the low and bright sun!

(Because of financial cuts etc. etc., trains nowadays don't have 'guards' at the back end as they used to. Any staff that might happen to be aboard the train, besides the driver, are too busy trying to catch passengers without tickets!)

The same thing happened to me once recently. In my home town, getting off the bus, I turned towards the sun and was quite blinded by the sudden glare from the sun.

I had that certain 'buzz' that I get when I'm blind deliberately when blindsimming, but this time I felt quite lost not having my stick to hand, of course. I expect you have similar experiences when the sun is low, as it is this time of year? I suppose most people would say they were just 'dazzled'?

I' m just a little mad about this subject, needless to say.

Sorry I haven't anything more exciting to report in the blindsimming scene just now.

Best wishes, Jane

Belated New Year Wishes 27-01-2016

For background to our blog go to : meblindfolded.wix.com/blindsimming-lady.

Hope you had a good holiday as we did.

Unfortunately no blindsimming at all since I last blogged except:-

We have to take down our Christmas decorations before Twelth Night ( twelve nights after Christmas day) and I usually offer to do this task one day when husband has returned to work, this year therefore I did it on Tuesday, the 5^th January and as in the last few years, I did the whole task securely blindfolded. I described this task in our blog on 11^th February last year, so you can go back to there to read a detailed account. Exactly the same this year, except I didn't leave any decorations on the Christmas tree at all. I did leave however a biggish hanging decoration on the wall in the corner of the room and didn't notice it at all during the rest of the day. Husband spotted it during the evening. How on earth did you manage not to see that one, he asked! Couldn't really tell him the truth though. As you know, my blindsimming is a secret between me and my brother. Neither husband nor my brother's wife know of it and wouldn't understand it even if they did.

Best Wishes, Jane

Happy Christmas from Jane - 9-12-2015

Someone has e-mailed me asking what is the third often asked question that I referred to a few blogs ago, thanking me for the first two that I have now answered. I'll have to give some thought to that third one– not sure which one I had in mind at the time.

Meanwhile, yet another has e-mailed me saying he was surprised that I had as many as five offers of help in one morning of blind-simming. He very rarely has any, he says. Being a woman, no longer young, probably accounts for my offers. Shall I follow up his suggestion that I briefly describe the offers (all from women as I think I mentioned before)?

I'm not doing much in the way of outdoor activities nowadays. Here winter is setting in. Rain forecasts together with high winds and cold temperatures don't encourage me out and I've heard nothing from my bird-watching guide since he went to Australia at beginning of the year. We have each other's mobile* phone numbers (* 'cell' phone in US, I think?) and I've tried his from time to time and it doesn't even ring, presumably he's got another one for some reason (lost or stolen perhaps?) and he hasn't left any messages on mine. So that looks like the end of that contact and the outings, worse luck.

My brother Chris volunteers to take me to Eastbourne when he has morning meetings and leave me to my own devices blindsimming while he attends to business so, if I get the urge, I might take him up on the offer. He always his lunch with his work-mates there, so I would have to hang about for quite some time. Perhaps I could collect offers of help and report back!?

As nothing much happens on Wednesday mornings these days, for the sake of newer readers, I'll describe my Friday routine in a little more detail than in our website. Next time -after Christmas holiday that is.

Meanwhile, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year,

Jane.