In Touch

LOOK, the charity supporting parents of blind children is 25 years old. CEO Charlotte Carson talks to Peter White about the legacy left by her parents Jennifer and Gareth Bowen and her aims for the organisation's future. Denise Leigh and Joy Addo, also both blind mums, talk about the problem of carrying or transporting babies, if you are blind or visually-impaired. Charlie also offers her experien...

Peter White talks to Simon Rockman, founder of Fuss Free Phones, and to Steve Tyler of RNIB. The company has partnered with RNIB to offer a mobile phone answering service to help blind and partially-sighted customers make and receive calls. BBC Washington Correspondent Gary O'Donoghue talks about his experience of working on the US Election and explains the impact of a change of government's names...

Peter White talks about guide dog waiting lists with BBC reporter and guide dog owner Ian Hamilton, who's been waiting for a replacement dog for over six months. Ian Macrae and Hazel Dudley look at accessible watches. Ian reviews the smart watch from Apple and Hazel shows Peter two talking watches by Verbalise which she describes as 'dressy'. Joy Addo presents her first column on being a blind Mum...

Richard Leaman is to step down as CEO of Guide Dogs, without an explanation. Peter talked to Rose Hewitt, Chair of COGDO, the Circle of Guide Dog Owners, who said that the members she's spoken to, want the charity to return to providing its core function of providing guide dogs for blind people. Ffion Miles is about to go on a trip to Australia and tells Peter about the planning involved. Ffion ha...

Fight for Sight's CEO Michele Acton, joins Peter White to talk about the charity's work funding medical research into eye disease. Stand-up comedian Chris McCausland reviews the Amazon Echo, a wireless voice-activated smart speaker, which is a mainstream product accessible to blind and partially-sighted people due to its voice-activated controls.

Peter White is joined by Cathy Yelf, CEO of the Macular Society, who talks about their new report calling for more collaboration in the funding of medical research to find a cure for Age-Related Macular Degeneration. Neil Heslop, newly appointed CEO of Leonard Cheshire Disability talks about his new role and the way in which he plans to lead the organisation.

Peter White is joined by Brazilian singer and journalist Monica Vasconcelos, who is the subject of a World Service documentary, in which she talks of her sight loss. Tom Walker meets Tony North who has been using a new reading device called OrCam. The user wears it like a pair of spectacles and points to text or information for the device to read out. Assistive technology consultant Graham Page ta...

Guide dog owner Kim Milward was illegally refused a hotel booking with her guide dog. She tells Tom Walker about her experience. CEO of Guide Dogs for the Blind Association - Richard Leaman gives his reaction. Plus, he doesn't rule out a possible future merger between GDBA and RNIB. Writer Red Szell pens his latest column and muses about being something of a reluctant guide dog owner.

Peter is joined by quizzer Nicki Cockburn who recently took part in the BBC TV programme 'Make Me An Egghead' and reached the semi-finals. She talks to Peter about how she first became interested in entering competitions and the tricks she enlists to remember things. Jackie is a listener who has asked the DWP for an electronic version of the Personal Independence Payments claim form. So far they h...

David Haynes of Action's Customer Council tells Peter how alarmed he was that the council was not consulted about the planned closure of the Action hotels. Jason Hill explains the concessionary TV licence rate for blind people. Tony Shearman talks to blind comedian Chris McCausland about his new solo show in London's Soho Theatre.

Peter White talks to retiring CEO of RNIB, Lesley-Anne Alexander. Lesley-Anne reflects on her legacy as RNIB leader and the future of the charity sector for blind and partially-sighted people. Peter asks about her views on streamlining resources within the sector and her policies on employment for blind and partially-sighted people within the organisation. She also explains how the charity's funds...

Peter White is in Rio with a preview of the 15th Paralympic Games. He talks to Tim Reddish about his role as Chair of the British Paralympic Association. He also talks to members of the GB visually-impaired Judo Squad about their hopes for medals. Richard Lane presents a column on the perils of mobile phones and Tony Shearman meets photographer Sue MacPherson and talks to her about her latest exhi...

Action's three specialist hotels are under threat of closure, as Action announces that they are no longer able to run them. Action's Director of Operations Teri Stephenson talks about some of the reasons behind this decision. Tom Walker, Susannah Hancock & Geoff Long take a look at the new polymer five pound note, under the supervision of the Bank of England's Chief Cashier Victoria Cleland Pr...

For partially-sighted travellers, using the new e-passport can present unexpected difficulties when trying to use the automated gates at airport customs. Stephen Hallett, Richard de Costobadie and Sarah Newman give their experience and suggest solutions. Tony Shearman meets Janice Wheeler who has taken up boxing. Janice spars with a sighted friend and takes to the ring to demonstrate her skills. W...

The new generation of watch. Ian Macrae demonstrates a watch which uses Haptic technology and enables you to tell the time by a series of vibrations. Tom Walker goes to Salford to meet Paralympic swimmer Hannah Russell as she makes her final preparations for Rio. She'll be competing in the Fifty and One Hundred metres Freestyle, and the One Hundred metres backstroke. She made her Paralympic debut...

What does carrying a white cane or using a guide dog actually signify? Does it say to people that you're partially sighted, or completely blind? A new film by the Royal National Institute of Blind People tries to explain to the general public what it's like to be visually impaired, and all the different varieties of sight-loss. Also, why making a recording of your benefit assessment interview is f...

The Marrakesh Treaty was designed to make the sharing of books more seamless between countries, and therefore make more literature available to people with visual impairments. It needed 20 countries to ratify it, and this was achieved at the end of June. Dan Pescod from the Royal National Institute of Blind People tells Peter White what happens next, and what it could mean for readers in the UK. M...

Glastonbury likes to be inclusive, but how easy is it if you're blind or visually impaired? Two of our listeners, Dave Kent and Hazel Dudley, test it out for us. Listen to how they get on camping, getting around the muddy site, and enjoying the hundreds of performances. They investigate how accessible Glastonbury really is and find out whether they'll ever go again. Producer: Anna Bailey Editor: K...

One London father describes the problems he's had getting his blind 11 year old into a suitable secondary school. He's so worried about the time it's taken to resolve, that he's had to move home to another part of the city. And new author, Mark Hardie talks about his first novel called Burned and Broken and describes how his blindness has influenced his writing.

According to the charity British Blind Sport, not enough blind and visually impaired people are keeping active and getting involved in sport. Peter White talks to Dave Gavrilovic who is vice chair of the organisation, as well as being a huge cricket fan himself, and fitness instructor and Pilates teacher Jane Taylor, about why it's important to stay fit. They discuss the benefits of staying active...

We visit New College Worcester as it marks 150 years of educating blind teenagers. The secondary school has been through many changes, going from a single-sex school, to being co-educational. We speak to teachers and pupils about the school's ethos and curriculum. We also hear from Jade Sharp, who complained to Transport For London when a number of Uber drivers refused to take her and her guide do...

Hull has just introduced a charter which spells out how the city is easier for blind people to get around. We go and find out if it's working. And we speak to the journalist and crime novelist, Susie Steiner, about her eye condition, retinitis pigmentosa. Is her failing sight fuelling her creativity or just frustrating to manage? Presenter Peter White. Producer Siobhan Tighe.

News, views and information for people who are blind or partially sighted.