A white Mazda camper van with the tailgate open and a large awning attached. In the foreground is the top of an extremely muddy golden retriever's head with his tongue hanging out.

Van life: Can this blind petrol head really be happy in the slow lane?

If someone had told me 6 months ago that I would be sat outside my 20+ year-old camper van at 8 o’clock on a rainy Sunday morning in early Spring looking out at the Brecon Beacons. I’d have laughed in their face. But, here I am, pen in hand, legs wrapped in a blanket and …

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A crowd of raised hands

An open email to the candidates for West Berkshire local elections: April 2023

With the local elections around the corner, I wanted to find out a little bit about the stances of the potential counsellors for my local Tilehurst ward of West Berkshire Council. This email has been sent to the candidates of all the parties standing for election which are: Conservative Paul Kander Jane Langford Thomas Marino …

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Blind Man With a Backpack: The newest restaurant reviewer

It’s been a while since I’ve posted anything here as I’ve been fortunate that the Vision Foundation have published my last couple of articles on audio description and abuse – You can find the links to these and more including an introduction to my latest fundraiser for Berkshire Vision in my External Links page. Accessibility …

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An iPhone resting against a laptop screen, both screens are open at the Blind Man with a Backpack homepage. The laptop has accessibility software open showing a zoom level of 6x

The Cookies Banner and the Screen Reader – The ongoing conflict to make the Internet accessible to all

Recently I’ve been spending an extraordinary amount of time sat in railway waiting rooms and the usual way to pass this time is no different to anybody else - staring at my phone, browsing Facebook or Twitter, playing some random game, or simply doing a bit of online shopping. The difference is that I use …

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