A closeup of an eye on a black background

Delivering sardines, turkey and icicles the blind way this Christmas

Sat on the window seat of this 13th century house we rented for the weekend, I have time to watch as the world goes on around me. Chester is curled up on the bench beside me, his head rested on a soft cushion, Oswald is sprawled out on the floor under the enormous dining table …

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Chris and Chester are sat looking at the camera. Chris is knelt down next to Chester wearing dark sunglasses and a baseball cap

Chester the Sunburst Saviour: 1 year qualified

There is a common misconception that a Guide Dog is simply delivered to an owner like an Amazon delivery, and the next day you are ready to step out the door and go about your life as normal. Reality couldn’t be further from the truth as it takes significant time and commitment for this highly-trained …

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A three-way cross roads of faded green footpaths signs. To the left and right are footpaths and perpendicular to these is a bridle way

Navigating Sight Loss – 2 years on

It honestly feels that things have always been this way and, even though I have only just passed my second anniversary of being registered Sight Impaired, so much has happened that I often forget what life was like before. I promise you this piece won’t be about what a voyage of discovery I’ve been on …

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A view from the window of a train travelling north to through southern Scotland. In the foreground is a river running through fields with rolling hills in the background

Twelve hours to Glasgow – One blind person’s account on travelling during a heat wave

What a week, after starting it with the hottest temperatures on record, I had the unenviable task of heading north for work. Whilst my colleagues all flew, I opted to catch the train because, although slower, having the choice between travelling by train or air with a visual impairment, I always opt to stay as …

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The sun reflecting off the open sea between Nine Wells and Solva, Penbrokeshire. The cloudless sky is bright blue and the sea is still, the sun is making a channel, reflecting off the water, in towards the coastline, breaking only around scatter rocks just off the shoreline which curves around in the distance on the right-hand side of the image

The bitterest pill – How one blind bloke is coming to accept his limitations

It’s a bittersweet time as I sit at the dining table of our holiday rental in a secluded area of the South Wales coastline, not far from the city of St. David’s. It’s Easter Sunday and we’ve just got back from a very wet and windy walk around the headland. The reason we’ve come to …

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A railway bridge at Goring Gap, England crossing the River Thames

Coach D: How one missing carriage kicked off my long cane journey

This piece marked the start of me accepting the need for aids to make people aware of my limited vision. This talks about an incident on a Cross Country train from Southampton to Reading which, as a result, I decided to get myself a symbol cane (it's called Daisy and is always in my backpack). …

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A brown series 2 Jaguar E-Type on a car lift above a white Jaguar Mark 2

Cracked leather and straight sixes, a boyhood dream

Originally written during a summer holiday, this is one of my favourite pieces talking about the impact of being told I no longer had the vision to be able to drive First published: 23 August 2021 It’s a sunny Sunday evening in mid-summer and I’m sat with my brother-in-law outside the village pub just down …

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A view from the dock in Varenna, Italy of the mountains behind Lake Como under a vivid blue sky with wispy white clouds

Blind Man with a Backpack – An introduction

This article was first published in June 2021 introducing the Blind Man with a Backpack. Since then, things have developed somewhat resulting in the business, Axiom Sensory being closed down due to my vision continuing to fade. As I migrate to my new home, I feel it is still a relevant piece so I hope …

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