In Touch

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.